baseball-reference has this stat measuring the percentage of times a baserunner takes the extra base on a single or a double. Bonifacio ranks 5th in the NL. He's 2nd excluding Colorado players who have a much easier time taking extra bases because there's so much ground to cover in Coors Field.

 

These are the top 5 in the NL:

 

Clint Barmes - 72%

Ryan Spilborghs - 71%

Dexter Fowler - 69%

Chase Utley - 68%

Emilio Bonifacio - 61%

 

Pretty amazing to see Utley at 68%. The guy does everything well. The league average is 39%.

It's scary to think that somebody of Chase Utley's caliber is probably very underrated.

 

also:

 

Boner's also +12 in the Bill James baserunning analysis - +8 in baserunning, +4 in stolen bases.

 

For context, Carl Crawford leads baseball at +31. Utley's +28. Boner's probably around 20-25th in baseball in baserunning (+13 is 10th), but he's pretty low in stolen bases (Crawford leads at +30, Bloomquist is 10th at +12).

 

So yeah, James has Bonifacio as being a slightly above average baserunner, but not very good. Although James' calculation methods may not be the best here.

Emilio's been killing it recently. .814 OPS for July, .846 for the past week.

Emilio's been killing it recently. .814 OPS for July, .846 for the past week.

 

 

If he could only be consistent with that...I bet even Abercrombie goes on a hot streak every once in a while.

He's also tied for most errors by NL thirdbaseman

He's also tied for most errors by NL thirdbaseman

 

 

 

this is the first time he's played 3rd. I'm sure it's a very hard position to learn on the fly. I agree with everyone that he is not our best option at 3rd base but I think with a little bit of tinkering mixed with some hard work and dedication on Boni's part he can be a great player. He doesn't even have a full season worth of work yet, it's not like he's been around since 2006 and still can't put it together.

He's also tied for most errors by NL thirdbaseman

 

 

 

this is the first time he's played 3rd. I'm sure it's a very hard position to learn on the fly. I agree with everyone that he is not our best option at 3rd base but I think with a little bit of tinkering mixed with some hard work and dedication on Boni's part he can be a great player. He doesn't even have a full season worth of work yet, it's not like he's been around since 2006 and still can't put it together.

 

I have to believe even his biggest detractors (haters) had to see how good he looked at shortstop, a position he's had previous experience at. And if that's the case there's no reason to believe that with experience he can't become a very competent third baseman. I know this might not mean much to those who ignore Chipper Jones has thirteen errors as well or David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman are right behind him with twelve each, but I find some comfort in the fact his errors are pretty evenly split between fielding and throwing. If for example all or most of his errors were fielding that implies an inability to field the position or if most were throwing errors I'd say he doesn't have the arm to play there but the fact that more than halfway through the season he only misplayed six or seven balls put in play doesn't concern me, nor that six or seven times in 90 games he's made a bad throw at a position he never played before.

 

Bonifacio has a long way to go before he earns the respect of his detractors and even some of us who say give the guy a chance to succeed before you brand him a failure, but he does seem to be "getting it" and I'm hoping he can build on what he's accomplished in June and July when the second half of the season restarts on Thursday night.

Bonifacio has always been an error prone player, just a .964 minor league career fielding %. Considering the base running gaffes we've seen this year, I wonder if it just has to do with mental focus.

 

The bright side though is that he's last two years in the minors were very much improved in field% (.972 in '07 and .977 in '08), however I still expect he's someone to expect 20+ errors per year out of.

 

And of course there's a lot more to fielding ability than just errors, as errors only paint one section of the portrait.

Emilio's been killing it recently. .814 OPS for July, .846 for the past week.

 

 

 

"Killing it."

I have to think there is something fundamentally wrong with James' baserunning analysis if he comes out as above average on the bases. He has great speed, but his baserunning skills are below average as far as I'm concerned.

 

Does James' baserunning/stolen base measures take into account the number of times a player gets picked off?

 

It's scary to think that somebody of Chase Utley's caliber is probably very underrated.

 

also:

 

Boner's also +12 in the Bill James baserunning analysis - +8 in baserunning, +4 in stolen bases.

 

For context, Carl Crawford leads baseball at +31. Utley's +28. Boner's probably around 20-25th in baseball in baserunning (+13 is 10th), but he's pretty low in stolen bases (Crawford leads at +30, Bloomquist is 10th at +12).

 

So yeah, James has Bonifacio as being a slightly above average baserunner, but not very good. Although James' calculation methods may not be the best here.

Bonifacio has always been an error prone player, just a .964 minor league career fielding %. Considering the base running gaffes we've seen this year, I wonder if it just has to do with mental focus.

 

The bright side though is that he's last two years in the minors were very much improved in field% (.972 in '07 and .977 in '08), however I still expect he's someone to expect 20+ errors per year out of.

 

And of course there's a lot more to fielding ability than just errors, as errors only paint one section of the portrait.

 

 

Sometimes I wonder if the guy even knows the ins and outs of baseball. The other day when Hermi's homerun hit the foul pole, the Arizona announcers noted that Bonifacio was going back to first base, thinking that hitting the foul pole meant foul ball. Someone had to tell him that it was indeed a fair ball before he ran toward second.

I have to think there is something fundamentally wrong with James' baserunning analysis if he comes out as above average on the bases. He has great speed, but his baserunning skills are below average as far as I'm concerned.

 

Does James' baserunning/stolen base measures take into account the number of times a player gets picked off?

 

 

Takes into account everything. I think you're underestimating his ability simply because of his (rather dumb) gaffes. I mean, just look at the original post of the thread. If he gets picked off, but also takes an extra 5 bases that a player doesn't normally take, that's +4 bases. But the pick off sticks out in your head because it's obvious.

Consistency is the Key for Boni.

Emilio's been killing it recently. .814 OPS for July, .846 for the past week.

 

You can go back farther. .306/.340/.449 in the last two weeks, .320/.361/.440 in the last three weeks. He's really been killing it.

If he stays consistent, he'll be OK. If he doesn't, he'll go back to sucking.

I have to think there is something fundamentally wrong with James' baserunning analysis if he comes out as above average on the bases. He has great speed, but his baserunning skills are below average as far as I'm concerned.

 

Does James' baserunning/stolen base measures take into account the number of times a player gets picked off?

 

 

Takes into account everything. I think you're underestimating his ability simply because of his (rather dumb) gaffes. I mean, just look at the original post of the thread. If he gets picked off, but also takes an extra 5 bases that a player doesn't normally take, that's +4 bases. But the pick off sticks out in your head because it's obvious.

 

His speed does get him extra bases that your average player wouldn't get, but I am talking about baserunning skills. Really, given his speed those low baserunning/stolen base ratings speak to my point. If he had good baserunning/stolen base skills with his speed he would be around the top of the league in those categories instead of slightly above average.

Consistency is the Key for Boni.

 

I'd say that consistency is the key for all big leaguers. I used to watch this show called "The Show" and all the scouts said the main difference between minor leaguers and major leaguers is the consistency you get form guys in the bigs.

I have to think there is something fundamentally wrong with James' baserunning analysis if he comes out as above average on the bases. He has great speed, but his baserunning skills are below average as far as I'm concerned.

 

Does James' baserunning/stolen base measures take into account the number of times a player gets picked off?

 

 

Takes into account everything. I think you're underestimating his ability simply because of his (rather dumb) gaffes. I mean, just look at the original post of the thread. If he gets picked off, but also takes an extra 5 bases that a player doesn't normally take, that's +4 bases. But the pick off sticks out in your head because it's obvious.

 

His speed does get him extra bases that your average player wouldn't get, but I am talking about baserunning skills. Really, given his speed those low baserunning/stolen base ratings speak to my point. If he had good baserunning/stolen base skills with his speed he would be around the top of the league in those categories instead of slightly above average.

 

Oh, I agree with your point. James thing isn't really about "skill", all it focuses on is amount of extra bases a player gets, weather it be by speed or skill. With Bonifacio's speed, even though he's been below average skill wise on the bases, he's still able to get more bases than an average player. I agree though, he should be at the top. Hopefully that is something that will improve with time.

His speed does get him extra bases that your average player wouldn't get, but I am talking about baserunning skills. Really, given his speed those low baserunning/stolen base ratings speak to my point. If he had good baserunning/stolen base skills with his speed he would be around the top of the league in those categories instead of slightly above average.

 

 

A couple of things to consider with the hottest bat in the league hitting behind him. First, for strategic reasons he may not always have a green light, I've never heard anyone in either broadcast booth or from Fredi or Beinfest say he runs on his own, and should he steal second base depending on the circumstances and inning of the game, that gives the opposition an open base to intentionally walk Hanley, effectively taking the bat out of his hands, something you don't want to do.

 

On so many of Hanley's extra base hits or even long singles it doesn't matter if Bonifacio is on first or second because he's going to score anyways. We've already seen that play out any number of times this season and no doubt will see more of it in the second half.

He's also tied for most errors by NL thirdbaseman

 

 

 

this is the first time he's played 3rd. I'm sure it's a very hard position to learn on the fly. I agree with everyone that he is not our best option at 3rd base but I think with a little bit of tinkering mixed with some hard work and dedication on Boni's part he can be a great player. He doesn't even have a full season worth of work yet, it's not like he's been around since 2006 and still can't put it together.

 

I have to believe even his biggest detractors (haters) had to see how good he looked at shortstop, a position he's had previous experience at. And if that's the case there's no reason to believe that with experience he can't become a very competent third baseman. I know this might not mean much to those who ignore Chipper Jones has thirteen errors as well or David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman are right behind him with twelve each, but I find some comfort in the fact his errors are pretty evenly split between fielding and throwing. If for example all or most of his errors were fielding that implies an inability to field the position or if most were throwing errors I'd say he doesn't have the arm to play there but the fact that more than halfway through the season he only misplayed six or seven balls put in play doesn't concern me, nor that six or seven times in 90 games he's made a bad throw at a position he never played before.

 

Bonifacio has a long way to go before he earns the respect of his detractors and even some of us who say give the guy a chance to succeed before you brand him a failure, but he does seem to be "getting it" and I'm hoping he can build on what he's accomplished in June and July when the second half of the season restarts on Thursday night.

 

I don't think anyone's ever truly questioned Bonifacio's glove, maybe the "neo-Bonerhaters" but the "real" boner haters have always understood him to be capable with the glove, like Amezaga (at multiple positions).

 

The question has ALWAYS been his bat, and he may be on a super hot streak now, and while that's well and good, it's highly BA driven and that's worrisome over the long term.

As a relative newcomer to baseball (July '07) , the Marlins (Aug '07) and this forum (Apr '08) I'm just wondering if any other first-year player has come under such scrutiny and discussion as Emilio Bonifacio?

As a relative newcomer to baseball (July '07) , the Marlins (Aug '07) and this forum (Apr '08) I'm just wondering if any other first-year player has come under such scrutiny and discussion as Emilio Bonifacio?

 

 

Hermida was pretty damn close

 

hopefully this doesn't last as long lol

He's also tied for most errors by NL thirdbaseman

 

It's also a new position for him and before Thursday, he hadn't made an error since mid-June.

 

As for his hitting, as I pointed out yesterday in the GDT, the league average percentage that a batter swings at pitches out of the zone is 25%. Boni is currently swinging at pitches out of the zone 28% of the time. In May, that figure was 40%. Its funny how people are always quick to bash guys like Jim Pressley and this coaching staff when a guy is in a slump but there's no praise whatsoever when guys like Boni and Brett Carroll step out and start mashing.

 

This one's for you, Press.

He's also tied for most errors by NL thirdbaseman

 

It's also a new position for him and he hasn't made an error since mid-June.

 

As for his hitting, as I pointed out yesterday in the GDT, the league average percentage that a batter swings at pitches out of the zone is 25%. Boni is currently swinging at pitches out of the zone 28% of the time. In May, that figure was 40%. Its funny how people are always quick to bash guys like Jim Pressley and this coaching staff when a guy is in a slump but there's no praise whatsoever when guys like Boni and Brett Carroll step out and start mashing.

 

This one's for you, Press.

He made an error on Thursday.

As a relative newcomer to baseball (July '07) , the Marlins (Aug '07) and this forum (Apr '08) I'm just wondering if any other first-year player has come under such scrutiny and discussion as Emilio Bonifacio?

 

 

Hermida was pretty damn close

 

hopefully this doesn't last as long lol

Well, I'd argue that Hermida has been more, since he's been getting this treatment since 06 and Boni's only been getting it for a few months.