Hot Stove talk

[Nazrat]

This article explains it.

Basically, if a hitter is doing something that's completely out of step with the rest of his career, you should be skeptical and demand a larger sample before you buy into those reports that his stroke has been tweaked or how he's seeing the ball better since he started drinking liver smoothies. Sample size is a major principle to grasp, and you'll never look foolish by being roundly unmoved by what a player does in the first few weeks of the season.

That's not all that's wrong with batting average. As much as the .300 hitter is a lionized, what does that really tell us about a player? It tells us he got a hit of some kind in 30% of his at-bats. We have no idea what kinds of hits he got, and we have no idea how he fared in terms of reaching base by other means. We don't even know how many times he came to the plate.

When dealing with percentage statistics, having at least a rough idea of the number of plate appearances is essential. And as far as batting average goes, you can tell much more about a player if his average (AVG) is presented along with his on-base percentage (OBP) and slugging percentage (SLG).

You are in the minority on Batting Average.  Have you read Moneyball?

[Arcadian Del Sol]

In baseball, there is only one thing that matters in regards to batting statistics - the ability to put contact of bat to ball. Nothing else matters.

I've watched Hairston Jr his whole career and he is a mediocre player when it comes to making the bat contact the pitch. He's a mediocre infielder, and he's an above average sprinter.

Which is why Baltimore wanted him - to run bases for its lineup of AARP sponsored power hitters. Along comes Luis Matos who can do everything Hairston does, minus the requisite 2 broken bones per season - and suddenly one of the best prospects in the game is the extra man in on the roster.

Sosa, Palmiero, Gibbons, Lopez.
Thank God Almighty I'm not a starting pitcher in the AL East. While Baltimore certainly isn't a game winning threat, what pitcher wants a win that sends his ERA so high, that we need satellites to track it? If nothing else, it will be fun to watch the bats go POP in Baltimore this season.

[Margalis]

This article explains it.

You are in the minority on Batting Average.  Have you read Moneyball?

I know I'm in the minority - that doesn't make me wrong.

That article is flawed. OBP is a good measure of how many outs someone creates, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

If there is a man on second and you get a walk with 2 outs, most of the time you aren't accomplishing anything. Baseball isn't just about avoiding outs, it's also about doing something active. (Of course, avoiding outs is always good)

There are so many situations where a hit is so much better than a walk. There are many situations where a walk is mostly useless. Man on third, two outs and you draw a walk...ok. The next guy behind is going to have to get a hit.

Another thing I would point out is that a lot of batters run up their OBP against some fairly poor pitchers. Mark Bellhorn is a great example of that. He runs into some good pitching and suddenly his high OBP dissapears. In the regular season against bad teams, you may be able to draw walks with just patience. Against good teams if you aren't a big threat to put the hurt on the ball you can't just sit there with your bat on your shoulder and draw walks. (Bonds may continue to draw walks, a guy like Bellhorn will not)

If I could choose adding +30 to a guys OBP (via walks and HBP) or +20 to his average I'd take the +20 every time. Again, the Angels won using that formula.

Walks are great, but sometimes you need a hit. You rarely if ever *need* a walk.

Edit: When Hairston got injured Roberts filled in for him and did a good job, that also helped make him expendable. I'm not arguing that Hairston is good - I'm arguing that Burnitz is terrible.

[HaemishM]

Burnitz is bad, and I can see him causing me many antacid moments this season. Even if he's hitting 6th or 7th, he still will suck. I think Hairston can be what the Cubs need if he stays healthy; at the very least, he's more of what the Cubs need than Burnitz.

As for power, the Cubs still have Lee (over 30 HR), Ramirez (over 30 HR), and Patterson (20 HR and could probably hit more in a non-leadoff spot). Barrett could give you 15 HR, Garciaparra around 10 HR. The Cubs HAVE power, even without Burnitz's 25-30 HR. They do need table-setters. Hairston will be a better table-setter than they had all last year.

[Shockeye]

The clean-shaven face of greed.

[HaemishM]

/sadf

I'm just happy the Cubs got Juan Pierre, though a case could be made that Damon is more valuable. I'd have taken either.

[Shockeye]

/sadf

I'm just happy the Cubs got Juan Pierre, though a case could be made that Damon is more valuable. I'd have taken either.

If Damon had gone to the Cubs, which would never have happened due to the amount of money demanded, he would've been very valuable. His long hair, beard and attitude would've helped keep things loose in a clubhouse that seriously needs it. But now he's just another corporate Yankees player.

[WayAbvPar]

The Mariners signed-

A catcher who doesn't speak enough English to communicate with his pitchers
A washed up hothead who doesn't believe that dinosaurs ever existed
A run of the mill  pitcher whose low ERA is due mostly to luck instead of repeatable skills


Gonna be another long summer in Seattle.

[HaemishM]

Cheer up. You could have signed Kevin Millwood as your #1 starter, then sobered up and realized he's a #3 at best.

[WayAbvPar]

They got Washburn instead, who if anything is even more mediocre than Millwood.

I think I will start running a pool on what date Everett first does something batshit insane. When does spring training start?

[HaemishM]

I think I will start running a pool on what date Everett first does something batshit insane. When does spring training start?

2 days after Everett first does something batshit insane.