Is Gonzo the worst LFer in the league.

[CardinalLaw]

Jeez the guy gave up 6 doubles tonight. Is he that slow or what. I know he has a week arm but he didn't catch one fly ball out there tonight.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

Jeez the guy gave up 6 doubles tonight. Is he that slow or what. I know he has a week arm but he didn't catch one fly ball out there tonight.

Not even close, but the defensive effort proves beyond a doubt he's past his prime and we need to start seeing some Carlos Quentin soon.

 

[Ryanwb]

Yeah, he's entering Harold Baines career designated hitter territory now. He is costing us games.... he did have 2 assists last night

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Not only that, Gonzo can't get runs home to save his life anymore. I'm just hoping he can put together a decent 2 month run so we can get something for him before he inevitably moves on after the season.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

It is pretty obvious that Gonzo and Green were on roids at this point, I mean comparing their numbers during the roid days, to the rest of their careers...just a bit of a discrepancy.

 

[Dback Jon]

To the point then, would anyone take Gonzo??

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Jesus guys are we all just a little fatalistic on this side of the board.

All the Kool aid drinking and rose colored glasses can get tiresome from other Suns and Cardinal fans at times, but i feel like everyone on this side of the board is getting ready to hang themselves...

Look at the thread titles:

Will someone make a "dump Ortiz" site?

Release Terry Mulholland thread

Fire Bob Melvin Thread

Is Gonzo the worst LF'er ever?

Umm....How about a "How good will Cojack and Chad Tracy be?" thread or "Damn our bullpen is better than i thought" thread....

or even "who plays second base in the future" or "whats our projected lineup in 07"

The glass aint always half empty guys....And we are not getting rid of Gonzo so we have to come to grips with that. The fact is the majority of DBack fans (and those are the casual ones) are in love with Gonzo and there would be a tremendous backlash if he were traded. Only the diehards care if we play Gonzo or Quentin. And the facts are we ain't doing anything as a team this year anyway. So give Quentin some spot time behind Gonzo and Green, and let Luis fade into the dusk and accept a management position after this season...

This can't go on all season:

and heres a timely article refuting your point (although i am not going to sit here and act like hes Willie Mays or anything, but lets ease up)

Book gives Gonzo's 'D' good marks


Nick Piecoro
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 14, 2006 12:00 AM

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The court of public opinion typically isn't kind to Luis Gonzalez when the subject turns to his defensive abilities in left field. That's even after games like Wednesday night's, when Gonzalez cut down the Rockies' Danny Ardoin twice on the basepaths.

But Gonzalez seemed somewhat pleased when shown how he graded in a new book called The Fielding Bible.

According to the system used by author John Dewan's company, Baseball Info Solutions, Gonzalez has been baseball's 10th-best left fielder over the past three years.

"A lot of times I get knocked for my defense," Gonzalez said, "but I think if you look at my fielding percentage for my career, I cut balls down and try to get them in as quick as I can."

Dewan's system tracks much more than errors. Here's roughly how it works: Every ball hit in a major league game is logged based on its direction, distance, speed and type, meaning grounder or fly ball or line drive.

A computer determines how often a particular play is converted into an out. If a ball is converted into an out 26 percent of the time, a fielder who makes the play gets .74 of a point for it. If he doesn't make the play, he loses .26 of a point.

Over the past three seasons, Gonzalez got a plus-seven. Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford (plus-45) was the best left fielder, Boston's Manny Ramirez (minus-69) the worst.

Gonzalez's arm has never been a strength, even before he had surgery 20 months ago, and the book concurs, ranking his throwing 27th based on runners taking the extra base.




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[Arizona's Finest]

It is pretty obvious that Gonzo and Green were on roids at this point, I mean comparing their numbers during the roid days, to the rest of their careers...just a bit of a discrepancy.

I'm not going to refute Gonzos culpability because the only thing that makes me think he didnt do it is that he comes across as a stand up guy, Everything else (forearms included) point to use but really i have no idea.

But Shawn Green???

Have you ever watched him swing a bat? Have you seen his physique? His power comes from his swing quite obviously and to throw his name out there like that (or anyone like that) is pretty irresponsible. I know this is just a message board but you got to have a better argument than "Well her played well for five seasons and not as good before or after that..."

Ever heard heard of age being a facotr or a player being in his prime?

 

[ASUCHRIS]

You know, as annoying as it is to you that people are being negative about the D-Backs, that's how annoying it is to hear people stick up for some of the crap on this team. Joe G's dismantling of this team with terrible trades, compounded with even worse acquisitions put this team where we are today. Joe completely forgot what got us there, top tier pitching, and the obsession with Richie Sexson and Shawn Green were beyond comprehension. At least we still care about this team, attendance tells you how entertaining this group of players is. Thank God we have Byrnes and Rizzo to keep things together.

Gonzo is making 10 million a year, while screwing up in almost every big situation, and playing terrible defense. He was given a nice contract as a thank you for what he did during our prime days, but is certainly not worth what he makes. Your reference to that author is funny as well, because anyone who has watched Gonzo knows he has limited range, and no arm. He tries hard, sure, but he is not a good outfielder.

Shawn Green's acquisition and extension are even more puzzling, with our front office doing almost anything possible to acquire this guy. For what? To tie up another huge chunk of our precious funds in another over the hill corner outfielder, who is a below average fielder? Beyond a good four year stretch, his statistics have regressed toward the mean. Whether or not he was on roids, he makes far more than he was worth, and was a terrible signing.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Have you ever watched him swing a bat? Have you seen his physique? His power comes from his swing quite obviously and to throw his name out there like that (or anyone like that) is pretty irresponsible.

Thanks for the lesson, if I'm ever looking for some instruction on hitting, you're first on my list.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

There's just as much if not more reason to believe that his repeated shoulder problems have contributed to his slow swing as much as not juicing. Whether it was the juice or not, Green's bat has gotten terribly slow. And since he's always had a long swing, you can easily see why he's half the player he used to be.

As far as this board's negativity goes, well, it came along with the post-WS Joe Jr. era when most of us saw bleak times ahead and cried for the team to trade off it's vets and rebuild. I was an admittedly negative and pissed off fan for those few years. I know Chris such as myself sees a solid future for this team, but relics like Done-zo, Green, and Ortiz just remind us the stupidity and incompetence of the former regime and cause those old negative and angry feelings that we had back then to resurface.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I understand cynicism and can realize that many of the moves post World Series have been disappointing. I can also say that at the time, i was a big fan of the Sexson trade has i felt he was a legitimate bat. And i think everyone was in agreeance when he hit that bomb off the scoreboard at the stadium formely known as BOB. Some bad luck has hit us too.

I am actually very excited about Byrnes and i will give Moorad and Kendrick a chance to prove to me they are inept before i pile on. I think it was a mistake to let Backman go and Melvin has not proven to be the "brains" of all those Brenly years.

But i think we are on the right track and if we grouse about every thing this season that goes wrong, there will be something new wrong every week.

It's all good. I'll continue to come to this side of board in hopes reading good information and get an idea about the team since I dont get to watch them that often. I just think we should expect this because despite pre spring optimism, this is a rebuilding year. They are integrating these guys at a slow pace and Quentins time will come. ANd at that time Jackson and Tracy will be vets who can help with the chnages that come with playing every day.

The overrated Joe G's gone guys......