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Thursday, January 13, 2005
out in left field
left field. that's where he plays. the good one. but he's far down the list because it's ordered by at-bats. adjusted at-bats. aab's.
these columns are imperfectly spaced but fuck it let's go.
Player aab w k hr 23 wal con pow avg
suzuki,ichiro 707 53 63 8 29 .070 .911 .057 .372
oh, that was exciting. wasn't it? still, he didn't get the attention he deserved, what with being on a losing team and not being seriously considered for mvp i guess they figured he got one that's what he gets that's what the woman at harold's chicken said when we asked why the wings were so small she said "that's what you get!" she repeated it a number of times.
anyway, for the record, ichiro suzuki in 2004 had more hits than anyone else ever.
pierre,juan 680 53 35 3 34 .072 .949 .057 .326
i wanna say more about ichiro suzuki. first of all, he's so fuckin stylish. but the other thing is he's an innovator. he has a deeper understanding of hitting than anyone else, except that bonds guy. i'm not gonna say one knows more than the other. they're very creative, and very different. that's like who's better, miles or coltrane? ok, miles is, but one's a saxophonist and one's a trumpetist. one's a left fielder and one's a right fielder.
do i make sense? sometimes.
there are two juan pierre is one ichiro is the other. why isn't juan better than ichiro? he's got better wal better con same pow. it's because ichiro is the master artist. he's got so many swings. he starts running before he makes contact. he hits the ball hard when he wants to. he more than anyone else understands the differences in pitchers that we see with the wal con pow system. if it's a strikeout pitcher, he'll slap and run. if it's a control pitcher, he'll smack it. maybe over the wall. he uses different techniques against different pitchers. so it averages out to look not as good. but you can't argue with the results: 262 hits. he also takes the defense into account.
also ichiro has the ability to place the ball which very few hitters have.
ichiro's a difference maker juan pierre's a difference maker ichiro's number two. barry's number one.
podsednik,scott 641 65 105 12 34 .092 .836 .086 .244
rookie of the year candidate but that was luck. turns out he's in his physical prime and he doesn't hit the ball hard enough. he's a guy.
maybe he could reinvent himself as a slap-and-run.
biggio,craig 636 55 94 24 47 .080 .852 .131 .281
craig biggio can play. they put him at catcher and he played catcher. they switched him to second base and he played second base. they switched him to center field and he played center field. then they switched him to left. he's still a strong contributor. and he'll get to 3,000.
finley,steve 635 62 82 36 29 .089 .871 .118 .271
another strong contributor. plays good defense, makes good contact, 36 home runs.
winn,randy 633 61 98 14 40 .088 .845 .101 .286
randy winn had a lot of hits as a devil ray and then played center field for seattle. he's a guy.
if you're knowledgeable you'll point out that it wasn't til his second year as a mariner that he played center field. or if you pay attention to details.
crawford,carl 632 36 81 11 45 .054 .872 .102 .296
carl crawford is good in low-run situations. he gets on base against strikeout pitchers, and steals second. he's 23. he's a strong contributor.
patterson,corey 632 50 168 24 39 .073 .734 .136 .266
isn't corey cute he runs real fast and he hits the home runs! too bad he ain't got skills. he's a guy.
damon,johnny 624 78 71 20 41 .111 .886 .110 .304
great defense. great leadoff hitter. walks, hits for contact, hits for power. difference maker.
jenkins,geoff 623 58 152 27 42 .085 .756 .146 .264
well he hits the ball hard but he misses it too much. guy.
guerrero,vladim 620 60 74 39 41 .088 .881 .147 .337
mvp. why not. he was gonna get one eventually. i just hope that wasn't sheff's last chance. cause he shoulda got one.
i just had the thought that the mvp is kinda like the oscars. anyway obviously anyone that gets an mvp is a difference maker.
giles,brian 618 93 80 23 40 .131 .871 .117 .284
yes yes yes great contact great patience good power difficult park to hit in if he were still in center he'd be a difference maker but he's not he's a strong contributor. maybe i'm being hard on him. suck me.
cabrera,miguel 611 74 148 33 32 .108 .758 .140 .294
now i'm gonna turn around and call this kid with the .758 con a difference maker? he's 21 and he's got superstar written all over him. that con'll come up. sit back and enjoy the show.
kotsay,mark 611 57 70 15 40 .085 .885 .102 .314
that kind of contact with that kind of power in oakland coliseum? add that to his defense and he's a strong contributor.
beltran,carlos 609 97 100 38 44 .137 .836 .161 .266
obviously someone who gets $119 million dollars is a difference maker. that average is lower than it should be. he had bad hit luck.
alou,moises 607 68 80 39 39 .101 .868 .148 .293
yes that kind of contact with that kind of power is a strong contributor.
pujols,albert 601 90 52 46 53 .130 .913 .180 .331
umm . . . difference maker. even if he doesn't play outfield anyomore. i mean, who cares where he plays. talk about contact and power. sheesh.
lee,carlos 597 61 86 31 37 .093 .856 .133 .305
yes once again we see contact and power we see a strong contributor. carlos has quietly put it together on the south side of chicago.
lawton,matt 595 84 84 20 25 .124 .859 .088 .277
guy.
matsui,hideki 589 91 103 31 36 .134 .825 .138 .298
guy.
abreu,bobby 581 132 116 30 48 .185 .800 .168 .301
difference maker. best hitter on his team.
sheffield,gary 581 103 83 36 31 .151 .857 .135 .290
difference maker. it's hard to walk that much when you make that much contact. he also has power.
figgins,chone 579 49 94 5 39 .078 .838 .091 .296
guy. turned out to be handy, though, that he could play third base and center field.
ford,lew 576 80 75 15 35 .122 .870 .100 .299
great patience/contact combo. strong contributor.
wilkerson,brad 575 110 152 32 41 .161 .736 .173 .255
he don't make contact, but he gets on base. strong contributor.
byrnes,eric 574 58 111 20 42 .092 .807 .134 .283
eric byrnes has been a very useful player for the a's the last couple years. he's a guy.
ramirez,manny 574 88 124 43 44 .133 .784 .193 .310
umm, yes. difference maker.
jones,andruw 572 74 147 29 38 .115 .743 .158 .260
the best fielder in history, and he has paitence and power. obviously a difference maker.
dunn,adam 568 112 195 46 34 .165 .657 .214 .266
the single-season strikeout leader. it's nice to hit 46 home runs, but i just don't think good pitchers are afraid of him. i have to rate him a strong contributor. it's close. the way i see it, he's not as good as jim thome, who is a borderline difference maker.
guillen,jose 568 52 92 27 31 .084 .838 .122 .294
nice to see jose made it after all the trials over the years. he's a guy.
grissom,marquis 566 38 83 22 28 .063 .853 .104 .279
borderline guy/strong contributor.
wilson,craig 564 78 169 29 40 .121 .700 .175 .264
guy. too many strikeouts.
williams,bernie 563 87 96 22 30 .134 .829 .111 .262
it had to happen eventually. bernie's just a guy. he's had some great years, though.
jones,jacque 556 49 117 24 23 .081 .790 .107 .254
guy.
cruz,jose 553 78 117 21 33 .124 .788 .124 .242
guy.
redman,tike 551 25 52 8 23 .043 .906 .062 .280
guy.
berkman,lance 550 137 101 30 43 .199 .816 .163 .316
difference maker.
burnitz,jeromy 543 63 124 37 34 .104 .772 .169 .283
bautista,danny 542 39 66 11 28 .067 .878 .082 .286
johnson,reed 539 40 98 10 27 .069 .818 .084 .270
dye,jermaine 537 53 128 23 33 .090 .762 .137 .265
guys.
wells,vernon 537 53 83 23 36 .090 .845 .130 .272
he was a difference maker in 2003, but a strong contributor in 2004. no, he plays center field. he's a difference maker.
hidalgo,richard 529 49 129 25 29 .085 .756 .135 .239
hidalgo's been overrated for a long time. he's a guy.
conine,jeff 527 50 78 14 36 .087 .852 .111 .280
guy. useful against good pitching.
baldelli,rocco 524 38 88 16 30 .068 .832 .106 .280
rocco. he's so young. he's gonna go far. at least a strong contributor.
hunter,torii 522 46 101 23 37 .081 .807 .143 .271
they pay him like a strong contributor, but it's a terrible contract. he's a guy.
drew,j.d. 521 123 116 31 36 .191 .777 .165 .305
difference maker.
bradley,milton 517 77 123 19 24 .130 .762 .109 .267
strong contributor. i give a little extra to the young guys.
edmonds,jim 506 105 150 42 41 .172 .704 .233 .301
difference maker. overrated by sabermetricians due to patience, power, and strikeouts. they overrate patience and power and ignore strikeouts.
freel,ryan 505 79 88 3 29 .135 .826 .077 .277
chavez,endy 504 31 40 5 26 .058 .921 .067 .277
wigginton,ty 497 46 82 17 32 .085 .835 .118 .261
cameron,mike 496 65 143 30 31 .116 .712 .173 .231
guys.
crisp,coco 493 36 69 15 26 .068 .860 .097 .297
up-and-comer. he's at the age where power usually develops. he's got the contact.
rowand,aaron 489 40 91 24 40 .076 .814 .161 .310
aaron rowand had a super power spike this year. he'd be a strong contributor if he'd played more, instead of a guy.
encarnacion,jua 486 45 86 16 32 .085 .823 .120 .236
ibanez,raul 485 39 72 16 32 .074 .852 .116 .304
guys.
gerut,jody 484 61 59 11 36 .112 .878 .111 .252
jody gerut was an early discovery of mine, so i have a special fondness for him. but those are great numbers. patience, contact, and power all well above average. it's obvious he was hit-unlucky.
bigbie,larry 482 46 113 15 24 .087 .766 .106 .280
sosa,sammy 481 58 133 35 21 .108 .723 .161 .253
tucker,michael 469 72 106 13 27 .133 .774 .110 .256
payton,jay 462 47 56 8 21 .092 .879 .071 .260
burrell,pat 454 80 130 24 17 .150 .714 .127 .257
higginson,bobby 452 77 84 12 26 .146 .814 .103 .246
white,rondell 451 47 77 19 23 .094 .829 .112 .270
monroe,craig 450 31 79 18 30 .064 .824 .129 .293
sanders,reggie 449 37 118 22 30 .076 .737 .157 .260
anderson,garret 445 30 75 14 21 .063 .831 .095 .301
guys.
mench,kevin 442 39 63 26 33 .081 .857 .156 .279
this is a great contact/power combo. i gotta rate him a strong contributor. kevin mench doesn't get the respect he deserves.
stairs,matt 442 54 92 18 24 .109 .792 .120 .267
defied expectations his whole career. you'd think he woulda made it easier for future hamsters, but see kevin mench, above. guy.
rios,alexis 426 33 84 1 31 .072 .803 .094 .286
this kid's gonna go far. serious up-and-comer.
bay,jason 416 51 129 26 28 .109 .690 .188 .282
what was he, rookie of the year or something? why do they persist in giving roy awards to people who aren't gonna make it?
harris,willie 412 52 79 2 17 .112 .808 .057 .262
klesko,ryan 405 74 67 9 34 .154 .835 .127 .291
holliday,matt 401 36 86 14 34 .082 .786 .152 .290
floyd,cliff 399 57 103 18 26 .125 .742 .149 .260
sledge,terrmel 399 41 66 15 26 .093 .835 .123 .269
guys.
rivera,juan 391 35 45 12 25 .082 .885 .107 .307
juan rivera had a slow start but he showed his skills. up-and-comer.
gonzalez,luis 381 70 58 17 33 .155 .848 .155 .259
those are retarded percentages. except for batting average, which means it's luck. strong contributor, but he'll be a difference maker again in 2005.
stewart,shannon 381 48 44 11 19 .112 .885 .089 .304
guy.
bonds,barry 376 241 41 45 30 .391 .891 .224 .362
god.
nix,laynce 374 25 113 14 24 .063 .698 .146 .248
guy.
dejesus,david 363 42 53 7 18 .104 .854 .081 .287
up-and-comer.
clark,brady 356 62 48 7 19 .148 .865 .084 .280
gibbons,jay 349 30 64 10 15 .079 .817 .088 .246
byrd,marlon 347 29 68 5 15 .077 .804 .072 .228
guys.
cuddyer,michael 340 40 74 12 23 .105 .782 .132 .263
definite up-and-comer qualities. possibilities for improvement in all areas.
the rest are guys.
dellucci,david 334 52 88 17 14 .135 .737 .126 .242
sanchez,alex 333 7 50 2 12 .021 .850 .049 .322
matos,luis 332 23 60 6 18 .065 .819 .088 .224
roberts,dave 325 43 48 4 21 .117 .852 .090 .254
slap-and-run! useful against strikeout pitchers.
michaels,jason 302 44 80 10 12 .127 .735 .099 .274
ward,daryle 296 25 45 15 19 .078 .848 .135 .249
perez,timo 295 17 29 5 12 .054 .902 .064 .246
long,terrence 293 20 51 3 23 .064 .826 .107 .295
kapler,gabe 292 16 49 6 15 .052 .832 .086 .272
werth,jayson 291 34 85 16 14 .105 .708 .146 .262
davanon,jeff 290 46 54 7 15 .137 .814 .093 .277
nunez,abraham 286 34 69 6 11 .106 .759 .078 .214
everett,carl 284 26 45 7 18 .084 .842 .105 .260
matthews,gary_j 283 34 64 11 18 .107 .774 .132 .275
lofton,kenny 280 32 27 3 17 .103 .904 .079 .275
valent,eric 271 29 61 13 17 .097 .775 .143 .267
mohr,dustan 266 54 64 7 21 .169 .759 .139 .274
garcia,karim 261 14 50 10 9 .051 .808 .090 .229
marrero,eli 254 24 50 10 19 .086 .803 .142 .320
grieve,ben 253 41 70 8 17 .139 .723 .137 .260
catalanotto,fra 252 21 33 1 20 .077 .869 .096 .293
kielty,bobby 239 38 47 7 15 .137 .803 .115 .214
gload,ross 237 22 37 7 16 .085 .844 .115 .321
thomas,charles 236 30 45 7 12 .113 .809 .099 .288
i go back-and-forth on whether this guy's an up-and-comer. he had no trouble adjusting to the majors, and he's young, so there's a real possibility he'll improve. how much? billy beane got some good stuff for tim hudson.
terrero,luis 229 25 78 4 14 .098 .659 .119 .245
fick,robert 228 25 36 6 7 .099 .842 .068 .199
kearns,austin 217 29 71 9 12 .118 .673 .144 .230
will he get it back? we shall see.
jordan,brian 216 17 35 5 14 .073 .838 .105 .222
lankford,ray 204 31 55 6 15 .132 .730 .141 .255
ordonez,magglio 203 19 22 9 10 .086 .892 .105 .292
wilson,preston 202 20 49 6 11 .090 .757 .111 .248
borchard,joe 201 20 57 9 5 .090 .716 .097 .174
cedeno,roger 201 19 41 3 11 .086 .796 .088 .265
brown,dee 196 12 50 4 7 .058 .745 .075 .251
macias,jose 195 7 38 3 9 .035 .805 .076 .268
spencer,shane 187 15 37 4 11 .074 .802 .100 .281
taguchi,so 182 14 23 3 12 .071 .874 .094 .291
sweeney,mark 181 34 51 9 14 .158 .718 .177 .266
ledee,ricky 177 28 47 7 9 .137 .734 .123 .233
mccracken,quint 177 15 27 2 12 .078 .847 .093 .273
grabowski,jason 173 19 50 7 7 .099 .711 .114 .220
thames,marcus 165 19 41 10 12 .103 .752 .177 .256
glanville,doug 164 8 21 2 2 .047 .872 .028 .210
wise,dewayne 163 10 28 6 13 .058 .828 .141 .228
escobar,alex 152 24 42 1 10 .136 .724 .100 .211
mccarty,dave 152 16 40 4 9 .095 .737 .116 .258
nixon,trot 151 16 24 6 10 .096 .841 .126 .315
hollandsworth,t 148 18 26 8 8 .108 .824 .131 .318
cruz,jacob 147 20 43 3 8 .120 .707 .106 .224
sizemore,grady 140 19 34 4 8 .119 .757 .113 .246
up-and-comer.
lane,jason 138 17 33 4 12 .110 .761 .152 .272
guiel,aaron 136 20 42 5 4 .128 .691 .096 .156
logan,nook 134 13 24 0 7 .088 .821 .064 .278
mondesi,raul 133 14 31 3 9 .095 .767 .118 .241
palmeiro,orland 133 21 19 3 5 .136 .857 .070 .241
gross,gabe 129 19 31 3 4 .128 .760 .071 .209
he's got potential.
williams,gerald 129 8 26 4 10 .058 .798 .136 .233
gonzalez,juan 128 10 19 5 5 .072 .852 .092 .276
mateo,ruben 126 11 26 3 7 .080 .794 .100 .206
devore,doug 107 7 31 3 5 .061 .710 .105 .224
goodwin,tom 106 8 22 0 8 .070 .792 .095 .200
hawpe,brad 106 12 34 3 5 .102 .679 .111 .248
bragg,darren 101 10 31 4 4 .090 .693 .114 .188
there it is. i plan to put a few links in there but i wanted to get this published. there are only a few more players to talk about. guys that didn't get mentioned yet, dh's and other miscellaneous folks.
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