Pettitte is dealing as Yanks build lead
Posted by: Peter Abraham - Posted in Misc on Apr 10, 2007 
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The best news for the Yankees tonight is Andy Pettitte’s shutout through four innings. Minnesota has grounded into eight outs and Andy has three strikeouts.
He’s at 61 pitches through four innings, so he could give them another two.
I’d like to Tivo these games to show anybody who doesn’t think Doug Mientkiewicz will help this team on defense. In this series alone he has made three plays on balls that well could have been throwing errors.
There is no stat that determines how many throws guys like Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano will try and make because they trust that Mientkiewicz will make a play.
Somebody asked Joe Torre today if he had any plans to play Jason Giambi at first. Torre shook his head. I suspect that other than interleague away games, we may not see Giambi at first base more than a handful of times this season.
Meanwhile Johnny Damon just crushed one to right. 6-0 Yankees. They may never want to leave here.
with this lead, andy needs to go 6 unless he’s absolutely gassed.
I was a fan of Doug Mientkiewicz from the start and now that I’m seeing his defensive reputation in action, I LOVE the signing.
is anyone else watching on gameday? I can’t get it to display pitch speed and break. Any help would be awesome!!
“I’d like to Tivo these games to show anybody who doesn’t think Doug Mientkiewicz will help this team on defense. In this series alone he has made three plays on balls that well could have been throwing errors.”
well said, pete.
max,
my gameday won’t do that either when i use it. is your internet connection super fast? it also might have something to do with how much RAM you’ve got. that kind of thing slows a computer way down, so sometimes only the “essential” graphics will load.
did giambi just hit a ball to the left side of 2nd base?
Um, Kasey, it sure looks like the cold did affect this team.
Nice job by Giambi going to the opposite field.
Hey giambi took it the other way. JeterMVP I completely agree if there was one position I wanted to see gold glove defense at it was 1st. He can affect the outcome of more plays as he’s on the receiving end of most. In addition to this almost all of AROD’s errors last year were throwing so having a top notch receiver can only help.
You can get pitch speed on Gameday? I like the new look to it, but getting pitch speed is a great feature.
In the lower left is says balls/strikes and has columns for speed, break and something else I can’t decipher. It displayed on my girlfriends Compaq laptop from 2003 but it won’t on my Dell desktop from 04?? what gives?
anaconda,
if they win this game, i will absolutely say you were right and i was wrong.
of the five poor starts we saw last week, the two that worried me most were mussina and igawa. moose just looked awful out there. pettitte and pavano both had bad defense behind them, and pettitte was clearly gassed early. but moose’s start was just godawful. he had no velocity, and at no point was he in control of the game. igawa looked like a steaming pile of crap. i saw nothing positive from him.
so, we’ll see how those two perform the next two days. andy looks much better and hopefully he’ll get stronger as he gets back in to his running routine. i don’t expect 7 IP, 2 ER from pavano every time out, but it was a good building block.
i think the pitch speed and break is only available at certain parks right now, Tonight you can only get it for the KC-Toronto game. My guess is the technology is there- but only a few stadiums are staffed to provide it.
Tampa-Texas and Wash-Atlanta have it too this evening. Not the Yanks game though.
Now I remember what it’s like to watch a typical Andy Pettitte start.
I admit it, Mientkiewicz looks awesome grabbing those throws to first. And he even got on base today! Although I think he just fell down while grounding into a double play.
That kind of start is classic Moose. You had to expect it after he got too many days rest and with the cold weather and all. He is such a creature of habit (diva) that all these other things are serious distractions to him. But he’ll do better next time.
“mientkiewics just minkstumbled” quote from my baby cousin on the ground
We’ll be very glad we have Minky when we get to the playoffs (a little positive thinking never hurts).
lets take a poll will pettitte start the 7th or no?
Petite has a great work out regimen, word is Pacano is hooke don it, like Petite was on Clemens’s.
With Pavano’s potential and Petite’s workout, just imagine.
And if Clemens comes back to the yanks, they would be amazing!!!
The two disciples and Clemens
Looks like Andy is done for the night, has a high pitch count. 7 shut out innings, i’ll take that any day of the week.
Next up is Mike, it is his turn to step up to the plate and continue the good Yankee pitching!
The Metrodome. Where players become legends.
94 pitches, pithced two days ago, I don’t think he would
Eric it is Pettitte, not petite (as in petite clothing). Just a pet peeve of mine.
no. pettitte’s day is done.
no – we’ll see Proctor
jennifer,
for what it’s worth, andy through six shutout innings, not seven.
oops, i’ll take 6 though.
Cool Jennifer, thanks for pointing that out, will keep it in mind, sorry.
Oh, it’s Erick, a pet peeve of mine too, hehehe.
How do you come out of the bullpen and walk the first guy? I will never understand this.
proctor doesn’t look good at all. it’s a 7-0 game, scott. get it together.
wow – you guys sound like John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman – they’ve just said the exact same thing.
Maybe he’s too warm. (j/k)
two straight walks. in a 7-0 game. pathetic.
ugh proctor what are you doing?
Scott, there is no way Torre will send you out for another 102 innings if you keep this up.
and the second guy on four pitches…
maybe he needs the cold weather, that metrodome air conditioning is terrible on him!
Sorry Erick. I realized that after I posted it.
Nigel, Scott had the first guy struck out, he didn’t get the strike call, now he is flustered.
Petite has a great work out regimen, word is Pacano is hooke don it, like Petite was on Clemens’s.
Pettitte. He’s not petite, at least I’ve never heard a 6’5 235 lb. man described as such…
just a crap outing from proctor. good thing it came in an unimportant situation.
its ok proctor started slow last year too
No worries jennifer, just kidding with you.
Hey the pen has been lights out all year, they’ve spoiled us. Proctor just has to catch up to them. Don´t worry, not everyone can be perfect all the time.
With the way Pettitte was pitching, you bet the twins batters jumped on a different guy and waited it out.
He had Morneau struck out and didn’t get the call. The ball was right down the middle of the plate and called a ball.
Unfortunately, he let that bother him and just handed Hunter a free pass.
Made good pitches after that and Kugal broke a bat for his hit.
Yes, you can’t walk 2 guys with a 7 run lead but, he got screwed on one of them.
This is why they have a deep bullpen this yr. Now, we see if it holds up.
just cause he didn’t get a questionable strike call doesn’t give him an excuse to throw 4 straight balls.
Sometimes Scotty gives me indigestion. When you have a 7-0 lead you are supposed to come in and be really aggressive. Lots of fastballs, keep challenging them. I hope this isn’t a sign of anything other than he just didn’t have it tonight. (can’t help but think that those 102 appearances in ’06 are bound to catch up with a guy sooner or later).
Its also a time to work on other pitches. You can’t just pump fastball after fastball down the middle of the plate.
Last year, the Yankees didn’t have the luxury of being able to make a pitching change mid-inning and put another quality arm out there to clean things up.
Last year, that’s a 28 pitch inning for Proctor and Joe would have run him out there again tomorrow after a Jared Wright 5 inning start.
This year, he takes him out, puts Vizcaino in, gets the out, and still has Proctor fresh for tomorrow if he needs him.
The benefit of a deep bullpen.
Its not like Proctor WANTS to walk guys. It happens. Bottom line, minimal damage. That’s what counts.
And Vizcaino didn’t look good, either. That last fly ball would have been a HR in many ballparks.
I sure hope Proctor doesn’t become as innefective as Quantrill did when Torre overused him.
I just hope that witha deeper pen and more reliable guys out there, Torre FINALY learns how to manage a pen and doesn´t abuse two or three guys like always and ends up hurting their performances.
And with all the guys at triple AAA they can call up there is no excuse for his eternal mismanagement of relivers. He doesn’t trust a guy? Call another up, don’t over work the rest because of it.
The ‘ol, “that ball is out in a lot of ballparks” argument.
Perhaps, in other ballparks, you pitch Castillo differently.
You can’t pitch him down in the zone because he can chop the ball on the turf for hits. So, you pitch him up in the zone and you want him to hit the ball in the air because he doesn’t have any power.
Luis did his job. Its not figure skating, you don’t get style points.
The bullpen, aside from Mariano, usually gives me pains in my stomach.
“Luis did his job. Its not figure skating, you don’t get style points.”
True, but I watched Vizcaino give up so many HR’s on 2 strike pitches when he was with Milwaukee that I am very skeptical of him in anything other than mop-up situations.
Vizcaino from the side or back looks a lot like Contreras….Same number I’m pretty sure right?
Talking of bullpen pains, I see Timlin returned to the Red Sox pen in glorious fashion today.
The only two guys they have in the pen who can throw are Papelbon and Okajima. Only a matter of time before one of them breaks down from over use. Probably Pap, then they’ll all remember that their docs said not to use him out of the pen. And the 5 out saves have started already! Shame really, he seems like a nice guy. Glad the Yanks are showing more sense with their young arms.
Boston also sent the shellshocked Delcarmen and Hansen back to AAA after spending pretty much all of last season getting beat up in Boston.
vizcaino was getting hit hard, style points argument aside. he didn’t look much better than proctor, just got better results.
Melky with the leather!
all of melky’s hits have bene up the middle. good to see.
I also can´t understand the Papelbon thing, don’t risk his health if it´s that bad. Come on, get some reliever somewhere as patch work until you can trade for a closer.
And from what I’ve read, Okajima isn’t that hot, it might be just one reliable guy.
Don’t look now, but Melky is getting his groove back with three hits tonight and a great running grab in the 8th inning.
He was much better in Arizona last year because he was able to throw his slider for strikes deep in counts.
In Milwaukee, he just threw fastball after fastball, fell behind in counts, and was a sitting duck.
Sort of like Proctor was until last year.
Vizcaino is a guy that, if Joe doesn’t burn him out, can really help this year because he is fearless and he wants the ball everyday.
With Luis in the ‘pen, there will be times they can roll Proctor into the 8th inning role, to give Farnsworth a rest, and even have him throw 2 innings in games the starters aren’t great, without the fear of missing him for 2-3 days. That’s a real luxury in a division where everybody can hit the ball.
Another hit for Melky. That’s 3 hits and a very good catch in the OF. One day, and he is “back”.
I love Matsui as a player. However, Melky being in the lineup everyday gives them a better defensive option and, when he is hitting, a tough out at the end of the order.
He isn’t a better player than Matsui but, there are times he is a better fit.
3 for 4, all singles, but three hits, pretty nice.
Haven’t seen Okajima pitch yet but his results (1st pitch aside) have been pretty decent. I guess its a small sample though and once hitters have some more looks at him it could be a different matter.
I know this is a ways off but do you see Matsui moving to the DH role anytime, maybe in a year or two when Giambi is gone? I have heard questions about his glove/arm since he came up and he is getting up there in age. I think he would be a great DH but I don’t see him liking it very much. I think with another year to play in the field Melky could be a very good defensive left fielder, and I like him at the plate. I think he could put up batting stats comparable to Torii Hunter who never hits a ton of home runs but hits 20-35 each year with 80-110 Rbis and playin good defense.
any second now some chucklehead will complain that Joe took Giambi out of a 7-1 game
I don’t think that Mientkiewicz’s defense compensates for his offense. It’s kind of ironic that Phelps probably made the best defensive play by a Yankee 1Bman this season.
i don’t know that i’d say melky’s a better fit. matsui’s one of the hardest outs in the game. melky’s a better defensive player, for sure, though.
Gawd, it’s getting ugly out there… 10-1.
kevin thompson!
rich,
have you been watching these games?! minky’s defense is spectacular. i love having him on the team.
Haha, i like when Pete chimes in like that. Good work on the blog Pete, this thing has exploded. Every thread gets over 50+ comments on it so the traffic has to be sky rocketing, good work. Maybe Steinbrenner should put a retractable roof on the new Stadium after how these guys are playing indoors
kasey,
Because I disagree with you I haven’t been watching the games? Is that really your point?
Obviously, it was fine taking Giambi out with a big lead. Doing it in a close game as Torre often does, is not smart.
By the way guys if you think our pen is overworked check out the Twins! Their pen has thrown more pitches than their starter tonight.
From everything I’ve read and heard, Thompson seems to have an excellent work ethic. I think he could definitely cut it as a fourth outfielder on many teams.
rich,
i’m just saying minky’s defense has already been invaluable this year. he’s making some great plays out there. in a lineup this stacked, i’d say it compensates for his lack of hitting.
Mientkiewicz’s stats:
.188 .278 .188
He’s a late inning replacement if that continues.
It really doesn’t matter, but boy were Cano’s last two at bats ugly. He swung at several pitches in the dirt, and pitches that were at his head.
Anyway, Cabrera looks like hes gotten his stroke back. Getting himself a few hits, and a rbi, with some nice defensive work.
Our pen isn’t that overworked, no one has thrown more than 4 times or more than 5 innings. For being the 7th game of the season that isn’t to bad, ecspecially when the two guys with 4 app. are Myers and Bruney before tonight which are the bottom of the bullpen guys.
kasey,
I couldn’t disagree more. It has a value, but not *nearly* enough to compensate for replacement level or worse offense.
Meanwhile, we need to get Mo’ some more work. Three pitches, two outs. Barely breaks a sweat.
It is early days Rich, remember some of those games were played in temps of minus 230 degrees. Giambi is hitting .192, give em time to settle in.
Rich who else was there out there to play first? Craig Wilson? There weren’t a lot of other options if they are keeping the door open for Texiera in ’09. They certainly don’t need any more guys that are a year away from being a DH.
alright, anaconda, it appears you were correct about the cold effecting the team. it definitely seemed to have a bigger effect than i’d thought.
Minky is NOT a late-inning replacement for this team because he is far superior defensively than Phelps.
Minkey has been digging throws out of the dirt that would have likely skipped passed Phelps and into the stands.
It takes a big man when you’re wrong, so good for you.
Let’s keep positive thoughts on this team and don’t revert to spouting your doomsday scenarios if they don’t win tomorrow.
Other than Proctor’s complete rustiness (maybe he does need to go out everynight to be effective?) it was a great game. Poor Twins pitching.
Brian,
He’s just not that good.
Well said Nick B, I always liked the signing of Minky but if it does all go wrong it a a short term, relatively low salary gamble.
Options are open for moves during or after this season, but I don’t think we’ll need them. Though Cash might like to bring another big right handed bat into the lineup to take some pressure off ARod when we face lefties (Santana) in the post season. He’ll have the pitching to trade for it.
Interesting fact from Blogging the Yanks: Myers has thrown 4 innings this year, last year his high for any month was 6 1/3, haha, thats good work if you can find it. Wish my parents would have made me throw left handed when I was young
Nick,
I prefer Phelps.
Neither has a big stat pool to look at so I guess all I can say Rich is to let it play out and I’m sure by June the best player will get the majority of AB’s or they will trade for someone to put in there. I think they both deserve the opportunity to show themselves and see what they can do. So far they have one guy has 13 Ab’s and the other has 8 so its pretty even b/c I’m guessin Phelps will get in tomorrow and get his 4-5 to catch up. Let it play out
what exactly has Phelps ever done to get so much of a following on here? one Spring Training when he was fighting for a job? There’s a reason we got him in the rule 5 draft. I’ll give the guy a chance to prove something, he earned that chance in ST. But it’s a chance he’s earned, not the HOF.
Nick,
I have no choice but to let it play out. I’ll root for whomever wears the uniform. I just don’t think Mientkiewicz merits the PT.
i’d like to see moose pitch well tomorrow. if that happens, i’ll definitely reconsider my position on the rotation.
Chris NY,
Thank you, I don’t get it either. Phelps, Britton, and Bruney get more love on here than some of the big dogs like A-Rod (prior to this hot streak). Not sure why???
I know you have no choice but stop pointing out how bad he is until he is given a chance to prove himself, I will be your biggest supporter if he is hitting .231 in May and Phelps is hitting .270.
Bruney at least showed last year in his brief stint here he could perform in big games and big situations, in the majors… the others, I’m fine with giving a chance and being hopeful with some of what’s written about them, but they still need to earn it on the field (as does Bruney for longer period of time, and so far I think he’s headed towards doing so).
Things are looking up for the Yankees. Gloomy and rainbowtrout can’t speak now.
Check this out http://bubba-crosby.blogspot.com/
Ok, I know it’s way too early for this, but 60+ HR’s this year for A-Rod?
ESPN just showed other guys who started with as many HR’s as he has in the first 7 games and they all finished in the 50′s/high 50′s.
Not an expectation or anything, but anyone else think 60 or more is posssible? Too soon to tell, but fun to think about. As of right now, he’s on pace for 138….
Slugger, great oatmeal quote in that blog……
I think he’ll be in the high 50′s, low 60′s. He’s a great player, and is going to get some good pitches to hit this summer. People can’t pitch around him like Bonds a few years ago or Howard last year or even Pujols b/c of the lineup the Yanks have
Nick,
I didn’t bring up his name. But when others do, I have every right to respond.
“People can’t pitch around him like Bonds a few years ago or Howard last year or even Pujols b/c of the lineup the Yanks have”
Why not? It’s not like Giambi is some incredible hitter at this stage in his career. When Matsui comes back, I’d rather have him bat 5th.
Great game. Things are moving forward. Oh, and good work on ignoring the fish poster.
Rich
April 10th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
I don’t think that Mientkiewicz’s defense compensates for his offense. It’s kind of ironic that Phelps probably made the best defensive play by a Yankee 1Bman this season.
–and the worst defensive play by a Yankee 1B this season (we should call it both ways, right, Rich??). Let it play out.
If Phelps does better, he will play. Both have had good and bad moments. 7 games into the season is a bit quick to write someone off…. unless, of course, you already wrote them off prior to spring training. If Phelps ends up with the full-time job, so be it…. but it will take time. He has MUCH to prove at 1B before he should be labeled adequate. I hope they both do well, FWIW.
I’ll bet you that Jeter, A-Rod, Cano, and our pitchers disagree with your assessment of the value of Doug’s defense. Stats don’t cover every aspect of the game.
Why don’t Doug’s 2006 offensive stats count?? Are 16 AB this season a better sample size than 314 last season?? Please explain that one. Phelps AAA stats count, right?? Again, I think facing pitchers from the Tigers, Twins and White Sox last season may have been tougher than facing pitchers from Indianapolis, Richmond, and Syracuse.
Yeah but there are guys on in front of A-Rod a lot more than there were guys in front of those other guys, the Yanks have some of the best 1-3 hitters in the game batting in front of him so there will very rarely be a base open in front of him. Giambi will get better, I don’t think he is a cold weather guy and I think the series in Oakland will get him in gear when he answers the boo birds
“I’ll bet you that Jeter, A-Rod, Cano, and our pitchers disagree with your assessment of the value of Doug’s defense. Stats don’t cover every aspect of the game.”
If they were given a polygraph, I bet they would agree with me.
Stats are +a+ measure of reality. Observation is also a measure of reality. IMO, both dovetail. Neither Mientkiewicz nor any other 1B can’t compensate for not being able to hit.
I just see Phelps as a better player, offense/defense.
first of all the Proctor leadoff walk should have been strike three… It was a strike…
they do have more pitching depth then last year and they have many more arms in the minors……
I’d LOVE to hear from the “Trade A Rod” people right about now….
Ahh, Minky. He’s what I call a good anecdotal baseball player. His numbers stink. But gosh he sure is purty to watch. Hence the anecdotes.
But congratulating a first basemen on his ability to scoop throws is like lauding shortstop for picking up short-hop grounders. Cripes, Giambi, with all his defensive weaknesses, never had much trouble in this regard. Because, you know, he’s a first basemen. (Now Gary Sheffield? Sure. That’s something else entirely.)
I watched every game he’s played in. And I see a below league average first basemen who is sucking runs/hits out of this lineup. That doesn’t matter when A-Rod is hitting home runs every game. But over time? It will matter. Those pesky numbers. They always do.
trade arod now, or risk losing him to art moreno for nothing. sell high.
I’ve got to laugh listening to this Minky slop. If this line-up can’t get it done because the number 9 guy isn’t pounding the ball they should all give their salaries back. I’d love to see the BA/OBP/SLG numbers for the Yankees’ number 9 slot from ’94 – ’06 and will be shocked if anybody but Brosius ever did anything you guys would find acceptable.
This ain’t roto ball. You make the play-offs and it’s pitching and defense and every weakness gets exposed and since we’ve got a predomiantly ground-ball inducing starting staff, it’s a no brainer that the guy with the best fielding percentage of all active major league first baseman sure as hell is more valuable then a rule 5 pick-up
“I’ll bet you that Jeter, A-Rod, Cano, and our pitchers disagree with your assessment of the value of Doug’s defense. Stats don’t cover every aspect of the game.�
If they were given a polygraph, I bet they would agree with me.
Stats are a measure of reality. Observation is also a measure of reality. IMO, both dovetail. Neither Mientkiewicz nor any other 1B can’t compensate for not being able to hit.
I just see Phelps as a better player, offense/defense.
Understood to a point……once Phelps proves he can hit (there is evidence of this) and field (no evidence whatsoever) on a major league level. If that proves to be the case, Phelps deserves to start, but it isn’t the case just yet(yes, it may be at some point). Phelps has power, but I see nothing else noteworthy in his major league numbers. 255 major league innings at 1B can’t possibly translate into being proven defensively, can it?? That doesn’t seem to be nearly enough innings to even begin to make projections. Please explain. Maybe I’m missing something. Phelps will get his AB and opportunities in the field. I don’t view .283/.359 in 314 AB (why is this disregarded, BTW??) as evidence Doug can’t hit, especially in the #9 slot more often than not.
Out of curiosity, does anyone know how many games Phelps played at 1B last season? I don’t know how many were at 1B and how many were at DH. If I remember correctly, he made 7 errors. Over a full season, that would not present a problem….. but if he was Toledo’s DH in half or more of the games, it would represent a major problem.
Rich Myers
April 11th, 2007 at 1:27 am
I’ve got to laugh listening to this Minky slop. If this line-up can’t get it done because the number 9 guy isn’t pounding the ball they should all give their salaries back. I’d love to see the BA/OBP/SLG numbers for the Yankees’ number 9 slot from ‘94 – ‘06 and will be shocked if anybody but Brosius ever did anything you guys would find acceptable.
This ain’t roto ball. You make the play-offs and it’s pitching and defense and every weakness gets exposed and since we’ve got a predomiantly ground-ball inducing starting staff, it’s a no brainer that the guy with the best fielding percentage of all active major league first baseman sure as hell is more valuable then a rule 5 pick-up
Well said. It has yet to be explained how the #9 hitter could even conceivably cost the team wins (keeping in mind said hitter has a career .359 OBP, etc.). Take Doug’s name out of the slams on his offense…… and I’d think Stinnett/Fasano/etc. were being discussed.
If A-Rod isn’t hitting, I hope the burden falls on Giambi, Abreu, Cano and co., not just the #9 hitter. Looking at league-wide stats of #9 hitters, I simply don’t see .295 25 HR 95 RBI .400 OBP….. in fact, I don’t see any that were better than Doug’s #’s in 2006. Have we already forgotten Wilson/Phillips?? They had DREADFUL numbers. I can’t be the only one to remember the mess….on offense AND defense.
I want a HEALTHY Giambi in the lineup…. and the odds are greatly increased when he is the DH. I must admit having some bad memories of his “defense” vs. Detroit in the 2006 playoffs….. it was the 1st time I’ve seen a team run on a 1B. No way in hell that would happen with Mientkiewicz at 1B.
Minky is sucking outs/runs out of the lineup?! How about he is adding outs to our starting pitchers’ totals. Considering the results that we have gotten out of the rotation so far, they need all the help that they can get. The lineup mashes, so defense can be a priority at first. Get your head out of your arse.
First off, a few anecdotal plays do not make an argument. While Minky is a MUCH better 1B than Giambi, his defense has declined with age and injuries. As a result, most metrics put him at slightly above average. Of course, that is light years ahead of Giambi (and probably well ahead of Phelps too). In that context, Minky doesn’t need to hit that much to stay in the lineup. Having said that, he does need to at least be a league average offensive player. With offensive numbers like he had the past few years, not even Keith Hernandez would be valuable.
It’s easy to dismiss the importance of offense from EVERY position when Arod is hitting bombs every night and 4-5 guys are hot. What happens, however, when Arod and Co. hit a bit of a slump. Also, what about injuries? With an older team, there is bound to be periods when 1 or 2 key guys are out of the lineup (see Matsui and Damon this past Sunday). One need only look as far back as last season to see what happens when a stacked lineup suddenly gets beset my injuries. For that reason, the Yankees should not be content to ride the Minky/Phelps platoon if continues to struggle at the plate. A few nice scoops alone do not warrant playing time.
William, amen.
Rbizzler, thanks for the trenchant advice.
William– What is “league average” for the #9 hitter??
Just a guess, but, even for those who’d like to ignore Doug’s 2006 #’s ( I have yet to see an explanation why people want to do that….perhaps you can explain), wouldn’t his composite averages from 2004-2006 be right there with the league average??
David…
League average refers to position, not spot in the batting order. Which is why you’ll find very few corner infielders batting ninth. Close to none, I’d think. Except for Minky.
Harley:
I just can’t buy into the “We’re in trouble if only 7 or 8 of our players hit over league average for their respective positions” argument. That certainly wasn’t the case in 1996, 1998, 1999, or 2000, was it?? Can you show me ANY team in the past 15 years with 9 players hitting above league average??
It’s merely a power argument based on Doug’s 2006 #’s, isn’t it (he’s obviously not a power hitter…. that’s granted)?? Is .283/.359 WAY below league average for a 1B?? Color me skeptical.
What is the league average??
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