Batting Champs
I was thinking a little bit about Derrek Lee and his “struggles” at the plate so far this spring. After going 0-4 in Thursday’s win over the Padres, Lee’s batting average has fallen to a Cedeno-like .105, and he managed to leave 5 men on base batting in the third spot. I love Lee, but let’s be honest, Billy Crystal probably could have done that.
But, if you’re worried about Lee, relax. Apparently there’s a guy you may have heard about named Ichiro Suzuki who, until Thursday, hadn’t gotten a hit in all of spring training. He was 0-22 officially. His first hit? An infield single, followed by 3 ground outs. He’s now hitting .040. See, DLee is more than doubling his fellow batting champion’s numbers.
So the moral of the story is that Spring Training numbers probably don’t mean much. At the end of the year Ichiro and Derrek will be hitting well over .300 and in contention for batting titles in their respective leagues, just like they have been over the last few seasons. But, if you’re still looking for some spring stats to get excited about, how about Felix Pie’s numbers: .321 avg, .607 slugging, and a .406 obp. And that is with a twisted testicle. Just imagine the all star season he’s going to have once his boys are working again…
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3 Responses
Jim Butler March 18th at 10:53 am
Reaction: “Daaaaamn, did you see Brittney in the stands!??!?”
Abe March 20th at 4:22 pm
I went to my first Cubs game of the season. I don’t think enough is being said about Fukudome’s throwing ability. He threw a guy out at the plate once, almost did (had blanco held on) once and almost twice. I think with Soriano in left, Fukudome in right, we’ll have the best throwing outfield in the game. Defense wins games
bluestainedivy March 20th at 10:14 pm
Two comments:
1) DLee has a reputation for starting the season slow. Last year was the first season he hadn’t struggled during the first month of the season with Chicago. Don’t be surprised if he has a slow month of April
2) I hope Pie’s performance doesn’t drop now that his teste’s fixed, otherwise, he may have to get the procedure reversed.