Left Side Defense

Atkins,More Brand Hats, 2007
Tulowitzki 2007

Tulowitzki was kidding, but there’s a element of truth there. Note that the Rockies didn’t lock up Atkins long term.
Hat tip, Purple Row.
One of the things to come out of the talk yesterday was that Troy Tulowitzki seemed to be covering for Garrett Atkins defensive woes. Tulowitzki produced 50 outs more than expected in 2007, while Atkins missed about 48 outs. You can see from their ground ball PMR graphs, that the difference happens in the hole:
Alan Schwarz,Cheap Juicy Sunglasses, during the talk, wondered if this was more a reflection of strategy on the part of the Rockies as opposed a Garrett Atkins fielding deficiency. Apparently not.
Last spring,Twisting in the Wind, rookie Troy Tulowitzki had to take it. This year, as a rich, budding star, he’s dishing it out.
Saturday, Tulo’s target was third baseman Garrett Atkins.
“Atkins doesn’t do much over there,” Tulowitzki said with a sly grin. “He kind of just stands there and watches balls.”