rolling on through . . . .
by lboros on May 5, 2008 9:19 AM EDT
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Printthe cardinals have arrived in denver for their annual stop; i’ll be down at coors field tonight (game-time forecast: partly cloudy, 70 degrees) and again on thursday afternoon, with real life keeping me from the park on tues and wed. at the time the cards came to denver last year, ankiel ryan and parisi were all in triple A, and barton and mclellan were still in A ball. todd wellemeyer had never started a big-league game (he made his first career start out here last year), while joel pineiro was a failed reliever in boston and adam wainwright was no one’s idea of an ace --- he’d made 10 career starts with a 5.59 era. they were 7 games under and 6.5 games out of first last time they visited denver, as unhappy a bunch as you might imagine; this year they float in lighter than the rocky mountain air.
i don’t have much wisdom to offer re the series win over the cubs; aside from one bad inning on saturday they frustrated the league’s highest-scoring offense, and the st louis hitters kept pecking away and got a couple of key hits (one by schumaker, one by pujols). while far from a thumping, it was a nice series win for a team that’s still trying to set the tone for its season. they now enter a stretch that will really tell us just how seriously we should take this team --- 14 road games in the next 21 days, all against teams that finished above .500 last year. two of the opponents (padres and rockies) are well below .500 so far this season, but they’re still not going to be pushovers for the cards. if the team can preserve its current loft (8 games over) through these next 3 weeks, we may be in for a really fun summer.
in the game thread last night somebody remarked that albert’s go-ahead double wasn’t all that impressive, just a groundball with eyes; the same might be said of kennedy’s hit that tied the game back in the 2d inning. that, it turns out, is something we need to keep an eye on. per Baseball-Reference’s splits, the cardinal offense leads the league in seeing-eye rollers: they’re batting .276 on groundballs, nearly 50 points higher than the league average (.228). a 20-point bulge might be sustainable over a full season, but 50 points? not gonna happen. just ask yourself --- is adam kennedy really going to hit .329 all year? he’s hitting .250 on groundballs so far this year, vs a career average on grounders of .192. and kennedy hits a lot of groundballs . . . . . this is a red flag for an offense that so far hasn’t exhibited a whole lot of weapons other than the groundball through the hole; the cards rank 12th in the nl in both homers and stolen bases. they’re due a few additional homers from glaus and duncan, and those might help make up the difference when the groundballs stop hopping through as frequently. but even with the benefit of all those groundball hits, the cardinals rank just 9th in the league in scoring; there’s a danger they’ll sink several spots below that.
corollary: the cardinal defense is gobbling up grounders at a stupendous rate, holding opponents to a .184 average, or 44 points better than league average. this is unsustainable as well, but it’s less of a problem; the cardinals can afford to give up a few more singles as long as they continue to avoid walks and homeruns. unlike the middle-of-pack offense, the pitching currently ranks near the top of the league; it can lose a little altitude and still remain superior.
fact of the day: did you know the cards have only allowed 2 first-inning runs all year? maybe dan and al have trotted that out on the broadcast, but i sure didn’t know it. every other team in the nl has allowed at least 10 first-inning runs to date. more runs are scored in the first inning than any other, for the obvious reason that teams always send good hitters to the plate in the first. this helps explain why the cardinal starting pitchers rank a close second in the league in innings per start ---- they deliver just over 6 innings a start, second in the league (a hair behind the padres). they last two outs longer per start than the members of atlanta’s rotation (who have the league’s best era) and one out longer than the cub and brewer starters. although some of us fretted about the heavy use of the bullpen early on, that has been brought under control: the cardinal bullpen has thrown the fewest innings in the league and made the third fewest appearances (the dodgers and padres have fewer).
a couple of items:
- congrats to will leitch for steering the 1986 cardinals to the division title in TSN’s season-long replay. they won it by a game on the last day of the season, as terry pendleton (batting .199) singled home the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th. the cards take on the houston astros (winners of both the real and simulated 1986 titles) in the nlcs; game 1 is wednesday.
- a friend of mine, shelley bernstein, is running a wisdom-of-crowds-type experiment at the Brooklyn Museum, and we are all invited to participate. shelley and i sat on a blogging panel together at a national conference last week, and she told me about this exercise, which is called Click! it’s essentially a juried photography exhibition in which the public acts as the jury; "click" refers both to the shutter of the camera and the mouse activity of gazillions of online users. you don’t have to be a photography expert to participate, and you don’t have to live in brooklyn; in fact, shelley asked me to post this invitation at VEB because our community is predominantly not made up of photography fans / brooklyn residents. the broader the inputs, the better the results --- or so the "wisdom of crowds" theory goes. here’s more info about the exhibition, and here’s a link to the registration page; no photographs of the dodgers were submitted, but there are still some very thought-provoking images.
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Excellent comments
Even if I am not totally in agreement with the fact that it is not sustainable to hold ba on groundballs that low; this is what I would expect with a very good infield, like the one the Cards can sport.
What really amazes me is the lack of slugging, we know that Glaus, Ankiel, Duncan and even Albert can hit much harder than this, but nonetheless the HRs are not there, the doubles are not always hard hit, and the reliance on high ba on groundballs is really scarying. I hope that things would turn quickly, otherwise pitching will not be able to sustain this forever.
GO CARDS!!!
Do they go hand in hand?
Perhaps the high averaged on ground balls is a reflection of subpar infield defense of the teams played so far. Factor in the low average on ground balls against due to excellent Cardinal defense, sprinkle in a league leading walk total and maybe you have at least part of the reason for 20 wins. Not the obvious, OPS solution, but a winning formula nonetheless?
by Hal Lanier's Pants on May 5, 2008 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions
First inning runs
I have heard Dan and Al remark on how good the Cards have been in the First innings all year. I just gotta hope the Cards keep it up lol.
"Get your hands off me you damn dirty ape!" -RIP Charlton Heston
I have to disagree about Albert's double
I think for most players in the league that may have been a lucky hit, but Albert seems to be able to take the ball down the line or up the middle better then any hitter in the game. Plus that ball was smoked down the line. We’re not talking about a little dribbler that just snuck by the 3b. That’s a double against 99% of 3b, maybe a heathly Rolen knocks that down.
I would like to see some more power from Pujols, but I realize that as a line drive hitter the home runs will come
you may be right about that individual hit
on the season, though, albert is batting .375 on groundballs (15 for 40). his career average on grounders is .254 . . . .
if Albert's a big reason
we have such an abnormally high groundball average then I am not worried. He will get his hits in different ways as the season goes on.
I’d be more concerned if it was Skip or some other overperforming player (kennedy). I don’t have the Baseball Reference subscription but I saw Skip was batting .246 on groundballs. Not extremely high. I cannot see Kennedy’s, Glaus’, or Ankiel’s.
true
But at the same time how many balls on a given year does Albert absolutely smoke at infielders. I think it is a stupid stat to mention how many double playes Albert hits into. Of course he hits in to a lot of double plays! He hits balls harder than anyone in the league, not even Jose Reyes could avoid double plays if he hit balls right at guys as hard as Albert does
There are groundballs and then there are groundballs
THe 3b barely reacted before it was by him. I would say that was a line drive that skirted the ground.
agreed
The only way that hit from Pujols wouldn’t have been out is if it was unluckily hit within two or three feet of an infielder (it almost was)... but the point still remains. I wonder if hard-hit grounders like that one could explain how the home runs are down but the average on groundballs are up – that pitches are being hit hard, just not nearly out of the park?
I'd argue that
Glaus may have had a reasonable stab at it. Glaus had at least 3 brilliant grabs off the line in his series alone. I only mention it due to the healthy Rolen mention.
I use statistics much as a drunken man uses lamp-posts – as support rather than illumination. - Andrew Lang
by AdjustedExpectations on May 5, 2008 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm not so sure
Glaus has impressed me with his very solid glove so far (Tony might say he has “soft hands”), but his range/quickness is nothing like Rolen’s.
In my opinion, Glaus probably wouldn’t have been able to do much more than wave at it, whereas Rolen might have actually had a chance to knock it down/snag it. Scotty’s quickness/range is what makes him so incredible at 3rd.
That said, I’m very pleasantly surprised with Glaus’ glove work so far this season. Let’s just hope his HR stroke comes back…
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
Overall BABIP
Cards overall BABIP is .313. I did not know where to look to find Team LD% but if our overall team BABIP is only .313 then I think that would mean that we are getting unlucky on the Line Drives the team hits. This jives with my impression that the hard hit balls seem to be right at defenders while the groundballs are finding holes. I can think of two line drives right at people yesterday (Dunc, 1st, D. Lee; Schu, ?inning, DeRosa 3B). If I knew where to look for LD% I could check my impressions.
the team BABIP is 22 points above the league average
in the last 10 years, no team has maintained a BABIP that far above league average except the colorado rockies, in various years. anything more than 10 points above league average is extremely rare.
Not arguing that some regression will not happen
I’m just saying that I that I think the Cards have been unlucky on their hard hit balls. I think that we will see a corresponding rise in slugging as the Cards play in more home run friendly ballparks while they lose a bit on the batting average as more grounders find gloves. But again, I have the impression that so far the Cards have been unlucky in that the line drives this team hits seem to be right at defenders many times. I just don’t know where to look to confirm/debunk my impression.
we can expect more power from glaus and duncan
it may be that the increase in their power will compensate for the inevitable decrease in singles. i certainly hope so.
If we continue to take walks
Then when the power turns on we might actually see an increase in scoring despite a decrease in batting average.
speaking of Colorado
perhaps the Cards’ collective lack of power can be partly attributed to park effects at Busch III, since they’ve played so many games at home so far.
Three games in Colorado might tell us whether this is really is a punch-n-judy club….
That was not a "lucky" hit...
Albert scorched that ball down the line. It would have been out of the park had he gotten some lift on the ball. Nothing cheap about it. D.GOOCH
-- GOOCH
again, maybe albert's double wasn't lucky
that’s really beside the point. the overall point still holds: the cards can’t expect to keep getting hits on groundballs at this rate.
But I also think...
...we’re looking a little too hard now for periphrials to suggest what we’re seeing on the field isn’t real. I think it’s time to acknowledge that we all underestimated this team. We underestimated Tony and his abilitty to manage this team. We underestimated the young players stepping in to take the place of the old foges we let go. We underestimated Dave Duncan’s ability to get the most out of journeyman pitchers.
As for your point, Larry, I agree we’ll see fewer groundball singles as the season moves forward. But we should also see more homers. And I expect the speed on this team to be utilized more in the running game as the season wears on (particularly if Barton gets more PT). That sounds like a good tradeoff for the Cardinal offense to me.
Chris over at THT has an interesting article up today and he has some nice things to say about Tony and whether he thinks the Cardinals are going to fall off the table:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/how-soon-is-now/
-- GOOCH
I believe what we see on the field is real
and peripherals are showing how the Cards accomplish that. Of course regression to mean for some stats is to be expected, as some drift in other stats (positive or negative).
What can’t regress to the mean is the hunger for wins, for playing time, that is the big boost that allows to extract 110% from some players, and to have a team that performs maybe a little bit more than the sum of its parts. Moreover (but this is not luck, this was intentional), IMHO the improvement in defense is giving a big boost in confidence, to both the pitchers and the players. To lose a baserunner because you’re aggressive is something you can mange, to give up a run because you play bad defense is killer.
GO CARDS!!!
i'm not trying to prove a thesis
i’m not starting from a premise —“what we’re seeing on the field isn’t real” -—and then looking for evidence to support it. we’ll find out in due time whether they’re for real or not; there’s currently evidence on both sides of the question. i pointed out one marker that is particularly compelling, and it happens to be a negative one — but i also noted a number of positive markers in today’s post, as i’ve done that throughout the first month.
one other thing, gooch
now that i’ve read the THT article — go back and read my post from last Thursday, “the month that was.” it’s a very similar post with a very similar conclusion - it’s safe to assume that this team is better than we expected.
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2008/5/1/470997/the-month-that-was
noticed that
That article did use alot of the same logic as LB’s article.
Kudos!
Indeed, and I don’t mean to suggest you’re trying to prove the Cardinals are a paper tiger. Rather, I see your post mostly in the vein of my own examination of the Cards start…trying to figure out if it is real, how real it is, and what we might expect going ahead. But I do think we’ve all operated from an underlying assumption that this would be a weak team. I predicted no better than a 4th place finish. My bet is that if you look at a team in a moment of time…a month, two months, a season…and you look at all the perephrials…some are going to be out of line with the average across the league. IOW, an unusual periph here and there is actually usual. ;)
I’m just warning against confirmation bias. We all can fall into the trap of looking for the evidence that confirms our presumptions and ignoring the evidence that contradicts it. I’m not saying that’s what you’ve done, Larry. I’m just offering a general cautionary for us all. As you’ve noted in previous posts, there is alot about the Cardinal’s performance that suggests performance rather than luck and we need to look at the whole picture.
The Cardinals are starting to make a believer out of me. D.GOOCH
-- GOOCH
4th place in the Central may be good...
Right now, the Central looks like a MUCH tougher division than people thought. Everybody recognized that the Brewers and Cubs would be good, everybody knew that the Pirates would stink. So far, the Reds have played much worse than I would have expected, that may or may not continue. But as things stand now, 4th place in the Central may have 83 wins or so.
I just think this was a hard team to predict
Given the level of turnover from the 2007 to the 2008 Cards, and the uncertainty of the recuperating pitchers, I thought it was a fool’s errand to predict how the Cards would do (although I thought they would be better than expected, with expected being a low 70 win season).
I ran the numbers the other day and 44% of the offensive production from 2007 was no longer on the team; that’s a lot of turnover to account for. Given that a lot of the replacements (all of the OF guys, at least) had minimal ML histories, you have extra variability in trying to project the season.
I wonder what impact the weather has played. The Cards have played a majority of their games at home, and it’s been a cold spring, with few really warm days (never thought I would need a blanket to watch my son’s tennis match in May, but that’s what I was doing Saturday morning/afternoon). Subjectively (meaning I have no real proof), one would suspect that cold weather would supress scoring, which would help the starters be better than expected and keep the number of HRs (both for and against) down.
Anyway, the one thing this season predicted was that it would be hard to predict, and one month in that’s the only certainty. But they are making it fun to watch and see what happens.
Dave
+1 ...
There was A LOT of underestimating going on around here … and a lot of people are still trying to stick to those guns … this team WILL win around 88 games … maybe more … and that will be enough to contend with the scubs … I can’t believe I’m still hearing all of this negativity around this site …
Culture of Winning: 10 World Championships, 17 Pennants, 6 Division Championships ...
by Cardinals4Ever on May 5, 2008 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions
With all his greatness
Pujols has got to learn to be more disciplined at the plate. ( I don’t mean to say he is bad, but he is getting his ownself out in too many key spots) It seems he is going to get the Barry Bonds treatment from here on and if he could learn to be as selective as Bonds, there is no telling how high he could go. Face it, the Cardinals will probably not come up with the hitter needed to protect Pojols, so it is going to be up to Albert himself.
Maybe he should give his old friend Barry a call, ask for some tutoring. Just maybe Bonds won’t be so selfish as to not offer some help. I bet he could be an influence on Albert if he tried.
He's taken more walks than anyone in the game
this season. He is pretty damn disciplined! Sure, he is going to expand the zone from time to time from sheer frustration, boredom, and yes, even getting fooled once in a blue moon. You can’t look at those without looking at the many, many times he exhibits extreme patience.
"I believe he’s been reincarnated, that he played before, in the twenties and thirties, and he’s back to prove something." - Former teammate Mark McGwire about Albert Pujols
You are right about the walks
I know that. I said he wasn’t bad and he is not for sure. I was just saying what greatness he could reach if he could become as disciplined a hitter as bonds. Hitters as a whole are not as disciplined now as in the past, but Pujols could be among the best if he worked at it and he is, I see him talking to himself when at bat.
It’s just at this place in time and circumstances he finds himself in he needs to concentrate on it. As great as I think Pujols is, He would not rate in my top ten in pitch selection. Frank Robinson, Musial, Ted Williams, Bonds, Dimaggio would.
Well,
Pujols can’t turn around on a perfect jam-job fastball like Bonds could at the height of his steroid era—part of why Bonds could afford to be so disciplined was that he could handle those perfect 3-2 pitches on the corners, because he coudl power stuff over the fence that would end up as pop fouls for pretty much everyone else
"You say the world has lost it's love. I say embrace what it's made of" - Dar Williams
Plate Discipline = not striking out
You are acting like Pujols can’t hold a candle to Bonds… I think differently. Check out the fangraphs k% comparing the two.
Pujols rookie season (and every year since then) he’s been lower than Bonds.
"...but If I can do some damage and help my team win, I'm going to stay in there" -Albert
I'm not saying that
but they are very different hitters, especially during the Bonds steroid era. Fewer strikeouts, fewer walks, much more willing to place the pitches that the pitcher gives you.
"You say the world has lost it's love. I say embrace what it's made of" - Dar Williams
Who do you mean has fewer walks, Ks, etc.?
Because Pujols has consistently had fewer strikeouts. I don’t believe you can compare their walk rates as an indicator of “plate discipline” because a large part of BB% is how willing the pitcher is to give you pitches you can hit…
Basically what I’m getting at is that Pujols is just as (if not more) disciplined as Bonds at the plate. And looking back on the thread to which I replied, I think I maybe should have replied to ridgesee!
I wish fangraphs had data on the O swing %, etc. for seasons further back! That would be the best indication.
"...but If I can do some damage and help my team win, I'm going to stay in there" -Albert
That's an interesting point.
Barry started racking up a ton of walks in part because of the massive amount of intentional walks he was issued. It doesn’t take any discipline to walk in that situation. Pujols has not yet started to receive that kind of respect in terms of intentional passes.
using strikeouts as a measure of batting eye seems a bit misleading though. That may just indicate that Albert makes contact more often, not that he has better plate discipline. walk rates are the most appropriate to measure plate discipline.
"I believe he’s been reincarnated, that he played before, in the twenties and thirties, and he’s back to prove something." - Former teammate Mark McGwire about Albert Pujols
K%
After thinking about it, I think that you’re right; for a typical batter, BB% is the best gauge of plate discipline. I think we can both agree, however, that comparing a tremendous BB% against an otherworldly BB% doesn’t tell you quite as much!
Isn’t it frustrating having a baseball player on our team that defies measurement?! Haha.
"...but If I can do some damage and help my team win, I'm going to stay in there" -Albert
I know
it kills me. albert is the gold standard, the hitter who does it all. guys, we have a player on our squad who hits for a high average, gets on base at an incredible clip, hits for monstrous power, doesn’t strike out, plays awesome defense at first, and isn’t a scumbag.
All hail King Albert.
"I believe he’s been reincarnated, that he played before, in the twenties and thirties, and he’s back to prove something." - Former teammate Mark McGwire about Albert Pujols
It's impossible to truly measure Bonds' discipline with stats
He got so many unintentional intentional walks, let alone intentional walks, that it’s just not really going to work. And for good reason, he was better than Pujols as a pure hitter plate discipline aside and honestly Puj probably isn’t going to reach that level unless…well you know. That allowed him to be more disciplined as he could take more pitches as he could hit with 2-strikes like no one in history. Lost in his incredible power was that he was hitting .360 to go along with that despite pitchers making every attempt to pitch to unhittable zones. Pujols can hit pitcher’s pitches, that’s all Bonds did for 4-5 years.
That said, Pujols is as disciplined a hitter there is in the game now and to say otherwise is craziness. He’s not Bonds, but no one is and no one likely will be.
With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch
Agreed
"I believe he’s been reincarnated, that he played before, in the twenties and thirties, and he’s back to prove something." - Former teammate Mark McGwire about Albert Pujols
One thing that I really enjoy...
since I dislike Barry so much, is that Albert is a superior hitter to Barry at the same point in his career. Which to me shows that Albert is a better un-enhanced talent than Bonds.
I remember talking back in 2002, 2003 about how impossible it would be for Albert to keep up these levels. How many more good years before he would be Hall of Fame materials? (if his career ended abruptly)
"...but If I can do some damage and help my team win, I'm going to stay in there" -Albert
If he's even an average hitter for the next 3 years he's probably in
Best start to a career probably ever that’d be enough I’d think. And of course in all probability he’ll be way better than that.
And at this point in their careers Bonds had probably passed him up IMO putting up 205/204 OPS+ in his age 27/28 seasons. But I don’t think we can say anything about that with any definiteness until Pujols’ age 33 season.
With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch
i say 4 years (including this one)
that puts him at around 400 homers, say his average is around a cumulative .325, 1250 RBI’s, at least one ring, and one MVP, though should have 2 or 3 more (bonds’ forehead stole a few) even a gold glove, perhaps 2 at that point. (those are all very resonable numbers) also the most dominating hitter not mentioned in the mitchell report up there with maybe arod, and more clutch than arod dreamed of being. i think that all adds up to a HOF membership
I'd say
he is in now, he just need to reach the minimum service requirement. In the event of some awful tragedy, I would say he would make it in now
"I believe he’s been reincarnated, that he played before, in the twenties and thirties, and he’s back to prove something." - Former teammate Mark McGwire about Albert Pujols
You live the life you are given
Albert can dodge bullets baby.
"I believe he’s been reincarnated, that he played before, in the twenties and thirties, and he’s back to prove something." - Former teammate Mark McGwire about Albert Pujols
BigMoman
I was not thinking so much about the amount of walks when I first made my comments as which pitch did he choose to try to make contact with in the pitch count. How many times have you seen Pujols along with the majority of other hitters in the Majors after grounding out, striking out, flying out or popping up on about the 6th or 7th pitch of the count and you can look back and say there were one, maybe two and even sometimes three better pitches that were more hittable. But no, they get sucked into swinging at at a pitch that you can’t do anything with.
Now since day one the best hitters in the world have done this from time to time. Even the best can look silly at one bat and come back and look great in the next at bat, but over the years there have been great hitters that excelled in not doing this very often. Also, I have found that these small group of selective hitters also proved to be the ones that you couldn’t slip a pitch down the middle with out them crushing it. (no matter if it was the 1st, 3rd, or whatever pitch they saw, they were geared)
All I am saying is this is the only thing that Pujols does not excel in. The only thing that keeps me from saying he is better than Musial…as good as Williams…as good as I’ve seen. A lot of Pujols’ outs are made on the 2nd or third best pitch he saw in the at bat. Now that doesn’t mean that Pujols is not one of the greatest hitters I ever saw. He is, but I can name a good dozen that were better selective hitters, and if Pujols could be a little more patient, I would not argue with anyone that wanted to call him the best.
Not among the best?
No one has started their career as well as Pujols has. NOBODY. What he is doing is unprecedented. You are either extremely hard to impress, or you just look at the ballplayers from the eras of your youth more fondly. Giving Albert his due credit does not discredit the greats who have come before. You say he wouldn’t rank in your top ten in pitch selection, and then just mention five other guys, three of whom have a lower OBP than Albert does. When everything is all said and done, Albert won’t be outside the top ten in any hitting skill. All time.
Challenging Albert to be more disciplined in his approach is like telling the Mona Lisa to be more of a classic, like telling Mount Everest to be taller.
It just doesn’t make sense.
"I believe he’s been reincarnated, that he played before, in the twenties and thirties, and he’s back to prove something." - Former teammate Mark McGwire about Albert Pujols
more poetic
and less nerdy than my response.
It’s always great to just think about what Pujols has done in a Cardinal uniform. Gosh I love that he plays for our team!
"...but If I can do some damage and help my team win, I'm going to stay in there" -Albert
Indeed
He has taken hitting and made it an art form. They should teach his hitting approach as a college level course.
"I believe he’s been reincarnated, that he played before, in the twenties and thirties, and he’s back to prove something." - Former teammate Mark McGwire about Albert Pujols
Except BA....
He’s going to need to hit .360 for the next 5-6 years+ to crack the top 10 all-time batting average marks. Tony Gwynn is the only player who broke in post-1940 to be in top 20, so if Albert can even get there it would be a monumental achievement. I think he’s going to win his second batting title this year though, so that’s a start.
by mattisnotfrench on May 5, 2008 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions
cardzfan
you might be right when you say you have a tendency to look back on the players of your youth more fondly. I try not to, but you do seem to remember the good and kinda’ overlook the bad, but I swear the hitter of the 50’s and 60’ didn’t dive out over the plate as much for late breaking sliders like they do now or fish as much for ball in the dirt….maybe you just forget..I am getting old you know…but Musial, 6 times batting champion, Williams .400, Dimaggio 56 game hitting streak then a 26 streak immediately after that…so I,m not totally crazy.
i have to agree with cardzfan...
Pujols is extremely disiplined, esp. this year…sure he has gotten himself out a few times but i have seen Bonds do that too…the thing is you see Pujols everyday so it seems more often but in reality i would bet it isnt that much more than Bonds did.
"Back in the day when I played, a pitcher had 3 pitches: a fastball, a curveball, a slider, a changeup and a good sinker pitch." - Mike Shannon
Regarding Joe Morgan...
WTF??? I always wondered why everyone was bashing this guy until last night watching him on ESPN for the Cubs/Cards game.
He seems to make stuff up just to suit his needs.
He starts out by saying that the Col. Wellemeyer is not a hard thrower and then The Col. hits 94 to 96 on the gun in the 1st inning.
After that he compares the Col. to Marquis saying that they both have to make good pitches becuase niether pitcher is a strike out pitcher even though the Col. leads the Birds in stikeouts with nearly 1 per inning or better.
Joe Morgan, I say this even though I usually refrain from calling names behind my internet handle, is an idiot. I just tuned him out at one point like I do my girlfriend when she is ranting about something I don’t want to hear.
I wish ESPN would employ the Morgan vote. If enough callers phone in asking him to shut up they should mute is sound. He can keep talking but at least he won’t ruin the game with his mindless drivel.
"Why does he keep saying that?"
i have been
complaining about the announcers for some time now. John is sappy, but Joe is just wrong. I think he has become lazy and isn’t prepared for games. I must admit though I can tolerate him more than Tim McCarver. Al and Dan are really a major disappointment to me as well. I expected the best, and we have a team of announcers that just don’t care that there is a game going on. They keep talking about stuff that has nothing to do with what is happening. I described them this way and I think it is right on. Al and Dan are the people behind you at the movies that just will not shut up.
All about personal preference
I like when the anouncers, whomever they are, mix in some humorous stories like Big Irish and Hungo do (although Hungo’s pronuciation drives me nuts). I also like Joe Bucks snarky sence of humor. However I cannot stand Joe Morgan or Tim McCarver.
I mainly agree
I was trying to make a point that people tend to give Shannon a pass for doing things that they complain about.
It is a good point
And I love listening to “The Moon Man”.... I remember driving home from the lake when Joe Buck was still doing radio with him and they were pickin’ on each other….It made a bad game very entertaining to me…..
Huge difference with Shannon:
He’s entertaining, funny and a “character” behind the mike.
Granted, he may not be to everyone’s taste, but no one will EVER suggest that either Al or Dan is entertaining, funny, or a character.
They are insipid, grating and stupid. It’s embarrassing to have people with the Extra Innings package listen to our announcers.
Dan sounds like a graduate of the Milquetoast Academy of Sports Broadcasting, and Al just makes me want to mute the sound. Thank god DirecTV is giving more “alternate” broadcasts this year—-I will always choose the non-Cardinals crew if I can get it.
I like Dan and Al better than a whole raft of people I hear on other networks
In terms of color commentary, I’d rate Al above
Joe Morgan
Tim McCarver
Steve Phillips
Rick Horton
Nearly every local team color commentator I’ve heard other than Bob Brenly and Steve Stone
In terms of Dan’s play-by-play, I generally prefer him over Jay Randolph and most of the second-tier ESPN broadcasters
+1
I get Rangers and Astros games on FSW, those guys make me appriciate the ‘quality’ that we have in Al and Dan.
"Ninety percent I'll spend on good times, women, and Irish whiskey.
The other ten percent I'll probably waste."
- Phillies pitcher Tug McGraw, on his plans for his $75,000 salary
I like Horton too
and Shannon, he just seems like he has so much fun doing what he does that it make it easy to be forgiving for his faults. To tell the truth, I don’t really detest anybody, although there are some I just tune out. The game itself is enough for me. I watch everything. people in the stands, dugout shots etc. I like to hunt down a decent looking woman to watch behind home plate. Sometimes you can find two, one that shows up for left handed batters and one for right handed. If that happens, I don’t hear much Joe morgan says.
i agree about Shannon
he always seems like he has so much fun announcing, i cant help but love that…
"Back in the day when I played, a pitcher had 3 pitches: a fastball, a curveball, a slider, a changeup and a good sinker pitch." - Mike Shannon
Fooled by Morgan
Joe Morgan used to totally fool me. I thought he acted and dressed professionally and was a hall of famer, so I had a lot of respect for him. But I have now seen the light, thanks VEB.
I really don’t mind Dan and Al too much. They are a bunch of homers/cheerleaders, which I don’t mind either. Agreed on the distractions, especially when the have a visitor in the booth.
Everytime Shannon does the “Mm mm mm mm mm,” I think about fried chicken or something yummy. Is it just me? I love the guy.
I really like Vin Scully. There is something soothing about listening to Scully. I enjoyed him and Ross Porter when I was growing up in LA. Ahhhhh.
born Dodger blue, now dyed Cardinals red
Firejoemorgan.com
posts hilarious commentary on JoeChats - a feature where Joe Morgan chats with fans on ESPN’s website. Although the chats have gotten better this year, you should go read some of the archived chats - they are absolutely hilarious. Joe’s most popular common themes: there are no great teams anymore, consistent, concetrate (that’s how Joe usually spells it), Gary Sheffield is amazing—the key to the Tigers’ success, grit, and ‘I don’t know because I haven’t seen them play.’ (even though he’s a paid baseball analyst for the world’s biggest sports broadcasting company).
Good stuff over there for sure.
by Ray Lankford on May 5, 2008 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions
+10
that site has become a daily read for me. i especially like the continuing story of bill fremp, the (fictional) espn intern who has been been cleaning up joe’s chats with on-the-fly editing and clever injection of rational analysis woven into joe’s ramblings.
I Love FJM...
but now instead of blocking out the stupid stuff announcers say i focus on it and it drives me crazy…i can t watch BBTN anymore, esp. if Kruk and Phillips are on.
"Back in the day when I played, a pitcher had 3 pitches: a fastball, a curveball, a slider, a changeup and a good sinker pitch." - Mike Shannon
The follow-up to the Peter Gammons segment
in the 3rd or 4th inning was good for a laugh, though, wasn’t it? Gammons detailed all the changes in roster and front office since the Birds won the World Series in 2006. Among those details, he said something like, “Walt Jocketty was exiled to Cincinnati.” After Gammons was done, Joe somewhat humorously took exception to that comment, and Miller moderated Morgan’s tongue-in-cheek protest of Gammons’ comments well.
But yeah, when Little Joe talks about anything other than hitting, I take it with a grain of salt, which means I have a big salt shaker nearby when I’m watching an ESPN game with him on it.
TSF
by TedSimmonsFan on May 5, 2008 1:48 PM EDT up reply actions
well
morgan did spend the prime of his career in cincinnati and is in all probability beloved there; he had every right to take offense to the perception of that city as “exile”.
however, that opinion might have been the most worthwhile thing that came out of his mouth the entire game.
go cards, o's, and phillies.
...boiler up.
Wellemeyer
While his stuff isn’t spectacular, and he labors through innings, in every game he has pitched this year, he has kept us in it. Granted last night he only went 5 innings, but from a #5 starter he has been a pleasant surprise. Out of that spot in the rotation he is giving us a nice lift. While I would like to see that WHIP go down, I’m satisfied with a 4.00 ERA from him. He was in and out of trouble with walks and some initial shaky “D”, but he is able to get out of jams, just as well.
I know he won’t ever be a dominant starter or even above the #3 spot in the rotation, but for $1 million a year, I think he’s just what we need down at the end of the rotation. Hats off to him for turning in a pretty solid year for an average pitcher. I hope he stays when/if Mulder comes back soon.
Agreed
Wellemeyer is a good 5th starter. I believe 1 good out on the miss double play by Izturis would have lead to the Colonel going six innings. But we got zero outs. What can you do? (not callling out Izturis here. Just saying if the ball bounced the other way his servicable outing could have been a very good outing.)
Wellemeyer is though a power pitcher. He misses bats like Joe Morgan misses apt analogies.
"Why does he keep saying that?"
Ground ball hits...
I’ve been watching a few games on TV this year, and it strikes me that maybe one reason these ground balls keep getting through is pure bat speed. I mean, I watch these guys just TURN on those balls. They’re hitting them down, but with as quick a wrist action as I’ve seen a human being muster. I’d be interested if anyone has a gun on those balls AFTER they leave the bat, to find out if what the Cards are hitting is just being hit hotter than league average
And in the 9th Morgan said Izzy
can’t throw very hard, just moments before he threw the first of about six fastballs in the 93-94 range.
Morgan’s problem is his pathologically enormous ego. He doesn’t think he needs to look anything up because he knows it all; after all, he played baseball! And he never, ever admits he is wrong about anything. Once he’s made a judgment on something he will never, ever back off. It’s clear to me that he believes that admitting you are wrong about something is a sign of weakness.
I think the gun was juiced last night.
It was clocking Franklin at 94mph regularly. I just don’t think he can do that.
Baseball's only fun if you're playing it, watching it, or thinking about it.
it was juiced by 1mph
game day said izzy was throwing 93
"How depressing is it being you? Would you equate it to being a lifelong Cubs fan?"
"admitting you are wrong about something is a sign of weakness" -
I think you just hit the nail on the head in your analysis of Joe Morgan as a broadcaster.
Joe Morgan & Constructive Criticism
I think the main problem with Joe Morgan is that he spent his entire playing career ignoring the jeers & listening to the cheers. Combined with the widely held belief that he is the greatest second baseman of all time, he doesn’t feel that he needs to listen to negative criticism, no matter how justified.
He’s probably a smart guy that really does understand the game of baseball, so he feels that he can just wing it during broadcasts without researching anything resembling factual data. And because he’s unwilling to accept that he’s wrong, he assumes that he is correct and keeps on rolling, oblivious to his own ignorance.
That said, the Cubs do deserve my pity, but never my support.
Well said.
JMorgan gives off an “I-just-make-this-stuff-up-as-I-go-along” vibe on every broadcast. It always feels like he is just winging it.
agree
I think Joe Morgan is an inteligent person but he just seems like he does zero homework prior to a Sunday Broadcast.
I hate nationally telivised games, be it regular season or during the play-offs for this exact reason. Whenever there is a national game it’s like the game is not as importants as some stupid little side story. I could care less about hearing about some stupid Rick Ankiel story and I really don’t care about some stupid little side story of someother guy on a team I don’t follow that much. I just want to watch a game.
I'm okay with talking about other teams
and their players (to a degree) since it is a national broadcast. But Joe seems to know very little about the players on the field during the game that he is being paid to broadcast. Like you said, it appears he does “zero homework” .
He's small for a ML player, he probably
overcame a lot of doubts to become as great a player as he was, and a pugnacious, stubborn personality is probably what allowed him to do that. But stubbornness in the face of facts is entirely different from stubbornness in the face of doubts about his playing ability. It’s just not the right response.
I would forgive Joe almost all his faults if he had just a smidgen of a sense of humor or an ability to laugh at himself, but there’s nothing there.
by MdRedbirdFreak on May 5, 2008 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Defense and Ground Ball Offense
Isn’t this what the better teams do? Play better than average defense and better than average offense. The shot that Lee caught off Duncan saved the Cubs from a big inning last night-as he caught that below the knee-would that have been considered a ground ball? It would have been on the ground before reaching the outfield but …. Let’s not get too enamered with the pitching staff just yet; Looper had a great era thru May last year, Wellemeyer still is averaging well over 100 pitches by the 5th of every game, Pineiro is just getting healthy. I love the toughness of this team and hope this all isn’t a mirage – I can’t imagine anything better than having Chicago say “Wait till next year” a little earlier than their normal June Swoon.
Sorry if this has been discussed ad naseum already
But at what point do we begin to credit Yadi with “handling this pitching staff”. I recall the distinction being given – mostly on sports talk shows – to Mike Matheny all the time. It was practically a trademark for the guy. Watching last night’s game, I’ve haven’t seen Yadi that animated behind the plate in a while. For those who believe in a catcher’s ability to “handle his pitching staff” as a valid attribute, I think Yadi’s earned that superlative.
"Well, folks, this game began as a tiny worm and is blossoming into a large cobra." - Mike "The Moon Man" Shannon
by Tudor's Electric Fan on May 5, 2008 11:49 AM EDT reply actions
Not diary worthy
But since the Yanks sent down Ian Kennedy I thought that they would make an interesting trade partner. A challenge trade of young pitchers…Reyes for Kennedy. Am I crazy? Kennedy sure seems like the kind of young pitcher that would succeed under Duncan’s tutelage and Reyes strikes out enough hitters that he might survive in the AL East.
yanks hold on to kennedy like we do rasmus.
"How depressing is it being you? Would you equate it to being a lifelong Cubs fan?"
Kennedy seems...
too valuable. Mike Pelfrey or the like would be a better match for a challenge trade imo.
If we include Anderson
Then I want more than Ian Kennedy. They would have to include someone else in the deal but I am not familiar enough with their farm system to throw out a reasonable name. I am talking about a High A arm or like.
Re: 9th in the league in scoring
There are a number of teams bunched up in the middle right now, so that if the Cardinals had scored 9 runs last night--instead of 5—they’d be 6th in the league in scoring instead of 9th.
The top 4 teams in scoring and the botttom 5 teams in scoring have separated themselves a bit from the middle-of-the-pack teams, but these middle teams are all within .17 RPG of each other…. (for comparison the Cubs are outscoring the Cardinals by almost 1.5 RPG).
With regard to Kennedy...
look at his BABIP over the past five years:
‘04: .326
‘05: .348
‘06: .313
‘07: .238
‘08: .381
Also, his line drive percentage plummeted last year, and now this year it’s back to where it has been in the past. I know it’s problematic to compare LD% across years, but it seems like he’s rebounded. Most likely, his BABIP will decline to the low .300s, he’ll show slightly more power (he certainly can’t show any less), and pitchers will stop walking him so much. That translates to about a 280/330/350 line. Not good, but a lot better than last year.
by the way
did anyone notice that Izzy was featuring that curve a whole lot more last night, mainly going fastball/curve, and using the cutter as a third pitch? According to both my eyes and gameday, he threw one cutter in his inning, and had a pretty dominating save.
"You say the world has lost it's love. I say embrace what it's made of" - Dar Williams
well he did say he was going to stop throwing it until he fixed it.
"How depressing is it being you? Would you equate it to being a lifelong Cubs fan?"
Man where the heck was I reading the other day
that the problem with using a cutter is that you become dependent on it. It will at some point abandon you, and you’d better be able to survive without it for a while until you get it back.
Was that here?
dont tell that to...
Mo Rivera
"Back in the day when I played, a pitcher had 3 pitches: a fastball, a curveball, a slider, a changeup and a good sinker pitch." - Mike Shannon
His ability to deal with that
is part of what makes him a great closer.
He also has the greatest cutter in history
Making any inferences off of a true freak of pitching isn’t too wise.
With no evidence to the contrary, Colby Rasmus is clutch
and now I see that is what the enitre game thread was talking about last night
"You say the world has lost it's love. I say embrace what it's made of" - Dar Williams
Has anyone noticed
That on the official website’s probable pitchers, Wainwrights start is TBA on wednsday? I havent been around this weekend so I am a little behind. I just thought it was odd with the Parisi callup.
Parisi
is here to back up Pineiro, who is having back spasms. But the fact that Wed. starter is TBD instead of Wainwright (it should be his turn) has me a little concerned. But nothing official has been said about Adam missing a start though.
Also
at Future Redbirds, there’s a comment that Parisi is expected to get a start in Colorado.
Couple that with the DBA on Wednesday and it sounds like he’ll be starting in place of Wainwright.
The optimist’s interpretation is that La Russa wants to give Wainwright some extra rest and have him lined up to pitch against Ben Sheets on Saturday. I hope that’s the case.
Yeah
I hope that there wasn’t something going on when Tony pulled Adam after eighty odd pitches against Chicago.
"You say the world has lost it's love. I say embrace what it's made of" - Dar Williams
125
I think the fact that his last outing was 125 pitches had something to do with that. (Official count is 126 pitches, but one was a balk.)
by Hal Lanier's Pants on May 5, 2008 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions
It could be
that if Pineiro is fine and pitches tonight then Tony may still want to get his use out of Parisi for calling him up. I think Liam’s right that Tony may look to give Adam rest and schedule him against Sheets. (Pineiro’s next scheduled start).
Otherwise, if Parisi pitches tonight, then Saturday would be Parisi vs. Sheets – scary.
I hope that is the case
and not that something is wrong with Wainwright.
Last rant about Joe Morgan...
Todd Wellemeyer according to him is not a stike out pitcher yet he is currently 9th in the N.L. in strike outs.
Joe has gotta go…
Otherwise the next game I watch I may be tempted to eat a shotgun to stop the bleeding in my ears everytime he makes up lies on national T.V.
"Why does he keep saying that?"
Muting your TV
would be a much simpler (and less messy) solution than eating a shotgun.
No shotgun,I just thought that was a powerful demonstration of my disdain for Joe Morgan commentary
I hate to mute though cause I like to hear the sounds of the game. I wish more announcers would learn to shut up and let the game speak for itself sometimes.
"Why does he keep saying that?"
Joe has been there for what...?
17-18 years? If he hasnt been fired yet he wont be unitl he decides he is done…hell look at McCarver Fox lets him do the damn WS every and he is (a little) worse than Morgan, IMHO.
"Back in the day when I played, a pitcher had 3 pitches: a fastball, a curveball, a slider, a changeup and a good sinker pitch." - Mike Shannon
The thing you need to know about McCarver working on Fox games
is that McCarver has a contract. When you have a contract, you get to work the games. Now, if he didn’t have a contract, he probably wouldn’t be able to do the games. But since he does have a contract, and since he shows up, he gets to do the games. So that just goes to show the importance of (a) having a contract and (b) showing up for work.
TSF
by TedSimmonsFan on May 5, 2008 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Family Guy Episode Making fun of McCarver:
“In my view, as good as the Yankees were in the first half of this game, thats how as bad they’ve been now.”
I dislike McC as much as you, but
he’s not worse than Morgan. I do occasionally learn something new from McCarver, and he is capable of (very occasional) wit. From Joe I learn nothing, apart from what a tool Joe Morgan is.
by MdRedbirdFreak on May 5, 2008 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Fair Enough
"Back in the day when I played, a pitcher had 3 pitches: a fastball, a curveball, a slider, a changeup and a good sinker pitch." - Mike Shannon
Long time since
I had to listen to Joe call a game so I almost forgot how GOD AWFUL he is.
I just wonder if he was this way as a player. Giving his sage advice away to anyone and everyone. Telling young Griffey Jr that “when you swing hard good things happen”. The conversations in the Reds dugout must have been something like this.
Joe ” You know Pete, this guy Carlton is a strike-out pitcher but I think if you get one headed to the gap I would run hard right out of the box because you might get a double.”
Pete Rose ” Joe, shut your f#*king mouth and get the hell away from me.”
"Do what you want to the women and children but leave me alone"- George Carlin
by That's a Winner on May 5, 2008 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions
With Reyes getting sent down to AAA
It’s weird to think that we’ll probably never see him throw another pitch for the Cardinals.
boo cubs, hooray beer
this is gonna shock people
but there is a good chance that Parisi was called up because Reyes pitched saturday and wouldn’t be able to take Piniero’s start tonight. There is also a chance that Parisi will go back down in 10 days and Reyes will come back up. Parisi gets more rotation time in Memphis, Reyes resumes his role in the bullpen.
"He was trying to hit a three run homer with the bases empty. To my knowledge, no one in the history of the game has ever done that. But it could happen someday. You never know in this world of baseball." The Moonman
in regards to groundballs getting through
i also seem to remember a pea off duncan’s bat in the first inning which didn’t get through, as well as a double play ball off pujols’ bat which he hit even harder than the double. my point being that these things seem to even themselves out… in addition with all the shifting which occurs in every AB with the advanced scouting, can’t something be said for a player hitting away from his tendencies and finding a hole? this i feel is particularly true with pujols, as his ability to hit to all fields forces defenses to play him honest so he gets a few roll over basehits to the left side…just some thoughts
Still no update on whether it's Pineiro or Parisi tonight?
Proud President of the Unofficial Skip Schumaker Fan Club!
(now accepting applications)
PUT SKIP ON THE BALLOT!!!
think its more likely we see pineiro
then see parisi if his back seizes up in the middle of the second. That’s the vibe I’m getting. Parisi as long relief insurance.
Probably should have posted the actual lineup too.
Schumaker 9
Kennedy 4
Pujols 3
Ankiel 8
Glaus 5
Duncan 7
Molina 2
Pineiro 1
Miles 6
Why no Ryan........
Miles does not have the are for short-stop.
Why?
Cause LaRussa wants another lefty bat. I guess the splits support his decision…. although I haven’t checked the numbers yet.
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on May 5, 2008 6:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Miles has two hits
in three at-bats against Ubaldo Jimenez. Guess that’s good enough for LaRussa. We’ll see….
by OKCARDSFAN_411 on May 5, 2008 6:15 PM EDT up reply actions
+1 ... Miles has very good numbers against Jimenez ...
and Tony always seems to go with that … ok by me … Ryan will get his starts …
Culture of Winning: 10 World Championships, 17 Pennants, 6 Division Championships ...
by Cardinals4Ever on May 5, 2008 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Dan Mac said Joel P is fine
Bernie just posted a reply stating that Dan McLaughlin talked to Joel and he is feeling good.
High AVG on Groundballs
Look at this combination of factors: low HR totals, lots of singles, high walks, low SB’s. What I see is a lot of opportunities for our hitters to bat with a hole on the right side of the infield. I remember seeing BA for groundballs on the right side (on Rasmus’ First Inning page?), sould be instructive to see something similar on a team level.
That said, the Cubs do deserve my pity, but never my support.
Question regarding Izzy's delivery
Okay, I don’t have video capture for my Tivo or anything similar, but I would like to make a request of those VEBers who might.
As many of us have voiced recently, Izzy’s recent troubles are eerily reminiscent of 2006. His recent difficulties are fairly accurately reflected in his craptastic 6.59 ERA, a very atypical 1.39 WHIP, and an off-the-charts (for Izzy) .481 SLG and .339 OBA. Someone also mentioned that he appears to have a “hitch” in his stride, and I noticed yesterday that he immediately bends his left leg after landing. It looks very awkward, but I’m no mechanics expert nor do I have access to any video of Izzy’s delivery from 2006 and 2007.
Perhaps it’s normal for him to finish that way, but to a layman like me it looks like that hip may be bothering him again, and the immediate knee bend upon landing is typical “guarding” behavior for a painful condition. If I recall correctly, when his hip needed repair in 2006, it mostly affected his landing…and I imagine landing on a stiff leg would really jolt that hip.
Can anyone confirm this with video analysis? A side-by-side analysis would be ideal. If we look back at his excellent 2007 campaign and see the same mechanics, my observations can be dismissed and perhaps it’s just that he has temporarily “lost” his cutter. If his delivery in 2007 is NOT the same, then it would behoove us to then look at 2006 and see if he favored his landing leg the same way. That would be pretty convincing evidence that the temporary repair of the troublesome hip might have been undone, making him effectively “done” for the year.
Is anyone available with access to the necessary tools for this?
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
Albert's double
was more than just one that had eyes. He went with the pitch and took it down the line. How is that not impressive?
Also Glaus’ doubles, believe it or not have not been groundballs. They have been in the air and some were even off the wall.
A big part of Izzy's success/failure IMO:
WORK FAST! When he struggles, he works painstakingly slow. He gets the ball, walks around the mound, whips his forehead, stares in, long pause, then throws.
There are two benefits to working fast: It keeps the defense on their toes and it’s harder to hit!
Last night, Izzy grabbed the ball, got his sign, and fired it home. He was pitching with a purpose… he looked like he was pitching “pissed off.”
When he works slow, I can just see the lack of confidence glowing from him. And the opposing team can too!
Take a note from K-Mac and Wainwright and WORK FAST!!
Proud President of the Unofficial Skip Schumaker Fan Club!
(now accepting applications)
PUT SKIP ON THE BALLOT!!!
30 minutes of Mulder's start
before the big club starts, right?
All the ‘interested in his next start’ stuff ends tonight. I’ve been one of the people talking about it being about how he responds as he gets closer to the end of ‘Spring Training’. Tonight, he has to show some positive signs or else the Cardinals to think seriously about sending him back down to extended Spring Training.
Keep in mind when talking about Mulder just how AWFUL Braden Looper was in ST. He gave up 13 runs in 14 innings.
Still looking for 1985 Regular Season games on DVD/VHS
How does high OBP affect team batting average on ground balls?
Has anyone done a statistical analysis of this? Having a high number of runners on base means the defense will be pulled in to double play depth more often, allowing more ground balls to get through. I recall the other day Kennedy hit a ball past D. Lee at first that he almost surely would have fielded if not playing in front of the bag. When a team leads the league in OBP, it seems natural that their average on ground balls would be higher than league average. Whether the Cardinals’s high numbers are entirely due to this or only partially is an open question to me.
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