Proceeds from the ads below will be donated to the
Bob Wuesthoff scholarship fund.
Saturday, June 17, 2006 |
Energized: Ranting About The Angels' Offense
Okay, to hell with yesterday's apathy, now I'm mad — and it's not just because the team sent down their best pitcher over the last month, Jered Weaver, in a gust of snarky ha-ha-ha's from the BTF crowd, and Rich's exasperated incomprehension of the Angels' front office moves.
The other thing I wanted to get off my chest is my anguish reading about the RBI nutjobbery going on over at Halos Heaven, and even more freakishly, at the Angels' own front office, used as a reason to justify Anderson's ridiculous contract, or to bash Mike Napoli or Dallas McPherson. Consider these choice passages clipped from the above link:
No, a couple things got me really going, one of which happened yesterday in the pregame show; but the awfulness of yesterday's game just knocked it out of my noggin. Before the game, Mickey Hatcher mentioned Vlad and Cabrera as the only two Angels whose offensive game had come together. Suddenly, I found my head exploding, a bad thing because I was navigating Westside side streets at the time. The name "Mike Napoli" rushed into my head, and of a sudden I realized: walks just don't count for the team's dubious hitting instructor. Consider:
- He leads the club in homers per plate appearance (16.67 PA/HR), just barely ahead of Vlad (17 PA/HR).
- He's hitting .274, which puts him ahead of regulars Dallas McPherson, Adam Kennedy, Chone Figgins, and Kendry Morales.
- But here's his most damning sin: he's getting walks at a rate of 6.25 PA/BB.
The other thing I wanted to get off my chest is my anguish reading about the RBI nutjobbery going on over at Halos Heaven, and even more freakishly, at the Angels' own front office, used as a reason to justify Anderson's ridiculous contract, or to bash Mike Napoli or Dallas McPherson. Consider these choice passages clipped from the above link:
Another aspect of his game McPherson must improve is his run production. He has five home runs and 10 RBIs since his callup on May 9. Angels third basemen rank last in the American League in RBIs and batting average and 10th in home runs, though leadoff hitter Chone Figgins has been the starter most of the season.I shouldn't have to go into the basics again, but if you want to use RBIs as a standard for production, fine — but let's see how they do lined up in such situations:"We want to see the RBIs go up and see him not striking out as much," Hatcher said. "When he shows the manager he can do that, you'll probably see a lot more of him."
Player RISP Avg. ===================== Anderson .328 McPherson .273 Napoli .313
Now, all due respect given and granted for small (and in some cases, miniscule) sample sizes, but while Anderson is doing a fine job in these circumstances, McPherson and Napoli aren't slouches, either. RBIs aren't necessarily meaningless, but they're no better than using the frosting to judge the cake.
Comments:
David Eckstein, who was an ace at getting four wide ones
Really? The guy's got a lifetime OBP of .353. He's hardly Kevin Youkilis.
Let's compare him to your living dead, Chone Figgins, over the past few seasons:
2004: Figgins - 49 Eckstein - 42
2005: Figgins - 64 Eckstein - 58
2006: Figgins -27 Eckstein - 18
They've had relatively the same number of ABs over each of the last three.
Things certainly look rosy from a distance, no?
Really? The guy's got a lifetime OBP of .353. He's hardly Kevin Youkilis.
Let's compare him to your living dead, Chone Figgins, over the past few seasons:
2004: Figgins - 49 Eckstein - 42
2005: Figgins - 64 Eckstein - 58
2006: Figgins -27 Eckstein - 18
They've had relatively the same number of ABs over each of the last three.
Things certainly look rosy from a distance, no?
# posted by 
: 6/17/2006 03:21:00 PM
: 6/17/2006 03:21:00 PM
Matt,
I differ with you slightly regarding why I suspect that Hatcher is a bad influence on any hitters that pay attention to him.
Hatcher's career batting totals are notable for:
Low strikeout rates
Low walk rates
No power
Hatcher was a contact hitter playing at a power position. The Angels would be well served to keep him as far away from Kotchman as possible. I don't worry so much that Hatcher doesn't believe that walks are valuable, as that Hatcher doesn't understand that part of the trade-off for more walks and higher slugging is more strike outs. It is Hatcher's hatred of the unproductive strike out that is pernicious.
Regarding Eckstein--much of his OBP value is tied to his skill at getting hit by pitches.
Regarding Hatcher not walking more than he struck out--mostg batters strike out more than they walk. Hatcher's problem was that he didn't walk much at all or hit for power.
I differ with you slightly regarding why I suspect that Hatcher is a bad influence on any hitters that pay attention to him.
Hatcher's career batting totals are notable for:
Low strikeout rates
Low walk rates
No power
Hatcher was a contact hitter playing at a power position. The Angels would be well served to keep him as far away from Kotchman as possible. I don't worry so much that Hatcher doesn't believe that walks are valuable, as that Hatcher doesn't understand that part of the trade-off for more walks and higher slugging is more strike outs. It is Hatcher's hatred of the unproductive strike out that is pernicious.
Regarding Eckstein--much of his OBP value is tied to his skill at getting hit by pitches.
Regarding Hatcher not walking more than he struck out--mostg batters strike out more than they walk. Hatcher's problem was that he didn't walk much at all or hit for power.
# posted by : 6/17/2006 04:41:00 PM
: 6/17/2006 04:41:00 PM
Amazing.
Anyone who has EVER played the game know that RBI's are a statistic of opportunity.
IN THEORY, if Player A comes to bat 500 times during the year, but no one is ever on base, he could bat 1.000 and NEVER drive in a run.
On the flip side, if Player B comes to bat 500 times with a runner on third every time, he could bat .000 (literally!) and have 500 RBI's!
Now, that being said, productive outs ARE important with a runner on third and less than two outs, but c'mon...
Anyone who has EVER played the game know that RBI's are a statistic of opportunity.
IN THEORY, if Player A comes to bat 500 times during the year, but no one is ever on base, he could bat 1.000 and NEVER drive in a run.
On the flip side, if Player B comes to bat 500 times with a runner on third every time, he could bat .000 (literally!) and have 500 RBI's!
Now, that being said, productive outs ARE important with a runner on third and less than two outs, but c'mon...
# posted by : 6/18/2006 12:07:00 AM
: 6/18/2006 12:07:00 AMNewer› ‹Older
 |
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.