Good evening…

 Chris Duncan is the worst left fielder in the history of mankind, right? That seems to be the prevailing opinion, at least if you read some of the squawking messages on the STLtoday.com forums. (And you should see some of my e-mails on Duncan; you’d think he was personally responsible for high gas prices.)

There’s no defending Duncan’s awkward style; he’s kind of scary out there. Put it this way: I don’t think he’d fare well on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.”

The smoothness factor aside, let’s get to the bottom line drive: 

Does Duncan pretty much catch the fly balls that he should catch?

The answer is an emphatic YES.

According to Fielding Bible stats logged on the Bill James web site, billjamesonline.net, Duncan has actually been a plus fielder this season based on his ability to get to fly balls.

According to the John Dewan - Bill James plus-minus system — with the scores filed after video review — Duncan has actually caught more balls than he should have gotten to so far this season.

According to James-Dewan, 52 fly balls have been hit into Duncan’s catchable area. But he’s actually gotten to the ball, and made the grab, 53 times. Which means he tracked down a ball hit out of his zone. Duncan is a plus 1 in the ratings, which places him 9th among MLB left fielders….  that’s right: I said 9th.

However, Duncan’s throwing is a problem. James-Dewan determine that 10 of 19 runners have taken an extra base on Duncan so far this season, a high rate that leaves him near the bottom (31st) of the throwing ratings.

OK, what about another sabermetric system, the Revised Zone Rating? How does Duncan come out there? Very well, actually. In the RZR fielding data that can be found at hardballtimes.com, Duncan has caught 44 of the 47 fly balls that he should have gotten to. That score isn’t as good as his marks in the Dewan-James system, but the RZR of .936 would place Duncan among the top five NL left fielders if he had enough chances to qualify.

Hey, Dunc haters … I tried to warn you not to read this. I didn’t want to irritate anyone.

(Well, maybe a little).

But clumsy appearance aside, Duncan is doing what he’s supposed to do by snaring the catchable fly balls hit in his zone.

-B