Monday, April 23, 2007

The Two Won and One Lost Weekend

Took the weekend off to get the house ready to sell. Didn't see much Juan Pierre. Missed a good performance in a win, a bad performance in a win, and a mediocre performance in a loss.

FRIDAY was Juan's best game yet. 3-for-4 with 2 SB and 3 runs scored.

1. Single to center. Stole 2nd and scored.
2. Single to 1st. Stole 2nd and scored.
3. Another single. Would score again. Can anything stop this man?
4. Yes: a fielder's choice. #58.

SATURDAY, he fell off the wagon.

1. Popped to right. #59.
2. Flied to left. #60.
3. Flied to right. #61.
4. K. #62.
5. Singled to right. Would score the winning run in the 10th, thanks to JimBilly4's new love, Russell Martin.

SUNDAY was exactly what you expect from Pierre -- 2-for-5 -- as the Dodgers lost.

1. Bunt out to pitcher. I swear, I will never understand this play. #63.
2. K. #64.
3. Popped to third. #65.
4. Single to right.
5. Single to right.

In short, Pierre is clearly out of his slump, and he is now merely the entirely mediocre talent one expects him to be. Get used to a lot of 2-for-5s.

P.S. "The hardest man to strike out last year" is now on pace for 68 Ks. He has also fallen off a record out pace -- if he keeps this up, he'll make only 554 outs, which would be 2nd on the all-time list.

13 comments:

jimbilly4 said...

2 for 5s are not the problem. It is the 1 for 5s that will kill us, which should happen at roughly the same clip (I will assume 0 for 5s as rare as 3 for 5s or better).

Of course, even that is not the problem, which is really the lack of 1 or 2 for 4 with a walk. That kills his OBP, which is only a problem because he can't hit for power... and even that is only a problem because he appears to be a defensive liability.

I wasn't onboard the Juan Hate Train before, as I felt a .300 hitting CF was just fine regardless of patience and power. But now I have seen multiple runs score because of both his poor fielding and rag doll arm. Now I have a problem.

Woo woo.

Oh, and I will soon have Martin's baby, male anatomy be damned!

Humma Kavula said...

Today, jimbilly4.

Tomorrow, the world!

ArtHTracy said...

Despite raking 14 hits in one week, JP retains the MLB outs lead through 4/22:

65 J Pierre
64 R Zimmerman
63 F Lopez
63 M Young
61 B Phillips
60 M Cameron
60 M Mora
59 G Anderson
59 E Byrnes
59 D Uggla
59 G Sheffield

Humma Kavula said...

To add another point... here are the OPS so far for those players:

Pierre 632
Zimmerman 633
Lopez 696
Young 486
Phillips 744
Cameron 561
Mora 811
Anderson 639
Byrnes 864
Uggla 857
Sheffield 562

Pierre's OPS currently ranks 151 out of 194 qualifiers. Many of the guys below him -- Luis Castillo, Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixeira, Gary Sheffield, others -- won't stay below him. He has more plate appearances than anybody below him on the list. Part of this is due to the fact that Pierre bats high in the order. Part of it is due to the fact that some of these guys are losing their jobs.

You don't have to be Kreskin to predict that by the end of the year, Pierre will be where he always is -- somewhere between the fifth and fifteenth-worst major leaguer.

Right now, that isn't a problem. As long as the team continues to have the 2nd best pitching in baseball, the Dodgers can carry Juan's awful bat. If the pitching starts to fail -- and we've already seen an injury to Schmidt and a return to form from Tomko -- this could be a long season.

Martin said...

jimbilly4, you will not be having my baby. that's just gross.

jimbilly4 said...

Right now we need Furcal back on his game, because right now he is floundering is crappy-hitter land, making Pierre look like Ty Cobb.

Also, if I can not have Russell Martin's love child, I will settle for a manly thump on the meaty part of my shoulder.

Followed by cuddling.

Humma Kavula said...

Your shoulder has a meaty part?

Mine does not. Perhaps I need to be hitting the gym...

Humma Kavula said...

Ultimately, nobody is killing the team right now. They have the best record in baseball, so despite Furcallish and Betemitterful performances, they're fine. The question is, what do we do if our pitching fails? Since this is our strength, maybe dealing some pitching to shore up the offense would make sense.

Say, the Yankees need pitching. They have a pretty good 3B in this Rodriguez fellow. I wonder what it would take to get him.

joeyp said...

When are we going to hook and fuck?

Humma Kavula said...

Where have you been, joey? Missed you.

Between your comments and jimbilly4's desire to bear Russell Martin's children, I'm this close to changing the name of this blog to The Feigned Homoeroticism Watch.

jimbilly4 said...

I don't know what the "hook" part of "to hook and fuck" entails, but I don't like the sound of it. Count me out.

I guess I was really thinking of the upper part of the arm (recently bruised by my famous Uncle S). But in general it seems likely the meatiness of my extremeties would indicate that I am more in need of a trip to the gym (and a change in diet) than you.

Sr. Arod is not going anywhere right now. If the Yankees continue to stink into June then there are some interesting possiblities that open up. You probably have to give up a couple of hot prospects, but it may be worth it for someone of Arod's stature. He is 32, so hopefully has a lot of game left in him.

Humma Kavula said...

Obviously, I wasn't serious about A-Rod. That said, trading for him in June is a risky proposition. I believe that he has a Drew-esque opt-out clause in his contract...

If:

(a) he continues to have a monster season; and
(b) the Yankees continue to stink; and
(c) (1) you can rent him fairly cheap or
(c) (2) you can get him to waive that clause;

THEN trade for the dude. He can absolutely play 3B on my team.

But I'm skeptical that Ned would want to/be able to/have the mental capacity to work out that kind of a deal with Boras.

jimbilly4 said...

To pound this into the ground... Yes, I know the Arod opt-out makes that a dubious proposition, although I am not sure even he could improve on his deal, even in this market. Would you pay more than 25 million a year for a 33 year old for 3+ years? He hasn't exactly been a panacea for either the Yankees or Rangers. That being said, without assurances I don't think you make that deal unless you get him on the cheap. Ned can't take another opt-out.

That being said, a bad Yankee team in June is an interesting proposition.

1) They desperately need pitching.
2) We are overflowing in pitching.
3) They have the deepest pockets around.

It feels like there are possibilities here outside of Arod, but I am way to lazy to try and figure them out.