... I mean, he is the best right fielder to EVER play the game. At least that's what TB thinks. Last night after Bruce made a running catch in RF, TB said, "I don't think I've ever seen a right fielder play the position as good as Jay Bruce." Chris Welsh, TB's partner for the night, replied, "In a Reds uniform?" TB said, "No, in the league." Here we go again!
Now I'm not really sure if TB meant the NL or all of MLB, but either way, I think this comment is a late April Fool's joke. I'm not bashing Jay Bruce, I think he is a good player, but to label him as "the best ever" is pretty ridiculous and completely unsubstantiated ... not to mention statistically incorrect. TB, here is a lesson for you - Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) is a stat that puts a run value on a player's defense. Basically, it looks at how many runs a player saved or gave up through his fielding. The UZR of an average MLB player is 0 and a positive UZR is good while a negative UZR isn't good. Bruce's UZR is currently ... wait for it, wait for it ... -4.3 (courtesy of FanGraphs). Bruce's UZR ranks him ninth out of the ten qualified right fielders in the NL this year. In all of MLB, Bruce is 19th out of the 21 MLB qualified right fielders. Wowsa, he is the best!
Looking at the NL, Andre Either's UZR is 7.3 points higher than Bruce's, and Ethier also has more assists from right field and hasn't committed an error yet this season. Throw in the AL, and you have Swisher, Drew, Hunter and Markakis all with better UZRs and none of these guys have committed an error yet this season. Hunter and Markakis also have more assists than Bruce, while Swisher is tied with him. How can Bruce be the "best ever" if he isn't even the best in the game right now? TB, you so crazy.
The Cubbies are on WGN tonight at the same time the Reds are on, so I won't be listing to TB. I'm sure I'll be missing some doozies ... like how Johnny Gomes is a better right fielder than Ryan Braun, or how Aroldis Chapman is the best closer in baseball (his first career save last night shows this).
Good luck tonight TB! The Reds better win ... falling another game back would mean there is "absolutely now way the Reds will make the playoffs."
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