By that I meant he would have to be more reflective of 2011 than 2012. How much so to remain in the lineup – with his limited glove work becoming too costly to justify – is something that TC will have to decide. But he will know it as he sees it and would not have to refer to numbers If Lucas returns to to his rookie form and 2012 was simply a sophomore jinx, I see no problem. However, if Lucas’ bat is somewhere in the middle, his defense is going to create a problem.

As I also mentioned, part of that decision will be team dependent. How the rest performs both offensively and defensively will affect Duda’s status. The better the team plays the less important the defensive hole in left becomes.

I’m rooting for Duda so only raised these questions since the point was made about the defensive runs he accounts for. As said, it might not be so important if the rest of the team plays well.

I wonder if thats because he can NEVER be good enough for you no matter what he does or where he plays?
And if you set YOUR bar for him and he meets it, you don’t want any record of what you said to come back and haunt you?

You asked a question and I answered it…

Thats what he would have to do to
1) not have his career end and apply for work at the paint store
2) Have his bat be valuable enough to offset his bad glove
and
3) what he would have to do to be considered by anyone (except you apparently) to be a solid player and potential All Star.

If those answers aren’t good enough for you then I suggest you ANSWER your own question and we will debate from there…

That’s your problem right there. The glove is NEVER not important. It’s thinking like that which led to all the players playing out of position on this team, with no regard to defense at all. Guys like Duda and Murphy and Thole being depended on.

What would it take for YOU to say the glove isn’t important?

We are supposed to be here to express OUR OWN opinions not ask someone else for thiers…

But since you seem to want it all laid out like the answers to a test….

.260 20 HRs keeps him in the MLB….Probably as a 1B Maybe as a bench 4th OF
.280 25+ Hrs keeps him as an option in LF…There is you break even….

and the .290 25+ would make every forget about his fielding altogether…

Anything above that .(290 25+) probably makes him an All Star someday!

It would be easier for a lot of us if Dan Zymbroski just spoke in traditional terms – like Duda’s glove and lack of range are going to cost the Mets a lot of runs than most other outfielders would due to his lack of speed and range, let alone his ability to hold onto the caught ball. I think most all of us recognize that.

So why the math when we knew this with our own eyes? Was it necessary to break it down to such infinite detail when we all get the idea anyway?

It all depends upon how much his bat is needed to offset his costly glove in coordination with the team’s overall offense and defense Currently, we have two other holes in the outfield so his bat is needed because that is also reflected in the batting order. Our bullpen is going to give up a lot of runs on it’s own as well so it’s a double-whammy.

Had we more depth in the pen and two other outfielders who could give us a combination of capable enough hitting and fielding Duda’s defensive shortcomings would be less of a liability. Lucas is going to have to pick it up a few notches with his bat for him to remain a regular platoon player. Even at this point, if he was part of a better club (be it the Mets or somebody else) he wouldn’t even be part of a platoon simply because of that glove. It’s clubs like the Mets that give players like him more of an opportunity to play.

So again, why the need to refer to a defensive rating formula?

anyway, even if if the methodology and data are sound, odds are that every one will still be off from reality. But, if really well done, as a team it should come fairly close as players average (cancel) out.

one thing that bothers me about some of these projections is that they assume a guy (even if putting up lousy numbers) will stay in for the season. As opposed to getting demoted and replaced.

That’s about as layman as can be. It’s all over google if you want more info.

Gee, I though everyone new that!