Death Match: Nick Green vs. Chin-Lung Hu

January 11, 2010 at 12:56 pm | Posted in Chin-Lung Hu, Nick Green | 18 Comments

Okay, maybe “death match” is a bit strong when you’re talking about a battle between a 30+ never-was and a light-hitting glovesman for a backup infield job, but still. According to this pair of tweets from Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers have signed Nick Green…

Source: IF Nick Green signs minor-league deal with Dodgers. Coming off back surgery

Jamey Carroll not a SS. Green would be primary backup to Furcal. Slightly behind schedule due to surgery.

We first heard about interest in Nick Green over a month ago, and even though it was just a rumor, I responded anyway, since the Hot Stove has been lukewarm at best. I was, to put it mildly, not impressed:

If you don’t know much about Green, that’s because you shouldn’t. This is a guy who is 31 and has played for five teams in parts of five seasons, almost entirely as a backup. In 2009, he was pressed into service as Boston’s starting shortstop for nearly half the season thanks to a multitude of injuries, and responded with a pretty bad .236/.303/.366 line. That’s not even a case of a guy being exposed due to too much playing time; that mirrors exactly his career line of .239/.307/.352. Even in over 3000 PA appearances in the minors, his OBP is just .324. “Getting on base” is clearly not Nick Green’s strength, no matter where he plays.

“But hey,” you might say. “He’s a shortstop, so if he really can’t hit, he must be a whiz with the glove, right?” You’d say that, and you’d be wrong. For his entire career, he’s a whopping 0.6 fielding runs above average. That’s not horrible, but nor is it an asset.

So please, enlighten me. When you’re trying to come up with backup infielders, paying Nick Green more than you’d have to pay Chin-Lung Hu to be 5 years older, a far inferior fielder, and a likely inferior batter (Hu at least has a .342 OBP in the minors, and at his age still has time to improve) makes sense in what way exactly?

I usually don’t paste so much from old posts, but every thing I said there still rings true today. But you know what makes it even better? That’s three paragraphs about how Nick Green is a lousy ballplayer and a bad idea, and that was before I heard that he had back surgery this offseason. Back surgery, which he is behind schedule in recovering from.

Now I will grant that it’s a minor-league deal, so the money is negligible and the commitment is zero. But Rosenthal paints it as though he will be the backup shortstop, without even mentioning the possibility of Hu. So someone please explain this math problem to me:

Hu is a better fielder than Green.

Hu is younger than Green.

Hu is healthier than Green.

Hu is likely at least as good of a hitter, if not better, than Green.

Hu has at least a slight chance of upside, while Green has none.

Therefore, Green > Hu. Of course it does.

18 Comments »

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Seeing that the Midge is the source of this thinking, I would feel safe in saying that Rosenthal doesn’t know his ass from a can of Shinola. Unless Hu breaks his leg or gets traded, he is gonna be Raffy’s backup.

Comment by grabarkewitz— January 11, 2010 #

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Yeah I’d have to agree with Grabarkewitz in that Rosenthal probably just hasn’t ever heard of Hu and just assumed Green would be backup.

Alternatively, this could be a set up in order to include Hu in a trade somewhere.

Comment by gklarsen— January 11, 2010 #

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This after the news that the Giants have signed Aubrey Huff. I can’t wait for this season!!!

Comment by Wes— January 11, 2010 #

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This is not necessarily Green vs Hu, after all, Hu’s spot as AAA ss needs to be filled. Though I suppose Dejesus should take that spot, the fact that Furcal,Hu, and Dejesus have all had their share of physical problems makes stocking depth more defensible.

Comment by Table— January 11, 2010 #

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I saw Nick Green play quite a bit for the Red Sox last year, and he was absolutely attrocious. To think that we would even offer this clown a minor league contract, shows the depths to which the Dodgers have fallen this offseason. I’m shocked and awed. Angel Berroa is an allstar compared to this guy.

Comment by Woody— January 11, 2010 #

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- Yeah, Nick Green may not be the best player in the history of baseball but he does have a contract with a MLB team. What do you do for a living.
  
  Comment by AC— March 4, 2010 #
  
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  - Look, Nick Green’s mom is posting on my blog!
    
    Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— March 5, 2010 #
    
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Yeah, but he is from the Red Sox, so McCourt must automatically think he is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Comment by Bozo— January 11, 2010 #

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But can’t you all see the way this’ll play out already, as if ripped from some cosmic nightmare. Nick Green plays well enough in spring training to be noticed, but doesn’t make the team, much to our delight. But then, a month into the season, Furcal hurts himself badly and is out for a long period of time, and who gets called up? Nick Green, who at first posts a .300 batting average and the occasional nice play, which makes Joe “trust him” enough to play him everyday, where he promptly delivers a .100/.100/.100 line and becomes the next polarizing case a la Juan Pierre, whom defenders will say “But he was good when the Dodgers needed him!”, completely overlooking the fact that he has since become an offensive black hole.

Comment by The Fury— January 12, 2010 #

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This makes sense only if their is a trade in the works with Hu as a part. We signed Berroa already for the injury factor or AAA SS job

Comment by bluetrain— January 12, 2010 #

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[...] Except… isn’t this exactly what Jamey Carroll was for? You know, a mediocre veteran who can play some 2nd and 3rd as needed? Because Belliard can’t play shortstop any more than Carroll can, and it was that “lack of a shortstop” issue that led to Nick Green getting a spring training invite. [...]

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[...] I’d like to say that this spot could have been used far better by protecting Eric Stults, keeping Chin-Lung Hu, or picking up Hank Blalock, I have to admit those ships had sailed (almost literally in [...]

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[...] when he was actually signed in January and it sounded like he’d make the club, I was still not all that happy about it: Now I will grant that it’s a minor-league deal, so the money is negligible and the commitment is [...]

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[...] To be honest, I wasn’t really sure why he was re-signed in the first place, and yes, I’m regretting bagging on Jamey Carroll‘s shortstop skills right now: Except… isn’t this exactly what Jamey Carroll was for? You know, a mediocre veteran who can play some 2nd and 3rd as needed? Because Belliard can’t play shortstop any more than Carroll can, and it was that “lack of a shortstop” issue that led to Nick Green getting a spring training invite. [...]

Pingback by MSTI’s 2010 in Review: Second Base « Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— October 20, 2010 #

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[...] even turn 27 until February. But for the second year in a row – surely you remember the Dodgers choosing Nick Green over him last year, right? – rather than giving Hu a spot as a backup, they’ve brought in a clearly [...]

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