The Astros keep playing ol Clank at first base and letting Brett Wallace rot because, as Alyson Footer tried not to explain, it’s all about the numbers – 19 million of them, to be exact. And unless they are saving LF for Carl Crawford (and we complain about Clank’s contarct????) it seems as if they are thinking that Bogusevic in left with Clank at first is gonna be better than Clank in left and Wallace at 1B and Wallace is going to be AAA fodder, looks like.
So the Astros are putting out the line about how Clank’s fielding at 1B is sooooo good and how he is hitting SOOOOOOOOO much better when he is playing there.
Fielding great?
please
He can’t handle any throws in the dirt and he can’t play any ball on a short hop (see him being unable to take a ball on a short hop from Tommy Manzella, who was charged with an error, poor guy) and he can’t catch any ball unless it is thrown right to him (see Bud Norris on his pickoff attempt of McCutchen in the 3rd).
But they talk about all this improved hitting. Yeah, right. So let’s check it out:
First, here are his overall lines for Aug and Sept (you’ll notice a difference) as of 9/25
Agst: 29 G: .288/.336/.504/.840
Sept: 23 G: .222/.260/.378/.638
Now, he played his first game at 1B on August 8, so I’ll count his stats from then.
So far, he’s played 16 games at 1B: 14 hits with 2 BB, 2 doubles and 4 homers and 13 RBI (none since 9/4) with 26 LOB and 45 outs over 67 PA (including 1 GIDP, which I count as 2 outs)
totl: .246/.271/.491/.762
Agst: .285/.285/.761/1.047 (6 G, 6 fer 21 with 1 2B. 3 HR and 9 RBI)
Sept: .238/.285/.333/.618 (10 G, 10 fer 42 with 2 BB, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 GIDP, 4 RBI)
Since 8/8, he’s played 29 G as a LF (through 9/25):
totl: .252/.278/.443/.751
Agst: .283/.300/.483/.783 ( 15 G, 17 fer 60, 6 2B, 2 HR, 1 W, 2 GIDP, 13 RBI)
Sept: .218/.254/.400/.654 with 5 RBI (14G, 12 fer 55, 1 2B, 3 HR, 2 BB, 2 GIDP, 5 RBI)
Yes, I know we are talking small sample sizes.
But me, I sure don’t see all these great differences betwen his hitting when he’s playing first or left, unless you think that his .762 is this VAST improvement over .751 – neither of which are exactly acceptable numbers for either a LF or a 1B – heck, even Ichiro Suzuki, an infamous singles hitter, has an OPS over .800.
And if you are gonna talk about RBIs, in Sept, as a LF, he’s 5 fer 35 (men on base when he came up) and as a 1B, 4 fer 29 – like whoopie DOO.
Tags: Houston Astros, MLB
Great stuff, Lisa. thanks for crunching the numbers. They have to pay him $19M whether he plays or not, so I don’t see why they feel he must play due to his salary. In fact, I never understand this argument for any big money player. Fans want to see the team win, so if the team does better with Clank pinch hitting, then he should pinch hit. But teams almost never do this. It’s stupid.
Lisa: Sadly, its almost the end of the season with many unexpected twists and turns for the Astros. I have enjoyed your blog for two years and finally now have gotten up the courage to send a “thank you” for the effort you put into the dramatizing the nuts and bolts of the games. Heretofore, I would never dare to comment on a game and expose my ignorance, but have felt a keen gratitude for your very fun recaps.
(And speaking of ignorance, although a long time baseball fan, I am often mystified by all the modern acronyms. Is there a website that has a list of baseball acronyms?)
For me, the most appealing aspect of your blog, beside all the intriguing facts and figures, is that you won’t stand still for nonsense, excuses, and pig painting. All too often we all sense “the invisible hand” orchestrating the manager’s very puzzling choices, which frequently end quite badly, and are glossed over as bad luck, an off day, etc., as if we, not he, are dimwits who believe this fantasy.
Z
PS. Do you have any reason to believe/suspect that your very intelligent observations and protestations reach through the glass ceiling into the sanctuary of decision makers?
steve,
i don’t get the – if he sucks, but we are paying him a lot, he has to play – thingy neither. WHY????????? you have to pay him whether or not he plays, so why not play someone better? or with a future?
zagger,
glad you posted!!! welcome!!!
am not sure what acronyms you mean; i did write a column about 3 years ago about all the abbreviations i use – i’ll see if i can find it.
i seriously doubt that anyone in the FO reads anything i say, or any writer says. drayton is VERY sensitive to fans AT THE BALLPARK, but he is pigheaded and won’t listen to anyone, best i can tell, except tal smith and pam gardner.
Sunk cost.
I seem to remember the Diamondbacks releasing Russ Ortiz with $22m left on his contract. I think that’s the most ever, but I could be wrong.
The Dodgers got very little/nothing from Andruw Jones for $36.2m they signed him for. And Jason Schmidt got $50m for those 10 starts.
We’ll have to pay Lee’s $38m whatever happens. We can do it without destroying other players developments. Wallace needs to play or there was no point in trading for him. We’re compounding the mistake by not benching him.
Thank you for your warm welcome, Lisa.
What I meant by acronym was: a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words, as Wac from Women’s Army Corps, OPEC from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or loran from long-range navigation. (this is a definition I lifted from dictionary.com).
Last year when I first started reading your blog I puzzled for hours over GIDP, and finally asked my son to interpret for me. I have since figured out for myself quite a few but not all.
This ignorance on my part in no way keeps me from enjoying your blog to the utmost.
If, as you say, owner McClain is “very sensitive to fans at the ballpark” then that market place will school him well. The market place is NEVER wrong. We are often slow to learn, but the lesson will remain viable until we do.
Hope you will be doing an off-season writing on some aspect of the game.
Z