Man on 3rd, less than 2 outs...

by BeboThoughts on Apr 30, 2008 3:09 AM EDT

First off, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Bebo and I am a longtime Cub fan (everyone can have a bad century!) and Chicago native. I have always had a passing love for the Jays, but it wasn't until last summer when I moved to Montreal (I hate French people now, btw) that I got to start to see the Jays reguarly and it's great. I've recently stumbled on this site and I hope to join in the fun.

Anyways, John Brattain wrote a nice little wrap up of the Jay's woes with man on 3rd and 0 or 1 outs here . He also talks about weather or not Gibbons should be fired (he says not yet which I think is fair) but the stats are pretty telling. In a nutshell:

Player Name: Runners batted in/ Opportunities

Alex Rios: 6/8
David Eckstein: 4/8
Marcos Scutaro: 5/7
Aaron Hill: 3/6
Lyle Overbay: 3/5
Shannon Stewart: 1/4
Vernon Wells: 1/4
Gregg Zaun: 1/4
Matt Stairs: 2/4
Joe Inglett: 2/3
Frank Thomas: 1/1
Rod Barajas: 0/1
Scott Rolen: 1/2 (Note : for some reason, he listed Rolen twice so I just combined them)

Total: 30/56 or about 54%

On the whole, they aren't great. Harping on this may be like going for a swim in a rainstorm because hitting with RISP has been the Jay's downfall so far this year, but man on 3rd less than 2 outs should be an almost guaranteed run.

I feel that if these numbers start to get up towards at least a 75% cash in rate, then that will mean more runs, obviously, but most importantly, it should start to take at least a little pressure off of the hitters. When they come up with RISP, EVERYONE knows they aren't gonna do jack (including the guys in the clubhouse and the opposing pitchers). Maybe this could be something Gibbons could really reinforce to slowly get the team off the crapper.

Tweet Comment 2 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Welcome!

stop by anytime! The situational hitting has definitely been a nightmare. I think folks would be a lot more willing to chalk it up to luck if the Jays didn’t seem to struggle the same last season. However, last season the Jays were also terrible at getting on base, whereas this season they’re getting on but just not getting in or hitting for power, so perhaps it will change.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Apr 30, 2008 8:03 PM EDT reply actions

Thanks!

I think that if the Jays keep fillin’ up the bases, the runs will come. The power is another thing. I have always known Rolen to be a beast from my nightmares of him crushing the Cubs when he was on the Cards. Also, Reed Johnson is now a fan fave in Chicago, while Shannon Stewart is “slugging” .255. That’s a move that, especially considering the Thomas situation, could end up being a BIG mistake.

by BeboThoughts on May 1, 2008 2:58 AM EDT up reply actions