The Sommer Frieze

I read where rain is expected in Detroit today, so we’ll see about today. Pettitte vs. Robertson. Albaladejo won’t need surgery, but he’ll be out a while (was 0-1, 3.95). Great Britton is back. Betemit goes on the 15-day DL with a hammy strain. Gonzo returns.

When will newspapers wise up and instead of printing stats in the Sunday paper batting averages down, print what is REALLY important…OPS or OPS+ down????? Batting averages are deceiving. Here is an example.

.340 OBP .398 SA OPS .738 OPS+ 105
.336 OBP .473 SA OPS .809 OPS+ 123

You will notice that I purposely left out batting average. Who do you think is having a better year? I won’t give you batting averages and who they are yet (Maybe you have figured it out just by those numbers.)

Anyway, when the papers come out, player one will be on top because he is hitting .308, player two will be on the bottom because he is hitting .183. Look at the numbers again. Who did you think was doing better? Probably player two, right? A reason why BA is overrated. Walks and what KIND of hits you get do matter.

In case you haven’t figured it out, Player one is Derek Jeter. Player two is Jason Giambi. This isn’t a knock on Derek. Hopefully he can walk more and show a bit more power. He’s a far better baserunner and defender than Giambi.

It does point out something on Giambi, however. If only the Big G could run. But it shows that even in a slump, Giambi can be dangerous. It also shows how dangerous Giambi can be if he heats up…which he appears to be doing.

Jason from Heartland Pinstripes will be on YFCR this evening.

Church beckons. Back with more later.