Local reporters got a chance to catch up with Ryan Zimmerman at Nationals Park as the club unveiled its revamped uniforms for 2011. You’ve all seen the photos by now splashed far and wide across the interwebs. I’ll have my own take tomorrow. But for now I thought I’d pass along some interesting comments from Zimmerman on the status of free-agent first baseman Adam Dunn, the value of defense at that position and his “loss” to Scott Rolen, who won the N.L. Gold Glove award on Wednesday. May make that last one a separate post.
So let’s start with Dunn. Zimmerman was consistent with his public comments all summer that he wanted the Nats to do whatever it took to keep the big man around. I have to say – his arguments make sense and I’m sure a ton of Nats fans are happy that their star third baseman thinks the same way they do: losing a 40-homer, 100-RBI guy – no matter his defensive deficiencies – is not a good move. We know Dunn bested first baseman like Carlos Pena – a reported Nats target to replace him and with a strong defensive reputation – in advanced defensive metrics like Ultimate Zone Rating, among others. Is Dunn good at first? No. But…
“Ryan Howard makes a lot more money than [Dunn]. He’s not winning gold gloves,” Zimmerman said. “And I love Ryan. He’s a great player. But nobody ever says anything about his defense. There’s maybe three or four guys in the big leagues that play good first base. I don’t understand why Adam gets crushed on his defense.”
Zimmerman said by the end of the season Dunn had improved “10 times” from where he started at the position in spring training. He said he talks to Dunn “almost every day” – though rarely about baseball. Zimmerman insisted Dunn – while upset with the pace of contract negotiations during the season – understood it and still wants to play in Washington. But once a player gets this close to free agency he’d be irresponsible not to find out his market value.
Zimmerman again: “You can get a guy who might have a great season or he might hit 15 home runs or drive in 60. The thing with Adam is he’s going to hit close to 40 home runs and he’s going to drive in 100 runs. The hardest thing to find in baseball is a consistent slugger and when you have one its kind of hard to believe you can’t retain it. Those are the people you go out and spend money in free agency for. That’s why they make their money – because you know what you’re going to get. It’s not really a surprise. It’s hard to swallow.”
More later on Zimmerman’s take on Rolen’s Gold Glove Award, his plan for getting better in the field and even some info from a chat with general manager Mike Rizzo. Plus, the uniform unveiling, too.
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