Yuniesky Betancourt Is Doing Really Well

by Jeff Sullivan on Apr 22, 2009 10:46 AM PDT in The More You Know Comment 55 comments

Be you warned, for here there be .gifs.

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I'd say he's doing pretty poorly.

It’s almost like you’re being sarcastic.

by Decatur on Apr 22, 2009 10:50 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yuni makes Jeter look like Ozzie.

And I’m not even talking about Guillen.

by PissedMick on Apr 22, 2009 10:51 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

...

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Apr 22, 2009 12:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You... yer a bunch of bloody magicians.

Fans are typically idiots.

by The Typical Idiot Fan on Apr 22, 2009 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Another good side-by-side would be Bartlett's play up the middle last night.

Beltre smoked a ball over the 2B bag and Bartlett still ranged over and threw him out. But these two gifs you present certainly tell the real story of how far Yuni has fallen defensively. It makes me sick to watch plays like this. Cedeno needs to begin taking time away. And I would argue Cedeno’s bat is better, too.

by Wilder. on Apr 22, 2009 11:15 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That's Washburn's fault for not getting a K.

Yuni’s magical combination of bad positioning and skulking is despicable.

by abender20 on Apr 22, 2009 11:22 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm usually not that big into the

“OMG Yuni isn’t trying hard!” argument because I have no opinion nor insight into how hard Yuni is actually trying, but doesn’t it look like Yuni could have laid out for that ball and maybe got a glove on it? I understand when a 3B gives up on a ball that is absolutely scorched 2 feet to their left, but that was not a hard hit ball at all.

by Zwakamatsu on Apr 22, 2009 11:26 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

My five-year-old gets to the one on the left.

And I’m only being slightly sarcastic.

Throw the snacks in the bag and I'm ghost like Swayze!
Preserved In All His Greatness - R.I.P. The Reignman 1989 to 1997

by JLProck on Apr 22, 2009 11:26 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

My other question is this?

Why the hell is Yuni so shaded to third base when we have The Beltre over there?

Throw the snacks in the bag and I'm ghost like Swayze!
Preserved In All His Greatness - R.I.P. The Reignman 1989 to 1997

by JLProck on Apr 22, 2009 11:27 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yuni and Kapler don't trust their teammates

that’s why

by JBell523 on Apr 22, 2009 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You don't know how long it took me to find a good Jeter .gif

by Jeff Sullivan on Apr 22, 2009 11:28 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You mean...

One without him jumping up and spinning in the air?

by SebastianPruiti on Apr 22, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

My hypothesis?

As a child he wanted to be a Ballarino but his father forced him into Baseball.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Apr 22, 2009 5:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bigger!

My ancient eyes can’t handle watching video on a postage stamp…

This signature space for rent.

by PositivePaul on Apr 22, 2009 12:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Write mlb to offer the old format again

by JI on Apr 22, 2009 1:15 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That Burrell play is far worse.

It’s more slowly hit, and it actually bounces off the side of the mound TOWARD Yuni.

Was he giving Beltre highlights? Was he hanging out on a cruise ship dock? Where the hell was he?

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Apr 22, 2009 12:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree.

I can’t figure out for the life of me why he is positioning himself to far towards third. It almost looks like he is avoiding having to make plays up the middle for some reason.

"Fights begin, finger prints are took, days is lost, bail is made, court dates are ignored, cycle is repeated."

by Thingray on Apr 22, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He just hates Ichiro so much he tries to stay as far from him as possible at all times.

Jose Lopez roxxorz my boxxorz.
54!

by joof on Apr 22, 2009 1:28 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

The question is...

Is it really a matter of poor skills on Yuni’s part if it was just a matter of positioning?
It looks like (in both of these gifs) he had a huge amount of ground to cover to get back to these balls. It seems likely that Yuni isn’t playing way into the whole on his own initiative. I think defensive alignment is something coaches have to bear the responsibility for.

by johnbai on Apr 22, 2009 1:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

In one of those gifs 'he' is Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter has no range.

by Graham on Apr 22, 2009 1:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh jeez

I didn’t even notice… I could barely make out anything on the screen.

by johnbai on Apr 22, 2009 5:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would say it's both

He’s definitely less agile than he used to be.

by Jeff Sullivan on Apr 22, 2009 1:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Look at Yuni's Batting Average

That’s why he’s in the lineup.

by deeznutz on Apr 22, 2009 1:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yuni has historically been a poor hitter and I doubt they are keeping him in there because they think he's a good hitter.

by JI on Apr 22, 2009 1:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Whoa

That’s crazy. Thank you. Where do you find things like batting average?

by Graham on Apr 22, 2009 1:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pretty solid isolated discipline.

---
Juuuust a bit outside!!
http://www.rightfieldbleachers.com

by Jack Moore on Apr 22, 2009 2:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I do really appreciate the traditional stats being listed. Very conveniant when you're still feeling your way with the more advanced stats.

by Kermit. on Apr 22, 2009 5:17 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I couldnt agree more.

Im a n00b, but i love the site!!! …be nice.

by Max Bailey on Apr 22, 2009 6:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

This may be interpreted in two ways.

1. “Yuniesky Betancourt’s high batting average means the media will jump all over Wak if he benches Yuni, however atrocious Yuni’s defense and however hollow his batting average (which is an extremely poor stat for evaluating a players offensive contribution.”

2. “Yuni’s a great hitter because he’s hitting over .300. You are silly for wanting to bench him. Defense doesn’t matter because you can’t win if you don’t score runs.”

Which one comes closest to the mark, Mr. Nutz?

by Decatur on Apr 22, 2009 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

First, I'm not supporting Yuni in the lineup.

Second, the point of my post was to put, admittedly, very simply why even after Yuni is so terrible he keeps getting the start at SS when there is an easy replacement on the bench in Cedeno. And when you consider that only two people on the entire M’s roster hit above .300 (and their names are not Ichiro or Beltre), the bigger concern for the team as a whole is not Yuni’s defense but rather the lack of runs produced by the offense. It would seem Wak is sticking with Yuni because he’s hitting right now. Why bench a guy who’s hitting when the rest of the offense is going dormant? I would be willing to bet that if Yuni were hitting .250 or something he would be benched much more than he is now.

by deeznutz on Apr 22, 2009 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs

I agree that this is the most likely thought process, but it's still dumb.

by acblue on Apr 22, 2009 3:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I rec'd this just because it was a way more lucid response then I was expecting.

Jose Lopez roxxorz my boxxorz.
54!

by joof on Apr 22, 2009 4:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well said. Welcome to Lookout Landing, deez.

by Decatur on Apr 22, 2009 4:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Although that's a fair reason.

I don’t think that’s THE reason Yuni’s still in the lineup. I mentioned not too long ago that I wasn’t surprised to see Yuni still in the lineup because there was no real indication that they were going to take action against him. The new staff is still working with him so he’s going to get some more leeway. Plus, his errors were made during a game where Wak says the overall team focus was disappointing.

The staff knows what they have in Yuni. They’re going to do as much as they can before they start taking drastic measures.

by ThundaPC on Apr 22, 2009 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was saying this same thing yesterday

And I think the staff is making the correct decision.

by sammy on Apr 22, 2009 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I remember an interview in which Wak said:

he’ll give Yuni some lattitude to do it his way… but if he struggles, he’ll need to try being more patient/selective at the plate or else ride the bench. Since Yuni is batting .326 (even with an OBP of… also .326) Wak is probably going to back off and give him credit for being a productive bat. Wak has to pick his battles… and he’s going to win this one if he waits until Yuni is hitting .280 (with a .280 OBP)

by johnbai on Apr 22, 2009 5:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wait a minute, "extremely poor?"

I understand that there are much better ways to evaluate a hitter, but to say that batting average shouldn’t be factored into whether a player starts seems a bit much.

Fear the NPE

by thewyrm on Apr 22, 2009 5:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

At one point this year Junior was hitting something like .180/.400/.450

Should we have benched him?

by Graham on Apr 22, 2009 5:36 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

How many strikeouts did he have?

St. Louis Cardinals... defying win expectancy since 2008

by vivaelpujols on Apr 22, 2009 10:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Yuni continues to put up a .330 wOBA, he can't be that bad, right?

by seattlebruin on Apr 22, 2009 1:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Well, if he continues to do so...

then, yeah, he’s a below average defender at a premium position who can hit like an average MLB player, which makes him a +2-3 wins above replacement player. But, and this is the really important part, he will not continue to wOBA .330, and our point is merely academic.

by philosofool on Apr 22, 2009 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think +2 to +3 at .330 wOBA is generous, isn't it?

if his defense is UZR 150 -15 or so, like last year, that makes him a +1 player, I think.

by Decatur on Apr 22, 2009 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Average hitter at SS gives...

0 runs for hitting, 7.5 runs for position, and 20 runs for replacement

0 UZR = +2.75 wins
-7.5 UZR = +2 wins
-15 UZR = +1.25 wins

---
Juuuust a bit outside!!
http://www.rightfieldbleachers.com

by Jack Moore on Apr 22, 2009 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

by Goose on Apr 22, 2009 2:11 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yuni reminds me of Roger Dorn in Major League

Lou Brown: Come on Dorn, get in front of the damn ball! Don’t give me this “olé” bullshit!

by Heydude on Apr 22, 2009 3:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This makes me think of Yuni, from the google ads:

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Takes some real Gumps to drag an average down that far.

by Jordan of Boise on Apr 22, 2009 5:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs