My only real gripe is that overrated doesn't mean really mean "bad." Grudz is a perfect example. He plays decent defense and gets on base at a .330 clip while playing a position where defense matters significantly.

In fact, could you run the OBP and SLG numbers for "average AL second baseman"? I think you'll see that he's below average, but not by a ton -- after all, the league-wide numbers aren't too far off of Grudz's (OBP less than .342 and a SLG below .437), especially if you assume that 2B will typically not slug like a LF will.

AJ P'sky is also a good example of the above. His OBP and SLG are close to league averages at, what I'd suspect, a position which is below norms. I know nothing of P'sky's abilities defensively, though.

Ditto Yuniesky Betancourt. A .710 OPS from your allegedly slick-fielding shortstop isn't really awful, is it?

When the replacements for Grudzielanek end up being Aaron Miles and Ronnie Belliard, he's defintely overrated.

Does it have to be just one individual? I nominate the Twins leftfielders as a group. Their numbers (.286/.329/.417) are similar to Anderson's, but with a 6-point higher BA & OBP and a 16-point LOWER SLG. In other words, Iso-D is the same but Iso-P is 22 points worse.

Also, since no third baseman qualified, I think you should reconsider Nick Punto. The only reason he didn't make it is that his BA was so high (.290) that his OBP was forced up to .352. Still, his Iso-D is 6 points below Mora's and his Iso-P is a whopping 34 points under.

With respect to the first two comments, the All-OOPs team is all about offense (as stated) and has nothing to do with defense. Furthermore, the intention is to capture *overrated* offensive players rather than bad or awful. I thought I had spelled both of these matters clearly in the article.

Re the comment from James, Punto would be a good choice at 3B, too. He is a singles hitter whose offensive value is mostly caught up in his batting average. If Punto hit .270, he would be next to worthless.

Who's on the All-Anti-OOPs (i.e., underrated) Team? Adam Dunn probably makes it in years past, but he dipped this year.

Yes, Mark Grudzielanek bats above the league average. Yes, his OBP is low and his SLG is dismal. But is he really "overrated?" Using that term suggests that there must be some subjective element involved, that millions of people are out there celebrating the hitting prowess of Mark Grudzielanek. But is anyone doing that? I don't live in the Kansas City area, but I assume the hometown announcers might pump him up a bit. Then again, who else do they have to celebrate on that roster? Here in Wisconsin I think the Brewers home boys had Bill Hall a first-ballot hall of famer this past June. Grudz has made one all-star team, ten years ago. I've never seen any national media-- mainstream or alternative--discuss Mark Grudzeilanek at length. Perhaps you could make the argument that the Royals front office "overrated" him by handing him $4 million last year. But most baseball people seem to take Grudz for what he is. Ignoring the defense, he's a guy who hits for average, doesn't walk much, and generally couldn't hit the ball out of a Little League field. I think most people around the country, at least the ones who know he exists, would agree.

Juan Pierre is a different story. He led the league in hits (and outs). He's perennially among the league leaders in steals (and caught stealing). Given his postseason appearance, the Cubs media exposure, and the ongoing fascination with small ball at some of the major media outlets, he continues to be tremendously "overrated."

Obviously, this method ignores speed, which is an important and very valuable part of the game for some of these guys (Phillips 25/27, Barfield 21/26, etc). There's real value in that, and considering it doesn't "overrate" those guys, certainly not in the way that batting average beauty queens like Grudz or Anderson are overrated.

I think it's fair to mention this exclusion, in a method that purports to measure "offense." I know this is just a fun toy, but I also think that the people doing the "overrating" (Joe Sixpack and Your Beat Writer) are considering stolen bases quite a bit. When a given players steals are actually productive, these guys have lucked into an appropriate rating, not an overrating. To keep piling on Pierre - his CS are usually ignored, making him even more overrated.