Why hello there loyal blog reading Cleveland sports fans! As I said I'd try to do, here is part two of the Tribe mid-season report, which is going to focus on hitting.
Obviously, with the amount of crazy statistics that are around these days, batting average and the amount of home runs and RBIs someone has sometimes don't carry the weight that they used to. This isn't the worst thing in the world, but I sometimes think people get too caught up in all of those stats and don't get down to business. I think of all of the "sabermetrics" that exist, the most important one is the OPS -- on base percentage plus slugging percentage. It's pretty much how much people get on base combined with how many extra base hits they get, so I find it pretty useful. Although I don't think bating average is outdated, I sometimes find that on-base percentage is just as important, if not a little bit more, because it factors in walks.
I think OBP is particularly important in looking at Carlos Santana. If you look at his AVG/HR/RBI line alone, it looks pretty bleak at .230/13/41. That .230 is pretty bad for a cleanup hitter, but his on base percentage is .363. Considering his batting average, that number is excellent. Everything I've read and heard has said that Santana's high OBP is because he is such a patient hitter. He is one of the league leaders in pitches per at bat as he sees 4.41 every time he steps up to the plate. Being that as it is, I'd like to see Carlos really get it going in the second half. I feel like if he could bring that average up to the .250-2.60 level, it would really help take some pressure off of Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis Hafner to carry the offense.
Speaking of Hafner, how awesome was this game winning grand slam last week? I was watching the game, and when he came up I said to a couple of my friends something to the effect of, "This is exactly the guy you want up there if you're the Indians. I might walk him if I were the Blue Jays..." Needless to say, I'm glad they didn't take my advice.
But here's the thing, besides the obvious Asdrubal Cabrera, Hafner has undoubtedly been the offensive MVP for the Tribe so far this season. This was never clearer than when the Indians went through their horrendous June swoon with Hafner on the DL, which ultimately resulted in batting Jon Nunnaly being fired. Ouch. I'm not sure that new coach Bruce Fields has been that much better, but having Hafner back with his .325 AVG, 8 HR and 35 RBI is absolutely huge. I was absolutely an advocate for getting rid of the man formerly known as Pronk before the season started, but I feel like the Indians are actually getting their money's worth for him this year. I guess he can stay.
Now here's my favorite whipping boy, Krady Sizemore. That's right, he's no longer Grady since he strikes out in 30% of his at bats. 30 freaking percent! Are you kidding me?! He has 72 Ks to 15 BBs. That's a disgusting ratio, and I don't even want to try and calculate it. Krady also doesn't get the same excuse for OBP like Santana, since his average is only .231 and his on-base is stuck at .295. Boo. His only redeeming quality is that on those rare occasions when he doesn't K, it's usually an extra base hit as he has 9 home runs, 19 doubles and a triple. But other than that, it's Ks galore.
There are a multitude of other problems on the offense, most notably the lack of production from the right field position, but I honestly believe that GM Chris Antonetti is going to improve that via trade. Dave Huff and Luis Valbuena should have their things packed and ready to go to any team, because the way I see it they are both trade bait in the biggest way...
That's all I've got for now, hopefully the Tribe can get the 2nd half started out on the right foot against Baltimore this weekend!
Go Tribe!
~MAS
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