Why is Punto in the Majors still?

[mr_jman]

Punto will probably be on Sportscenters Top 10 or at least Baseball Tonights Webgems for the play he made in the 8th again tonight!... And that is why I LOVE Punto!

[Quackaddict9]

Punto will probably be on Sportscenters Top 10 or at least Baseball Tonights Webgems for the play he made in the 8th again tonight!... And that is why I LOVE Punto!

So will Span's throw to Butera in the bottom of the 10th!

[greebs]

the Span/Butera play made top 10. hard to believe punto's play didn't because as we all know not a single 3b in the majors other than nick makes that play.

[Cicada]

Seee...you're coming around...oh wait...I detect sarcasm...

[Big Dave2]

Cant stand the guy, the defensive part is way over rated. He may be a good defensive player, but we are only talkin 4-5 less errors vs 100+ points batting average, rbi, hr, etc vs someone else. The only reason people think Punto is a good player is becuz you think he hustles, plays hard etc. He is a terrible base runner, cant bunt and sleeps in gardy's arse!

Ok, look at it like this:

Punto's stats:

.248 career batting average

56 errors in 10 seasons

4 million salary

I'm pretty sure that Derek Jeter would be considered by some as the best 3rd baseman/shortstop in the majors.

Jeter's stats:

.317 career batting average

144 errors in first 10 seasons

22.6 million salary

So as you can see, there is not a difference of .100 in batting ave., There is more than a 5 or 6 error difference, and there is a 17.4 million dollar price difference.

[Big Dave2]

Mike Schmidt is considered by many to be the greatest 3rd baseman ever. His career batting average was only .267 and his fielding % was .961. Puntos fielding % is .978. The only difference was Schmidts home run power.

[Big Dave2]

Cal Ripken, JR. Considered by many as the best shortstop of all time:

Lifetime batting average, .276

lifetime fielding %, .977

[mr_jman]

Punto has made several nice plays again today. Sometime he makes the plays so fast that they really aren't even close plays at first which makes them less exciting as a Top 10. I think some people take for granted the tough plays he makes look routine sometimes! He also came up with a clutch 2 outs bases loaded 2 R.B.I. hit today. Something NO Twin is really doing well!

I thought about this last night... If we really want something to complain about maybe we should pick on Kubels average (this will come around though!), Crains ERA, or a lack of clutch hits with bases loaded or RISP.

REMEMBER when the posts were all about getting rid of Cuddyer? Seemed like everyone hated that guy too. Now he is one of the most popular and productive players on the team! I realize Punto will never have offensive numbers like Cuddy, but just like most players people have not liked in the past, I am going to stand up for Punto like I did with Cuddy a few years ago.

Delmon is also having a nice start to his season but FM still has/had a Delmon hate post too! I'll admit I was a little more skeptical of him after most of last year too but he is still a young player with lots of room to get better!

[greebs]

days like today will go a long way to help to silence critics. not that anybody should expect games like this every day but one or two times a week would be nice and shouldn't be too much to ask of a player with a 4 million salary on this team.

Regarding Cuddy, he got most of his criticism at points in the season where he wasn't really excelling a lot to earn his salary but he really turned it around the last 1 1/2 month of last season with some huge clutch hitting and is continuing with that this season so he's really silenced the critics with his play, which is the best way to do it. I haven't seen much, if any criticism of him during this current season.

regarding comparisons to jeter, schmidt, and ripken, I hope you are trying to be funny. jeter should obviously have more errors because puntos played himself to a bench spot a few times in his career so he obviously has had quite a few fewer opportunities at fielding balls than jeter. punto's had just a few less hits, homers, rbi's and mvp's than schmidt and think it will likely stay that way. pretty much same goes with ripken comparisons.

bottom line is us "haters" as some of you like to call us want the team to win just as much as the "homers" who think that nobody on the team should ever be criticized simply because they are on the team. I was glad to see punto have a game today that we could be satisfied with and hope he keeps it up. But when posters come on this site and start posting silly statements like he saves over 100 runs in a season with his defense, or half the league wanting him on their team, or favorable comparisons to hall of famers, then many of us "haters" will come back and put a sense of reality on those claims. just like the homers will point out when a hater exaggerates and makes a false statement.

To Twins!!

[Big Dave2]

Well then, please tell me who you would rather have in that position? Is there someone available that I don't know about that is better and the Twins could pick up for less than 4 mil.?

[Big Dave2]

days like today will go a long way to help to silence critics. not that anybody should expect games like this every day but one or two times a week would be nice and shouldn't be too much to ask of a player with a 4 million salary on this team.

Punto shares playing time with Harris. Some weeks he doesn't play more than 3 0r 4 games a week.

Regarding Cuddy, he got most of his criticism at points in the season where he wasn't really excelling a lot to earn his salary but he really turned it around the last 1 1/2 month of last season with some huge clutch hitting and is continuing with that this season so he's really silenced the critics with his play, which is the best way to do it. I haven't seen much, if any criticism of him during this current season.

regarding comparisons to jeter, schmidt, and ripken, I hope you are trying to be funny. jeter should obviously have more errors because puntos played himself to a bench spot a few times in his career so he obviously has had quite a few fewer opportunities at fielding balls than jeter. punto's had just a few less hits, homers, rbi's and mvp's than schmidt and think it will likely stay that way. pretty much same goes with ripken comparisons.

Jeter and Punto have an identical fielding %. The point is that Puntos defense can be put up against the best ever at those positions. His hitting can not but he is a .250 career hitter along with being one of the best defensive players in baseball. I think he certainly deserves a spot on the team.

bottom line is us "haters" as some of you like to call us want the team to win just as much as the "homers" who think that nobody on the team should ever be criticized simply because they are on the team. I was glad to see punto have a game today that we could be satisfied with and hope he keeps it up. But when posters come on this site and start posting silly statements like he saves over 100 runs in a season with his defense, or half the league wanting him on their team, or favorable comparisons to hall of famers, then many of us "haters" will come back and put a sense of reality on those claims. just like the homers will point out when a hater exaggerates and makes a false statement.

As far as comparisons against hall of famers, the numbers speakfor themselves.

To Twins!!

[mr_jman]

No sense in complaining because he is going to be on the team regardless. Bottom line is the Twins have long been one of the best defensive teams in the majors and Punto is the best defensive 3rd baseman the team has! We still lead the league in fewest errors and he has made a lot of nice plays at 3rd already this season.

Here is a nice little article on Punto written prior to the start of the season.

Punto: Undervalued

The key I took away besides his defensive ability and overall baserunning smarts (Yes I know the Yankees game is a bad reminder.... as mentioned in the article)

BUT, as a #9 hitter his on base percentage was .337 compared to the league average of .305! It may not seem like a whole lot but over the course of a season it adds up. HE IS our #9 hitter, there are not many #9 hitters in this league that are hitting for power. Most times getting guys over and rolling the lineup over is what you hope for out of your #9 hitter. Yes his avg. and slugging % were lower, but he also had an off year. This guy hit .298 in 2006 and .284 in 2008. It's an even year and even though he is batting about .233 right now I think he can pick it up a little and if he ends the season in the .260 to .280 area I'd be happy with it.

Last year he struck out 70 times in 359 at bats and walked 61 times. That means he put the ball in play or got on base 4 out of every 5 times he was up! He takes a lot of pitches and earns walks and the old addage of your 9 hitter being a second lead off guy holds some truth with Punto. (I never really understood the saying when I played in high school but it seems to make sense - take pitches, draw walks, and do the little things offensively to help the team win games)

[jwmiller33]

i cannot believe punto and jeter were put in the same sentence. or ripken for the matter. seriously people? are we talking about the same punto?

[PierBridge]

Great post Jman!

Nobody's comparing him to Jeter....Punto's a much better VALUE anyway...

Finally someone who can hit on the Twins with the base's loaded....

Go Punto!

[PierBridge]

I almost forgot the SILLY-NESS is on the haters part and not Garnedhire's who has forgot more about Baseball that the Haters will EVER know!

No offense but if you don't understand why Punto is on the team and playing you don't know JACK about baseball!...PERIOD!

Carry on a deal and with it HATERS!

[Scott K]

Punto may not be in the top half of the best infielders playing today, but he is in the top 5 utility players today.

[mrklean]

he had a pretty good day yesterday

[Netman]

I completely and wholeheartedly disagree with your statement. He does things most infielders wouldn't even attempt. From a pure defensive standpoint he's top five easy. Hitting...well that's a different story but I've certainly seen worse in the majors.

[zepman]

He's worth every dime they pay him.

[Big Dave2]

Would you haters rather have Brandon Inge? .236 BA, .976 Fielding%, 6 mil salary?

Name a better value at 3rd base in the AL central than Punto?

[Quackaddict9]

Only reason I'd like Inge is that he hits more homeruns.

[Mudcutter]

and Punto can play SS and 2b. He really is pretty clutch. Inge is retro catcher who strikes out alot with the long ball. Give me Punto all around/bunts/ advancing runners compared to just about any utilty bench player. Jeter plays SS and is the best SS to play since Wagner. Jeter's #'s are sick.

[Big Tom]

Punto at .250+ I can live with cuz of the defense and the fact he's the number 9 hitter. Punto with a .228 was like too many years of watching Timmy Laudner flail and fail.

[greebs]

heard he did another one of his head first slides into 1b on thursday. have to give the guy credit for being a hard worker but don't get why he continues to do that and why gardy doesn't tell him to knock that [PoorWordUsage] off before he hurts himself. that could be a pretty ugly injury if he were to have a head first collision with a first baseman. besides that he's got to realize that he's not getting to the bag faster that way doesn't he? does anybody else in mlb do that?

[zepman]

It is stupid...my 10 and 12 year olds always ask if they can do that in their games to. GRRRRR!!

[harvey lee]

The dude has a great glove and pretty good speed. Problem is, no bat at all. Just another 180 hitter and we have enough of them.

[JBMasterAngler]

He was so feared at the plate tonight he was intentionally walked so they could face mauer instead!

[Esox_Magnum]

I thought that was good bringing in Mauer to hit after they walked Punto, great move Gardy.

[Big Dave2]

The dude has a great glove and pretty good speed. Problem is, no bat at all. Just another 180 hitter and we have enough of them.

He's doing pretty well then for a .180 hitter considering he is batting .259 and that is pretty close to his career average also.

Punto also has a better BA than Hardy, Thome and Kubel so far this year. Should the Twins get rid of those guys too? Brendan Harris is batting .226 should he be the regular 3rd baseman? If not then who do you folks recomend to play 3rd base for the Twins?

[mnwild]

of course Punto has a better average then those other guys you mentioned, he's only been to the plate 54 times with 14 hits (pretty pathetic in my mind). Only thing Punto is good for is his defense and that is it. I think the guy is junk too but there are many many players in Baseball who are known for their defense 1st and the bat 2nd. And yes I would take Hardy and Harris before Punto in the line-up.