No Love for Neifi?

[Tracer Bullet]

despite his obp, he is one of the few players who actually take pitches. he will never,ever have a high obp simply because who would walk him? i have said this many times...you get to 2-0 on him and you just set a bp fastball in there and take your chances.

 

I'll admit, I haven't looked this up, but how many 2-0 counts has Neifi been in this year? I don't remember many PAs where he didn't swing at one of the first 2 pitches. Neifi is one of those players that you don't have to throw a strike to in order to get them out. He doesn't have a low OBP b/c no one will walk him, he has a low OBP b/c he swings at everything. Just yesterday, Len & Bob were saying on the air that Neifi isn't known to walk or take a lot of pitches.

 

He's a hacker. That doesn't necessarily mean he's a bad hitter. The fact that he has a .300 OBP w/ little power means he's a bad hitter.

[TB_11]

Wondering why Neifi's name keeps coming up in negative aspects in regards to how this team has played. Granted, we have greater issues than just Neifi Perez, but how come he gets no love? Is it the fact that Dusty has given him public praise? Is he disliked due to the fact he is batted in a part of the order that is not condusive to his particular style of hitting? IE (good 8 hitter rather than leadoff/2 hole)

 

What gives? Here are some quick numbers to compare/contrast Nefi to some of the other SS in the league.

David Eckstein:

G AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB K SB CS OBP SLG AVG

140 561 77 161 23 7 7 53 219 51 41 10 7 .357 .390 .287

 

Rafael Furcal

G AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB K SB CS OBP SLG AVG

136 548 88 153 25 10 11 54 231 56 71 40 8 .344 .422 .279

 

Khalil Green

G AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB K SB CS OBP SLG AVG

103 378 45 95 25 2 11 55 157 19 82 4 0 .295 .415 .251

Alex Gonzalez FL

G AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB K SB CS OBP SLG AVG

126 435 44 115 30 0 5 45 160 31 81 5 3 .319 .368 .264

 

Jimmy Rollins

G AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB K SB CS OBP SLG AVG

139 592 91 160 27 9 9 39 232 39 63 32 6 .317 .392 .270

 

Neifi Perez:

G AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB K SB CS OBP SLG AVG

135 497 54 140 29 1 9 50 198 16 41 7 3 .306 .398 .282

 

Yes, I know this is only a handful, but to me these are the most "popular" shortstops in the NL. Take out Jack Wilson (who forgot how to play this year) Cesar (if healthy) could have been a good comparison.

 

Just curious why Neifi isn't given some respect on this board. I am not advocating in any way shape or form, that we need him as our Opening Day SS for 2006.

 

However, I don't think it would hinder us from battling for a Division title.

 

Just because Neifi has similar offensive production to other shortstops doesn't mean that he should be getting significant playing time, or that fans here don't have reasons to not want him in the lineup. I'm sure fans have been unhappy with Rollins', Greene's, and Gonzalez's offensive performance as well.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

it still puzzles me why people think neifi sucks and he has been terrible.

he has had a great year for a back up. he is still hitting near .300 with 500 at bats- we were all waiting for him to revert to his career averages, but he didn't. he has played good defense on a really bad defensive team. despite his obp, he is one of the few players who actually take pitches. he will never,ever have a high obp simply because who would walk him? i have said this many times...you get to 2-0 on him and you just set a bp fastball in there and take your chances.

it is not his fault that dusty a). hits him 2nd or b) plays him in front of cedeno or that hendry c) signed a very injury prone ss that neifi would need to get 500 at bats

i do not want neifi to be the everyday shortstop and i do want cedeno to start every game down the stretch but i still appreciate the year that neifi has had, he has been one of the few cubs that have actually overachieved this season

 

This thread is probably a long time overdue. There was a similar discussion in yesterday's game thread though. The point I made there and the one I believe some are making here is not that Neifi is a great player; rather he has contributed quite a bit this year and people still villify him like no one else on the team. I know everyone will not agree with this, but, in terms of relative suckiness, Neifi has been way overcriticized relative to Patterson. While lately the Patterson defenders have been quiet (no other choice), there were plenty of excuses being made for him earlier in the year as he flailed away and played with his head up his ass. I am not saying there wasn't any criticism of Patterson; it's just that there wasn't enough of it compared to the grief perez received.

 

People just seem to hate Perez's game no matter what he does. That's fine. But if you hate his game PLEASE do not say a single word defending Patterson or making any excuses for him. And please, no more calling him CPatt.

Dude, Patterson was getting so much grief earier in the year that it was getting ridiculous. There were 1-2 threads a day bashing him. There haven't been many lately but I think that's because there really isn't much more to say.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

it still puzzles me why people think neifi sucks and he has been terrible.

he has had a great year for a back up. he is still hitting near .300 with 500 at bats- we were all waiting for him to revert to his career averages, but he didn't. he has played good defense on a really bad defensive team. despite his obp, he is one of the few players who actually take pitches. he will never,ever have a high obp simply because who would walk him? i have said this many times...you get to 2-0 on him and you just set a bp fastball in there and take your chances.

it is not his fault that dusty a). hits him 2nd or b) plays him in front of cedeno or that hendry c) signed a very injury prone ss that neifi would need to get 500 at bats

i do not want neifi to be the everyday shortstop and i do want cedeno to start every game down the stretch but i still appreciate the year that neifi has had, he has been one of the few cubs that have actually overachieved this season

 

This thread is probably a long time overdue. There was a similar discussion in yesterday's game thread though. The point I made there and the one I believe some are making here is not that Neifi is a great player; rather he has contributed quite a bit this year and people still villify him like no one else on the team. I know everyone will not agree with this, but, in terms of relative suckiness, Neifi has been way overcriticized relative to Patterson. While lately the Patterson defenders have been quiet (no other choice), there were plenty of excuses being made for him earlier in the year as he flailed away and played with his head up his ass. I am not saying there wasn't any criticism of Patterson; it's just that there wasn't enough of it compared to the grief perez received.

 

People just seem to hate Perez's game no matter what he does. That's fine. But if you hate his game PLEASE do not say a single word defending Patterson or making any excuses for him.

 

But it's okay for you and others to bash Corey and defend Neifi? Give me a break. Patterson has sucked this year, and there are a multitude of reasons why that could be. It could be his new swing, it could be him taking the same approach and pitchers adjusting, it could be him being a selfish jerk and trying to do things his way, whatever. Most of the defending of Patterson that's been done this year has been done against ridiculous attacks on his character. No one's ever accused Neifi of being stubborn even though he put up bad numbers this year and has put up awful numbers his entire career. Yet Patterson, coming off consecutive seasons that gave us reasonable production for a CF at a reasonable price with good D, gets villified because he won't change that approach. People get so much more frustrated with Patterson simply because of strikeouts. While they are a result of a problem in his approach, people just don't tolerate them as much as other outs, even though the majority of the time they act as the same thing as another out. I can almost guarantee you if you switched Neifi's and Patterson's rate stats for the year, people would still be more upset with Patterson because of the blasted strikeouts. And finally, the claim that Patterson hasn't been criticized in proportion with Neifi is entirely untrue. People have been on Corey's case for years just like others have been on Neifi's case since he was signed. Perhaps the fact that Patterson was demoted and therefore has 100 less AB's has something to do with this perception.

[brfahey]

it still puzzles me why people think neifi sucks and he has been terrible.

he has had a great year for a back up. he is still hitting near .300 with 500 at bats- we were all waiting for him to revert to his career averages, but he didn't. he has played good defense on a really bad defensive team. despite his obp, he is one of the few players who actually take pitches. he will never,ever have a high obp simply because who would walk him? i have said this many times...you get to 2-0 on him and you just set a bp fastball in there and take your chances.

it is not his fault that dusty a). hits him 2nd or b) plays him in front of cedeno or that hendry c) signed a very injury prone ss that neifi would need to get 500 at bats

i do not want neifi to be the everyday shortstop and i do want cedeno to start every game down the stretch but i still appreciate the year that neifi has had, he has been one of the few cubs that have actually overachieved this season

 

This thread is probably a long time overdue. There was a similar discussion in yesterday's game thread though. The point I made there and the one I believe some are making here is not that Neifi is a great player; rather he has contributed quite a bit this year and people still villify him like no one else on the team. I know everyone will not agree with this, but, in terms of relative suckiness, Neifi has been way overcriticized relative to Patterson. While lately the Patterson defenders have been quiet (no other choice), there were plenty of excuses being made for him earlier in the year as he flailed away and played with his head up his ass. I am not saying there wasn't any criticism of Patterson; it's just that there wasn't enough of it compared to the grief perez received.

 

Man, how sensitive can you get. Maybe a little sorry you adopted that moniker?

 

 

People just seem to hate Perez's game no matter what he does. That's fine. But if you hate his game PLEASE do not say a single word defending Patterson or making any excuses for him.

 

But it's okay for you and others to bash Corey and defend Neifi? Give me a break. Patterson has sucked this year, and there are a multitude of reasons why that could be. It could be his new swing, it could be him taking the same approach and pitchers adjusting, it could be him being a selfish jerk and trying to do things his way, whatever. Most of the defending of Patterson that's been done this year has been done against ridiculous attacks on his character. No one's ever accused Neifi of being stubborn even though he put up bad numbers this year and has put up awful numbers his entire career. Yet Patterson, coming off consecutive seasons that gave us reasonable production for a CF at a reasonable price with good D, gets villified because he won't change that approach. People get so much more frustrated with Patterson simply because of strikeouts. While they are a result of a problem in his approach, people just don't tolerate them as much as other outs, even though the majority of the time they act as the same thing as another out. I can almost guarantee you if you switched Neifi's and Patterson's rate stats for the year, people would still be more upset with Patterson because of the blasted strikeouts. And finally, the claim that Patterson hasn't been criticized in proportion with Neifi is entirely untrue. People have been on Corey's case for years just like others have been on Neifi's case since he was signed. Perhaps the fact that Patterson was demoted and therefore has 100 less AB's has something to do with this perception.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

despite his obp, he is one of the few players who actually take pitches. he will never,ever have a high obp simply because who would walk him? i have said this many times...you get to 2-0 on him and you just set a bp fastball in there and take your chances.

 

I'll admit, I haven't looked this up, but how many 2-0 counts has Neifi been in this year? I don't remember many PAs where he didn't swing at one of the first 2 pitches. Neifi is one of those players that you don't have to throw a strike to in order to get them out. He doesn't have a low OBP b/c no one will walk him, he has a low OBP b/c he swings at everything. Just yesterday, Len & Bob were saying on the air that Neifi isn't known to walk or take a lot of pitches.

 

He's a hacker. That doesn't necessarily mean he's a bad hitter. The fact that he has a .300 OBP w/ little power means he's a bad hitter.

 

If I'm reading this right, 51 of Neifi's 497 AB's have gotten to a 2-0 count or beyond, that's 10%. By comparison, Patterson is 44 of 400 AB's have gotten there(11%), 14 of Macias's 133 ABs(10%), and 80 of Lee's 528 AB's(15%) have reached a 2-0 count.

[brfahey]

Thanks for the censorship.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Thanks for the censorship.

 

:?:

 

Are you talking about your previous post? You (I assume accidentally) put it inside the quote, a common mishap.

Edited September 12, 2005 by Transmogrified Tiger

[CubinNY]

Arguing along the same line as BK. It is not that Neifi is terrible, it's that Neifi is terrible and having a career year. It wouldn't be a problem if he were 26 or 27, but he is 32.

 

What worries me is that the Cubs will not recognize this fact and give him the starting job in 06, just as they did Garry Giatti in the early 90s.

 

I am happy Neifi has played relatively well this year (in compairson to his career numbers), but that doesn't mean he should be rewarded for his medicority.

[Mizzou]

The hatred directed towards Neifi is ridiculous. Should he be playing everyday? No. Has he done a very good job filling in at SS, overall? Yes, absolutely. Alot of you obsess with OBP WAY too much. Is it a telling statistic? Sure, but it's not the end all. Neifi is hitting over .280. Any way you want to incorporate his OBP, he still gets a hit 28% of the time. Andruw Jones can't say that, Rafael Furcal can't say that, and Morgan Ensberg can't say that. Point is, you'd never say that any of them stink - and they don't. Just because a guy doesn't draw walks and therefore has a low OBP does NOT mean that he's not adequate.

[Mizzou]

Don't forget that not only are his OBP and OPS horrible, his numbers in general are skewed over that crazy month starting the season where he forgot that he was Neifi Perez.

 

Looks like he "forgot who he was" all of last month and his memory is pretty bad so far in September too.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The hatred directed towards Neifi is ridiculous. Should he be playing everyday? No. Has he done a very good job filling in at SS, overall? Yes, absolutely. Alot of you obsess with OBP WAY too much. Is it a telling statistic? Sure, but it's not the end all. Neifi is hitting over .280. Any way you want to incorporate his OBP, he still gets a hit 28% of the time. Andruw Jones can't say that, Rafael Furcal can't say that, and Morgan Ensberg can't say that. Point is, you'd never say that any of them stink - and they don't. Just because a guy doesn't draw walks and therefore has a low OBP does NOT mean that he's not adequate.

 

It's pretty straightforward, if you can't get on base more than 30% of the time, whether 28% or 21% is a hit, you just aren't a good offensive player. All those players you mention make significantly less outs, and they do so with more power. That's the name of the game right there.

[Mizzou]

The hatred directed towards Neifi is ridiculous. Should he be playing everyday? No. Has he done a very good job filling in at SS, overall? Yes, absolutely. Alot of you obsess with OBP WAY too much. Is it a telling statistic? Sure, but it's not the end all. Neifi is hitting over .280. Any way you want to incorporate his OBP, he still gets a hit 28% of the time. Andruw Jones can't say that, Rafael Furcal can't say that, and Morgan Ensberg can't say that. Point is, you'd never say that any of them stink - and they don't. Just because a guy doesn't draw walks and therefore has a low OBP does NOT mean that he's not adequate.

 

It's pretty straightforward, if you can't get on base more than 30% of the time, whether 28% or 21% is a hit, you just aren't a good offensive player. All those players you mention make significantly less outs, and they do so with more power. That's the name of the game right there.

 

Again, putting entirely too much stock into OBP. If you're batting .280, you're doing something right.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The hatred directed towards Neifi is ridiculous. Should he be playing everyday? No. Has he done a very good job filling in at SS, overall? Yes, absolutely. Alot of you obsess with OBP WAY too much. Is it a telling statistic? Sure, but it's not the end all. Neifi is hitting over .280. Any way you want to incorporate his OBP, he still gets a hit 28% of the time. Andruw Jones can't say that, Rafael Furcal can't say that, and Morgan Ensberg can't say that. Point is, you'd never say that any of them stink - and they don't. Just because a guy doesn't draw walks and therefore has a low OBP does NOT mean that he's not adequate.

 

It's pretty straightforward, if you can't get on base more than 30% of the time, whether 28% or 21% is a hit, you just aren't a good offensive player. All those players you mention make significantly less outs, and they do so with more power. That's the name of the game right there.

 

Again, putting entirely too much stock into OBP. If you're batting .280, you're doing something right.

 

Something right, but not enough. The goal of offense is to not make outs, and Neifi makes too many outs(otherwise known as a low OBP) to be any good offensively.

[biittner77]

[

This thread is probably a long time overdue. There was a similar discussion in yesterday's game thread though. .

 

This discussion has been going on for weeks now. It would have been going on longer but Perez wasn't hitting much before then.

 

Perez and Patterson are two separate issues. There are plenty of people here that criticize both.

 

This discussion is relatively pointless now that Cedeno is on the DL. With Ramirez and Cedeno out, Perez is the best remaining option at SS. I hope he plays well enough to earn a starting job for some other team.

[JGalt73]

you do realize that this obp you are freaking over is except for eckstien, 30 points or less. that means that furcal gets on base about 30 times more often in 1000 at bats..or about 2 seasons. that means you think a guy sucks over 15 times on base per season(or less) and those players are their teams starters....neifi is a back up

 

30 points of OBP are not nothing. (And would you say the same thing about a hitter batting .300 vs .330?) As a team, adding 30 points of OBP makes the Cubs (.327) the Red Sox (.358).

[burnt out cubbie fan]

[

This thread is probably a long time overdue. There was a similar discussion in yesterday's game thread though. .

 

This discussion has been going on for weeks now. It would have been going on longer but Perez wasn't hitting much before then.

 

Perez and Patterson are two separate issues. There are plenty of people here that criticize both.

 

This discussion is relatively pointless now that Cedeno is on the DL. With Ramirez and Cedeno out, Perez is the best remaining option at SS. I hope he plays well enough to earn a starting job for some other team.

Exactly. Every time that Neifi has one of his hot streaks there are several of these threads that pop up.

[Mizzou]

The hatred directed towards Neifi is ridiculous. Should he be playing everyday? No. Has he done a very good job filling in at SS, overall? Yes, absolutely. Alot of you obsess with OBP WAY too much. Is it a telling statistic? Sure, but it's not the end all. Neifi is hitting over .280. Any way you want to incorporate his OBP, he still gets a hit 28% of the time. Andruw Jones can't say that, Rafael Furcal can't say that, and Morgan Ensberg can't say that. Point is, you'd never say that any of them stink - and they don't. Just because a guy doesn't draw walks and therefore has a low OBP does NOT mean that he's not adequate.

 

It's pretty straightforward, if you can't get on base more than 30% of the time, whether 28% or 21% is a hit, you just aren't a good offensive player. All those players you mention make significantly less outs, and they do so with more power. That's the name of the game right there.

 

Again, putting entirely too much stock into OBP. If you're batting .280, you're doing something right.

 

Something right, but not enough. The goal of offense is to not make outs, and Neifi makes too many outs(otherwise known as a low OBP) to be any good offensively.

 

No, the goal of the offense isn't to not make outs - it's to score runs. That's how you win ballgames.

 

And not to sound like Dusty Baker, but walks don't score you runs... in certain situations. Man on 3rd, or man on 2nd, you need a hit to get him home. Walking will just keep him there. And no, I'm not undermining the importance of the walk - just saying that, again, you can't just look at OBP.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

The hatred directed towards Neifi is ridiculous. Should he be playing everyday? No. Has he done a very good job filling in at SS, overall? Yes, absolutely. Alot of you obsess with OBP WAY too much. Is it a telling statistic? Sure, but it's not the end all. Neifi is hitting over .280. Any way you want to incorporate his OBP, he still gets a hit 28% of the time. Andruw Jones can't say that, Rafael Furcal can't say that, and Morgan Ensberg can't say that. Point is, you'd never say that any of them stink - and they don't. Just because a guy doesn't draw walks and therefore has a low OBP does NOT mean that he's not adequate.

 

It's pretty straightforward, if you can't get on base more than 30% of the time, whether 28% or 21% is a hit, you just aren't a good offensive player. All those players you mention make significantly less outs, and they do so with more power. That's the name of the game right there.

 

Again, putting entirely too much stock into OBP. If you're batting .280, you're doing something right.

 

Something right, but not enough. The goal of offense is to not make outs, and Neifi makes too many outs(otherwise known as a low OBP) to be any good offensively.

 

No, the goal of the offense isn't to not make outs - it's to score runs. That's how you win ballgames.

 

And not to sound like Dusty Baker, but walks don't score you runs... in certain situations. Man on 3rd, or man on 2nd, you need a hit to get him home. Walking will just keep him there. And no, I'm not undermining the importance of the walk - just saying that, again, you can't just look at OBP.

Yes but if you send plenty of hitters up to the plate and don't make any outs, the scoring of runs is taken care of. You know, you need to have baserunners to score more than one run at a time.

 

This thread is really on its way to being 15+ pages.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The hatred directed towards Neifi is ridiculous. Should he be playing everyday? No. Has he done a very good job filling in at SS, overall? Yes, absolutely. Alot of you obsess with OBP WAY too much. Is it a telling statistic? Sure, but it's not the end all. Neifi is hitting over .280. Any way you want to incorporate his OBP, he still gets a hit 28% of the time. Andruw Jones can't say that, Rafael Furcal can't say that, and Morgan Ensberg can't say that. Point is, you'd never say that any of them stink - and they don't. Just because a guy doesn't draw walks and therefore has a low OBP does NOT mean that he's not adequate.

 

It's pretty straightforward, if you can't get on base more than 30% of the time, whether 28% or 21% is a hit, you just aren't a good offensive player. All those players you mention make significantly less outs, and they do so with more power. That's the name of the game right there.

 

Again, putting entirely too much stock into OBP. If you're batting .280, you're doing something right.

 

Something right, but not enough. The goal of offense is to not make outs, and Neifi makes too many outs(otherwise known as a low OBP) to be any good offensively.

 

No, the goal of the offense isn't to not make outs - it's to score runs. That's how you win ballgames.

 

And not to sound like Dusty Baker, but walks don't score you runs... in certain situations. Man on 3rd, or man on 2nd, you need a hit to get him home. Walking will just keep him there. And no, I'm not undermining the importance of the walk - just saying that, again, you can't just look at OBP.

 

It's not just walks. In that situation, 30% of the time Neifi will get on base, 28% of the time drive him in. Compare that to a .260/.350 hitter, who gets on base 35% of the time, and 26% of the time knocks him in. Walks won't knock that runner in, but what Neifi does instead of walk, which for the vast majority is make outs, won't get him in either.

[K-Town]

The hatred directed towards Neifi is ridiculous. Should he be playing everyday? No. Has he done a very good job filling in at SS, overall? Yes, absolutely. Alot of you obsess with OBP WAY too much. Is it a telling statistic? Sure, but it's not the end all. Neifi is hitting over .280. Any way you want to incorporate his OBP, he still gets a hit 28% of the time. Andruw Jones can't say that, Rafael Furcal can't say that, and Morgan Ensberg can't say that. Point is, you'd never say that any of them stink - and they don't. Just because a guy doesn't draw walks and therefore has a low OBP does NOT mean that he's not adequate.

 

It's pretty straightforward, if you can't get on base more than 30% of the time, whether 28% or 21% is a hit, you just aren't a good offensive player. All those players you mention make significantly less outs, and they do so with more power. That's the name of the game right there.

 

Again, putting entirely too much stock into OBP. If you're batting .280, you're doing something right.

 

Something right, but not enough. The goal of offense is to not make outs, and Neifi makes too many outs(otherwise known as a low OBP) to be any good offensively.

 

No, the goal of the offense isn't to not make outs - it's to score runs. That's how you win ballgames.

 

And not to sound like Dusty Baker, but walks don't score you runs... in certain situations. Man on 3rd, or man on 2nd, you need a hit to get him home. Walking will just keep him there. And no, I'm not undermining the importance of the walk - just saying that, again, you can't just look at OBP.

 

The guy has to be on 2nd or 3rd base to begin with, in order for this scenario to come into play. Having runners on base means "OBP".

[USSoccer]

If Neifi were an RBI guy hitting 6th or 7th you could possibly make an argument that a high BA is more important than an OBP, on the basis that his role is to drive in the 3-4-5 hitters.

 

However, Neifi bats 2nd too often, and his role should be to get on base in front of Lee, Ramirez, Nomar, Burnitz, etc. Thus, a higher OBP is better because it increases the RBI opportunities that our run producers have.

[Mizzou]

The guy has to be on 2nd or 3rd base to begin with, in order for this scenario to come into play. Having runners on base means "OBP".

 

Ya think?

 

If Neifi were an RBI guy hitting 6th or 7th you could possibly make an argument that a high BA is more important than an OBP, on the basis that his role is to drive in the 3-4-5 hitters.

 

However, Neifi bats 2nd too often, and his role should be to get on base in front of Lee, Ramirez, Nomar, Burnitz, etc. Thus, a higher OBP is better because it increases the RBI opportunities that our run producers have.

 

Absolutey, but is it his fault that Dusty puts him there? He's clearly NOT a number two hitter, and you can't fault him for Dusty hitting him there.

[burnt out cubbie fan]

If Neifi were an RBI guy hitting 6th or 7th you could possibly make an argument that a high BA is more important than an OBP, on the basis that his role is to drive in the 3-4-5 hitters.

 

However, Neifi bats 2nd too often, and his role should be to get on base in front of Lee, Ramirez, Nomar, Burnitz, etc. Thus, a higher OBP is better because it increases the RBI opportunities that our run producers have.

 

Absolutey, but is it his fault that Dusty puts him there? He's clearly NOT a number two hitter, and you can't fault him for Dusty hitting him there.

He should still adjust the way that he goes about his plate appearances since he is in a spot where he has to get on base. It may not be his fault that he has hit 2nd but he still isn't doing the things that a number 2 hitter should be doing.

[K-Town]

The guy has to be on 2nd or 3rd base to begin with, in order for this scenario to come into play. Having runners on base means "OBP".

 

Ya think?

 

If Neifi were an RBI guy hitting 6th or 7th you could possibly make an argument that a high BA is more important than an OBP, on the basis that his role is to drive in the 3-4-5 hitters.

 

However, Neifi bats 2nd too often, and his role should be to get on base in front of Lee, Ramirez, Nomar, Burnitz, etc. Thus, a higher OBP is better because it increases the RBI opportunities that our run producers have.

 

Absolutey, but is it his fault that Dusty puts him there? He's clearly NOT a number two hitter, and you can't fault him for Dusty hitting him there.

 

 

Yeah, I think. It's all about OBP for a guy like Neifi. If you're not going to hit for power, you'd better find a way to get on base so that the power guys can get you in. I don't care if you're hitting 2nd or 7th in the lineup, the only way a guy like Neifi is going to help his team is by getting on base as often as possible.