The only way really to upgrade at 2nd is to trade for Michael Young and stick him back at 2nd where he belongs.

No two ways about it, Ellis had a Belangeriffic season in '06.

A request for the AN Spork Legion: what do Ellis's defensive stats look like on the various arcance metrics? Might we even be overrating his defense as well?

The question is: Who would be better?

I LOVE Marco Scutaro! He exceeds expectaions all the time. He gets big hits. He's solid.

But, over the course of a season, I don't think Scutaro offers enough of an offensive upgrade over Ellis to justify the downgrade in D.

His defense is without peer, and I like his compact, yet still powerful swing, and how many pitches he typically sees.  I wouldn't turn down a team interested in him via trade, but I'm comfortable with him being back, and think he stands a good chance of being a .280/.360/.450 hitter over the course of a full season.  

Ellis has a career .746 OPS (by year: .753, .684, .861, .704) to Scutaro's .704 (by year: .690, .701, .747). Their bad years are about the same, but Ellis has that one excellent year mixed in as well. The only argument in favor of Scutaro here would be that his last year was better, and that his numbers have been going up. But trying to read trends like that into a couple years of data is exactly the kind of mistake that smart GMs avoid. Ellis is almost two years younger and has better career numbers, and is pretty clearly the better bet going forward.

In short, Ellis is certainly no superstar (and isn't going to become one) but even in one of his bad offensive years his defense makes him a solid contributor to a contending team. Sure, I'd love to have Brian Roberts or Chase Utley, but this is not a position we need to worry about.

But during the playoffs, I finally came to appreciate him. I always heard about how important his defense was, but I never really got it until I saw the big void without it. Maybe I'm being swayed by the small sample size of four ALCS games, but I think I'm sold on the defense argument now.

I wouldn't call him untradable, because no one is untradable. But he's only worth trading if some other team sufficiently values his defense, and I'm not sure they do.

That was obvious on 9/22 when they walked Swish, someone who has done nothing but K against K-Rod, to get to Scut, who has a history of HUGE Clutch hits for our team! I don't understand the mentality of other teams that overlook him in such a way. But it is this mental lapse that often leads to moments like the 22nd.

So the debate in my mind is, could this secret weapon nature that we have in Marco be just the ticket to his success? And if it is, I think we should all be ok with the "overlooked and dispossable" mentality. As long as Billy sees what is truly there, a secret weapon, then we have nothing to worry about.

As far as Ellis goes, he does not have that same flambouant, hyper, or loud personality that Scutaro often has. He is quiet and humble and is rather content contributing with little celebration. You never see him doing a Home Run cheer in the dug out. You never see him running onto the field and kissing Bobby when we win. (although, that would be hot!) He is just the kind of guy who is doing his job and doing it well, quietly!

And that is sort of the way he plays. You don't think of those big moments because HE didn't make a big deal out of it. Baltimore. That is what comes to mind when I think of big Ellis hits. Home Runs that gave us a lead. They have happened, those big Ellis moments are there, they just weren't greeted with huge celebrations and a chase around the infield by the entire team.

And sometimes that humble nature appeals to fans because he is the polar opposite of someone like Swisher who wears his heart on his sleeve and celebrates every tiny victory in the game. There is nothing wrong with either approach, but some people will gravitate one way, others more the other way. That is why a lot of people who like players like Ellis will call Swisher cocky, and people who like Swisher will often say players like Ellis or Chavy have no heart!

Different players appeal to different fans. Most hardcore fans like us on AN can see each player and their individual lights and appreciate them for those differences. Other less active fans don't really care. They just know they either like Ellis or they like Scutaro. End of story.

As far as their numbers are concerned, I really don't understand it myself. I think that Ellis started off this season so slowly that he really never had a real chance to catch up. I remember him saying once he wanted to turn the score board off when he came up to bat so he couldn't see his numbers. But he did heat up considerably near the end. And most people have very short term memories.

Scutaro was pretty hot all year. He had his slow moments, but it wasn't anything compared to Ellis' slow start. So when you have one player consistantly playing .266 ball and one player who started off playing .150 ball and ending .350 ball (ish! Not exact numbers!), people will gravitate toward the one who is playing HOT at the end, not consistant all season. And you throw in Elli's perfect Defense and you got something special going on in September. People don't see Scutaro's consistancy, they only see Elli's HOT streak.

Of course, that is just my theory. I love them both. I miss Bobby. But I am VERY glad we have had Scutaro filling in rather nicely!

"Kennedy, one of the elite options among free-agent second basemen this winter..."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/10312006/sports/mets/kennedy_intrigued_by_mets_mets_mark_hale.htm

It seems to me that we're jumping all over Ellis a little too fast.  I won't mention his excellent 2005, partly because it's been mentioned a lot already, and partly because he didn't get the AB's necessary for that .316 AVG to count in the league leader stats.

What I will say is that the numbers hide the fact that he got a little screwed in 2006.  He had a terrible April, and a below-average May, but he was showing signs of picking up when he broke his thumb.  Hence his early July, where he was trying to find his stroke again mid-season.

But something happened with Elly-- the same thing that always happens to the team at large: he picked it up after the All-Star break.  His hitting line is something can appreciate as A's fans: .284 in August and .295 in September, with an overall stat line of a .273 AVG, a .342 OBP, and a .787 OPS after the All-Star Game (just for comparison's sake, his pre-All-Star numbers were .219, .288, and .599).

Are those Hall of Fame numbers?  Heck nah.  But they're more than acceptable for a regular 2B with incredible D.

Is Ellis a .315 hitter or a .249 hitter?  Neither.  He's somewhere in between.  I don't see any reason to rule out a .270 year with homers in the mid 'teens.  Couple that with a Gold Glove and a low salary, and I say you gotta hang on to Ellis.

As for Crosby... let's just show him a little more patience than he does at the plate, eh?  He's still just a kid.

1. His defense is virtually flawless, in that he may or may not make a great play but he almost never makes a mistake. I mean that in terms of errors, and in terms of errors-of-judgment. Look at how many "unforced errors" the Tigers (heck, just their pitchers) made in the WS. Ellis would need 5 years to make that many mistakes.
2. "Career year" or not, Ellis has proven, conclusively, that he is capable of hitting .316 over a full season. Scutaro and Crosby have not proven that, Swisher and DJ have not proven that--in fact, those guys haven't really proven they are likely to hit .250 over any given full season.

Works for me!

I'm becoming very skeptical of Crosby, but not to the point where I'll call him Ben Grieve just yet.  

I hope he takes advantage of this offseason to improve, and studies lots of Derek Jeter video this offseason.  He has a similar body type, similar swing, yet vastly different results.  Of course, it's possible that the mental difference between the two is far greater than the physical difference...

It would be nice if the A's could play Scoot at 2B and Ellis at SS, because that would give Oakland solid D up the middle and reasonable offensive production. Too bad some asshole had to go and make that impossible by wrecking Ellis' throwing shoulder.