Or at least, you should not suppose that your team is the worst (EVAH!) at hitting in these situations. The fans of at least 25-29 other teams in baseball, and perhaps their managers do, too:
''That killed us,'' Guillen said. ''If you watched us all year long, we're really bad with men on third base and less than two outs, maybe the worst team in baseball right now. If someone is worse than us, that's a record. That continues to bite us. Good teams score the guy from third base, and we're not doing that right now. We haven't done that all year long, period.''
Here's how teams in the AL Central have hit with a runner on third base and less than two outs:
.344/.397/.546 -- Cleveland Indians, --3, <2 outs
.310/.342/.518 -- Chicago White Sox, --3, <2 outs
.328/.356/.475 -- Minnesota Twins, --3, <2 outs
.284/.336/.469 -- Detroit Tigers, --3, <2 outs
.278/.306/.412 -- KC Royals, --3, <2 outs
Granted, this is a pathetic division, but Ozzie's Pale Hosers have an .860 OPS in these situations, which is, at worst, a completely respectable performance. Furthermore, they are chasing a team that has been worse in those situations and the team that has been best in those situations totally blew up their team and is rebuilding.
If you look at R/PA (which is, in and of itself kind of misleading), the White Sox look worse, but not even close to as bad as the Royals:
.66 R/PA -- Indians, --3, <2 outs
.65 R/PA -- Twins, --3, <2 outs
.63 R/PA -- Tigers, --3, <2 outs
.62 R/PA -- White Sox, --3, <2 outs
.58 R/PA -- Royals, --3, <2 outs
Probably a better thing to look at would be R/(PA-BB), since a walk doesn't really hurt your chances of scoring a run from third base (or if it does, it was probably an intentional walk, in which case you can't exactly decline the intentional walk):
.75 R/(PA-BB) -- Indians, --3, <2 outs
.72 R/(PA-BB) -- Twins, --3, <2 outs
.69 R/(PA-BB) -- White Sox, --3, <2 outs
.68 R/(PA-BB) -- Tigers, --3, <2 outs
.63 R/(PA-BB) -- Royals, --3, <2 outs
And here, the Mighty Whities are again in the middle of the pack and not in any danger of setting any records for clutch futility. I generally like Ozzie's antics, but pointing the finger at situations like this seems like a sure sign of a weak baseball mind. In the AL, the White Sox are 9th in OPS and 9th in runs scored. If you want to score more runs, worry about hitting better in general. Don't look back at the particular chances you squandered, because you're not getting them back again and you probably didn't do anything out of the ordinary in those situations anyway.
Recent Letters to the Editor
In Response to Cup of Coffee: July 29, 2010,
Andrew wrote: it is what it is. We get a player, they get a player. life moves on That's very Dude of you dw.
vodkatang wrote: Sorry, I think he's quite a bit better than Rauch, and he adds great depth so we're not over-relying on Guerrier so much. On the year: Rauch: 6.3 k/9, 37% GB% Capps: 7.4 k/9, 46% GB% Last … 0.8…
brianS wrote: I'd say that is a good guess. Although, again, it should be Blac_burn.
Zack wrote: It's not the end of the world, but it's a crappy trade. Mind you I suppose I'll feel differently if Mr. Capps logs 11 saves en route to winning the World Series. I think the best…
brianS wrote: I disagree. By all of the advanced stats, he's a marginal improvement at best over Rauch and Crain. The NL A-S slot is just BFD.
brianS wrote: … from the Fangraphs … is a solid reliever and immediately becomes the best on the team. He’s not a great reliever, though He smells like a Twin, however. 37:9 K:BB in 45 innings this year;…
davidwatts wrote: reading around the Twins blogsphere, some of the reaction is hilarious. WORST TRADE EVER has been chanted a few times. My reactions: it is what it is. We get a player, they get a player. life…
vodkatang wrote: I think that's the key. Rauch and Guerrier likely won't be back. I'm think Capps as the presumptive closer next year. Who knows how Nathan progresses, he might be back, he might…
Eric B. B. wrote: We're getting cash, also. Plus, I was wrong--he's got one last year of team control (arbitration) after this year.
Zack wrote: We're throwing in more than Ramos? Holy god.
In Response to 2010 Recaps Game 102: Twins 6, @ Royals 4,
Rhubarb_Runner wrote: I'll second those comments. The fans & workers there were every bet as impressive as their scoreboard.
meat wrote: Thanks for filling in for me, boss. I like the art this week. I had a few thoughts about the Royals on our long drive with nothing to think about, mostly I came to the…
AMR wrote: Gordon has been up and down before. I'm thinking more in contrast to what has happening in 2004-2006 when there seemed to be a regular shuttle bus between Wichita (AA) and KC because no one on…
bjhess wrote: That implies more caring then I see. Gordon sat in the minors half the year. His clock is definitely started!
brianS wrote: Kids say the darndest things.
AMR wrote: I don't even think the Royals fans and organization care about that team. Rany Jazayerli has been pushing the club's Minor-league talent all year. How else to explain the signings of Kendall, Ankiel,…
Rhubarb_Runner wrote: Let's hear it for the art!
In Response to Happy Birthday--July 29,
AMR wrote: Greasy! I had forgotten about him.
In Response to The Coasters- Along Came Jones,
Rhubarb_Runner wrote: I've heard this one before (my dad had the 45?) but by a different group. I'll have to do some digging.
FirstTimeLongTime wrote: As an artifact this is a perfect 10.
In Response to Cup of Coffee: July 28, 2010,
Dread Pirate Will Young wrote: Next time I'm in town.
AMR wrote: Nobody believes he can walk. .012 patience! (Or whatever OBP minus AVG is). Maybe pitchers should try walking him.
brianS wrote: Smoaked right by him. F-ing Mariners.
brianS wrote: Jenks! You owe me a soda!
In Response to Beck - Debra,
Beau wrote: he also hated "Loser" if I recall