Note To Scott Hatteberg: Tough Clogs Don’t Stand A Chance
It’s a little bit down the list in these Notes , so I’ll just reprint it here. I have to. It’s so freaking hilarious that it’d be a sin not to.
Not down with OBP: Baker has repeatedly talked about the desire to have a do-it-all leadoff hitter with speed. What kinds of hitters is he looking for further down the lineup? Does he want guys with lofty on-base percentages? The answer will likely not sit well with fans of the book “Moneyball,” because Baker said he believes the OBP statistic is overvalued.
“I’m big on driving in runs and scoring runs,” Baker said. “Guys in the middle should score about close to equal to what they drive in. On-base percentage, that’s fine and dandy. But a lot of times guys get so much into on-base percentage that they cease to swing. It’s becoming a little bit out of control.
“What you do is run the pitcher’s count up, that helps,” Baker said. “You put him in the stretch, that helps. But your job in the middle is to either score them or drive them in. The name of the game is scoring runs. Sometimes, you get so caught up in on-base percentage that you’re clogging up the bases.”
Cousin Mose of course takes an axe to it all, but I’ll say this in Dusty’s defense–what he’s trying to say (poorly) is that when your 3,4, or 5 hitter is up with runners on base, that he needs to hit a pitch that may not be a strike, but is still hittable.
However–and this is why I wonder why this guy wastes so much time to defend this inanity–that’s merely a straw man thrown out by Baker. Most good 3, 4, and 5 hitters already do this–they’re not going to the plate hoping to reach first on a walk, they’re looking for that one pitch–which may only appear once in an bat–that they can hammer as if they were at the driving range. And, if that pitch never comes, then the hitter will–and should, despite Dusty’s protestations–take his base. This oversimplification on Baker’s part to boil it down to some sort of basic discussion about the validity of Base on Balls is so bizarre, you almost wonder if he’s angling for a Drano endorsement.
I’m just relieved that this hippie-ass, magic dust, pseudo-voodoo dude act is managing somewhere else.
- Speaking of 3,4, and 5 hitters, is anyone else bummed by the fact that ours will be coming up after two of the three worst OBP guys in the lineup? I know that Soriano can sometimes start a game with a run by going yard–and that’s nice–but at what point will Uncle Lou realize that–in addition to his hammy injury last year which has still apparently slowed him–Soriano is now 32 years old? He’s slowing down anyway, and now you throw the hammy on top of it? But Soriano can still hit. Very productively, in fact. Low OBP/Old Wheels/Slugs The Shit Out Of The Ball. Why the hell would you bat this guy first now?
- And Theriot? Hey, I know the warmhearted like to hear their Theriot puppy stories, but he could just as easily prove that 2007 was his peak as he could prove that it was but a first step forward, and his 2007 wasn’t rally that great to begin with.
- Dolan hits one off the wall to start the Spring.
- Recently acquired hard-throwing righthander Jose Ascanio got punched in the face during a robbery in Scottsdale. Why couldn’t this have happened to Roberto Novoa?
- Kurt talks to Chuck about why bloggers don’t have the opportunity to ask Ted Lilly where he hides the bodies.
- Let’s set the over/under on when Prince falls off his meat wagon at St. Patricks Day. I’ll take the under.
- Don’t forget to keep up on your NASCAR.
- As a charter member of the Hank White Fan Club, let me say how I proud I am of my own stupidity. In all seriousness, though, Whitey’s contributions to the team this year will probably be at their most valuable in his four seasons here. Any illusions that Blanco has had about ever being an everyday player were extinguised long before he came to Chicago 3 years ago, so he’s really got himself into a nice spot. Settled in and well-rested (as always) behind little toro Geovany Soto, the two Latin backstops give the Cubs what looks like some rare solidity at the position. Viva Hank White!
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