White Sox IQ Test

by ChicagoPete on Mar 4, 2008 6:38 AM CST

Here's a timely article in The Hardball Times about the Ten Worst Leadoff Hitters in the past 50 years. Can Jerry crack this list of immortals?

Buried in this article is something Bill James came up with a while ago about how to measure baseball smarts. His criteria were:

The tendency to not make errors
Command of the strike zone
Effective baserunning relative to speed
Consistency
Growth

I nominate Juan Uribe as winner for the CWS, looks pretty clearcut. And a posthumous award goes to Jose Valenstache.

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consistency?

joe morgan guest author?

by larry on Mar 4, 2008 10:46 AM CST reply actions

Speed?

Why isn't speed on the list?

Interesting thing on that list of leadoff hitters - the 25th worst had an OPS+ of 65, and Jerry just missed it last year with a 67.

What's even more interesting is that an org such as the CWS, that places such a heavy emphasis on the leadoff position, chooses to ignore these simple empirical measures of what makes a good leadoff hitter. In the face of all kinds of statistical reasons that tell you he shouldn't be leading off, let only taking up a spot on a major league roster, they insist on cramming him in there with no lube.

Same thing with Dusty Baker, supposedly a wise old baseball sage. First thing he does with the Cubs is cram Corey Patterson up there, and when he fails he gets Juan Pierre, and when he gets canned and moves to the Reds he gets Patterson again. And this industry continually rewards this kind of beating your head against the wall behavior.

"We're actually doing some different things at the top of the lineup, but our key is Jerry Owens being our center fielder and our leadoff guy" - JD

by ChicagoPete on Mar 4, 2008 11:00 AM CST reply actions

Dusty is married to the Corey...

Just like a Head Coach in the NFL is married to his first round QB choice

"God knows I gave my best in baseball at all times and no man on earth can truthfully judge me otherwise."

by Shoeless In SC on Mar 4, 2008 11:09 AM CST up reply actions

hardball times annual

had an interesting assessment of managers this year. focusing solely on trying to measure which managers "get the most out of their players," dusty was quite highly ranked. obviously, this correlates well with his reputation as a player's manager and his apparent knack for getting the most out of veteran players. of course, we can all contemplate whether this skill (assuming you buy the measurement, of course) is outweighed by some of his other less positive qualities, such as his handling/mishandling of younger players and questionable in-game strategy.

by larry on Mar 4, 2008 11:13 AM CST up reply actions

My guess why he does well?

I think he's the alltime leader in Pitcher Abuse points. Your overall pitching is going to be a lot better if you push your top starters to go out there and throw 120 pitches every start. Who would you rather have on the mound, a tired Javy Vazquez or a fresh Mike MacDougal?

"We're actually doing some different things at the top of the lineup, but our key is Jerry Owens being our center fielder and our leadoff guy" - JD

by ChicagoPete on Mar 4, 2008 11:20 AM CST up reply actions

i think he's a

very good manager in the short-term - i.e., if your plan is to win this year or the next. i fully expect the reds to be good this year. i think you're going to see griffey have a (comparatively) great year, for one. but i think he's bad long-term.

it seems to be me that managers who stick around this game are pretty much like players. you've got a few really good ones who will win you games. outside of that, you've got a bunch who do some things well and other things not so well, or do everything sort of okay. i put dusty in the first camp of that bunch and ozzie probably in the second.

by larry on Mar 4, 2008 11:27 AM CST up reply actions

They could use a playoff berth

Their fans are restless, they've sucked for ages. Plus this is their last year with Dunn, and Griffey can't have much left in the tank. In that division, you might as well go for it while you have a chance. Dusty's like Piniella, they do a lot of goofy stuff strategically but they're pretty good judges of talent so they'll squeeze what they can from your roster.

"We're actually doing some different things at the top of the lineup, but our key is Jerry Owens being our center fielder and our leadoff guy" - JD

by ChicagoPete on Mar 4, 2008 11:49 AM CST up reply actions

World Series titles:

Ozzie - one
Dusty - nil

It's all about the bling, lar.

I wrote this song after I killed a drifter to get an erection.

by winningugly on Mar 4, 2008 12:03 PM CST up reply actions

that depends

upon what your goals are. cincy wants playoffs. dusty delivers that.

and playoffs are a crapshoot. ask brenly.

by larry on Mar 4, 2008 12:10 PM CST up reply actions

Dusty's good

but can't close. Say what you will - if you are a middle-market team you are satisfied being competitive/profitable. If you are a large market team with a tradition of winning and bucks to spend you want the ring.

Do you agree?

I wrote this song after I killed a drifter to get an erection.

by winningugly on Mar 4, 2008 12:12 PM CST up reply actions