Twelve for 2012: Ángel Pagán

The FNGs may not be sexy, but they are important. And who can have Christmas without an angel? Or a pagan, for that matter. All that tree stuff, gifts, holly, mistletoe, yule logs, and egg nogs are thoroughly pre-Christian. Like you think they had fecking snow in Bethlehem? But we'll let other folks fight the Xmas Wars. Over here at RMC we like parties and happy times and could give a farthing's heap o'gobshite which godly or godless time you prefer. Speaking of happy times, I think 2012 will be some happy times for Giants fans. I think the team is loaded with talent. Angel Pagan, like the man he's replacing, was a part time player until 2010. Andres Torres (I'll miss you, lad) won everyone's hearts, and deservedly so. Here's a career snapshot:

Year    Age   Tm   G   PA   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB
2009     31  SFG  75  170  30  41  6  8  6  23  6  1  16  45 .270 .343 .533 .876  126  81
2010     32  SFG 139  570  84 136 43  8 16  63 26  7  56 128 .268 .343 .479 .823  122 243
2011     33  SFG 112  398  50  77 24  1  4  19 19  6  42  95 .221 .312 .330 .643   82 115
7 Seasons        415 1423 197 308 79 21 27 118 60 21 131 325 .244 .318 .403 .721   97 510
162 Game Avg.    162  555  77 120 31  8 11  46 23  8  51 127 .244 .318 .403 .721   97 199

And now the FNG:

Year    Age   Tm   G   PA   R   H  2B 3B HR RBI SB CS  BB  SO   BA  OBP  SLG  OPS OPS+  TB
2009     27  NYM  88  376  54 105  22 11  6  32 14  7  25  56 .306 .350 .487 .837  122 167
2010     28  NYM 151  633  80 168  31  7 11  69 37  9  44  97 .290 .340 .425 .765  108 246
2011     29  NYM 123  532  68 125  24  4  7  56 32  7  44  62 .262 .322 .372 .694   93 178
6 Seasons        541 1994 263 504 100 27 33 209 95 26 149 293 .279 .331 .418 .750  101 757
162 Game Avg.    162  597  79 151  30  8 10  63 28  8  45  88 .279 .331 .418 .750  101 227

Both men have played all three OF positions in the last three years, but it is the 8-spot that matters. B-R keeps track of games played, starts, and complete games per position. Torres has a 227/163/144 total (1584 innings) for CF while Pagan's line is 276/266/249 (2343-2/3 innings). Torres was the best I've ever seen out there, with the possible exception of Darren Lewis. DLew won a Gold Glove in 1994, not bad for a guy sporting an 87 OPS+. Pagan will probably be a drop-off from Torres, but not enough for concern. He'll be a solid presence with speed and good range. He's younger, too. He doesn't have to be a star, just a steady contributor. He'll probably walk a little less than Torres, but hit a little better and not strike out as much. He won't have Andres' pop, but he'll be a better base runner. The Giants are gambling that Andres' best days are behind him and that Angel has some more left in the tank. I putting my money with the shooter on this roll.

Eleven more to go!

--M.C.


Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/25/2011.
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/25/2011.