~~You can pick out ludicrous geek-stats like “OWP” to “prove” Pudge is a poor hitter. Of course, that stat says nothing about what position a player plays, or what you are asking him to do.~~

Well, if you just want someone to “catch” then Molina is great – you won’t get someone better with the leather, and throwing, behind the plate – than him. So, you want Pudge for his bat.

And, that’s why I looked at OWP. But, you could look at RCAA, or OPS+, or anything else that adjusts for park factors, league, etc., and it will tell you that Pudge is a poor hitter.

But, he’s still a better hitter than Molina..as I wrote.

Just remember…again, why I used OWP…

…once you step into the batter’s box, you’re a hitter, and you should not be given extra credit (or lose something) because of the position you play in the field when you are not batting.

Giving someone “extra” or an “adjusted” offensive value is his relative batting results because of his position in the field implies that just playing that position in the field provides a batting benefit to his team.

You can pick out ludicrous geek-stats like “OWP” to “prove” Pudge is a poor hitter. Of course, that stat says nothing about what position a player plays, or what you are asking him to do. We are not looking to add 9 Pudge’s or to have him hit cleanup. For this team, and for what we are asking, he is a very good player and a huge upgrade. Thus, his “OWP” is irrelevant (BTW, what’s his VORP and his Pecota?)

I would imagine that the Yanks would offer Pudge arbitration and that he will decline. He is a Boras client after all.

I’ve always believed that Pudge was a steroid user. When the shit started hitting the fan he suddenly became the incredibly shrinking man. Still a good deal for the Yankees though.

~~All this OWP crap is irrelevant and just a statistical way to obscure the most obvious answer to the question: are the Yanks better off with Molina/Moeller or Rodriguez/Molina?~~

Did you miss the part where I wrote:

“And, that’s why the Yankees are happy to replace Molina with Rodriguez – not because Pudge is a good hitter…more so, because, Molina is a terrible hitter.”

?

…that after Pudge is lost to free agency the Yanks will be compensated for losing an A-level free agent rather than a B-level (Farnsworth).
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Pudge is a guaranteed Type-A free agent at the end of the year. I’m not 100% sure that Farnsworth is a Type-B free agent. Isn’t it based on a composite of the past three seasons? If so, ’06 and ’07 were hideous for Kyle. So the upshot is a guaranteed two draft picks vs. MAYBE getting one pick.

How anyone can paint this trade as anything but positive is beyond me. It will essentially become Farnsworth/Moeller for [Bruney/Britton]/Rodriguez. What’s not to like about moving Jose Molina to the backup role, where he’s far more suitable as a pure catch-and-throw guy?

All this OWP crap is irrelevant and just a statistical way to obscure the most obvious answer to the question: are the Yanks better off with Molina/Moeller or Rodriguez/Molina?

I think the Yankees only get prospects for Pudge if they offer him arbitration and he declines right? He would probably accept it and screw us. Of course he could see that Posada is going to be the catcher(hopefully) and decline it so he can get more playing time somewhere else.

FWIW, I’ve always thought Pudge was someone who seems to rub people the wrong way.

You also have to take into account the ripple effects of having Molina as the backup instead of Moeller. And, that after Pudge is lost to free agency the Yanks will be compensated for losing an A-level free agent rather than a B-level (Farnsworth).

What will be interesting is to see how Pudge fits in to a veteran team full of stars. Pudge strikes me a strong personality. I’m used to seeing him as an intense, on-the-field leader of a young-ish team. I’ll be watching to see what kind of leadership role he takes, and how he meshes with the chemistry of this team.