Really, how much better is Byrd than Ruf?

[Omar 382]

It may sound a bit cliche, but I have to bring the question. Obviously, Byrd had a far better 2013 than Ruf. There's no twisting or refuting that. I'm not trying to hate on Byrd. He sense that his time in MLB was dwindling, so he played winter ball and probably worked his ass off in order to play and contribute in 2013. It worked, and he got reward with 16$ million and a multi-year contract. I'm not going to say something stupid like "he probably went bad to the PEDs" because saying anything like that would just be pointless speculation. For all I know, Ruf is juicing too.

But being realistic, Byrd probably isn't repeating his 2013 season. He had a .353 BABIP, compared to his career average of .325. He probably got a bit lucky with a couple more balls finding holes than in 2011 or 2010, but some of that is just putting a better swing on the ball. I hope that he can come close to his 2013 production, but more than likely he will get injured throughout the season, and hit around .265/.310/.440 in 2014.

I don't think, at 16 million, that he is much more valuable than Ruf. Ruf is more tailored to this lineup. He has more power, draws more walks, and probably will have a better batting average. His defense and base running is worse, but he is a ton cheaper and we aren't held down to him if he doesn't perform. If Ruf was hitting .220 on May 15th, he would be back in the minors. If Byrd does this (which is definitely a possibility) he will still probably find his way into the lineup because he is making a lot of money. The Phillies have shown that they are willing to bench/designate for assignment players who aren't making any money, such as Delmon Young last year. However, if they are making money like Byrd is, the Phillies will refuse to cut their losses and continue to start them; similar to Howard versus lefties or Rollins hitting in the top 3 spots in the lineup for 160 games of the year just to have a .320 OBP.

Overall, the Byrd signing is better than Cruz or Ellsbury. But I would rather see Ruf in right unless the contract was only 1 year for 4 or 5 million. Now, if Byrd's 2013 was an aberration, we are stuck with him. Just like we will be stuck with Howard hitting .150 against lefties, just like we will be stuck with Rollins leading off, just like Mike Adams will probably be back to setting up games until he gets hurt. That is, of course, unless we give another awful three year contract to someone like Edward Mujica

 

[Caligula]

Considering Byrd is more likely to put up a stat line of .276/.324/.395/.719 I'd say it was a waste of time and money.

 

[Cedrique]

I think Amaro has another wildcard signing up his sleeve, like last year with Delmon Young. Has anyone heard from Tony Plush since he went to Japan?

 

[Omar 382]

I heard a sharp grounder was hit up the middle and the shortstop dove for the ball but missed it. Nyjer was angry that the infielder didn't field the ball and threw his glove 20 feet away from him which allowed the batter to have an inside the park homerun. Then the crowd booed him so he took some baseballs and threw them at fans.

Amaro would definitely view this behavior as an upgrade over a player who beat up a homeless guy because he was Jewish.

 

[jvett77]

I look at the big picture. I think the Phillies fixed a problem reasonably well. OF'ers brown, revere, byrd, ruf, and hernandez give them the flexibility they need if a substitution is needed, while avoiding the dead bat of .220 JMJ who managed to soak up 320 ABs (half a season) and sport a .188 risp average. Hernandez can also play 2b. This is big.

But there's more to this. Ruf and Byrd can play first base so Howard can be platooned within reason. He's .300 vs. RHP. He can now be more easily rested without the team losing so much. I'm sure Sandberg will manage this. Perhaps it was good we didn't go after a higher priced guy like Cruz after all.

 

[jvett77]

just like we will be stuck with Rollins leading off

Revere's got the job.