Point, Counterpoint

Nice to see the Dodgers take 2 of 3 from the Phillies, who can mash.

Juan got to keep his hit streak going, but not a great day for the center fielder.

1. Singled to center. Erased on Gonzalez's double play.
2. Popped to third. #312.
3. Grounded to short. #313.
4. Grounded to third. #314.

Pace: 535 outs.

Pierre is still tops in the majors in outs made -- three ahead of Rollins.

To address loyal OutWatcher 71and91's point from yesterday, a point of information: here are the top players in MLB in plate appearances, followed by their On Base Percentages and Slugging Percentages.

Rollins 334 / 523
Sizemore 389 / 462
Reyes 382 / 443
Uggla 320 / 476
DeJesus 353 / 396
Pierre 316 / 339
Jeter 401 / 470
Utley 404 / 583
Roberts 404 / 447
Rios 359 / 541

To me, that looks like a bunch of all-stars with three exceptions. By and large, players who are getting as many opportunities as Pierre is getting are either getting on base a lot, hitting for power, or both. There are three exceptions.

Dan Uggla's 320/476 isn't terribly impressive, but he does play second base, the third-most difficult position on the diamond after catcher and shortstop. I haven't looked it up; it's quite possible that a slugging percentage of 476 is good for a second baseman and that Uggla should be grouped with the rest of the guys. Don't know off the top of my head, but it deserved to be noted. I'll point out that he plays for Florida, which is kind of lost as a franchise at the moment.

David DeJesus's slugging percentage, 396, is low enough that I'd like to see a higher OBP, but on the other hand, an OBP of 350 isn't bad by any means. Plus, he plays center field (like Pierre), the fourth-most difficult position on the diamond. And he plays for Kansas City, which has been lost for a franchise for a long time.

I'll point out that Juan Pierre's production, 316/339, is far, far below these two guys. And he plays for the Dodgers, who are in a large market, hanging onto first place, and should know better.

So the excuse that "Juan makes a lot of outs because he gets a lot of plate appearances" doesn't hold water. Everybody else who gets a lot of plate appearances is better than he is, and usually, better by quite a bit.

We don't judge Pierre on the basis of his total outs made; we judge him based on his production, which affects his total outs made. Still, we will continue to count his outs because it's a shorthand, a focus point, something to do every day, an ever-larger number that reminds the Dodger management of his mediocrity and that the team could be better just by sitting Pierre and playing Kemp and Ethier and Gonzalez every day.