the cardinals have a new second baseman. i'll be updating this post periodically as time permits.
Update [2006-7-30 19:46:12 by lboros]: here are belliard's career stats. last year he set career highs in homers, rbis, and extra-base hits; 2d-bests in batting avg and slugging. luna, rather ironically, is hitting for the exact same avg this season, with a higher obp and about the same slugging pct. both players are at the upper range of their PECOTAs -- belliard at ~75 pct, luna at ~90 pct.
contracts: belliard is a free agent after this year; luna won't become arbitration eligible until after the 2007 season.
defense: there aren't a lot of numbers available for luna because his playing time at 2b has been so limited. belliard scored very poorly in chris dial's zone-rating-based system for evaluating defense; pinto's probabilistic model of range has belliard in the middle of the pack.
splits: belliard's numbers have been helped a lot by playing in jacobs field. at home from 2003-05, he had an .803 ops at home, .742 on the road. in 2006 he is better on the road (.786) than at home (.720).
snap reaction: i don't get it. luna and belliard aren't all that disinguishable in terms of ability; one might argue that belliard's longer track record of offensive achievement makes him a better bet for the stretch run, but that's a pretty weak argument. luna is younger, still on the development upswing and, more important, under club control for four more years; he also can play shortstop, which belliard cannot. aaron miles now becomes the cardinals' backup ss, and he's not qualified to play the position.
i don't really see how this helps.
additional comments in mike dallas' diary.
indians fans react at let's go tribe.