Compare and Contrast
Let's look at the year-to-date line on two players:
Player A: .335 BA / .411 OBA / .472 SLG / 85 R / 10 HR / 75 RBI / 55 BB / 77 K
Player B: .288 BA / .390 OBA / .507 SLG / 87 R / 25 HR / 91 RBI / 71 BB / 109 K
Looking at the stats, I think we can agree that both these guys are fine players having good years. Player A has an edge in batting average; Player B has the advantage in power. Would any of us complain about having either of these guys on our favorite team?
Evidently, some of us would. Because Player B is this guy, who is getting more grief this year than anyone outside of Barry Bonds.
We've pondered why Rodriguez has taken so many hits this year in previous posts. This week, the hits kept on coming (probably with the focus on the ever-exciting Yankees/Red Sox series this weekend). Baseball Tonight's Tino Martinez said before the series that if Rodriguez could deliver a big hit against Boston, "all would be forgiven." We need to forgive a guy who's hit 25 homers and driven in 91 runs? Is it possible that maybe one or two of those runs were the result of a "big hit?"
Fox's Ken Rosenthal says Rodriguez needs to "play great." The guy's got an .897 OPS -- is that not great enough?
The latest cracks about Rodriguez I've heard involve his defense. Rodriguez has made a lot of errors, the pundits say. His range factor is for crap, they cry.
That's funny -- we've been saying that same thing about Player A for years. And yet, Player A is the epitome of all that is right in the world, while Rodriguez has (as Rosenthal tells us) brought all this bad karma on himself.
In his piece for ESPN, Eric Neel touches on the human need for clearly defined "good guys" and "bad guys." I just wonder how rational humans can define Rodriguez as a "bad guy" when his stats indicate he's at least as good as a "good guy."
Player A: .335 BA / .411 OBA / .472 SLG / 85 R / 10 HR / 75 RBI / 55 BB / 77 K
Player B: .288 BA / .390 OBA / .507 SLG / 87 R / 25 HR / 91 RBI / 71 BB / 109 K
Looking at the stats, I think we can agree that both these guys are fine players having good years. Player A has an edge in batting average; Player B has the advantage in power. Would any of us complain about having either of these guys on our favorite team?
Evidently, some of us would. Because Player B is this guy, who is getting more grief this year than anyone outside of Barry Bonds.
We've pondered why Rodriguez has taken so many hits this year in previous posts. This week, the hits kept on coming (probably with the focus on the ever-exciting Yankees/Red Sox series this weekend). Baseball Tonight's Tino Martinez said before the series that if Rodriguez could deliver a big hit against Boston, "all would be forgiven." We need to forgive a guy who's hit 25 homers and driven in 91 runs? Is it possible that maybe one or two of those runs were the result of a "big hit?"
Fox's Ken Rosenthal says Rodriguez needs to "play great." The guy's got an .897 OPS -- is that not great enough?
The latest cracks about Rodriguez I've heard involve his defense. Rodriguez has made a lot of errors, the pundits say. His range factor is for crap, they cry.
That's funny -- we've been saying that same thing about Player A for years. And yet, Player A is the epitome of all that is right in the world, while Rodriguez has (as Rosenthal tells us) brought all this bad karma on himself.
In his piece for ESPN, Eric Neel touches on the human need for clearly defined "good guys" and "bad guys." I just wonder how rational humans can define Rodriguez as a "bad guy" when his stats indicate he's at least as good as a "good guy."
posted by Bob at
4:36 PM
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