Article on Brian Dozier

[jimmer]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/brian-dozier-has-been-key-to-twins-surge/

 

An enjoyable read.

[DaveW]

That's pretty awesome he is number one in WAR over the last calendar year. While I am not sure he is the "best" 2B at this point, I think he is in the conversation for top 3, and certainly is top 5.

 

This quote made me happy as well:

Minnesota might not be as good as its current record suggests, but even if the Twins go two games under .500 in every month from June through August they’re going to be 70-65 after September 1 and still find themselves very much involved in what looks to be a crowded pennant race

 

Baring a complete meltdown, we will have fun baseball to watch into September (and at least football season happens then if the Twins miss the playoffs) Haven't had that in several years now.

[Mike Sixel]

Typical jimmer, posting to another positive article......there is also a less positive one by Cameron out there.

[jimmer]

 

 

This quote made me happy as well:

Minnesota might not be as good as its current record suggests, but even if the Twins go two games under .500 in every month from June through August they’re going to be 70-65 after September 1 and still find themselves very much involved in what looks to be a crowded pennant race

 

 

Since Fangraphs started doing BaseRuns in '02, no team has ever exceeded their BaseRuns expected winning percentage by more than 70 points. In fact, three times out of 390 team-seasons a team has managed to steal a dozen extra wins by stacking their events in the most optimal way possible. 

 

Right now we're exceeding it by 188 points.

 

I am really enjoying the ride for however long it lasts.

[jimmer]

 

Typical jimmer, posting to another positive article......there is also a less positive one by Cameron out there.

yeah, I'm not going to post that one.

[LimestoneBaggy]

 

yeah, I'm not going to post that one.

 

The other one does a nice job of explaining the negativity (perceived or otherwise). I would have posted it in the other thread, but as a habitual lurker, even I couldn't get through the whole thing.

[jimmer]

 

The other one does a nice job of explaining the negativity (perceived or otherwise). I would have posted it in the other thread, but as a habitual lurker, even I couldn't get through the whole thing.

I definitely read it.  I read most of what that site puts out. I didn't post it cause I knew what would happen.

[Linus]

Dozier has a high baseball IQ - I believe he is the type that could have a Plouffe like transformation in his approach at the plate if / when the league starts adjusting.  Frankly, I'm surprised the guy gets any fastballs anymore.

 

You might be able to win a few bar bets with "who's got the higher slugging percentage: Brian Dozier or Robby Cano".

 

Add in excellent fielding and baserunning and we have a ballplayer.

[gunnarthor]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/brian-dozier-has-been-key-to-twins-surge/

 

"Dozier is not generally regarded as one of the best second basemen in the game, but his play dictates otherwise. In alphabetical order, the top-10 second basemen by WAR over the last calendar year are as follows: Jose Altuve, Robinson Cano, Brian Dozier, Dee Gordon, Howie Kendrick, Ian Kinsler, Jason Kipnis, Joe Panik, Dustin Pedroia, and Ben Zobrist. Going based on the names, one might suspect Panik is last on the list in terms of WAR, and that would be correct. Altuve, Cano, Zobrist, and Pedroia all get a lot of notoriety. Kipnis and Gordon have gotten off to great starts while Kinsler and Kendrick have had solid careers. It probably should come as a surprise, then, that Brian Dozier tops the list."

 

Nice little article on Dozier and his approach at the plate.  I still think that his RH pull power is really rewarded by TF (and so will Sano's!) but his walk rates make him a pretty good bat. 

[jimmer]

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/18401-article-on-brian-dozier/?do=findComment&comment=346894

[stringer bell]

I've cast my ballots for the All-Star team and included Dozier and Plouffe.    While I can't argue that they are the best as their position so far this year (Kinsler and Josh Donaldson each have had monster years to date), I believe both are deserving of All-Star selection.  IMHO, Dozier was a borderline guy last year, especially with the game played at Target Field. 

 

I will repeat what I've said for the last two years--Dozier is one of the few players on the Twins that can consistently win a game with his legs, his arm or his bat. 

[JB_Iowa]

 

Thought that this thread was going to derail.  Then I read the Fangraphs article and realized the writer had his own derailment in the first paragraph.  Which is too bad since the info on Brian Dozier is kind of interesting.

 

I hadn't really noticed that he was "pull happy" although I did notice those balls going out to left field.  His ;line drive HRs into the left field stands at TF have been things of beauty as have his doubles off the wall.

 

The writer mentions his agressive approach but doesn't really note how aggressive Dozier has been in the early innings.  He has really been the sparkplug in early inning scoring.

 

[jimmer]

 

 

 

 

Thought that this thread was going to derail.  Then I read the Fangraphs article and realized the writer had his own derailment in the first paragraph.  Which is too bad since the info on Brian Dozier is kind of interesting.

 

I hadn't really noticed that he was "pull happy" although I did notice those balls going out to left field.  His ;line drive HRs into the left field stands at TF have been things of beauty as have his doubles off the wall.

 

The writer mentions his agressive approach but doesn't really note how aggressive Dozier has been in the early innings.  He has really been the sparkplug in early inning scoring.

 

I'm confused a bit by your post.  Do you believe he's not giving Dozier enough credit for the team's success?  Is he not praising Dozier enough?

[JB_Iowa]

 

I'm confused a bit by your post.  Do you believe he's not giving Dozier enough credit for the team's success?  Is he not praising Dozier enough?

 

No, I thought it was fine.  I just thought he could talk a little bit more about how aggressive Dozier has been.  To me, that is one of the major differences in the team's outcomes -- scoring early (and preferably often).  I know his main focus was on Dozier's "pull" statistics but to me his aggressiveness this season is a major part of his story.

[JB_Iowa]

And to interpret this paragraph for you:

 

Thought that this thread was going to derail.  Then I read the Fangraphs article and realized the writer had his own derailment in the first paragraph.  Which is too bad since the info on Brian Dozier is kind of interesting.

 

I do not believe that he needed to bring up  the Twins' ability to sustain their performance.  It did not add anything to the article and was a disservice to Brian Dozier.

 

It very well may have had the effect of turning off some Twins fans before they even got to the part on Dozier.  I consider that unfortunate.

[SwainZag]

Here's a question.  There were a big group of people who didn't care for the extension that Dozier got this offseason.  With him on pace to better his 5.1 WAR season from last year, that extension is looking better and better.  What would a player's 1st year of arbitration look like coming off 2 straight 5+ WAR seasons?  Especially playing in the Top 5 of players at his position?

[drjim]

 

Here's a question.  There were a big group of people who didn't care for the extension that Dozier got this offseason.  With him on pace to better his 5.1 WAR season from last year, that extension is looking better and better.  What would a player's 1st year of arbitration look like coming off 2 straight 5+ WAR seasons?  Especially playing in the Top 5 of players at his position?

 

It would certainly be higher, and would also make the subsequent seasons all that much more expensive too.

 

I thought it was a good extension for both sides, and I'm not too upset that the Twins didn't buy out the post age 32 seasons. Twins are going to capture his prime for a great discount. Key is that they use these savings on something else valuable.

[SwainZag]

 

It would certainly be higher, and would also make the subsequent seasons all that much more expensive too.

 

I thought it was a good extension for both sides, and I'm not too upset that the Twins didn't buy out the post age 32 seasons. Twins are going to capture his prime for a great discount. Key is that they use these savings on something else valuable.

 

I liked the extension, but certainly saw the downside of it, especially if last year was going to be an outlier for him.  Hopefully he can maintain into the 2nd half of the season this year.  His power really took a bump down last year in the 2nd half.

[gunnarthor]

Whoops, my bad.  Sorry Jimmer

[Willihammer]

No, I thought it was fine. I just thought he could talk a little bit more about how aggressive Dozier has been. To me, that is one of the major differences in the team's outcomes -- scoring early (and preferably often). I know his main focus was on Dozier's "pull" statistics but to me his aggressiveness this season is a major part of his story.

That article was written already, by Souhan last week, linked to in the fg piece.

[jimmer]

 

And to interpret this paragraph for you:

 

Thought that this thread was going to derail.  Then I read the Fangraphs article and realized the writer had his own derailment in the first paragraph.  Which is too bad since the info on Brian Dozier is kind of interesting.

 

I do not believe that he needed to bring up  the Twins' ability to sustain their performance.  It did not add anything to the article and was a disservice to Brian Dozier.

 

It very well may have had the effect of turning off some Twins fans before they even got to the part on Dozier.  I consider that unfortunate.

I think most of the people who read Fangraphs on any kind of regular basis wouldn't have been surprised by the info there, nor would have gotten upset about it, nor would have let it derail the main part of the story for them. Fangraphs isn't the kind of site.  That's more ESPN and MLB dot com territory.

[jimmer]

 

Whoops, my bad.  Sorry Jimmer

No biggy.  It's all good :-)

[h2oface]

One thing I wish Dozier would brush up on is the art of the tag. He reaches for the runner on steals and taking throws from the outfield as they are sliding into second. This is instead of bringing his glove down in front of the base. He will reach up the the body and have his glove too high, and the foot or hand can touch the base before the tag, even though he had the ball in plenty of time. Also, he likes to raise the glove with the ball in it up in the air right after he tags, instead of keep the glove on the player until the player stops. Yesterday was a great example. The call wasn't overturned, but the runner slid off the base during the silde, and Dozier was already raising his glove in the air to try to influence the umpire, instead of keeping the glove on the runner just in case. With the replay, the trying to influence the umpire with confidence is not going to help. 

[jimmer]

 

Here's a question.  There were a big group of people who didn't care for the extension that Dozier got this offseason.  With him on pace to better his 5.1 WAR season from last year, that extension is looking better and better.  What would a player's 1st year of arbitration look like coming off 2 straight 5+ WAR seasons?  Especially playing in the Top 5 of players at his position?

I said plenty of times we got a bargain with his contract.  Still think that.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Here's a question.  There were a big group of people who didn't care for the extension that Dozier got this offseason.  With him on pace to better his 5.1 WAR season from last year, that extension is looking better and better.  What would a player's 1st year of arbitration look like coming off 2 straight 5+ WAR seasons?  Especially playing in the Top 5 of players at his position?

As someone who was pretty neutral on the contract, does a few million bucks really matter to the Twins at this point? The deal looks good now but I'm still not sure it matters that much. More than anything, I was happy for Brian and thought the deal sent a good message to the clubhouse: perform and you'll get paid.

[drivlikejehu]

The complaint about the contract was that the Twins got so little upside from it - the guaranteed money should have come with an option year or two. It wasn't an anti-Dozier complaint at all, in fact it was the exact opposite of that.

[TheLeviathan]

 

As someone who was pretty neutral on the contract, does a few million bucks really matter to the Twins at this point? The deal looks good now but I'm still not sure it matters that much. More than anything, I was happy for Brian and thought the deal sent a good message to the clubhouse: perform and you'll get paid.

 

Right, the money the Twins are paying Brian is likely what they would have paid him anyway, regardless of his performance.  How much of a bargain it is will likely be pretty minimal in the long run.

 

So, for me, it's pretty inconsequential to his success.  But it's nice to see their confidence being rewarded with Dozier's play.