Our Texas Rangers at the Los Angeles Angels (9/5 - 9/7)

[Hambombs]

Damn you are up late. 7th BS for Mo.

Yep I am. He's done after this year

 

[Windingmywatch]

This is not about Elvis being a below average hitter. I don't know why that even matters. This is about Eric Sogar not being very good in "clutch" situations when you evaluate the numbers. His OBP is below .300 in both situations. Scrappy isn't quantifiable.

OK whatever ... wasn't looking at Sogard to be the clutch guy with RISP ... my impression of Sogard is that he starts stuff by getting on base. If he wss a performer w/RISP then he wouldn't be batting 8th. You've done the homework ... I'm good with that. Am just looking at him in a different role.

 

[Senator_fan]

Fields has been doing better lately. He actually has good stuff

I was joking about the Selig part. Yes, He has great minor league stats other than his walk count.

 

[Nightcrawler]

I don't get the love for Sogard around here

 

[RevSader]

OK whatever ... wasn't looking at Sogard to be the clutch guy with RISP ... my impression of Sogard is that he starts stuff by getting on base. If he wss a performer w/RISP then he wouldn't be batting 8th. You've done the homework ... I'm good with that. Am just looking at him in a different role.

I gotta believe that the A's only play Sogard, because they have no one better. Same with Texas and Murphy against RHP...The latter makes me sad.

 

[Windingmywatch]

This is not about Elvis being a below average hitter. I don't know why that even matters. This is about Eric Sogar not being very good in "clutch" situations when you evaluate the numbers. His OBP is below .300 in both situations. Scrappy isn't quantifiable.

Here's something close to what I was seeing ... when he leads off an inning his line is ... .261 .329 .391 .720 ... 18 for 69 ... and 9 of the 18 are doubles. He has more doubles leading off than SOs or BBs. He starts stuff.

 

[RevSader]

Here's something close to what I was seeing ... when he leads off an inning his line is ... .261 .329 .391 .720 ... 18 for 69 ... and 9 of the 18 are doubles. He has more doubles leading off than SOs or BBs. He starts stuff.

That's a pretty obscure way to justify that statement, but okay.

 

[RevSader]

Here's something close to what I was seeing ... when he leads off an inning his line is ... .261 .329 .391 .720 ... 18 for 69 ... and 9 of the 18 are doubles. He has more doubles leading off than SOs or BBs. He starts stuff.

Looking at the "clutch" stats on baseball reference he has a pretty shitty OBP unless his team is a head or the game is 4 runs either way. Not very "clutch" (For the record, I don't believe in clutch)

 

[Windingmywatch]

That's a pretty obscure way to justify that statement, but okay.

Hey ... its 1am and we are debating Sogard. We're both nuts.

9 pages in ... and the LAA series doesn't even start for 20 more hours.

 

[RevSader]

Hey ... its 1am and we are debating Sogard. We're both nuts.

9 pages in ... and the LAA series doesn't even start for 20 more hours.

He's really irrelevant and I shouldn't care, but he just bugs me. He's just this guy that for whatever reason makes me irrationally angry when I see him.

 

[Windingmywatch]

He's really irrelevant and I shouldn't care, but he just bugs me. He's just this guy that for whatever reason makes me irrationally angry when I see him.

"makes me irrationally angry" isn't quantifiable either. As I said ... he starts stuff .

 

[RevSader]

"makes me irrationally angry" isn't quantifiable either. As I said ... he starts stuff .

I didn't say that about his playing ability though. If he was at the top of the order I might be prone to agree, but he's hit 8 and 9 for the overwhelming majority of his career. He's an offensive after thought, and anything he adds is a bonus. See David Murphy and Geo Soto.

 

[lainey12]

Sadly enough, I'd feel a lot better about losing the series to the A's if the Astros hang on

they again prove they can lose to bad teams they need to beat down this final stretch, just as we have.
I feel better too, and I don't think it's "sad" that we feel this way.

for whatever that's worth.

 

[Windingmywatch]

I didn't say that about his playing ability though. If he was at the top of the order I might be prone to agree, but he's hit 8 and 9 for the overwhelming majority of his career. He's an offensive after thought, and anything he adds is a bonus. See David Murphy and Geo Soto.

David Murphy just wishes he'd had the year Eric Sogard has had.

Comparing Sogard and another ALW middle infielder ... Elvis Andrus

Sogard
v/LAA 33AB 9R 14H 5RBI .424/.424/.576/1.000
v/HOU 50AB 4R 14H 4RBI .280/.321/.460/.731
v/SEA 41AB 3R 12H 1RBI .293/.356/.390/.746
v/TEX 37AB 4R 10H 5RBI .270/.333/.397/.651

Elvis
v/LAA 49AB 11R 18H 4RBI .367/.446/.469/.916
v/HOU 66AB 13R 16H 8RBI .242/.320/.348/.668
v/OAK 48AB 6R 8H 0RBI .167/.231/.167/.397
v/SEA 74AB 10R 18H 11RBI .243/.293/.270/.563

Elvis has the edge in all the output categories (R, H, RBI) but they are close. Sogard has better rates (slash line). R and RBI are a factor of where you are in the batting order and the number of chances you get ... but hits are to a degree independent. Head to head Sogard has had far better success against TEX than Elvis has had against OAK.

If I were building a team I wouldn't start with Sogard while I might start with Elvis. There may be something about Sogard that makes you irrationally angry ... might be his annoying habit of making a play or getting a hit just when you don't want him to.

Sogard's sure been more effective and more frequent at that this year than David Murphy.

 

[Hambombs]

He's really irrelevant and I shouldn't care, but he just bugs me. He's just this guy that for whatever reason makes me irrationally angry when I see him.

You must be angry at a lot of people

 

[Hambombs]

David Murphy just wishes he'd had the year Eric Sogard has had.

Comparing Sogard and another ALW middle infielder ... Elvis Andrus

Sogard
v/LAA 33AB 9R 14H 5RBI .424/.424/.576/1.000
v/HOU 50AB 4R 14H 4RBI .280/.321/.460/.731
v/SEA 41AB 3R 12H 1RBI .293/.356/.390/.746
v/TEX 37AB 4R 10H 5RBI .270/.333/.397/.651

Elvis
v/LAA 49AB 11R 18H 4RBI .367/.446/.469/.916
v/HOU 66AB 13R 16H 8RBI .242/.320/.348/.668
v/OAK 48AB 6R 8H 0RBI .167/.231/.167/.397
v/SEA 74AB 10R 18H 11RBI .243/.293/.270/.563

Elvis has the edge in all the output categories (R, H, RBI) but they are close. Sogard has better rates (slash line). R and RBI are a factor of where you are in the batting order and the number of chances you get ... but hits are to a degree independent. Head to head Sogard has had far better success against TEX than Elvis has had against OAK.

If I were building a team I wouldn't start with Sogard while I might start with Elvis. There may be something about Sogard that makes you irrationally angry ... might be his annoying habit of making a play or getting a hit just when you don't want him to.

Sogard's sure been more effective and more frequent at that this year than David Murphy.

You can actually make a case that he's been as good as kinsler overall this year

 

[Windingmywatch]

For what its worth ... on Aug 4 Nelson Cruz' last game ... TEX was 62-50 (12 games over .500) but 2.5GB of OAK. Since then the team has gone 18-9 to have an 80-59 record (21 games over .500) and is half a game up in first place over OAK.

Listening to OAK post game radio after its game last night it is clear OAK had an emotional letdown after the TEX series and was "sleep walking" through its loss to HOU. They got three more against HOU and I doubt HOU does to OAK what OAK did to DET last week.

But LAA, SEA and HOU will play a key role in whether TEX or OAK take the ALW. LAA just split its series with TBR 2-2 winning last night. TEX needs to take out its aggression on LAA for its futility in OAK and carry that onward when it hosts NLC leading PIT back at RBIA.

September is what always decides it. No sleeping until October. TEX gets to October ... it gets Nelson Cruz back. For now ... one game at a time. TEX late night baseball in LAA in September. This is what it is all about.

 

[dammittman]

Know many could care less my opinion but I try to speak up when we go over so far OT that it offends me. If it offends me I figure it probably offends others. You guys got lots of great points and arguments and I appreciate the debate without the off color commentary. That's all I got.

I thought the video was absolutely hilarious. OT or not, I come here for entertainment, and that was entertaining.

 

[Hambombs]

For what its worth ... on Aug 4 Nelson Cruz' last game ... TEX was 62-50 (12 games over .500) but 2.5GB of OAK. Since then the team has gone 18-9 to have an 80-59 record (21 games over .500) and is half a game up in first place over OAK.

Listening to OAK post game radio after its game last night it is clear OAK had an emotional letdown after the TEX series and was "sleep walking" through its loss to HOU. They got three more against HOU and I doubt HOU does to OAK what OAK did to DET last week.

But LAA, SEA and HOU will play a key role in whether TEX or OAK take the ALW. LAA just split its series with TBR 2-2 winning last night. TEX needs to take out its aggression on LAA for its futility in OAK and carry that onward when it hosts NLC leading PIT back at RBIA.

September is what always decides it. No sleeping until October. TEX gets to October ... it gets Nelson Cruz back. For now ... one game at a time. TEX late night baseball in LAA in September. This is what it is all about.

Emotional let down even though they won 2 of 3 games???

 

[ESPN Refugee]

I don't get the love for Sogard around here

He's one of those ultimate lunch pale guys.