michaelf@ISM780.UUCP (10/11/85)
Well it looks like the Dodger Blue express is really
rolling. Despite Guerrero's weak wrist, they still have a
pretty strong offense. Their pitching deserves all the
accolades it gets but the sticks deserva little more
respect.
Marshall is hitting almost .290 with 26 HRs and 93 or
so RBIs. Madlock has been hitting a ton (~.365) since he's
been a Dodger. When he doesn't get on, he lines out. Brock,
although not a "for average" hitter, has punch with 21 HRs.
We all know Pedro has been hitting around .325 with 33 HRs
and 87 or so RBIs. Scoscia (sp) has been around .290 all
year and that's just what you want from your 6th or 7th man.
Sax is the type of guy who will not attract attention but
he, along with Duncan, can occasionally kill you. Both can
steal. Landreux can get red hot and has always been a good,
steady hitter. Bill Russell, the Dean, is waiting in the
wings. I can't count the number of big games when he started
the final rally by getting on somehow. Saavy, saavy
veteran.
In the first two games, in the first innings, Coleman
and McGee have gotten on only to get thrown out or picked
off. When you melt a team's bread and butter, it really
hurts. Against most teams, when the Cards get those two on,
you're looking a big inning. Fernando, Orel and the rest are
just too well schooled by pitching coach Ron Peronoski. The
Dodgers lead the majors in pitching year in and year out and
a large part of the credit goes to Ron. Welch gets no press
depite being 14-4. Reuss has been there many times. Pena
will be back with them next year and that guy can throw. It
might take him a while to learn how to pitch better but he's
tough. Now with the expanded LCS, each ace will pitch
almost twice. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
Forget about Toronto and KC. The Dodgers are playing
the only team capable of beating them. If Pedro was healthy,
it would be funny.
The Dodgers will win the World Series in 5 games.
MISC: I think Brett deserves the AL MVP. He put his team in the
playoffs with typical, typical clutch-ness that has
been his rep. Five homers in 6 huge games. I know, I
know, about "doing it all year not just for a few
games" but the MVP goes to the guy who helped his team
get there. I know Mattingly got 145 RBIs with
average and power but Brett's average was sky-high for
a good part of the year and he singlehandedly won the
division for them in the final week. Mattingly did not.
Steals are very underrated. When a guy like Coleman
steals second 90 or so times, that's like hitting 90 or
so doubles. If someone hit 90 doubles, they'd be in
the Hall of Fame by summer.jhr2@houem.UUCP (J.ROSENBLUTH) (10/15/85)
> Steals are very underrated. When a guy like Coleman > steals second 90 or so times, that's like hitting 90 or > so doubles. If someone hit 90 doubles, they'd be in > the Hall of Fame by summer. No way. A stolen base is at best an *exchange* of a single for a double. You gain one base. You do not get additional base runners. You do not extend the inning for other batters. On the other hand if a batter doubles instead of making an out you get two bases, one additional baserunner and one extra batter. And it's at *best* an exchange, because sometimes you get picked off or caught stealing. And the "doubles" occaisonally fail to move a runner from first to either third or home, or a runner from second to home. On the other hand, the stolen base might yet be underated. How much of an effect does a stolen base threat have on the next hitter? And finally, the ballpark, the score and the number of outs also play important roles as to the worth of a stolen base. Josh Rosenbluth (...!houxm!houem!jhr2)
abgamble@water.UUCP (abgamble) (10/15/85)
> > MISC: I think Brett deserves the AL MVP. He put his team in the > playoffs with typical, typical clutch-ness that has > been his rep. Five homers in 6 huge games. I know, I > know, about "doing it all year not just for a few > games" but the MVP goes to the guy who helped his team > get there. I know Mattingly got 145 RBIs with > average and power but Brett's average was sky-high for > a good part of the year and he singlehandedly won the > division for them in the final week. Mattingly did not. > I agree, Brett should win it. He hit ~.335 with 30+ HR's. If that's not "doing it all year", I'm not sure what is. Besides, he plays a more important position on defense than Mattingly does. As for the RBIs, Brett had well over 100 which is pretty good when you're playing for a team that is dead last in the league in OBA. Mattingly had far more chances to drive in runs than Brett did. This brings to mind a possible batting statistic to measure "clutch" hitting. RBI / N where N = total number of runners in scoring position during the player's At Bats. This would roughly measure the "percentage of runs cashed in". If it were done for this season, I'm sure Brett would be far ahead of Mattingly. -- Bruce Gamble - abgamble@water.UUCP