tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909236042746837966.post5290350670273113845..comments2009-08-13T14:36:32.858-07:00Comments on Saber-Toothed Tiger: What Price Loyalty?Saber-Toothed Tigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09581636504581547156noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909236042746837966.post-75845437552660506342009-08-13T14:36:32.858-07:002009-08-13T14:36:32.858-07:00Papi* is DONE. As a yankees fan I'd love more...Papi* is DONE. As a yankees fan I'd love more thinking like Tom's. Just don't go home crying when Papi* busts out a 1-18 10K playoff series and the Sox go home after round 1Franknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909236042746837966.post-85576849149963956252009-08-12T11:30:21.721-07:002009-08-12T11:30:21.721-07:00Tom- thanks for stopping by. Yes, I'm pretty ...Tom- thanks for stopping by. Yes, I'm pretty comfortable with sample size. April and May counts as well, July trended down from June, August from July...<br /><br />The point of referencing August numbers was the thought that most people recognize that right now Mike Lowell (and Victor Martinez) are better offensive players then Papi. I was merely ruling out the possibility that Francona was riding the hot bat, perhaps I could have been clearer.<br /><br />Really Martinez vs. Papi isn't the debate anyway, it's Lowell vs. Papi. If Papi plays then Lowell is either sitting or playing 3B. Other than Chipper Jones, Lowell is the worst defensive 3b in the game. If you're suggesting that Martinez should sit for Papi are you also suggesting that Papi is SO much better that the difference more than makes up for all those ground balls going past Lowell at 3B?sabertoothedtigernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6909236042746837966.post-59770319452043243972009-08-12T08:10:00.246-07:002009-08-12T08:10:00.246-07:00Since we're cherry picking (You're citing ...Since we're cherry picking (You're citing an August OPS as though it was in some way meaningful on the 11th of August? 36 at-bats? Seriously?), let's pick a bigger cherry:<br /><br />Since the 1st of June (including the brief August slump), David Ortiz's OPS is .837. Victor Martinez's is .696.<br /><br />His road numbers are similarly tainted by the deep April/May slump.<br /><br />One of the first things amateur sabermetricians should try to learn is that recent performance is more predictive and meaningful than older performance, particularly if the less recent performance is anomalous with respect to career numbers. You appear not to have learned this one yet.TomPhttp://idonthaveasite.comnoreply@blogger.com