More Numbers
« Listening to Classic Rock Radio is Bad For You | Main | Walks »We're almost 10% of the way through the season, so let's look at OPS's by position:
| POS | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | 161 | 278 | 323 |
| C | 186 | 183 | 220 |
| 1B | 347 | 502 | 1000 |
| 2B | 385 | 458 | 577 |
| 3B | 286 | 359 | 500 |
| SS | 306 | 380 | 419 |
| LF | 172 | 209 | 266 |
| CF | 207 | 299 | 379 |
| RF | 237 | 286 | 288 |
The original point here was to quantify the awfulness of the outfield to this point, but the overperformance of the pitchers and second basemen is just as big a story. I suppose it's too early to complain about Brandon Phillips' big game in Milwaukee last night. I can't decide whether it's a good thing that the Cardinals have struggled and yet are 9-6. Some other notes:
• Junior Spivey's hitting 226 / 423 / 283 at Memphis, the kind of line you don't see too often. Spivey's got more walks (16) than hits (12). Larry Bigbie still doesn't have a hit in 9 at-bats. Last night, however, he managed to not strike out. I suppose that's an anecdotal indicator of the talent level at AAA, that a player who projects to be a mediocre major league hitter can't fall out of bed and hit there.
• My official oddball prospect of 2006 is Cory Doyne, a reliever at AA Springfield and the Cardinals' #27 prospect according to Baseball America. He has a 0.00 ERA through the grand sum of 9 innings in 2006. Doyne's a minor league reliever who's been released by the Astros and Padres, evidently due to a "lack of maturity." BA reports that Doyne's also got a 95-mph fastball and a hard slider.
• As you've probably heard, Derrek Lee will miss significant time due to a broken wrist. If you believe WARPs and the like, this will cost the Cubs 2-3 games; it seems like it should be more than though, doesn't it? The Cubs already faced an uphill battle making the playoffs, and Lee's injury on top of Prior's and Wood's absences obviously doesn't make it any easier.
Posted by Rob at April 21, 2006 05:56 AMReady for an Mulder/Edmonds/Marquis outfield? I am.
Posted by: MO Boiler at April 21, 2006 12:15 PMBased on those numbers I think we can expect---really, EXPECT---significantly better performance from our catcher and from all three outfield positions...
Sure, 1B and 2B will come down some, as well as probably a little at SS, but there's every reason to expect this lineup to produce quite a bit better than they have thus far.
Posted by: salvo at April 21, 2006 12:24 PMFree John Gall!
Posted by: Danup at April 21, 2006 02:58 PMGood Lord, Pujols is amazing.
Posted by: Rob at April 21, 2006 07:19 PMMy understanding is that Gall is out of options, so the Cards can't call him up to St. Louis. I could be mistaken but that's what I heard. More likely is a trade. At this point I think Gall deserves a chance with another team. Sometimes things just don't work. JRod had the same experience with the Yankees and now he's an important cog in the Cardinals machine.
How about a Spivey/Gall trade for an outfield or pitching prospect? That's about all you're going to get for them. But I think Walt will be more patient and try to package them for a greater return in mid-season.
Posted by: David at April 24, 2006 11:11 AMMy understanding is that Gall is out of options, so the Cards can't call him up to St. Louis. I could be mistaken but that's what I heard. More likely is a trade. At this point I think Gall deserves a chance with another team. Sometimes things just don't work. JRod had the same experience with the Yankees and now he's an important cog in the Cardinals machine.
How about a Spivey/Gall trade for an outfield or pitching prospect? That's about all you're going to get for them. But I think Walt will be more patient and try to package them for a greater return in mid-season.
Posted by: David at April 24, 2006 11:11 AM