2005 in Review - Second Base
Mon, Oct 31, 2005
by Geoff Young
The next stop in our review of the 2005 season is second base. As with most other positions for the Padres, due to injuries, the level of play wasn’t quite what was expected and the future is uncertain.
[Previous entries in this series: catcher | first base]
| BA | OBP | SLG | BB/PA | ISO | SEC | RC/27 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of ESPN. Color key: green, top 10; yellow, middle 10; red, bottom 10. |
|||||||
| Padres second basemen | .262 | .334 | .337 | .086 | .075 | .178 | 3.98 |
| MLB rank | 20 | 13 | 29 | 12 | 30 | 25 | 26 |
| FPct | RF | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. Color key: green, above average; red, below average. |
|||||||
| Padres second basemen | .987 | 4.61 | |||||
| MLB average | .981 | 4.98 | |||||
Mark Loretta saw the bulk of the playing time at second base, with Damian Jackson filling in when Loretta landed on the DL. Geoff Blum, Eric Young, Manny Alexander, and Jesse Garcia also logged innings at the position. We’ll talk about Blum in our third base discussion, while Young will be covered with the center fielders. Alexander and Garcia? I’ve already said too much.
Mark Loretta
Summary
| BA | OBP | SLG | BB/PA | ISO | XBH/H | RC/27 | OPS+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. Color key: green, positive trend; red, negative trend. |
||||||||
| 2004 | .335 | .391 | .495 | .082 | .160 | .313 | 7.28 | 136 |
| 2005 | .280 | .360 | .347 | .097 | .067 | .177 | 4.24 | 96 |
| FPct | RF | DP/9 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of ESPN. Color key: green, above average; red, below average. |
||||||||
| Loretta | .987 | 4.57 | .603 | |||||
| MLB average | .981 | 4.98 | .680 | |||||
Expectations
From my season preview over at Baseball Think Factory:
A late bloomer, Loretta is 33 years old and shouldn’t be expected to post an OPS near 900 again. But even if he settles back into his 2003 level, he’s a premium talent at a premium position. With his consistent approach at the plate and ability to use the entire field, Loretta will continue to be a key part of the Padres offense.
Positives
- Good line drive hitter who uses entire field.
- Very sure hands at second base.
Negatives
- Power disappeared, never got into a groove; injuries may have played a role, but it’s also possible he is entering the decline phase of his career.
- Defense appears to be slipping a bit; range factor fell from 4.97 in 2004 to 4.57 last season (also turned fewer double plays per 9 innings - .679 in 2004 vs .603 in 2005).
Outlook
If Loretta is healthy, he can be productive, although probably not at 2003-2004 levels. With Sean Burroughs and Joe Randa both eligible for free agency, a thin market at third base, and Josh Barfield coming off a strong season at Triple-A, one option might be to move Loretta and his diminishing range to the hot corner. Loretta doesn’t have the power normally associated with the position, but neither did Burroughs or Randa, and if he’s healthy, he should provide decent production at third.
Damian Jackson
Summary
| BA | OBP | SLG | BB/PA | ISO | XBH/H | RC/27 | OPS+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com. Color key: green, positive trend; red, negative trend. |
||||||||
| 2004 | .100 | .206 | .267 | .118 | .167 | 1.000 | 2.00 | 21 |
| 2005 | .255 | .335 | .342 | .096 | .087 | .200 | 3.89 | 87 |
| FPct | RF | DP/9 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of ESPN. Color key: green, above average; red, below average. |
||||||||
| Jackson | .993 | 4.96 | .713 | |||||
| MLB average | .981 | 4.98 | .680 | |||||
Note that Jackson had only 30 big-league at-bats in 2004, so take those numbers with the appropriate buckets of salt.
Expectations
None.
Positives
- Versatile, able to play multiple positions.
- Strong defensively at second base and in center field.
- Draws some walks, still runs reasonably well.
Negatives
- Weak throwing arm limits his usefulness on the left side of the infield.
- Swing gets a bit long for a guy with so little power; streaky hitter.
Outlook
Signed a 1-year deal with the Washington Nationals. Expect more of the same.
Josh Barfield
Summary
| BA | OBP | SLG | BB/PA | ISO | XBH/H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats courtesy of Baseball America and Baseball Cube. Color key: green, positive trend; red, negative trend. |
||||||
| 2004 (Double-A Mobile) | .248 | .313 | .417 | .083 | .169 | .380 |
| 2005 (Triple-A Portland) | .310 | .370 | .450 | .090 | .140 | .256 |
This is just for grins. Different levels, different hitting environments. Apples, oranges. I don’t have Major League Equivalencies handy for Barfield, so this will have to do. Like I said, just for grins.
Barfield turns 23 in December and provides some pretty serious pop from the second base position. He also plays better defense than he often gets credit for. Manager Bruce Bochy’s reluctance to hand over the reins to youngsters notwithstanding, Barfield wouldn’t be a bad option at second base for the big club in 2006.
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October 31, 2005 at 9:35 am
After trawling, this netted:
Softbank Hawks catcher Kenji Jojima announced in a press conference Monday he will try to pursue a career in MLB. The 29-year-old Jojima is a free agent, so he doesn’t need to be posted. He hit .309 with 24 homers and 57 RBI in 116 games before suffering a broken shin on Sept. 22. In 2004, his best year, he hit .338/.432/.655. It will be very interesting to see what kind of offers he gets. He’s been a fine defensive catcher in Japan, and he’d likely hit well enough to be a quality regular in the U.S. However, his inability to speak English or Spanish figures to cause some teams to shy away. The Mets, Dodgers, Mariners and Padres are among the teams that may pursue him.
November 1, 2005 at 4:30 am
From today’s Boston Globe. KT’s name is being mentioned in the fallout from the Theo Epstein drama:
http://www.boston.com/sports/b.....is_towers/
November 1, 2005 at 7:47 am
Didi: Back in April A reader (Gary Garland of Japan Baseball Daily) suggested Jojima as a possible replacement for Ramon behind the dish:
http://www.all-baseball.com/du.....18282.html
Jojima’s numbers in Japan thru 2004:
http://japanesebaseball.com/pl.....amp;Part=1
I believe Kevin Towers mentioned language as a potential barrier for him at the Prospectus Pizza Feed.
Nick: Thanks for the link. At this point, I don’t think anything would surprise me. What a circus.
November 1, 2005 at 8:02 am
Geoff, thanks, man. That’s cool. We got a Japan link. I was wondering what a Japanese catcher would do in MLB. At least, he’d be able to talk trash to the HP umpire if he wished to without getting tossed.
November 1, 2005 at 8:07 am
I see Hoffy feels “betrayed” by the 10/2 offer. Hell, dude you are 38 years old. And I don’t want to saddle the team with a big contract for an old guy.
Unilke a hitter gone to pasture, a closure who runs out of gas, what do you do with him? If Hoffy looses it next year, and it has to happen sometime, where do you play him, shortstop?
If Klesko looses it, and he has, he rides the bench, pinch hits and gets traded to the American League in July.
But just like in TJ when buying a blanket, Padres go low, Hoffy goes high and they meet in the middle. No more then two years, 6-7 million.
November 1, 2005 at 8:34 am
”I can’t see anybody else coming in there other than Kevin Towers,” said a longtime baseball man with ties to the Red Sox.
That was the first thing I thought of then I heard Epstein walked away. If Towers was able to work with LL in San Diego then it may be a good fit. The article mentions Alderson may be able to lure Epstein to San Diego, which would be great if it happens. Bizarre, but great.
As for the Padres infield situation, I like the Loretta at 3rd option. One way to keep Bochy from playing “proven” veterans is to stock the roster with young guys. Maybe Alderson/KT will just stock the roster with Barfield, Guzman, Johnson, etc.
November 1, 2005 at 10:30 am
What does anyone think Barfield might do if given the opportunity next year? I’m envisioning 2003 Junior Spivey:
http://www.baseball-reference......ju01.shtml
Seem plausible?
November 1, 2005 at 11:38 am
I found MLEs for 2005:
http://home.comcast.net/~briankaat/mle05.csv
Barfield checks in at .273/.327/.388.
A little more BA and less SLG than I was expecting. That’s actually closer to 2003 Orlando Hudson:
http://www.baseball-reference......or01.shtml
November 1, 2005 at 3:18 pm
I would take an Orlando Hudson offensive clone at this point. Does Barfield have any speed? I seem to remember Baseball America saying he has average speed (eg. 55 on the 80 scale, something like that).
November 1, 2005 at 3:56 pm
“Average” speed sounds about right to me. One of those guys who probably will be a better baserunner than stolen base threat. Of course, we could use some decent baserunners right about now.
November 1, 2005 at 6:38 pm
Exactly. A good baserunner would be nice.
I would also take an Orlando Hudson DEFENSIVE clone, too — he just won a Gold Glove!
I know Barfield’s not a gold glover, though — adequate would be fine.
November 2, 2005 at 9:13 am
If Barfield is to have only an adequate glove, I’m expecting him to produce 10% more than Hudson. Remember, the Padres is not a team loaded with hitters but full of adequate gloves already with below average for the OF.
Isn’t the whole point of this exercise to find a better option than Loretta at 2B? Hudson hitting with adequate glove would be Loretta.
November 2, 2005 at 9:50 am
Actually, I think the point of the exercise is to keep from throwing huge wads of cash at Randa.
And I should say that I think Barfield has more *eventual* offensive upside than Hudson. But if he plays in 2006, Hudson’s 2003 looks like a pretty good baseline for comparison.
I haven’t seen Barfield play since he was at Elsinore but I seem to recall Jonathan at PDX Beavers saying good things about his defense. From my own observations, Barfield had decent range and a good arm, but wasn’t the best at turning the DP.
He also made a couple of spectacular plays when I saw him at Elsinore. He’s a very athletic kid. I remember being most concerned about the DP. Maybe someone who’s seen him since then can let us know how he’s turning those now.
November 6, 2005 at 9:40 am
I saw Barfield play this year in Portland a few times. His glove was much better than previous reports had mentioned, and he can really hit. If you look at his numbers over the last three months he hit over .340