2008 Philadelphia Phillies Season/Playoff Thread (Die Mets Die)

[SD_Eagle5]

Bums eyeing Burnett

Pass

I'd rather they keep their prospects and take a chance on a guy like Happ than overpay for that stiff.

[PhillyPhreak54]

I don't like him and never did when he was in FLA.

He's inconsistent and is prone to getting blown up just as much as one of the Phillies farm-hands they could bring up and be about $12M cheaper.

[The BIGSTUD]

Burnett is horrible...

Which is why the Phillies will get him.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

More fuel to the fire, Howard should take Soriano's spot:

Is Howard All-Star worthy?
By Todd Zolecki

Inquirer Staff Writer

Should Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle call Charlie Manuel about Ryan Howard's worthiness to replace Alfonso Soriano on the National League all-star roster, Manuel might ask him a few questions instead:
How many RBIs does Howard have?

How many home runs has he hit?

What place is his team in?

Where does he hit in his team's lineup?

Hurdle already has replaced the injured Soriano in the NL starting lineup with Rockies leftfielder Matt Holliday, but he still must find a player to replace him on the team. Howard deserves serious consideration for that spot, along with Phillies leftfielder Pat Burrell.

Howard leads the major leagues with 27 home runs and the NL with 83 RBIs. If Hurdle doesn't choose Howard to replace Soriano, Elias Sports Bureau's Santo Labombarda said Howard could become the first player to lead his league in home runs and RBIs at the all-star break and not make the all-star team since Cincinnati Reds leftfielder Hank Sauer in 1948.

"I'm part of history," Howard joked after yesterday's 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park, where he went 2 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs.

Sauer was hitting .275 with a league-leading 24 homers and 64 RBIs in 1948, but the NL starting outfield featured Cardinals leftfielder Stan Musial, Phillies centerfielder Richie Ashburn, and Cardinals rightfielder Enos Slaughter. Reserve outfielders included Boston Braves rightfielder Tommy Holmes, Pittsburgh Pirates leftfielder Ralph Kiner, and New York Giants outfielder Bobby Thomson.

The things that could hold Howard back (and should not) are his average and strikeouts. He is hitting just .234 and has struck out an eye-popping 125 times. He is on pace to finish the season with 47 homers, 144 RBIs and 217 strikeouts, which would shatter the major-league record he set last season with 199 strikeouts.

But two things about Howard's average and strikeouts:

He was hitting a season-low .163 on May 7 but has hit .272 with 21 homers and 67 RBIs since. So, while a low batting average typically correlates with poor production, that's not the case here. Howard also is hitting .333 this season with runners in scoring position, which shows he has been coming up big in clutch situations all season.

Strikeouts are overrated.

Baseball Prospectus looked at the relationship between teams' strikeout rates and run production from 1950 to 2002. It found no correlation. It also found that a hitter's strikeout rate correlates positively to power, slugging percentage, and walks per plate appearance. After another look at strikeouts by Baseball Prospectus in 2005, analyst James Click wrote, "On a very rough scale, a strikeout costs a team about three one-hundredths of a run."

That's statistically insignificant.

Howard's run production is not.

"Find somebody that has produced more runs than him?" Manuel said. "I think that's kind of hard to do. He's leading the league in homers, and he's leading the league in RBIs. I'd say, who tops that? What's the name of the game? Produce runs. He does that."

That's why Manuel does not concern himself much with Howard's average. Sure, he would like his strikeouts to drop a bit, but not at the expense of the run production he provides.

"Would you take him out of your lineup?" Manuel said. "He does about twice as much as other guys do. How can you take him out of your lineup? What he does sits right there in front of you. That's one thing about this game. Nobody can take away your performance on the field. It sits right there in front of you. The numbers tell the story."

And it should be enough to get Hurdle to think long and hard about putting Howard on the all-star team. He just needs to see past his average and strikeouts and look at the numbers that really matter.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Has anyone with his HR/RBI total or better ever NOT made the All-Star game?

[SD_Eagle5]

Has anyone with his HR/RBI total or better ever NOT made the All-Star game?

Doubtful. Also doubtful they had 125 Ks, the worst batting average of any starting 1st baseman in the league, or couldn't play a lick of defense.

[Sgt PSN]

You can't strictly look at his offensive numbers to make a case for him to be there.  That article makes a pretty good argument to negate the overwhelming number of K's Howard has racked up this year.  But what about the errors he also logs on the field?  

He leads NL 1B with 10 errors and has the 3rd lowest fielding percentage.

I'm a pro-Howard guy.  But I think there are too many holes in his all around game to make him an All Star 1B this year.  

Having said that, this year's game is in an AL park which means that the DH rule is in effect.  I would have absolutely no problem with Howard going and being a DH, but by no means should he have a need to bring his glove to the ball park with him.  

JMO

[SunMo]

JMO

die

[ice grillin you]

Has anyone with his HR/RBI total or better ever NOT made the All-Star game?

not even close...in fact not many people who have made the all star team have had numbers like his...but lets have a parade for pat burrell

[SunMo]

good point, let's not support the phillies player who has a chance to be voted into the all-star game

[ice grillin you]

good point, let's not support the phillies player who has a chance to be voted into the all-star game

i wouldnt vote for any of them...the whole thing is gay...but burrell definitely didnt deserve it and thankfully the fans recognized this and got outvoted by milwaukee of all places

[SunMo]

yes, thankfully, another phillie didn't make the all-star team...booooooooo .282, 22hr, 21 doubles

[Sgt PSN]

Burrell is more deserving to be there this year than Howard.


JMO

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Burrell is more deserving to be there this year than Howard.


JMO

[ice grillin you]

 

yes, thankfully, another phillie didn't make the all-star team...booooooooo .282, 22hr, 21 doubles

hes having a good year....but he needs to buy a ticket to get in the all star game...people shouldnt be having t-shirts and internet crusades on his behalf to make it...these are the same people that do the wave in the 8th inning of a tie game at the bank


who the eff cares how many phillies make an exhibition game.....burrell has never won a playoff game in his friggin life...worry about that shtein not an all star game

Burrell is more deserving to be there this year than Howard.

no...and really its not close...howard is second in the majors in run production...and arent runs the most important stat in the game...farging geovany soto has more rbi than burrell