Bobby Abreu and the 2005 Gold Glove

    

     Bobby Abreu somehow won the Gold Glove in 2005. I still wonder how something like this happened. I took a deeper look at his 2005 season, focusing on the fielding statistics that were available as well as things that I saw about his defensive play in the outfield. There was never a doubt about Bobby's offensive numbers, however, I contend that Abreu was not a clutch hitter. If the Phils were losing 5-1, Abreu would be your guy. When they needed a clutch hit in the 9th with the game tied 3-3, Abreu came up small.

    Firstly, his Defensive WAR (dWAR) for 2005 was -1.5 and his lifetime average dWAR is -1.0. Defensive WAR is a measure of wins above replacement, but given only the defensive stats of the player and their position adjustment. To put this in perspective, Pat Burrell's 2005 dWAR was 0.0. In layman's terms, that means that Pat the Bat was BETTER defensively than Abreu. 

    People often point to Abreu's strong arm as the possible reason why he may have won the Gold Glove. In 2005, Jason Michaels who played about 50% of the games that Abreu did had 10 outfield assists compared to Bobby's 7. Of note, Burrell also had 10 OF assists. Pundits will say that people did not run as much on Abreu because his arm was so strong, so that could be a reason why the above players had more assists.

    My personal observation on Abreu's RF defensive play was that he constantly took bad routes, avoided leaving his feet for a catch, and we all know that his fear of the wall was well documented. His offensive stats in 2005 were really good, but that was really never in question. in 2005 he has 102 RBIs, 31 SB, 24 HRs, 37 2Bs and hit for a .286 BA. Those are offensive juggernaut numbers, well documented by his 4.4 offensive WAR and 60.2 lifetime oWAR.

    Bobby Abreu won the Gold Glove because of 2 things: his offensive numbers and the attention he received from the HR Derby at the 2005 All-Star Game. It is a travesty to Gold Gloves that Abreu received one. When someone so undeserving gets a Gold Glove, it lessens the value of the award.  

Who Wants the 'D' (Battery)?

 The recent nonsense with the Mets' players making hand gestures to "boo" their own fans is really beyond disgraceful. It certainly made me wonder WWDPFD if this happened with a Phillie. I believe I would have 6-15 beers in the parking lot and then have a string of D batteries across my chest, just like Rambo had ammunition as I walked into Citizens Bank Park. These batteries would not be to power my transistor radio, but projectiles for the player who was a piece of shit and needed a knock on the head.

    I then thought about which Phillies through the years would have been a good candidate for DPF 'D' Battery Night and came up with these players who were pieces of shit:

1. Billy Wagner- He said Phillies fans suck and it it impossible to play here unless you never give up any runs ever. 

2. J.D. Drew- This piece of trash sat out a year and played Independent ball with the St. Paul Saints to avoid being a Phillie. 

3. Scott Rolen - Begging to leave Philly and then calling St. Louis "Baseball Heaven" was something to raise our ire...forever.

4. Sean Rodriguez - This numbnuts actually said "Who's looking bad and feeling entitled when you hear stuff like that? I'm not the one booing. I'm not the one screaming. I'm not the one saying pretty disgusting things at times. That seems pretty entitled. You're just making yourself look pretty bad as an individual, as a person, as a fan." I, for one, do not think that yelling that he was a man-bunned pig-fucking asshat being an issue.

5. Adam Eaton - This squid was upset he was booed when he received his undeserved 2008 World Series ring. Well, Adam, maybe don't have a 6.50 lifetime ERA buddy.

Maybe this spawns a new DPF T-Shirt idea. Who Wants the 'D' (Battery)?