Cards get Jason Heyward

[StanMarsh51]

A perfect illustration of what a piece of crap WAR is.

People need to quit looking at it until they can accurately measure defense. Right now the only thing it measures is quantity. And because Atlanta pitching staff, because of style and philosophy, create more fly balls to RF than any other team in the league, it thinks Howard is some sort defensive ace. But the fact is anyone who played RF for the Braves last year would have the same bump in defensive rating.

This has interestingly been a trend for quite a few years with ATL too. A couple years ago they were rated with the current defensive measurements as being one of the greatest defensive OF's in the history of the league. But the truth is they just had the most extreme fly ball pitching staff in the history of the game. But the current stats that they pump out and put into WAR can't tell the difference.

And you could have put Willie Mays in CF for Pittsburgh last year and the defensive stats would have given him a negative rating. That's because once again it can't distinguish between a bad defensive CF and one that didn't get a lot of chances because of the pitching staff didn't have catchable balls hit in that direction.

.

If that's the case, how'd Mike Trout have a negative defensive WAR despite being 2nd among all CF in total chances and putouts?

Or Desmond Jennings have a significantly better defensive WAR than McCutchen when they both had nearly identical total chances/putouts?

Or Hunter Pence having the 4th most total total chances and putouts among RFers, but having a negative WAR


And there are plenty more examples...

 

[Clayton]

Heyward has a really good shot at being this generations Ozzie Smith. Race/Class relations might be a mess in STL because of Ferguson but a flashy defensive player who other teams fans think is overrated? Lots of upside.

The Cardinals rotation has to stay healthy now but

Carpenter
Heyward
Holliday
Peralta
Molina
Adams
Jay
Wong
Pitcher

seems solid. Holliday as a DH for interleague.