re: Ryan Howard struck out twice tonight in 4 at bats

Great, Paul. And yourself?

which would a team prefer?

player a: .235 50HR 150RBI frickton on K's low OBP

player b: .330 25HR 100RBI rarely K's high OBP

Ryan Howard's career stats with 2 outs & RISP:
BA-.296 OBP-.475 SLG-.605 OPS-1.080

This season with 2 outs & RISP:
BA-.344 OBP-.459 SLG.541 OPS-1.000

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According to this thread, when hitters get on base they're automatic RBIs, the luck lies with whoever is hitting behind them. Also, if the bases are loaded then a grand slam is pretty much a given.

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I love how people can't understand a simple concept. let me try to explain like I would to a little leaguer.

Guys who are really good hitters are placed in postions in the lineup where the chance to drive in runs will happen more often. Good hitters hit regardless if there is a guy on 3rd base or no one on. Driving in the run is not what makes the guy good, the fact that he was in a RBI place in the lineup shows that he is good. Of course you can not get more than 1 RBI in an at bat if no one is on base, so for that you are totally dependent on teammates. If no one was ever on the only way you could get an RBI is with a HR. Yes from year to year you will see a guy hit better "in the clutch" but if you look at thestats year to year, those guys are always different guys who have large splits "in the clutch" why? b/c it's totally random. why are the .300 hitters hitting .300 with RISP? b/c they are .300 hitters. I'm not sure why this is a difficult concept. I blame Topps and Joe Morgan

great points.

If you want to look at who's "clutch" (which is stupid to begin with) then look at their BAwRISP, or OBPwRISP. That at least gives you an idea of what happens in a clutch situation.

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If you want to look at who's "clutch" (which is stupid to begin with) then look at their BAwRISP, or OBPwRISP. That at least gives you an idea of what happens in a clutch situation.

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Why even call it a clutch situation since the argument has been made(and you agreed with) that an at-bat gets easier with runners on base

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According to this thread, when hitters get on base they're automatic RBIs, the luck lies with whoever is hitting behind them. Also, if the bases are loaded then a grand slam is pretty much a given.

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you're oversimplifying and making a sfp argument.

The point is, the better the guys in front of you are at getting on base, the more opportunities you have for RBIs. Because no two lineups are the same, the variance is too high for RBIs to be a major stat.

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amazingly close to his overall stats. hmmmmm

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So are you agreeing or disagreeing that Howard sucks?

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Why even call it a clutch situation since the argument has been made(and you agreed with) that an at-bat gets easier with runners on base

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no. The small point, hitting a HR with bases loaded might be easier than hitting one with no one on because the pitcher is forced to throw in the zone, was made and I agreed with that.

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So are you agreeing or disagreeing that Howard sucks?

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This year isnt his best, but it's still 13% better than average.

The last two years were amazing.