HA!
Y'Know, it's funny. While babysitting adults playing softball, I try to write some posts, most get tossed after I write them.
I wrote this one the other day and kept it in my pocket. I thought to myself that I'd probably never post it since I've rambled on about Joey Votto over the last three years and how his changed approach has no longer made him fantasy relevant in early rounds.
But, since you brought the subject up and since I've still got it...........
Joey Votto has a measly six home runs and is batting .255
And I still heard a sabr say the other day that his .390 obp has saved him from having a bad year, this year.
Really?
C'Mon!
Go ask Joey Votto if he's having a bad year!
He'll tell you it sucks. If not him, his fantasy owners will sure tell you!
During his 2010-11 years, when walks were secondary, not primary to Votto, he enjoyed these numbers....
311 games/362 hits/66 hr/216 rbi/207 runs/201 bb
Since then, from 2012-14, these are his numbers....
335 games/359 hits/44 hr/152 rbi/192 runs/276 bb
I miss the old Joey Votto.
Sabrs don't. They revere him.
I've spoken about Votto in the past and I don't want to use him as a whipping boy, but I have to.
Votto is Waterloo.
He is the separation of sabrs and fantasy.
Sabrs are in love with the walk. At any cost, they love a walk. One even saying that Victor Martinez has been willing to take a walk, which has led to his brilliant season. If he had looked closer, he'd of found that VMart does have 33 bases on balls this year, yes, but
13 of them have been
intentional.
For sabrs, a walk represents opportunity. A hitter has reached his goal. The goal of getting on base.
As you can see from Votto's stats, his extra walks have not translated to more runs.
Home runs score runs better than walks.
A homer is a guaranteed run scored. A walk has us depending on the kindness of others.
Everybody raves about Jonathon Lucroy having a breakout year. And, he's been wonderful.
The sabrs get stiffies talking about his .396 OBP, right?
Look at poor Mike Zunino. He is getting kicked in the groin by these same sabrs.
His OBP is, ahem, .271
Lucroy his atop a lineup, has 104 hits and 37 walks.....sabrs are creamin' their jeans.
Zunino hits bottom of lineup and has 55 hits and 11 walks....and the sabrs go limp.
The fantasy guy is ok with Zunino though. He's no Lucroy, but he's ok with him.
You see, Zunino beats Lucroy in home runs, 13-9.
Not only that, but with ALLthose extra hits and walks at the top of the lineup, Lucroy has only 10 more rbi and only nine more runs scored than Zunino. And that is with
82 more plate appearances
For fantasy, a walk represents lost opportunity. By itself, no goal has been reached. The five roto categories remain untouched. We now have to depend on the very players that we do not want to succeed, to have success, in order for our hitter to score and affect a category.
For sabrs, a sacrifice fly is a lucky at bat. An at bat that was fueled by a runner being on third base.
For fantasy, a sacrifice fly is a good at bat. A walk in that situation does nothing. A sac fly adds to a roto column.
Lucky?
Sure, but I will take the luck of a fly ball over the 'skill' of drawing a walk.
And sabrs do think it is a skill to draw a walk.
Usually the best of hitters draw walks.
Why?
Sabrs forget that pitchers would rather face another hitter rather than a team's best hitter.
They forget that a pitcher is better off setting up double plays with a great hitter, rather than allowing him a game changing swing.
And that leads us back to Votto.
Votto used to be that hitter. The hitter a pitcher feared a lot.
Then, something happened.
Votto turned into my Aunt Ruth. She enjoys walks too.
After 2010-11, Votto had a chance to become a baseball slugger.
A Willie McCovey. A Lou Gehrig.
Instead, he turned into Eddie Yost.
Yost was nicknamed, 'The Walking Man'
Sound familiar?
The problem being that Yost was a leadoff hitter. Like Billy Hamilton with less speed.
In 2010-11, Votto was a 'Danger Zone' for opposing pitchers.
He has turned himself into a speed bump.
Votto's OBP is still high. At .390, the sabrs still love him.
But in fantasy, we learned long ago, that a walk is not as good as a hit....especially, a home run.
