EVIL~! alkeiper

Strikeouts won't hurt in the stat more than any other stat. Mostly the leaders are either pure power hitters, or power hitters who don't hit for high averages. Adam Dunn fits well into the latter category. Hitters like Dunn and Thome tend to walk, strike out, and hit home runs. Those players tend to have high Isolated Power.

Presenting some different stats which usually don't show up in the sports section... Isolated Power Isolated power measures the pure power of a hitter, beyond simply his base hits. Isolated powers subtracts batting average from slugging percentage. For example, Ron Belliard is hitting .379, and slugging .474. But if we subtract his batting average, his Isolated Power is just .095, meaning most of his slugging percentage is singles. Isolated power identifies the hitters who are crushing the ball, as opposed to slapping it. 1. Barry Bonds .530 2. Troy Glaus .388 3. Adam Dunn .374 4. Richie Sexson .373 5. Jorge Posada .370 6. Jim Thome .362 7. Hee Seop Choi .337 8. Carlos Beltran .327 9. Jason Giambi .316 10. Miguel Cabrera .313 Secondary Average Secondary average measures a hitter's contributions beyond his batting average, taking into account his walks, power, and stolen bases. Last year, Jason Giambi led the American League in this category, remaining one of the game's best hitters despite a .250 batting average. 1. Barry Bonds 1.318 2. Adam Dunn .802 3. Lance Berkman .581 4. Carlos Beltran .566 5. Jorge Posada .554 6. J.D. Drew .549 7. Jason Giambi .537 8. Frank Thomas .534 9. Richie Sexson .530 10. Troy Glaus .524 Walk/Strikeout Ratio How good is a hitter at controlling the strike zone, and selecting pitches? BB/K ratio measures a hitter's effectiveness at bat control. BB/K ratio is not a critical ability for hitters, but it is an interesting view of a hitter. Players hitting poorly with good BB/K ratios tend to improve. 1. Barry Bonds 7.14 2. Rafael Palmeiro 4.00 Paul LoDuca 4.00 4. Albert Pujols 3.33 5. Scott Hatteberg 2.33 6. Edgardo Alfonzo 2.20 Shannon Stewart 2.20 Ramon Hernandez 2.20 9. Juan Pierre 2.17 10. Frank Thomas 2.08 Juan Pierre is worth noting. While he is one of the poster children for smallball, his ability to draw walks and reach bases makes him valuable without stealing a base. Pitches per Plate Appearance How selective is a hitter? P/PA measures purely how many pitches a hitter sees in an at bat. More is usually better. 1. D'Angelo Jimenez 4.5 2. Todd Zeile 4.4 3. Adam Dunn 4.4 4. Jason Varitek 4.4 5. Mark Bellhorn 4.2 6. Miguel Cabrera 4.2 7. Jim Edmonds 4.2 8. Raul Mondesi 4.2 9. Jeff Bagwell 4.2 10. Frank Thomas 4.2 Strikeout to Walk Ratio How good is a pitcher? Some pitchers have low hits allowed totals with bad peripherals. These pitchers almost always decline. And vice versa. K/BB ratio is one of the best tools for measuring a pitcher's true performance. 1. Curt Schilling 7.57 2. Ben Sheets 6.29 3. Brad Radke 6.25 4. Oliver Perez 5.29 5. Kevin Millwood 4.67 6. Randy Johnson 4.36 7. Jose Acevedo 4.14 8. Kerry Wood 3.85 9. Adam Eaton 3.75 10. Josh Beckett 3.43

I have a similar problem with Jason Michaels.

Pinch-ran. I only keep ten pitchers on my staff, so I can afford to keep a pinch-runner/defensive sub on my squad.

I think losing Erstad actually improves the team.

Florida @ Houston, and Anaheim @ NY Yankees look like the interesting series for mid-week.

Great game for the Phillies.

Doug Glanville on second, one out, Marlon Byrd at bat. Byrd hits a pop fly foul near the third base dugout. Orioles 3B Jose Morban wanders over to it, and I realize no one is covering third. Glanville tags, and beats Morban and the pitcher to the bag. I don't dig sacrifices, but that was sweet.

If you need a quote, you can find a scout to tell you what you want to hear. Rumblings about players are all over the place, but its up to the columnist to decide what to print.

Phillies lead by three in the eighth. That Tigers/Rangers game is a big reason why I love the baseball season. On any given night, you can see a no hitter, an unassisted triple play, or an outright insane game. I hope ESPN Classic shows it in the future.

I hate sportswriters and fans who claim athletes in general are lazy bums and crybabies. Yes, there are exceptions, but most are hard-working. That's how they got to their level in the first place.

Toronto's quietly building themselves back to respectability. I stand by my third place prediction. They'll pass the Orioles.

I think the "Shannon Stewart for MVP" campaign is a good indicator that Jayson Starks is full of shit. Its worth noting that Crosby is still outhitting Rich Aurilia and Derek Jeter.

Which scouts? John Sickels and BPro wrote highly of his chances.

In my next column, I mention Jeremy Reed. He's hitting 317/390/404 in Charlotte right now, and is heir apparent to the center fielder's job.

Earl Weaver is the god of statheads.

No, but the year is a month old. If Derek Jeter were to hit two home runs today, would Mariner fans go, "how could you let that happen, Jeter sucks!"? It would not come as a huge surprise.

I despise that excuse. They're a good team that just can't seem to win? Newsflash: That means they're bad. Not necessarily. It means they haven't played well recently. But you can not judge players solely on their most recent performances. You need to take more data into account. Most of the hitters on the Mariners should hit better than they have, and they will.

For the Expos, why does everyone neglect Tim Raines? .301 average, with a .391 OBP for the Expos. 1622 hits, 635 Stolen Bases. Holds franchise records for runs, triples, walks, and steals. What about Gary Sheffield?

The Mariners aren't as bad a team as their record indicates. Baseball is a game of percentages, and sometimes it bites you, no matter how good your team.

I'm sure the contract extension helped. Again, the Sox acquired Francona BECAUSE they acquired Schilling. Not the other way around. Beltran will not give up a 5 year contract because Tony Pena manages the Royals.

Oakland doesn't acquire pitchers so they can be LOOGYs. They intend for them to pitch to all hitters. Platoon splits are usually not so pronounced that they justify incessantly changing pitchers. Hitters have hit only .247 against Rincon, career. That's not bad. Blame Billy Beane.

DeJesus isn't Beltran, but he's not joke. He holds a career .400 OBP. He's probably up a little early. Give him time. Statistically, your chances of garnering star players are better in the draft. Most big name stars traded in the midseason garner middling prospects these days. Its just not a fair return on the investment.

I'd just let him go to free agency, and take the draft picks. Midseason trades rarely net quality players these days. With the draft picks, you get two chances to draft a star in next season's amateur draft. The Royals have David DeJesus waiting in the wings, so Beltran's departure, while bad, won't kill the Royals.

Give me a couple days to think it over and I guarentee you I'll come up with a player. Curt Schilling(Francona) Also, if Manny tried to slide he probably woulda been out. Finally, Bellhorn, while I think he is nothing special, hit 27 HR's 2 years ago while playing for the Rockies. Yes Colorado is a HR enhancer, but 27 is still pretty decent. Therefore Bellhoen hitting a HR isnt THAT shocking. Francosa manages the Red Sox because of Schilling, not the other way around. And Bellhorn was on the CUBS when he hit 27 home runs.