Have you heard?
Byrd is no longer the word.
Though he's played like a turd,
He's now playing for another herd.
The Cubs will get likely someone that Theo referred.
The Red Sox wanting him seems quite absurd.
Unless you realize that his salary isn't transferred.
Campana has become much more preferred.
And now it must not be slurred...
So long to Marlon Byrd.
Showing posts with label Marlon Byrd. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marlon Byrd. Show all posts
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Is Byrd trying to get fans to turn against him?
In a miserable season, Marlon Byrd, and the smile he wore to the ballpark every day, was one of the few bright spots last year.
For the first time in I don't know how long, the Cubs finally had a good, hard working center fielder. He wasn't over paid. And he produced.
From his first game at Wrigley, Byrd won over the bleacherites. His diving for balls on daily basis and great hustle while playing the game was a welcome site to see, especially after this team had so many bums in the outfield over the last 8 years.
He was the team's only All-Star.
A few weeks ago, just as spring training start getting under way, it came out that Marlon Byrd was a client of Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO. BALCO or the Bay Area Labrabatory Co-op, if you don't remember, is the company which had provided a number of athletes, including Barry Bonds, with steroids and other banned performance enhancers.
Byrd is not at all apologetic about his relationship with Conte. In fact, he swears by it. He's the only major leaguer left with any official contact with this guy.
I supposed I'd be ok with Byrd about this. Conte could be using some new masking agent that he developed to hide the fact the he's been giving Byrd supplements that are on the MLB banned list. He might be giving Byrd some new concoction that the MLB hasn't even heard of or started testing for yet. But one thing that is true about Byrd is that he apparently works his ass off and he isn't putting up video game numbers right now.
If this was the only issue about Byrd, fine...but this tidbit came out today from Paul Sullivan of the Tribune...Marlon Byrd was the player that requested that the organ music be done away with at Wrigley last year when players were coming to the plate.
What a jerk!
Trade this bum now!
The Victor Conte thing...fine...I can learn to deal with that. But dumping the organ music? That's just going too far.
For those of you that don't quite understand what I'm talking about, in the middle of last season, the Cubs, who have, for decades, had their organist (currently Gary Pressy) play different tunes for each of players as they came up to bat, decide to change to playing taped rock and rap music instead.
Byrd suggested that the team change this tradition and start playing music clips like just about every other ballpark does. He told Tom Ricketts this, and the marketing department debated it and (stupid PR people) they decided to go ahead with Byrd's suggestion.
Pressy's organ music virtually disappeared during the game. When I looked up in the back corner of the press box where Pressy and his Lowrey organ are, Pressy sat there idle for most of the time instead of either playing or preparing for his next small number that was likely only a few seconds away. I guess it gave him a chance to watch the game a little more closely.
When the Cubs first made this switch last season, I noticed it almost immediately, and posted that comment on Twitter. At games after the switch which I attended, someone always made a comment about it. Outside of one teenaged punk (who I don't give a rat's ass about what he thinks), everyone universally disliked the change.
In Sullivan's article, he stated that the Cubs are considering reversing this decision. I sure hope they do. I've been very vocal about various changes I think the Cubs should make to Wrigley, including a video board and more advertising, but not this. This sucked. It adds little value, and if a player needs some bullshit music clip to be played as he comes up to bat, put a damn boom box in the dugout and let him hear it from there where the rest of the crowd doesn't have listen to this crap. I, and most of the fans, want our organ music back.
And Marlon Byrd? Go out there. Smile. Dive for balls. Shoot up on your HGH. And if you have any suggestions about anything, just keep them to yourself.
For the first time in I don't know how long, the Cubs finally had a good, hard working center fielder. He wasn't over paid. And he produced.
From his first game at Wrigley, Byrd won over the bleacherites. His diving for balls on daily basis and great hustle while playing the game was a welcome site to see, especially after this team had so many bums in the outfield over the last 8 years.
He was the team's only All-Star.
A few weeks ago, just as spring training start getting under way, it came out that Marlon Byrd was a client of Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO. BALCO or the Bay Area Labrabatory Co-op, if you don't remember, is the company which had provided a number of athletes, including Barry Bonds, with steroids and other banned performance enhancers.
Byrd is not at all apologetic about his relationship with Conte. In fact, he swears by it. He's the only major leaguer left with any official contact with this guy.
I supposed I'd be ok with Byrd about this. Conte could be using some new masking agent that he developed to hide the fact the he's been giving Byrd supplements that are on the MLB banned list. He might be giving Byrd some new concoction that the MLB hasn't even heard of or started testing for yet. But one thing that is true about Byrd is that he apparently works his ass off and he isn't putting up video game numbers right now.
If this was the only issue about Byrd, fine...but this tidbit came out today from Paul Sullivan of the Tribune...Marlon Byrd was the player that requested that the organ music be done away with at Wrigley last year when players were coming to the plate.
What a jerk!
Trade this bum now!
The Victor Conte thing...fine...I can learn to deal with that. But dumping the organ music? That's just going too far.
For those of you that don't quite understand what I'm talking about, in the middle of last season, the Cubs, who have, for decades, had their organist (currently Gary Pressy) play different tunes for each of players as they came up to bat, decide to change to playing taped rock and rap music instead.
Byrd suggested that the team change this tradition and start playing music clips like just about every other ballpark does. He told Tom Ricketts this, and the marketing department debated it and (stupid PR people) they decided to go ahead with Byrd's suggestion.
Pressy's organ music virtually disappeared during the game. When I looked up in the back corner of the press box where Pressy and his Lowrey organ are, Pressy sat there idle for most of the time instead of either playing or preparing for his next small number that was likely only a few seconds away. I guess it gave him a chance to watch the game a little more closely.
 |
| Let him play! |
In Sullivan's article, he stated that the Cubs are considering reversing this decision. I sure hope they do. I've been very vocal about various changes I think the Cubs should make to Wrigley, including a video board and more advertising, but not this. This sucked. It adds little value, and if a player needs some bullshit music clip to be played as he comes up to bat, put a damn boom box in the dugout and let him hear it from there where the rest of the crowd doesn't have listen to this crap. I, and most of the fans, want our organ music back.
 |
| I don't like you any more. And take that glove off your head. |
Monday, November 22, 2010
Trading an outfielder other than Kosuke
Earlier this week the rumor that the Cubs might actually be shopping around Marlon Byrd started floating around.
This is very interesting. If the Cubs are truly looking to rebuild and are trying to build up their minor league system with prospects, this might not be a bad idea.
We already know that the Cubs are, once again, not going to pursue Adam Dunn to play first base. I say again because they took a pass on Dunn two years ago when they got Milton Bradley. Anyway, this means the Cubs will likely get some second tier guy to fill the position. We've known all along that the Cubs were not going to sign any high priced free agent unless they were able to dispose of one or more of the big salaries they currently hold on to (Kosuke, Z or Soriano). Z isn't going anywhere. Soriano is flat out untradeable. Kosuke has only one year left on his contract.
So let's get back to Marlon Byrd. In many ways, he had this best season of his career in 2010. He also only made $3 million during this past season. Byrd's salary jumps a bit in 2011 to $5.5 million (and then to $6.5 in 2012). If the Cubs do trade Byrd, they would not have to worry having to pick up a portion of his salary like in the case of Kosuke. Byrd's trade value is also as high as it has ever been. For the Cubs, the have the potential to get one, maybe two, decent prospects and in the end, all it cost them was $3 million dollars for Marlon Byrd's one season.
Are there any teams that would want to take Marlon Byrd? That's a good question. I'd think the Rangers might want to have him back. At $5.5 million next season, I'd imagine a few other teams would be willing to take him as well.
Again, this hinges on the idea that the Cubs intend to use 2011 to rebuild. Byrd was one of the few bright spots on the Cubs last season. The Wrigley fans loved him, and he appeared to love playing at Wrigley which has become somewhat rare over the last few years.
The Cubs have had a tendency of holding on to players a little too long before trying to trade them. In the case of Byrd right now, his value will likely never by higher.
What would the Cubs do in center field if Byrd is gone? Well, the two options right now aren't all that pleasant to think about. Kosuke was just terrible out there in 2009, so he needs to stay in right field. With Kosuke in right, Tyler Colvin needs a position to play. The problem with that is that Colvin had problems in the few games he played in center last year too. The Cubs might look long and hard at Brett Jackson, but he's probably a year away yet. (Much the same could have been said about Tyler Colvin one year ago.) The Cubs did just add Brandon Guyer to their 40 man roster this week, who, offensively, had a great season this year at AA Tennessee. They may be considering giving this kid a shot as well. I think he's more of a corner outfielder, but at 24 years old, he might be ready.
Sam Fuld is technically still on the team...so I suppose that's another option.
Anyway, keep an eye out for some moves to finally happen now that football is over at Wrigley. The Cubs have been extremely quiet so far this off-season. They are due to make some sort of move...right?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Marlon Byrd…Did we get what we wanted from him?
I've wanted to write something on this subject for a month now...I decided I needed to wait until the end of the season just to see what the ultimate data was.
So, the season is now over and I have noticed that a number of people have said that Marlon Byrd was the team’s MVP this year. Well, this was a really crappy season, and Byrd very well might have been the best player on the team, but did we get what we expected out of him this season?
Why am I asking this? I know it seems weird because Byrd has been showered with praise from fans, teammates and even the media. But I look at his “common stats”….home runs and RBIs, and I scratch my head a bit.
12 homers
66 RBI
That really doesn’t look to impressive to me. I'dsee these numbers pop up every time he batted and I scratched my head...what's going on here.
12 and 66…those are rather unimpressive totals for the team’s only all-star this year.
So what do the other numbers say about Marlon Byrd this season?
His OPS was .775, which is slightly higher than his career average, but quite a bit lower than his previous two seasons in Texas. His OPS+ was at 102 which is just slightly below his level in 2009…this, in theory, would account for the different ballpark.
Byrd's batting average of .293 is above his career average and was better than last year’s…but was lower than 2007 and 2008.
But Byrd visually appeared to have a really good season…so what’s missing here?
Well, first off, there is this stat…Byrd scored 84 runs this season, easily a career high for him. This is interesting because the Cubs appeared to have a lot of problems scoring runs this season. So, when Byrd did get on base, he scored. Also, 15% of base runners scored from his plate appearances…which is about average, but a bit above average for the Cubs in general. He also moved runners over at a better than league average clip. He had a 37% productive out rate…much higher than the 33% MLB average.
These are all offensive numbers. The other thing that sticks in the mind of fans is Marlon Byrd diving for balls in the outfield on a daily basis. To analyze this, we go into the world of RAR and WAR, which will eventually lead us to what Byrd’s true worth to the Cubs was this year.
Based on some stats from Baseball-Reference, Byrd was very good at keeping runners from advancing on hits this season with a 54% average (league average is 46%). I don’t know league averages, but he also appeared to do a good job keeping runners from advancing on outs as well.
But let’s shift over to fan-graphs for a little while which has a good break down of RAR (Runs above Replacement). Byrd’s ARM (Outfield Arm runs) is 3.7…this would confirm the numbers we see from Baseball-Reference. What we haven’t talked about is range yet…RngR (Range Runs). This becomes more eye-popping with a 5.4 mark. That’s pretty good. (Compare this to Kosuke’s -12.1 in centerfield last year). In total, Byrd’s defensive value over replacement was 9.3 runs according to fan graphs. We, in Chicago, haven’t seen that sort of outfield defense very often.
Going back to hitting for a second, looking at Byrd’s SABR worth as a hitter, he was 7.5 runs over replacement this season. That was above average for his career, be below what he did last season. When adding up the totals, with the runs from replacement, we have 39.9 runs above replacement this year giving him a WAR of 4.1. And based on the value he would have in free agency, Marlon Byrd was worth $16.5 million this past season.
The Cubs paid Marlon Byrd as a free agent $3 million this year.
Jim Hendry did good…and so did Marlon Byrd. Yes…he is our MVP this year. Now can he continue to do this for the remaining 2 years on his contract when he starts to get paid considerably more money?
So, the season is now over and I have noticed that a number of people have said that Marlon Byrd was the team’s MVP this year. Well, this was a really crappy season, and Byrd very well might have been the best player on the team, but did we get what we expected out of him this season?
Why am I asking this? I know it seems weird because Byrd has been showered with praise from fans, teammates and even the media. But I look at his “common stats”….home runs and RBIs, and I scratch my head a bit.
12 homers
66 RBI
That really doesn’t look to impressive to me. I'dsee these numbers pop up every time he batted and I scratched my head...what's going on here.
12 and 66…those are rather unimpressive totals for the team’s only all-star this year.
So what do the other numbers say about Marlon Byrd this season?
His OPS was .775, which is slightly higher than his career average, but quite a bit lower than his previous two seasons in Texas. His OPS+ was at 102 which is just slightly below his level in 2009…this, in theory, would account for the different ballpark.
Byrd's batting average of .293 is above his career average and was better than last year’s…but was lower than 2007 and 2008.
But Byrd visually appeared to have a really good season…so what’s missing here?
Well, first off, there is this stat…Byrd scored 84 runs this season, easily a career high for him. This is interesting because the Cubs appeared to have a lot of problems scoring runs this season. So, when Byrd did get on base, he scored. Also, 15% of base runners scored from his plate appearances…which is about average, but a bit above average for the Cubs in general. He also moved runners over at a better than league average clip. He had a 37% productive out rate…much higher than the 33% MLB average.
These are all offensive numbers. The other thing that sticks in the mind of fans is Marlon Byrd diving for balls in the outfield on a daily basis. To analyze this, we go into the world of RAR and WAR, which will eventually lead us to what Byrd’s true worth to the Cubs was this year.
Based on some stats from Baseball-Reference, Byrd was very good at keeping runners from advancing on hits this season with a 54% average (league average is 46%). I don’t know league averages, but he also appeared to do a good job keeping runners from advancing on outs as well.
But let’s shift over to fan-graphs for a little while which has a good break down of RAR (Runs above Replacement). Byrd’s ARM (Outfield Arm runs) is 3.7…this would confirm the numbers we see from Baseball-Reference. What we haven’t talked about is range yet…RngR (Range Runs). This becomes more eye-popping with a 5.4 mark. That’s pretty good. (Compare this to Kosuke’s -12.1 in centerfield last year). In total, Byrd’s defensive value over replacement was 9.3 runs according to fan graphs. We, in Chicago, haven’t seen that sort of outfield defense very often.
Going back to hitting for a second, looking at Byrd’s SABR worth as a hitter, he was 7.5 runs over replacement this season. That was above average for his career, be below what he did last season. When adding up the totals, with the runs from replacement, we have 39.9 runs above replacement this year giving him a WAR of 4.1. And based on the value he would have in free agency, Marlon Byrd was worth $16.5 million this past season.
The Cubs paid Marlon Byrd as a free agent $3 million this year.
Jim Hendry did good…and so did Marlon Byrd. Yes…he is our MVP this year. Now can he continue to do this for the remaining 2 years on his contract when he starts to get paid considerably more money?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
A comparison of two players! Can you guess who they are?
I'm going to give you statistics for two players...can you guess who they are?
player 1:
career BA: .279
career OPS: .762
career AB/K: 17.4
career AB/RBI: 8.0
career AB/HR: 44.4
previous season BA: .283
previous season OPS: .808
previous season HR: 20
previous season RBI: 89
previous season hits: 155
previous season runs: 66
age 31
player 2:
career BA: .273
career OPS: .735
career AB/K: 15.8
career AB/RBI: 8.5
career AB/HR: 43.2
previous season BA: .296
previous season OPS: .812
previous season HR: 13
previous season RBI: 74
previous season hits: 154
previous season runs: 78
age 31
Can you guess who the players are and from what previous season I'm referring to?
player 1:
career BA: .279
career OPS: .762
career AB/K: 17.4
career AB/RBI: 8.0
career AB/HR: 44.4
previous season BA: .283
previous season OPS: .808
previous season HR: 20
previous season RBI: 89
previous season hits: 155
previous season runs: 66
age 31
player 2:
career BA: .273
career OPS: .735
career AB/K: 15.8
career AB/RBI: 8.5
career AB/HR: 43.2
previous season BA: .296
previous season OPS: .812
previous season HR: 13
previous season RBI: 74
previous season hits: 154
previous season runs: 78
age 31
Can you guess who the players are and from what previous season I'm referring to?
Why trading Bradley and signing Byrd is finacially a good deal...add the numbers to prove it.
The Cubs save almost $8 million in 2010 by signing Byrd and the trade of Bradley...
Here's why.
The other option out there was to trade Bradley to Tampa Bay for Pat Burrell...if that trade happened, Tampa Bay would likely be looking at the Cubs to pay the difference in the money remaining on the two salaries...which would be $12 million.
In getting Pat Burrell, the Cubs still would have had to sign a center fielder.
So assuming Byrd would have signed either way... lets look at the numbers.
trading Bradley to Tampa Bay
keeping Bradley
trading Bradley to Seattle
All of these numbers are for the 2010 season.
The money for Bradley in the Burrell trade scenario assume the Cubs pay $12 million for the remaining 2 years on Bradley's salary. For 2010, that would be half or $6 million.
The money for Bradley in the Silva trade is from the 9 million the Cubs got from Seattle for the trade. For 2010, it would again be 1/2 so $4.5 million.
Burrell would have no place to play in Chicago...at the very least he would platoon with Fukudome.
The Cubs, no matter what, had to get a center fielder. Fukudome was not going to play out there again in 2010. So...just wasn't going to happen. Don't forget, we are paying Fukudome $13 million this year too. He's got to play somewhere.
The Cubs save $4 million by not keeping Bradley.
The Cubs save an estimated $10 million by trading him to Seattle instead of Tampa Bay.
This is good, people. Jim Hendry has, believe it or not, played this out about as well as anyone could have hoped (unless you actually though Bradley could be a productive and noncancerous player). And the back weightedness of the Byrd contract is very mild in comparison to the contracts of Zambrano, Bradley, Fukudome and Soriano.
The situation is improving. It's not prefect, but it is actually improving.
Trust me.
Here's why.
The other option out there was to trade Bradley to Tampa Bay for Pat Burrell...if that trade happened, Tampa Bay would likely be looking at the Cubs to pay the difference in the money remaining on the two salaries...which would be $12 million.
In getting Pat Burrell, the Cubs still would have had to sign a center fielder.
So assuming Byrd would have signed either way... lets look at the numbers.
trading Bradley to Tampa Bay
| Player | Amount |
| Burrell | $9 mil |
| Bradley | $6 mil |
| Byrd | $3 mil |
| total | $18 mil |
|---|---|
keeping Bradley
| Player | Amount |
| Bradley | $9 mil |
| Byrd | $3 mil |
| total | $12 mil |
|---|---|
trading Bradley to Seattle
| Player | Amount |
| Silva | $11.5 mil |
| Bradley | -$4.5 mil |
| Byrd | $3 mil |
| total | $10 mil |
|---|---|
All of these numbers are for the 2010 season.
The money for Bradley in the Burrell trade scenario assume the Cubs pay $12 million for the remaining 2 years on Bradley's salary. For 2010, that would be half or $6 million.
The money for Bradley in the Silva trade is from the 9 million the Cubs got from Seattle for the trade. For 2010, it would again be 1/2 so $4.5 million.
Burrell would have no place to play in Chicago...at the very least he would platoon with Fukudome.
The Cubs, no matter what, had to get a center fielder. Fukudome was not going to play out there again in 2010. So...just wasn't going to happen. Don't forget, we are paying Fukudome $13 million this year too. He's got to play somewhere.
The Cubs save $4 million by not keeping Bradley.
The Cubs save an estimated $10 million by trading him to Seattle instead of Tampa Bay.
This is good, people. Jim Hendry has, believe it or not, played this out about as well as anyone could have hoped (unless you actually though Bradley could be a productive and noncancerous player). And the back weightedness of the Byrd contract is very mild in comparison to the contracts of Zambrano, Bradley, Fukudome and Soriano.
The situation is improving. It's not prefect, but it is actually improving.
Trust me.
Cubs sign Marlon Byrd for 3 years/$15 million...relax, this is a good deal.
It is being reported today that the Cubs have signed Marlon Byrd.
The deal is for 3 years and $15 million.
Not a bad deal, actually.
I never would have thought that Byrd would go for only $5 million a year.
There isn't a deal out there as good which didn't involve a trade.
And at $5 million a year, if Byrd doesn't work out, he is tradeable.
Take into consideration the contracts for other questionable (and risky) outfielders over the last couple years that the Cubs have signed...
Fukudome 4/48...
Bradley 3/30...
well
Byrd 3/15 is quite a departure for the Cubs.
This is not a bad deal for the Cubs.
Update...according the Gordon Wittenmyer the contract is backloaded...
$3 million in '10
$5.5 million in '11
$6.5 million in '12
The deal is for 3 years and $15 million.
Not a bad deal, actually.
I never would have thought that Byrd would go for only $5 million a year.
There isn't a deal out there as good which didn't involve a trade.
And at $5 million a year, if Byrd doesn't work out, he is tradeable.
Take into consideration the contracts for other questionable (and risky) outfielders over the last couple years that the Cubs have signed...
Fukudome 4/48...
Bradley 3/30...
well
Byrd 3/15 is quite a departure for the Cubs.
This is not a bad deal for the Cubs.
Update...according the Gordon Wittenmyer the contract is backloaded...
$3 million in '10
$5.5 million in '11
$6.5 million in '12
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Can an argument be made for Marlon Byrd? Ugh! (Bring back Reedz?)
I have spent a lot of time over the last couple days trying to come up with an argument on why Marlon Byrd would be a good signing for the Cubs.
And, honestly, it just hasn't worked out like I had hoped.
Byrd's offensive numbers are not bad. And, in fact, I believe he is a more clutch hitter than Milton Bradley has been throughout his career. Bradley has more power and walks more, but that was about it.
And looking at fielding statistics for Byrd, I was hoping I would find some impressive numbers as far has his ability to hold base-runners and fielding percentage. Well, those numbers only came back as average to below average.
He isn't much of a base-runner. And, in fact, might be a bit of a menace while on base.
His power stats were bloated last season by his home ballpark.
So...I'm kinda stuck here. Maybe he's a great teammate or something. I don't know.
But if Marlon Byrd is the best center fielder available out there, then I think the Cubs should probably just re-sign Reed Johnson and maybe look to upgrade at a different position.
And, honestly, it just hasn't worked out like I had hoped.
Byrd's offensive numbers are not bad. And, in fact, I believe he is a more clutch hitter than Milton Bradley has been throughout his career. Bradley has more power and walks more, but that was about it.
And looking at fielding statistics for Byrd, I was hoping I would find some impressive numbers as far has his ability to hold base-runners and fielding percentage. Well, those numbers only came back as average to below average.
He isn't much of a base-runner. And, in fact, might be a bit of a menace while on base.
His power stats were bloated last season by his home ballpark.
So...I'm kinda stuck here. Maybe he's a great teammate or something. I don't know.
But if Marlon Byrd is the best center fielder available out there, then I think the Cubs should probably just re-sign Reed Johnson and maybe look to upgrade at a different position.
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