09-05-2011, 05:50 PM
Not a trade mod, but I noticed something that has yet to be brought up.
How about the fact that Texas has Bruce Withrow on the bench? He's respectable defensively and can play 3B. In about a half season's work last season he posted good numbers. And I would have to say Texas' assessment of Cobb being a good defender is anything but true. Sure he doesn't make many errors but he has a subpar arm and very poor range.
Next, I would question how good Cobb can be offensively. Contact doesn't equal Batting Average. Have a look at what 2B Ken Smith (now on OAK, I believe) and my current 1B Mike Chitty have as their AVG and Contact ratings. Smith has a much better contact rating, yet came in around a .260 average in COL. In Chitty's time here he's been about a .270 hitter. The reason being is that Smith is about a 55 K guy while Chitty will K around 125 times in a full season. Smith is well above average at avoiding strikeouts (improving contact) while Chitty is below average when it comes to fending off the strike out. I would estimate Smith's true contact to be about 76 while Chitty's true contact is about 80.
When looking at Cobb, he's probably about a 60 K guy per season. This too is well above average at avoiding strikeouts, which means he won't hit for what his contact rating might suggest. A 91 Contact is usually around a .305 hitter, but I wouldn't think he'd be able to consistently hit over .290 unless he's in a hitter's park.
How about the fact that Texas has Bruce Withrow on the bench? He's respectable defensively and can play 3B. In about a half season's work last season he posted good numbers. And I would have to say Texas' assessment of Cobb being a good defender is anything but true. Sure he doesn't make many errors but he has a subpar arm and very poor range.
Next, I would question how good Cobb can be offensively. Contact doesn't equal Batting Average. Have a look at what 2B Ken Smith (now on OAK, I believe) and my current 1B Mike Chitty have as their AVG and Contact ratings. Smith has a much better contact rating, yet came in around a .260 average in COL. In Chitty's time here he's been about a .270 hitter. The reason being is that Smith is about a 55 K guy while Chitty will K around 125 times in a full season. Smith is well above average at avoiding strikeouts (improving contact) while Chitty is below average when it comes to fending off the strike out. I would estimate Smith's true contact to be about 76 while Chitty's true contact is about 80.
When looking at Cobb, he's probably about a 60 K guy per season. This too is well above average at avoiding strikeouts, which means he won't hit for what his contact rating might suggest. A 91 Contact is usually around a .305 hitter, but I wouldn't think he'd be able to consistently hit over .290 unless he's in a hitter's park.
Cleveland Record: 5631-4946 (.532) [2054-2071, 2083-2104, 2110-2135]
AL Post: 16 (ALC), 11 (WC) - ALDS Win: 12 - ALCS Champ: 7 - WS Champ: 4
ALW: Mariners + Angels Record: 1072-864 (.554) [2042-2048, 2105-2110]
AL Post: 3 (ALW), 4 (WC) - ALDS Win: 3 - ALCS Champ: 1 - WS Champ: 1
NLW: Rockies + Padres Record: 3230-2753 (.540) [2017-2042, 2072-2082]
NL Post: 18 (NLW), 4 (WC) - NLDS Win: 7 - NLCS Champ: 4 - WS Champ: 0