Here's a stat to chew on as you wait for tonight's game
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Here's a stat to chew on as you wait for tonight's game
David Murphy
I'm not sure what this says, but I found it interesting, so I thought I'd share it.
Through 64 games, Phillies cleanup hitters have combined to bat .287 with a .351 on base percentage and .496 slugging percentage while hitting 12 home runs.
Ryan Howard hit cleanup in 64 of the Phillies first 65 games last season. In those 64 games, he hit .238 with a .326 on base percentage and .463 slugging percentage with 13 home runs.
Also interesting is the number of runners on base for the cleanup spot in 2011 compared with 2012.
Through 64 games in 2011, the cleanup hitter (Howard in all but one game) had a total of 215 runners on base during his plate appearances. That number is lower this season, but perhaps not as low as you might think: 202 baserunners.
In 2011, the cleanup spot drove in 36 of those 215 baserunners, or 16.7 percent, in the first 64 games. This year, the cleanup spot has driven in 32 of 202, or 15.8 percent. That's the equivalent of about two fewer runs driven in compared with the number that would have been driven in at Howard's rate.
I think it means trading Rollins and Victorino might be a good idea.— ned folk
What those stats mean is that Howard got off to a slow start last year and Pence, for the most part, has done an admirable job of filling in as the 4 hitter. I don't see much more reason to chew on those stats.— zubzub- But how do those numbers compare to league numbers? That's the real question.— scootch
- What that also means is that guys who would be normally hitting 5,6,7 are hitting clean up, and guys who would normally be sitting on the bench are hitting 5,6,7.— birdsfaninnc
- Murph, I'm sure there are always statistical anomalies in a season of mediocrity....— ijj
- Unfortunately, no matter how you spin it or analyze it, this team simply blows! The Twinkies are taking them apart tonight. You have Kendrick, Blanton, Qualls, Rosenberg, Schwimer, Savery, Schneider, Wigginton, Martinez, Mayberry, Victorino, Rollins, Luna, Fontenot...14 guys out of your 25... who just never were good enough, or no longer are.— dasher
- but what about RISP situations?— palmyra21
- question is what did the 3 and 5 spots do last year and what are(n't) they doing this year? Remember, the object is 1-2 get on, 3-5 knock them home. Great that Howard's production (in his slow start) are being met, but what about the guys around him?— jeff gross
- Too many injuries...enough said. These scrubs that are starting are scrubs for a reason.— Fritz and Alice
- Great reality based column. This isn't a recent development, the Phillies clean-up hitters have been fine all along compared to Howard. Similarly the first basemen have hit for a .726 OPS, 8 HRs and 31 RBI. Not terribly far off Howard's effort. Two points; first, anyone who can remember longer than a year remember last year's narrative about poor Howard having no protection in the line-up. If that narrative was true, I'm not sure how his return changes anything. Second, for the last few years the sabermetrics crowd have been saying that compared to the normal first baseman, Howard is an average player, adding about 1 extra win over a replacement AAA level player over the course of a year. If you really look at the stats and how the Phillies truly have used the generic replacement player in his spot at first base, it shows that they have been right all along.— jtj06
- There's an old adage that figures don't lie - liars figure. There's no getting around it - this team stinks! Anyone out there still believe that trading away the farm for Halladay, Lee (2x) & Pence still makes sense? Think about Eric Kratz before you answer— slgcpa
- Who exactly did they trade away that would be helping them at this moment? Out of all the prospects they traded away, the only ones I cringe at now are D'Arnaud and Singleton. Regardless they were in a position to win it all. I'd redo those trades in a heartbeat each time if that's the case. It was a good 5 year run. Perhaps even one of the best runs in NL history trailing the Braves' 14 straight division titles and the Big Red Machine who didn't win as many division titles but did win multiple World Series... — diggitydek
- The thing that magnifies everything is bad defense. When you give ML teams an extra out, it is devastating. I for one, took this teams defense for granted.— tommazza
- The difference, other than the fact that Ryan started slow as usual last year, is that pitchers pitched around Ryan Howard quite a bit. No one is pitching around this year's crop of clean up hitters.— topwonk
- It also means that the Phils never needed to sign Howard to a long term deal 18 months before he hit FA and at worst they could have gone with a platoon that would have given them about 75% of the production at about 75% of the overall price.— ESFjellin
