Late Night Drivel

[DOUGHBOYS]

I'm up in the middle of the night with insomnia, so excuse the crappiness of grammar or lack of political correctness...

I love numbers, but I'm starting to like them less and less as they come out with more and more.
Miles per hour off of a bat. That's fun.
But only fun.
I had somebody tell me that Nick (Nicholas? Ugh!) Castellanos should be kept despite poor roto stats because of him barreling up the ball so well and so often.
Who cares?
Seriously.
I'd rather have a guy hitting .360 who is getting lucky.
Why?
Because these stats are in the bank already.
There is no reason to believe that Castellanos will start getting more hits because he barreled up the ball in the past.
Nobody knows the future.
The dink, lucky hitter may keep the luck AND start barreling up balls too.
We don't think that way though.
We're reactive, not proactive.
Proof of that can be seen in bids on Edison Volquez.
Volquez sucks.
But, he threw a no-hitter. Giving some a cause to believe that Volquez will somehow not suck any longer.
He does and he will.
If you think the Rockies Home/Road splits are something to behold from the past, take a look at this year's Arizona splits.
Home .295
Road .219
I've taken to sitting players like Drury and Tomas on any road trips.
But, I am getting off track.

So, we're quantifying anything that we can.
MPH, catch routes, speed around the bases...Where does it end?
Personally, I'd rather have somebody say, "He hit the crap outta that ball!"
Than saying, "He hit the ball 109 miles per hour.
"He can fly!" much preffered in the seconds it took him to get from first to third.

Thankfully, not everything can be quantified.
Khris Davis was set to rife the pine today. Then Canha couldn't play, so Davis does play.
He hits a homer and goes for a 4-3-3-2 box score.
How many times has our player been 'rested' and not allowed to give us stats like those?
We'll never know.
BUT, we know it happens a lot.

Ever notice how a home run is 'slugged' or 'smashed' even if only reaching the third row of the left field seats?
A ball that is crushed 410 feet and caught at the center field fence? Not a mention.
It's part of an 0-4.
Instead of getting credit for 'slugging' a ball, the negative connotation of the 0-4 comes into play.
We let fences decide who gets plaudits and who gets negative reviews.
If a ball is wind-aided, it's hardly mentioned.
If it clears the fence, 'slugged'.
The same ball with the wind blowing in and caught. Not 'slugged'.
Reality is, that the fence is the quantifying factor to the term 'slugged'.

Odubel Herrera had a series vs. the Giants this weekend.
He hit a long fly to center field and bat flipped out of the box.
The ball was caught in front of the warning track.
The next day, the same thing occurred.
Hard hit fly. Bat Flip. Caught near the track.
Today, after no doubt taking crap from the Giants or his own teammates, Herrera had yet another hard hit ball to the outfield. This time, he gently lays his bat on the ground and runs.
It cleared the fence.
I almost expected Herrera to go back to home plate so he could bat flip his bat, but he didn't.

Over the last three weeks, Bryce Harper is 7-47.
He has scored four runs during that time and his batting average has dropped more than 50 points.
No multi-hit games also.
The same thing happened to him last May.
Last year, it continued to the end of the season.
Something to watch this year.

Buster Posey has 14 rbi.
To illustrate how poor that is, Billy Hamilton has 17.
'Experts' tell the Giants to get on base more for Posey.
They are.
Posey has been up almost 50 times with runners in scoring position.
One double, seven singles, and 12 walks.
All his homers have been Hans Solo.
And here, here is your stat to remember...
Buster Posey has not had a multiple rbi game THIS YEAR.
A .343 hitter batting third or fourth every day. Incredible, really.
I credit the pitchers and scouts of other teams.
I'd much rather force the hand of any Giants hitter behind Posey, than letting Posey beat me.
Posey, flat out, is not seeing many good pitches when runners are in scoring position.
And yes, Brandon Crawford has had three multi-rbi games in his last six games.

I think I can sleep now.
Nite nite....

[Edwards Kings]

Good stuff. Night Dan....