Comments on: Jhonny Peralta, Defense, and Weight

By: AdmiralWhiskers

AdmiralWhiskers — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:47:46 +0000

I wonder what type of effect weight loss/gain has on older players and their injury probabilities. Packing some extra pounds can do some real damage to the ol’ knees, especially for older players who play physically demanding positions. If losing 18 pounds makes it less likely that Peralta suffers an injury, then even if there is no effect on his overall defense, the ability to play in more games creates a positive effect overall.

By: Chris from Bothell

Chris from Bothell — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 21:36:40 +0000

You should definitely ask for your money back.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:50:24 +0000

Sit on one’s ass.

By: BookWorm

BookWorm — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:25:35 +0000

We agree that this isn’t ‘statistical analysis,’ in the sense that there is no attempt to do a rigorous, parametric correlation of something like weight-change and UZR.

But my point is that one needs to start somewhere. Jeff’s article could be the first step in a conversation about where to take this for further research. And frankly, given that the information on a player’s weight is self-reported, I’m not sure there’s much better that can be done. But an article without a firm conclusion one way or the other could be seen as an invitation to do further research.

By: Alaruss1942

Alaruss1942 — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:26:25 +0000

I look at Jhonny’s effort to lose weight and effort to try to increase his range (I don’t think “range” can be taught) and say that he sees a really good thing happening in Detroit and he wants to his best to be a part of it. If his hittiing last year was an anomoly, and I think it was, he will be a valuable part of a championship team. If he bats 7, there should be men on base when he comes up, RBI’s should go up also. We certainly don’t have any shortstops in the pipeline if we read ann article about Cale Iorg, he can’t hit my wife’s weight, let alone mine, which would be a good average!! That makes Jhonny look all the better unless someone is willing to part with a good shortstop for Porcello or Smyly…I say let’s keep all three!

By: The Party Bird

The Party Bird — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 03:19:42 +0000

Minus three for Peralta passes the smell test. He’s probably not close to as good as UZR thinks he is, and he’s certainly much better than fans who only look at range think he is. Fringe average overall.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:27:07 +0000

Forget his defense, hopefully his 18 pound loss helps him swing the bat a little quicker. Just gimme 275, not asking for much!