Jeter, Teixeira take home Gold Gloves

I’m happy that Jeter and Tex received the GGs, even though they didn’t really deserve them.

Is the GG for pitchers basically chosen randomly out of a hat?

Well UZR/150 doesn’t really meassure the value of a 1B, like it does for other positions. For 1B, I think ERROR Runs Above Average is a more important stat as it shows more about how they handle throws or not IMO.

Tex had a better year than Youk, there, but Morneau had a better UZR/150 and Error score, so he probably deserved it the most, although him missing time at the end of the year might have hurt him I guess in the eyes of the writers.

For SS, I think Izturis deserved it more than anyone, although Jeter was close. Izturis had the higher UZR/150 and had a positive error score as well. Andrus had a lower UZR score, but also had a negative Error score, while Jeter had the second highest behind Aybar (who had a lower UZR than Jeter).

So if we were going by metrics, I’d say Morneau and Izturis were the ones that deserved it, albeit, Izturis didn’t play as many games, but atleast these were close enough that there shouldn’t be THAT much of an outrage.

Dammit, why can’t they squeeze out a Gold Glove for Jorge. I mean, he obviously doesn’t “deserve” one, but that doesn’t seem to be part of the equation anyway. Just a little Gold Glove to say, “Ya know Jorge, you’ve hit like a solid first baseman for over a decade now, have a gold glove.”

Jackasses.

i think Robby Cano deserved a gold glove over Polanco, but its great for Tex and Jeter to win.

It never ceases to amaze me that people are willing to put so much credence in a subjective fielding formula like UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), developed by one guy, Mitchel Lichtman.

I don’t deny that there is some benefit to trying to rate a fielder’s range and factor that into his overall defensive performance. But like all defensive statistical measurements, UZR is highly subjective and therefore subject to many caveats and qualifications. (Fielding percentage is also very subjective, since it’s based on “errors,” a wildly subjective statistic if you pay attention to what some official scorers won’t call an error.)

This overblown UZR formula has led otherwise sensible people to actually suggest Derek Jeter is a poor fielder, since before this year he’s had a relatively low UZR rating.

How about just watching the player play? Every judgment on a fielder’s performance is somewhat subjective (well, except maybe for judgments about Jason Giambi). But I think Jeter is still an excellent defensive shortstop. Jeter rarely drops the balls he gets to, he throws accurately (and has gotten more accurate over time), and he’s a superb decision maker. And his range is a lot better than he’s given credit for in some circles.

While I might not see every game played by every shortstop in the American League, Jeter looks pretty damned deserving of the Gold Glove award from what I’ve seen. But don’t take my word for it. The Gold Glove is awarded by the votes of each league’s managers and coaches. The guys in the dugouts get to see everyone play, multiple times. I think they should have a pretty good idea who the best fielder is at each position.

And that’s without looking up the player’s “UZR.”