May 15, 200719 yr I wasnt aware that anyone had, but it doesnt surprise me. Cabrera, Hanley, Hammer, and hopefully a healthy Hermida can be offensive threats. Uggla can be dangerous down in the lineup, maybe it will take pressure off of him and he should knock in his fair share of runs. Ross going down hurt, but he is so streaky and he cant hit RHP. Olivo sucks, so does Borchard but at least Borchard wont be seeing nearly as much playing time. People are expecting way too much out of De Aza. It would surprise me if he finishes the season batting .260. We have two great hitters, two really good hitters, and alot of meh. Middle of the pack overall.
May 15, 200719 yr This is just a funk. The offense isn't as good as it was in April but it isn't this bad.
May 15, 200719 yr yeah, I dont remember anyone saying it was great either. most recognized that it was a hot start that would even out at some point
May 15, 200719 yr The bottom of the lineup is a problem, but if we move Uggla in the 6 spot and put Hermida 2nd, it should help, even though Uggla will not see the pitches he is seeing now batting in front of Cabrera. And these last 4 games shows how much Cabrera means to this team: If he's slumping, the whole team seems to go down with him. Outside of his rookie year, I think this is the worst stretch I've ever seen from Miggy. Not just the 0'fer, but the K's as well. I don't know if anyone remembers this, but when Cabrera was 0-15 in one stretch his rookie year, the next game he had 2 homers and 2 doubles. It would be nice to see something like that tomorrow. :mischief
May 15, 200719 yr good post Spike...except id add that we also have one high upside guy in Hermida Hammer and Hermida were the two I was talking about as "two really good hitters" in the last sentence. My bad, I dont literate well sometimes.
May 15, 200719 yr I wasnt aware that anyone had, but it doesnt surprise me. Cabrera, Hanley, Hammer, and hopefully a healthy Hermida can be offensive threats. Uggla can be dangerous down in the lineup, maybe it will take pressure off of him and he should knock in his fair share of runs. Ross going down hurt, but he is so streaky and he cant hit RHP. Olivo sucks, so does Borchard but at least Borchard wont be seeing nearly as much playing time. People are expecting way too much out of De Aza. It would surprise me if he finishes the season batting .260. We have two great hitters, two really good hitters, and alot of meh. Middle of the pack overall. I agree with a lot of what you say but disagree with the overall conclusion. If Miguel, Hanley and Hammer stay healthy I think we'll be a top four NL offense.
May 15, 200719 yr Cabs BABIP is a tad below his average this season, but still strong(.367 for his career, he is sitting on .347 heading into tonights game). He is just having a very unlucky stretch. It happens. Somedays hes Superman, some days hes the Green Lantern, and on real off days he is Aquaman. Luckily he wears the blue tights more often than not. (anyone out there thats mad that I made fun of Aquaman, first slap yourself with your man purse and then find yourself a real super hero)
May 15, 200719 yr Author Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29)...and to find a gap anywhere that exceeds the 41 we have on the Padres, you have to go from the second place team to the ninth place team. That's just wow factor right there.
May 15, 200719 yr Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS.
May 15, 200719 yr Author Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much.
May 15, 200719 yr Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much. Pretty much. I care about scoring runs and OPS (getting on base and having good power numbers). I don't really care about what kind of outs you make when you make outs.
May 15, 200719 yr Author Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much. Pretty much. I care about scoring runs and OPS (getting on base and having good power numbers). I don't really care about what kind of outs you make when you make outs. Now that's absurd. Feast/famine can give you gaudy totals but do very little to develop consistency...or, in this case, help your win total on a consistent basis.
May 15, 200719 yr Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much. Pretty much. I care about scoring runs and OPS (getting on base and having good power numbers). I don't really care about what kind of outs you make when you make outs. Now that's absurd. Feast/famine can give you gaudy totals but do very little to develop consistency...or, in this case, help your win total on a consistent basis. The Cards have a low OPS and few Ks. We have a high OPS and a lot of Ks. Who do you think thas the better offense so far this season, the Marlins or the Cards? I'll take the Marlins. When your team is next to last in runs allowed you're not going to win on a consistent basis. That's our problem. We allow too many runs. The focus on the Ks is ridiculous.
May 15, 200719 yr Author Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much. Pretty much. I care about scoring runs and OPS (getting on base and having good power numbers). I don't really care about what kind of outs you make when you make outs. Now that's absurd. Feast/famine can give you gaudy totals but do very little to develop consistency...or, in this case, help your win total on a consistent basis. The Cards have a low OPS and few Ks. We have a high OPS and a lot of Ks. Who do you think thas the better offense so far this season, the Marlins or the Cards? I'll take the Marlins. When your team is next to last in runs allowed you're not going to win on a consistent basis. That's our problem. We allow too many runs. The focus on the Ks is ridiculous. You also don't win if you have an almost 3:1 K:BB ratio, turn 1/4 of your plate appearances into unproductive outs and don't hit, period, with runners in scoring position. Question: would you take a leadoff triple every inning followed by a walk then three consecutive strikeouts...because that'll give you a gaudy OPS too.
May 15, 200719 yr Putting the ball in play > striking out. Plain and simple. Putting the ball in play can result in a lot of things. Sacrifice flies, ground balls or fielder choices that score runs, errors, ect. ect. It's not just about getting on base. Strikes can never amount to anything. An out in play can.
May 15, 200719 yr Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Compared to actual production stats anyhow. There is 1 meaningful offensive stat for a team, runs scored.
May 15, 200719 yr I wouldn't mind seeing Miggy Drop to 4th or 5th in the lineup. I think this would protect Miggy, Let Uggla see good pitches, and Show what Hermida can do. 1. Ramirez 2. Hermida 3. Uggla 4. Miggy 5. Willingham 6. Jacobs 7. Olivo 8. CF 9. Pitcher
May 15, 200719 yr Putting the ball in play > striking out. Plain and simple. Putting the ball in play can result in a lot of things. Sacrifice flies, ground balls or fielder choices that score runs, errors, ect. ect. It's not just about getting on base. Strikes can never amount to anything. An out in play can. But putting the ball in play alot means being aggressive at the plate. Being aggressive at the plate means alot of Ks. Check out the last few games. Ks are down for the most part and we haven't been scoreing. The only Ks that bother me are looking at that 3rd strike. If they are just going to watch the game they may as well buy a ticket.
May 15, 200719 yr This was never a great offense. It was only a matter time until the fish hit a stretch like this the way they've been striking out and leaving runners on base. It certainly is an underacheiving one though. They can be pretty darn good but that won't happen this year.
May 15, 200719 yr Just to put it in perspective, in the National League, we're the only team with over 300 team strikeouts (326). The difference in K's between us and the second place team (41) is greater than the difference between the second and eighth place teams (29). That's just wow factor right there. If you want an even bigger WOW factor check this one out... the Cards are "first" with the fewest strikeouts with 172 and they are last in runs scored with 110. BTW, we're still 5th in runs scored and 5th in OPS. Are you suggesting then that strikeouts are meaningless? Or was that not sarcasm and instead a true "wow" factor because you just have to see that the Cards are hitting .230 as a team to understand that most of their stats are going to be putrid...however, it is surprising they're making that much contact and at the bottom of the heap so much. Pretty much. I care about scoring runs and OPS (getting on base and having good power numbers). I don't really care about what kind of outs you make when you make outs. Now that's absurd. Feast/famine can give you gaudy totals but do very little to develop consistency...or, in this case, help your win total on a consistent basis. The Cards have a low OPS and few Ks. We have a high OPS and a lot of Ks. Who do you think thas the better offense so far this season, the Marlins or the Cards? I'll take the Marlins. When your team is next to last in runs allowed you're not going to win on a consistent basis. That's our problem. We allow too many runs. The focus on the Ks is ridiculous. You also don't win if you have an almost 3:1 K:BB ratio, turn 1/4 of your plate appearances into unproductive outs and don't hit, period, with runners in scoring position. Question: would you take a leadoff triple every inning followed by a walk then three consecutive strikeouts...because that'll give you a gaudy OPS too. Go back to past seasons and look over the team rankings in OPS, runs scored and Ks. You'll find the fiollowing: -- there's a very strong correlation in team rankings in OPS and runs scored -- there's no correlation in team rankings in strikeouts and runs scored
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