Friday, June 04, 2004
A WISH UPON A
Reader Jim has this to say in the comments section:
"I don't know if you sabremetrics gurus have a stat for what constitutes a "star" yet, but why does DaVanon have to be a "star"? He's a good fielder and if he hits about .280/15/75/good OBP, then he's perfectly fine."
Jim, you're absolutely right. However you define "star," and whether or not DaVanon qualifies as one under your definition, doesn't matter in the least. What matters is he's a damn fine player, and we're happy to have him.
So why doesn't Mike Scioscia realize this?
Shane Halter got a start at DH last night. Though this is less absurd than when Jeff Huson got a couple of games at DH for the Halos, it's still pretty ridiculous. Lifetime numbers vs. LHP:
Player: AB AVG/OBP/SLG
DaVanon: 88 239/343/420
Halter: 655 267/308/438
Note that DaVanon's numbers are fueled by a Josh Paul-esque 0-8 against lefties this year. From 2001-2003 we get:
Player: AB AVG/OBP/SLG
DaVanon: 74 284/391/500
Halter: 386 259/304/420
For heaven's sakes, DaVanon (in only 38 at bats) hit 342/457/579 against lefties last year. He has never done anything to make us think he can't hit righthanded, but now he hasn't done it all year. So we can play Shane Halter? Whose numbers the last few years have been dragging his career numbers down?
I'm sorry, but this defies explanation. If you're going to have Halter, use him to rest Kennedy against tough lefties (Kennedy is terrible against lefties, by the way), or to give the Legs a rest against a lefty every now and then at third. He should not get even one start a week, though. It seems as though Scioscia is coming from a place of "How do I get Halter playing time?" instead of "What is the best lineup I can play?"
DaVanon cleans Halter's clock, and there's no reason to believe he couldn't continue to do so with more playing time.
Reader Jim has this to say in the comments section:
"I don't know if you sabremetrics gurus have a stat for what constitutes a "star" yet, but why does DaVanon have to be a "star"? He's a good fielder and if he hits about .280/15/75/good OBP, then he's perfectly fine."
Jim, you're absolutely right. However you define "star," and whether or not DaVanon qualifies as one under your definition, doesn't matter in the least. What matters is he's a damn fine player, and we're happy to have him.
So why doesn't Mike Scioscia realize this?
Shane Halter got a start at DH last night. Though this is less absurd than when Jeff Huson got a couple of games at DH for the Halos, it's still pretty ridiculous. Lifetime numbers vs. LHP:
Player: AB AVG/OBP/SLG
DaVanon: 88 239/343/420
Halter: 655 267/308/438
Note that DaVanon's numbers are fueled by a Josh Paul-esque 0-8 against lefties this year. From 2001-2003 we get:
Player: AB AVG/OBP/SLG
DaVanon: 74 284/391/500
Halter: 386 259/304/420
For heaven's sakes, DaVanon (in only 38 at bats) hit 342/457/579 against lefties last year. He has never done anything to make us think he can't hit righthanded, but now he hasn't done it all year. So we can play Shane Halter? Whose numbers the last few years have been dragging his career numbers down?
I'm sorry, but this defies explanation. If you're going to have Halter, use him to rest Kennedy against tough lefties (Kennedy is terrible against lefties, by the way), or to give the Legs a rest against a lefty every now and then at third. He should not get even one start a week, though. It seems as though Scioscia is coming from a place of "How do I get Halter playing time?" instead of "What is the best lineup I can play?"
DaVanon cleans Halter's clock, and there's no reason to believe he couldn't continue to do so with more playing time.
Comments:
Post a Comment
