RBI- The Whores to my Tiger Woods

I'm having a fair amount of difficulty letting the RBI go. It's not that I don't see the inherent flaw there, I do, but it's just so easy, so pretty. We are so ingrained with it as fans, so conditioned to approve of what it's telling us about our hitters (if they have a lot of them, they are good) that we can't simply say goodbye just because it's the right thing to do. To be the better man, I have to let it go, even if all I want to do is send the RBI dirty texts.

RBI, as you may or may not know, doesn't really measure anything. The ability to drive in runs isn't really a skill set, because if no one is on base in front of you, how could you display that skill? Do the great RBI men lose their ability as hitters if no one is there? And are we to believe that some players elevate their performance in "key" situations, like the one presented with men on base? If that is the case, surely there would be a better way to measure it than the RBI. And that argument is based on the assumption that some players elevate themselves at certain times, or simply don't play as hard or concentrate as hard in other instances, a premise many smart baseball men don't subscribe to.

But the average baseball fan is not even remotely close to leaving the RBI, so I think the sabermetric crowd shouldn't be so quick to discount it either. In a vague, very remote and abstract way, RBI can be viewed as a useful tool in player evaluation, when viewed through the prism of line-up placement. For instance, the 3-4-5 hitters in a line-up who generally put up the most impressive RBI totals are usually the better hitters on the team, in terms of combining power and average. Similarly, those at the bottom of the line-up who in a given year put up impressive RBI totals could be viewed as men who did a lot with much less, and made the most of their opportunities. Conversely, if a middle of the order bat puts up low RBI totals, barring a complete meltdown from the 1-2 hitters in terms of OBP (see, caveats to the value=flaws) then we can surmise he did not perform up to snuff.

If that extremely unscientific method of evaluating RBI worth doesn't do it for you, then you can always use the "clutch hitter" approach we discussed earlier. If that falls short, you can be like me and just enjoy it like one would enjoy an Adam Sandler movie- shut your brain off and find happiness in something that makes no sense. The truth is, if you drive in a lot of runs, chances are you're a pretty good hitter. If you do it consistently year after year, the chances are even better that you're a good hitter. It's not fool proof, but you'll probably end up being right more often than not. And when you're not right, you'll see the folly in it all. The RBI might not make you a better fan, but it's still the most fun to take an Ambien and fool around with.

Ryan Howard-The Ft. Sumter of Baseball

If I had to choose the best place to start, it'd be Phillies slugger Ryan Howard. There isn't a player who better personifies the growing gap between the average fan and the know-it-all. Howard, for the uninitiated, is the 1st baseman for the Phillies who has consistently put up monster home-run and RBI totals since being called up for regular duty in 2005. Recently, he was awarded for his fine efforts with a 5 year, 125-million dollar contract extension that will ostensibly be worth no less than 135 million due to a sixth, option year which has a 10-million dollar buyout. Basically, Howard is being paid like one of the ten most valuable players in baseball, and why shouldn't he be? He's hit 235 home runs and driven in 512 runs since '05, while maintaining a batting average around the .280 mark. On top of that, his on-base percentage and slugging percentages have been in line with some of the best sluggers in the game. He's a beast, right?

Well, sort of. In the interim, Howard is certainly a high functioning middle of the order bat. ISO, a statistic that measures isolated power output (Done by subtracting batting average from slugging percentage), has always favored Howard. His career number of .296 kicks the living hell out of most other ISO contenders, a product of Howard's enormous frame and a home ballpark that makes the flea circus look like Las Vegas. But Howard's size may also ultimately be his undoing. In baseball circles, players like this are known as "bad body players"- those with a higher risk of breaking down in the long run. At 31, Howard's days as a mediocre first baseman (career UZR rating of -6) may already be numbered. By the time this contract reaches it's final years, he'll probably be a DH without the comfort of playing in a DH league.

Statistically, Howard also presents some glaring red-flags, mostly in the form of his inability to consistently hit left-handed pitching (career .229 hitter against lefties) and as was mentioned earlier, his fielding woes. He has also dealt with concerns about hitting the breaking pitch, which explains why nearly %35 of the pitches he has seen this year are either curveballs or sliders. Put it all together, and the Phillies have paid a premium for a player who is not premium worthy. Slugging first basemen aren't exactly difficult to find- but if you love the RBI, this is your man!

In The Beginning...

Mission Statement- Despite how juvenile this blog will undoubtedly be at times, it is intended to serve a greater purpose. As an avid baseball fan, I've noticed the growing rift between the average fan who chugs a beer and does a Ric Flair impression in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium and the executive who sits in a luxury box ordering security to remove said fan. It's a disconnect that has often been perpetuated by mainstream media, who seem to advocate for one side or the other, with little tolerance for the alternate opinion.

Of course, I'm talking about sabermetrics. The Major League Baseball teams of the 21st century slog through endless amounts of data, meticulous scouting reports, regression analysis, home/road splits, lefty/righty splits, WAR, BABIP, VORP, etc etc, while all the while the casual fan focuses on the classics: RBI, Runs, Batting Average. The disconnect is palpable and the worst part is no one seems intent on finding a peace between the two-sides.

Enter, this blog. It's purpose is bridge the gap between the opiate of the masses and the arcane. To try and help those who still own stock in the trolley find a new path, driving the hover-car. This blog is about where we've been, and where we're going. Creationists argue against evolution theory because it has gaps- I hope to fill a small gap that I believe is going unfilled. Why me? Because I'm relatively new to the baseball philosophies of today, just like many others. Yes, I was once like you, arguing that J.D. Drew was a terrible signing by Boston because he had had only one 100-RBI season. But I have begun my transition, and welcome many others to follow suit. There's a part in the movie "District 9" where the government/corporation/ some evil entity that I can't currently recall needs to kill and dissect the main character, because he is at the critical threshold between his humanity and becoming a prawn. I believe I am at that same point in my baseball fandom. So before I turn into Keith Law, allow me to kill and dissect myself, for you the reader, while there is still some Mike Francesa in me.