2010 in Review: Center Field

by Ryan on Nov 12, 2010 6:28 AM EST in Analysis

Michael Brantley filled in for Grady Sizemore in 2010, and may be back in center in 2011.

Posts in this series:

Team Offense	Team Pitching	Team Defense
Catcher	First Base	Second Base
Shortstop	Third Base	Designated Hitter
Left Field	Center Field	Right Field
Starting Pitching	Relief Pitching

Part I: Review

Grady Sizemore hit .211/.271/.289 in 140 plate appearances before going on the DL with a knee injury that would eventually require major surgery, ending his season. Trevor Crowe and Michael Brantley shared playing time the rest of the season.

Defense

More ugly numbers from UZR, especially for Crowe:

Name	Pos	Inn	ARM	DPR	RngR	ErrR	UZR	UZR/150
Trevor Crowe	CF	567	-2.7		-12	-0.9	-15.6	-34
Michael Brantley	CF	562	-1.3		-6.9	0.2	-8.1	-20.1
Grady Sizemore	CF	269	-1.3		0.8	0	-0.6	-0.6
Austin Kearns	CF	33	0		-1.4	0.1	-1.4	-42.2

I've never had any particular opinion on Crowe's defense, so I was rather shocked when I saw these numbers. In 2009, (193 inning) Crowe rated slightly negative, and I didn't see that much of a drop off in range. I would have been comfortable rating Trevor as a below-average center fielder, but not statuesque as these numbers indicate. I'm wondering if somehow the groundball-heavy pitching staff skewed these numbers (reducing the opportunities for outfield outs), the stringer was especially tough on Cleveland outfielders, or both.

Brantley's rating is at least somewhat plausible, as he also fared poorly in his brief time in center field in 2009.

Offense

As expected, Cleveland's center fielders finished at the bottom of the league in hitting:

Rk		G	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+	sOPS+
1	TOR	162	45	3	34	51	96	.276	.333	.519	.852	.278	121	130
2	CHW	162	33	3	24	44	107	.283	.336	.460	.796	.306	111	117
3	NYY	162	21	8	27	75	136	.249	.334	.448	.782	.279	98	113
4	LAA	162	32	4	22	59	118	.265	.335	.442	.777	.294	121	112
5	BAL	162	28	5	20	26	131	.286	.326	.440	.766	.332	117	109
6	OAK	162	33	7	11	50	110	.277	.328	.400	.728	.315	107	99
7	TBR	162	41	3	19	79	174	.230	.321	.403	.724	.290	96	98
8	DET	162	35	10	5	53	179	.284	.336	.385	.721	.373	93	98
9	KCR	162	28	8	11	62	127	.251	.320	.375	.695	.299	91	91
10	TEX	162	20	5	7	32	91	.283	.322	.369	.691	.324	83	90
11	BOS	162	34	5	14	51	148	.234	.301	.381	.682	.289	73	86
12	MIN	162	27	10	5	62	79	.261	.329	.353	.682	.289	80	88
13	SEA	162	25	3	15	53	150	.242	.298	.365	.664	.292	108	82
14	CLE	162	27	7	4	49	103	.239	.292	.316	.609	.275	74	68
	TOT	2268	429	81	218	746	1749	.262	.322	.403	.725	.303	98	98

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/12/2010.

Here's the grisly details:

Rk		G	PA ▾	AB	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+	sOPS+
1	Michael Brantley	63	297	273	7	3	3	19	29	.249	.296	.330	.626	.267	101	72
2	Trevor Crowe	67	294	271	14	2	1	19	38	.232	.288	.310	.598	.267	88	65
3	Grady Sizemore	32	139	127	6	2	0	9	34	.213	.273	.291	.565	.287	101	56
4	Austin Kearns	5	17	15	0	0	0	2	2	.400	.471	.400	.871	.462	136	143
	Team Total	162	747	686	27	7	4	49	103	.239	.292	.316	.609	.275	74	68

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/12/2010.

It's easy to forget that even before the knee injury, Grady was having an awful beginning to the season. It didn't get much better with Crowe or Brantley. Crowe was at his worst offensively when he played in center:

Trevor Crowe

Split	G	PA	AB	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	BAbip	tOPS+	sOPS+
as LF	47	166	155	9	1	1	8	29	.297	.335	.387	.722	.360	127	89
as CF	67	294	271	14	2	1	19	38	.232	.288	.310	.598	.267	88	65

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/12/2010.

Part II: Looking Towards 2011

Not Coming Back

Austin Kearns (Traded, 7-30-2010)

Please see the left field review.

Coming Back

Grady Sizemore (Under Contract through 2011)

Grady Sizemore is now 28 years, and should be coming into the prime of his career. But major injuries, especially the knee, may have cost Grady the prime of what looked to be an outstanding career. He played most of the 2009 season with a bad elbow, and he struggled to regain his hitting stroke before the knee injury. Now it's been two seasons since Sizemore was healthy, an eternity in a sport that demands repetition to be played successfully. And with the knee surgery, it's no longer a given that Sizemore will be able to play center field.

Michael Brantley (Pre-Arbitration) - 2 Option Years Remaining

Brantley is penciled in as the left fielder, assuming Sizemore is healthy enough to play in center. But there's a good chance that even if Grady is healthy enough to stay on the active roster, he'll see plenty of time in center, as the Indians are going to want to bring Grady back to everyday play slowly.

Trevor Crowe (Pre-Arbitration) - 1 Option Years Remaining

If Crowe was a marginal option as a good defender in left, what kind of option is he as (assuming that the UZR stats were really skewed) as a below-average center fielder? If he's the fourth outfielder in 2011, it'll only be because there were injuries.

Tweet Comment 35 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Crowe covered a lot of ground in center field, though most of it was not in the direction of the baseball.

by YoDaddyWags on Nov 12, 2010 7:11 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

I wasn’t that impressed with his range, but I did a double-take when I saw how bad UZR rated him. He can’t be that bad, right?

by Ryan on Nov 12, 2010 1:58 PM EST up reply actions

As the Crowe flies.

Not.

by emd2k3 on Nov 12, 2010 2:20 PM EST up reply actions

The routes that he takes to balls (when looked at from angles in the OF seats, both RF and LF) are atrocious. He usually starts in the wrong direction, then takes a route to the ball that could never be called the shortest distance between two points.

by The DiaTriber on Nov 12, 2010 2:40 PM EST up reply actions

Crowe really shouldn’t be on the roster.

by APV on Nov 12, 2010 9:34 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

With Sizemore out for most of the season and Brantley still underripe, not to mention the general rebuilding scheme, it was the perfect year to get a guy like Trevor Crowe upwards of 500 PA, find out how inadequate he really is.

Can’t help but mention, his 479 PA are more than Marte got in any two seasons of his career. Crowe’s two-year total PA are more than Marte’s four-year total. So, yes, Trevor Crowe has gotten twice the shot that Andy Marte ever did. There’s logic for you.

by Jay on Nov 12, 2010 12:22 PM EST up reply actions

Incidentally, Marte is 27 days older than Crowe.

by Jay on Nov 12, 2010 12:25 PM EST up reply actions

in doghouse years, that is like 12 years

by APV on Nov 12, 2010 12:26 PM EST up reply actions 5 recs

I had thought to make that comparison earlier when I posted, but didn’t have the horse lying around to beat

by APV on Nov 12, 2010 12:25 PM EST up reply actions

Or these defensive stats bear no resemblance to Crowe’s actual performance.

by elsandito on Nov 12, 2010 12:49 PM EST up reply actions

Whether it’s validation of the stats or pure coincidence, Crowe is a garbage defender with garbage defensive stats.

Come on, four billion!

by Joel D on Nov 12, 2010 7:46 PM EST up reply actions

-15.6? Ryan Garko probably had better stats in LF. At some point one has to scratch one’s head and ask if these numbers mean anything at all.

by elsandito on Nov 12, 2010 8:00 PM EST up reply actions

It’s a very small sample, so no, the numbers probably don’t mean much. It is very unlikely he could sustain such an atrocious rate over a whole season.

by Jay on Nov 12, 2010 10:36 PM EST up reply actions

Having said that, when a fringe player hits .200 for a month and a half, nobody speculates that batting average is totally ridiculous and measuring nothing.

by Jay on Nov 12, 2010 10:37 PM EST up reply actions

Well put.

by Jay on Nov 12, 2010 10:35 PM EST up reply actions

Have you seen Trevor Crowe play Mancala? Dude is amazing.

by emd2k3 on Nov 12, 2010 2:21 PM EST up reply actions

I use that game all the time at work. In fact you can say I get paid to crush children in Mancala matches.

by hans on Nov 12, 2010 3:46 PM EST up reply actions

Why is he still on the roster?

by cheech99 on Nov 12, 2010 9:13 PM EST up reply actions

Good question.

by Jay on Nov 12, 2010 10:37 PM EST up reply actions

Former first round pick.

At least Sowers and Huff put up some dominant numbers across multiple levels in the minor leagues for a continuous period of time. What has Trevor Crowe ever done?

by xrickx on Nov 12, 2010 11:50 PM EST up reply actions

I can’t believe the front office still, at this late date, has more emotionally invested in Crowe than what little they clearly have invested in Marte. If there’s one good thing about Marte’s handling, it shows that the front office is not particularly concerned with trying to save face on a major move. The Crisp-Marte deal was a much bigger deal than drafting Crowe.

by Jay on Nov 13, 2010 1:15 AM EST up reply actions

Re Sizemore: What I am unclear on is whether Sizemore was injured at the beginning of the season and attempted to play through it or whether there was some identifiable point/play during the season at which he became injured. Can anybody shed any light on this?

by CaptainPenny on Nov 12, 2010 9:59 PM EST reply actions

Injured diving back to the first base bag in a game in Baltimore, I think May 16th. Put on the DL a couple of days later.

by YoDaddyWags on Nov 12, 2010 10:33 PM EST up reply actions

But he may not have been entirely healthy before that point.

by Jay on Nov 12, 2010 10:37 PM EST up reply actions

His 560 OPS suggests as much.

by YoDaddyWags on Nov 12, 2010 10:49 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, I’d say that it does.

by Jay on Nov 12, 2010 11:41 PM EST up reply actions

We’d certainly hope it does.

Come on, four billion!

by Joel D on Nov 13, 2010 10:06 AM EST up reply actions

As I recall, he hurt it in Arizona in spring training.

by odradek on Nov 13, 2010 3:01 PM EST up reply actions

Sizemore initially hurt his knee during spring training but the 27-year-old played through the pain before aggravating the injury on May 16 against the Baltimore Orioles. Three days later he was put on the disabled list.

Here’s the Reuters link.

For some reason, I want to say I remember it happening in that end-of-Spring-Training exhibition against the Dodgers, but I can neither confirm nor deny that.

by The DiaTriber on Nov 13, 2010 3:23 PM EST up reply actions

Yes, I’ve referred to that link before as well. Also, don’t forget about Sizemore’s abdominal injury that occurred in ST in 2009 and bothered him the whole year. He has not been healthy at any point during the last 2 seasons.

by TribeJay on Nov 14, 2010 12:46 AM EST up reply actions

Elbow as well.

by odradek on Nov 14, 2010 9:47 PM EST up reply actions

I really hate the Dodgers.

by Jay on Nov 14, 2010 10:06 PM EST up reply actions

Don’t think of them as the Dodgers. Think of them as the No longer have Carlos Santanas

by APV on Nov 15, 2010 9:07 AM EST up reply actions

The Casey Blakes.

by odradek on Nov 15, 2010 6:17 PM EST up reply actions

I would venture to guess that Crowe misjudged about half the balls hit directly at him in CF. I thought he was better in left. That said, he can run and has a decent arm, but that’s the extent of his tools.

by TribeJay on Nov 14, 2010 12:42 AM EST reply actions