Beat reporter Jordan Bastian answers fans' questions in his latest Inbox. | indians.com: News
Among the usual questions in Jordan Bastian's inbox, this one stuck out:
While I wasn't expecting Asdrubal Cabrera to win the Gold Glove this year, I don't understand how his fielding stat of UZR is so low? We all saw many jaw-dropping plays from him this season. How accurate is UZR?
-- Dan O., North Olmsted, OhioIn a discussion with local media at the end of this past season, Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said UZR is one of the best publicly-available defensive metrics. Cabrera made some amazing plays this year, but he rated last in UZR among American League shortstops for 2011. That said, the Indians were plenty happy with Cabrera's season -- both defensively and offensively.
Cabrera was rated by UZR at -11.8 in 2011, which was the worst rating for a starting AL shortstop. The Range component was the main driver of the poor rating, while the Error and Double Play components were either slightly negative or positive. So the real question is whether Asdrubal has the range to play shortstop, at least compared to his peers. My amateur opinion is that he shouldn't have been a Gold Glove finalist, but also that he's still adequate as a shortstop, especially given his contributions on offense and on the bases. The only other option to play shortstop on the roster in Jason Donald, and I don't think he's any better than Cabrera.
AP source: MLB players, owners close in on deal - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
Who would ever have thought that MLB would have the best labor relations of the four major sports? If the CBA is agreed to by the December 11th deadline, that would mean at least 20 years of labor peace, something unthinkable during the 80s and 90s.
The major hurdle cleared on Monday was the imposition of spending caps on bonuses. In exchange for removing draft pick compensation for free agents, the MLBPA has reportedly agree to a quasi-hard cap on bonuses for draft picks. The new cap would not specify any individual bonus caps, but would cap the overall bonuses for players selected within the first 10 rounds. If a club exceeded this cap, penalties ranging from a monetary to a draft penalty would be incurred.
Rodriguez managed the Marlins in 2010 and 2011. The Tribe's Carolina League affiliate will be moving to Zebulon, North Carolina for the 2012 season.