Author Topic: O-Dog (Orlando Hudson) (Read 32489 times)

Skinz72 · « **on:** January 08, 2010, 11:01:09 am »

From SI - an article by Jon Heyman about the most coveted & available free agents (emphasis mine)

3. Orlando Hudson. The Mets have spent the better part of the winter trying to unload Luis Castillo, but not because they despise Castillo but rather because they love the O-Dog. Hudson brings just the sort of upbeat demeanor that the Mets need. However, the Mets have basically given up hope of unloading Castillo. There was discussion of a Castillo-for-Mike Lowell swap, but Mets people are leery of Lowell's hip and thumb issues, and it's hard to see why that deal would appeal to Boston, anyway. Assuming the Mets are stuck with Castillo, Hudson's market could be as weak as it was last year. The Nationals have shown some interest, and while he managed to avoid them last year, he might not be able to do so again. He would probably take the $8 million he made last year but may again have to settle for a deal in which half is guaranteed and half has to be earned via incentives.

Link:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jon_heyman/01/06/heyman.free.agents/index.html

Obed_Marsh · « **Reply #1 on:** January 08, 2010, 11:24:51 am »

Jon Heyman loves us.

KnorrForYourMoney · « **Reply #2 on:** January 08, 2010, 02:51:07 pm »

Quote from: Obed_Marsh on January 08, 2010, 11:24:51 am

Jon Heyman loves us.

See my avatar.

PANatsFan · « **Reply #3 on:** January 09, 2010, 09:15:44 am »

What a maroon. I'm sure he loved playing on the Dodgers where they benched him for Belliard as soon as they could.

imref · « **Reply #4 on:** January 11, 2010, 02:58:13 pm »

so we get the guy who lost his job to Belliard? wonderful

tomterp · « **Reply #5 on:** January 11, 2010, 04:01:28 pm »

Quote from: imref on January 11, 2010, 02:58:13 pm

so we get the guy who lost his job to Belliard? wonderful

A couple of comments from John Perrotto, Baseball Prospectus:

Quote

Orlando Hudson, 2B (6.1): It certainly would be understandable if the O-Dog developed a complex. He had to wait until late in the offseason to sign a one-year contract with the Dodgers last season, and he certainly proved he was worth every bit of his $3.3 million salary. However, manager Joe Torre benched Hudson in favor of the pedestrian Ronnie Belliard in the postseason. Now Hudson is again having a hard time finding a deal to his liking.

The Tigers and Twins have recently been mentioned as possibilities, and the Mets would love to sign him, but they need to find a taker for second baseman Luis Castillo. The defense-obsessed Mariners are also believed to have interest; they would move Jose Lopez to third base to open up a spot for Hudson.

It's understandable to me why Belliard played, he got red hot with the bat for 6 weeks or so, as he is prone to do. He had just started to wake up here when he was dealt. THey just rode the hot bat as far as they could, but that doesn't by any means mean that Belliard is a better player than Hudson.

DPMOmaha · « **Reply #6 on:** January 11, 2010, 04:10:09 pm »

Didn't he get hurt in September too, necessitating the move for Belliard in the first place?

BerkeleyNat · « **Reply #7 on:** January 11, 2010, 04:12:23 pm »

Screw Heyman. Too bad Hudson can't play for the Mets. That team is loaded and will make another run at the postseason. Seriously though, I love how these sportswriters rag on us, but think that playing for the Mets would be so much better. I think that the Nationals are in much better shape right now than the Mets and the future looks so much better for us. I wonder if Heyman thought that the Jason Bay signing was a good one?

PANatsFan · « **Reply #8 on:** January 11, 2010, 05:50:58 pm »

Quote from: tomterp on January 11, 2010, 04:01:28 pm

THey just rode the hot bat as far as they could, but that doesn't by any means mean that Belliard is a better player than Hudson.

It means that the team can do a lot better than Hudson, though. Swing a trade, Rizzo!

I can Throw · « **Reply #9 on:** January 11, 2010, 05:54:35 pm »

I still want Jed Lowry. Find a way.

amanuel · « **Reply #10 on:** January 11, 2010, 05:55:16 pm »

Quote

MLB.com - The Nationals are looking for a second baseman, but free-agent Orlando Hudson may be too expensive.

Washington genernal manager Mike Rizzo wasn't available for comment on Hudson, or any other free agent, over the weekend.

According to baseball sources, Hudson is asking for too much money.

Hes asking for too much money

sportsfan882 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 11, 2010, 05:57:01 pm »

Too much money? He should only expect a couple million.

I can Throw · « **Reply #12 on:** January 11, 2010, 05:58:18 pm »

Quote from: sportsfan882 on January 11, 2010, 05:57:01 pm

Too much money? He should only expect a couple million.

I could see 3 million.

tomterp · « **Reply #13 on:** January 11, 2010, 06:53:58 pm »

Quote from: sportsfan882 on January 11, 2010, 05:57:01 pm

Too much money? He should only expect a couple million.

Maybe he wants to play checkers with Odalis Perez this offseason.

NatsNut · « **Reply #14 on:** January 11, 2010, 07:07:51 pm »

Don't know too much about Hudson. Is he a prima donna or entitled vet or something?

tomterp · « **Reply #15 on:** January 11, 2010, 07:13:20 pm »

Quote from: NatsNut on January 11, 2010, 07:07:51 pm

Don't know too much about Hudson. Is he a prima donna or entitled vet or something?

Nah, he's always been a good player, but had a serious injury a couple of years ago, and has not yet adjusted his expectations down to what the market will bear.

Odalis Perez was both those things you cite.

PANatsFan · « **Reply #16 on:** January 11, 2010, 07:28:47 pm »

Hudson's UZR for 2008 and 2009 was not good:

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=2b&stats=fld&lg=nl&qual=y&type=0&season=2009&month=0

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=2b&stats=fld&lg=nl&qual=y&type=0&season=2008&month=0

Unfortunately, FLop is the best choice out there.

The Chief · « **Reply #17 on:** January 11, 2010, 07:35:11 pm »

Quote from: PANatsFan on January 11, 2010, 07:28:47 pm

Unfortunately, FLop is the best choice out there.

He's not a choice at all for us, and even if he were, he wouldn't be the best.

houston-nat · « **Reply #18 on:** January 12, 2010, 01:16:58 am »

Yeah, I'm worried Hudson's defense is subpar.

PANatsFan · « **Reply #19 on:** January 12, 2010, 03:14:29 am »

Quote from: Dunnkey on January 11, 2010, 07:35:11 pm

He's not a choice at all for us, and even if he were, he wouldn't be the best.

Look at the defense numbers the past two years. Also, his hitting has really improved since he's begun trying to make his bat hit the ball.

If they could delete the jerkass part of his brain, he's the perfect choice.

tomterp · « **Reply #20 on:** January 12, 2010, 08:21:40 am »

Both Hudson and Phillips had very solid offensive numbers, as judged by BP's VORP stat.

Here's a block of 2nd basemen that have been in discussion off and on here. RANKING BY VORP

# NAME TEAM POS LG YEAR PA PA% AVG OBP SLG SB CS MLVr PMLVr VORPr MLV PMLV VORP
9. Orlando Hudson LAN 2b NL 2009 631 9.9% .283 .357 .417 8 1 .088 0.060 0.191 12.7 8.7 27.6
10. Dan Uggla FLO 2b NL 2009 668 10.6% .243 .354 .459 2 1 .088 0.059 0.179 13.6 9.1 27.6
11. Martin Prado ATL 2b NL 2009 503 7.9% .307 .358 .464 1 3 .170 0.120 0.231 19.7 13.9 26.7
12. Brandon Phillips CIN 2b NL 2009 644 10.4% .276 .329 .447 25 9 .064 0.036 0.168 9.7 5.4 25.6
13. Skip Schumaker SLN 2b NL 2009 586 9.5% .303 .364 .393 2 2 .081 0.054 0.165 11.2 7.5 22.9
14. Maicer Izturis ANA 2b AL 2009 437 6.9% .300 .359 .434 13 5 .066 0.091 0.221 6.7 9.2 22.3
15. Luis Castillo NYN 2b NL 2009 580 9.4% .302 .387 .346 20 6 .050 0.023 0.159 6.9 3.2 21.8
16. Felipe Lopez MIL 2b NL 2009 297 4.7% .320 .407 .448 0 3 .239 0.212 0.304 16.4 14.6 20.9

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #21 on:** January 12, 2010, 09:22:50 am »

Maybe I'm nuts, but with Desmond, Espinosa, and Kobernus in the system, Harris and Guzman under contract for another year, I'm just not sure signing a second baseman at $8m+ that Hudson is likely to get makes that much sense. If he goes much cheaper than that, I'd expect Minnesota or possibly Seattle to grab him.

As for his defense, while UZR has not been kind to him since he left Toronto, how have other measures, like +/- or PMR been (the stuff that requires a BP subscription)? do they also show a decline?

Tom - is VORP just an offense stat? WAR is both O and D.

Minty Fresh · « **Reply #22 on:** January 12, 2010, 09:49:02 am »

Quote from: PANatsFan on January 11, 2010, 07:28:47 pm

Unfortunately, FLop is the best choice out there.

I said the same thing last year. He's the best player available but he's got so much baggage. Any chance he has a change of attitude if we can sign him for good money?

tomterp · « **Reply #23 on:** January 12, 2010, 09:51:03 am »

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on January 12, 2010, 09:22:50 am

Tom - is VORP just an offense stat? WAR is both O and D.

Pure, unadulterated, 100% offense.

It shows however that all those guys are better than what we had last year, which was below replacement level. (from memory)

The Chief · « **Reply #24 on:** January 12, 2010, 09:55:14 am »

Quote from: PANatsFan on January 12, 2010, 03:14:29 am

Look at the defense numbers the past two years. Also, his hitting has really improved since he's begun trying to make his bat hit the ball.

If they could delete the jerkass part of his brain, he's the perfect choice.

You missed the message behind my message. Dude was a slacker and a jerk when he was here, and there is zero reason to expect that would change permanently if we brought him back.

Quote from: Minty Fresh on January 12, 2010, 09:49:02 am

I said the same thing last year. He's the best player available but he's got so much baggage. Any chance he has a change of attitude if we can sign him for good money?

No. Why would you expect a sudden dramatic attitude shift from a guy who has a consistent documented history of attitude/work ethic problems?

I can't remember who said it but I think we should just sign a defensive specialist (not Lopez) and consider any offense we get out of him a bonus.