7/4/17: World Series Champ Cubs (Lester) vs Rays (Archer), 1:20, WGN TV/670 AM

[UMFan83]

 

His career wOBA in high leverage situations is 296 and his K% is pushing 30. He has 3 HR and 8 2B in 180+ PA. Nowhere near the type of hitter he is, and the team would benefit greatly if he started performing there more often. He's one of their leaders and should be relied on to drive in runs at a high level consistently. Especially when the offense is struggling as much as it has this year, they should be able to rely on their MVP to pick up the slack.

I know those numbers aren't great, but would it be a safe assumption that most guys high leverage numbers are a little lower than their career avg/norms? In high leverage spots, aren't hitters more times than not going to be facing elite level relief pitching which will/should suppress output numbers offensively?

Not to replacement level. I mean they're different for everybody. Some rise up and some don't. But KB should be markedly better than a 296 wOBA 80 wRC+.

 

Do you think clutch is an attribute? I don't really think it is, especially for a polished hitter like KB. It seems like more a matter of luck and sample size to me but I'd be willing to consider arguments if they are valid.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

You can complain about it if you want. But it really doesn't mean much to me. It's a small sample size. And it's fluky. And he's horsefeathering great. So I wouldn't expect it to be a thing going forward. Really, I see it as a sign that, going forward, things shouldn't be as bad as they've been, since I would expect his high leverage numbers to come in line with his overall numbers. And that will make the Cubs better.

[17 Seconds]

of all the players/things to complain about, he chooses a stupid clutchness debate about the reigning mvp who has also been great this season

[We Got The Whole 9]

I know those numbers aren't great, but would it be a safe assumption that most guys high leverage numbers are a little lower than their career avg/norms? In high leverage spots, aren't hitters more times than not going to be facing elite level relief pitching which will/should suppress output numbers offensively?

Not to replacement level. I mean they're different for everybody. Some rise up and some don't. But KB should be markedly better than a 296 wOBA 80 wRC+.

 

Do you think clutch is an attribute? I don't really think it is, especially for a polished hitter like KB. It seems like more a matter of luck and sample size to me but I'd be willing to consider arguments if they are valid.

 

No I don't really consider clutch an attribute but I think some players are able to clear their heads more than others and dictate the direction of the PA and pounce on mistakes while protecting their weak spots. From what I see with Kris he definitely is able to slow down the game and he keeps a keen eye, but pitchers pound him inside and he quite often doesn't get good extension and gets jammed a lot. A lot of weak pop ups and ground balls. His prime directive is to get the ball in the air and I think he tends to force that on pitches that probably aren't conducive to the results he's striving for.

 

You can complain about it if you want. But it really doesn't mean much to me. It's a small sample size. And it's fluky. And he's horsefeathering great. So I wouldn't expect it to be a thing going forward. Really, I see it as a sign that, going forward, things shouldn't be as bad as they've been, since I would expect his high leverage numbers to come in line with his overall numbers. And that will make the Cubs better.

 

See, that's all I want. More runs would be good. It's what we need. We need our MVP to rise to the occasion and this is inarguable. I understand what he did in a few postseason HLS but that's in the past. It's a new year.

 

of all the players/things to complain about, he chooses a stupid clutchness debate about the reigning mvp who has also been great

 

Yea, real stupid to complain about a lack of runs from the guys we expect to produce them at a high level when our offense is suffering and sputtering.

[17 Seconds]

it's interesting how you've found a way to hold his mvp season against him