Kuzul

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Last Year: 80-82, fourth in NL West

Manager: Don Mattingly 

PROJECTED LINEUP

C- Rod Barajas (R)

1B- James Loney (L)

2B- Juan Uribe (R) 

3B- Casey Blake (R) (Will probably start season on DL)

SS- Rafael Furcal (S)

LF- Jay Gibbons (L)/ Marcus Thames (R)

CF- Matt Kemp (R)

RF- Andre Either (L)

The Dodgers offense struggled in 2010 ranking 21st in runs scored, and 27th in home runs. Andre Either was the club’s most consistent hitter last season, and he has been one of the more consistent left-handed hitters over the last few seasons. 25-30 home runs and a line around .290/.365/.495 are where his numbers should be at the end of the season. Matt Kemp will hit behind Either as the cleanup hitter (checkout key player section below for more on Kemp). 

Marcus Thames and Jay Gibbons will platoon in left field after both had good seasons as role players in 2010. Thames hit very well against left-handed pitchers, but his .288 average benefited from a .345 BABIP. If he gets 300 at-bats, Thames should hit hit 15 home runs and a .240-.260 average. Gibbons should put up similar numbers with the same number of at-bats with a .250-265 average and 10-15 home runs. Rod Barajas has some power (15-18 home runs expected), but he hits for a low average and doesn’t get on base often. 

Juan Uribe, the only major position player signed during the offseason, should provide some power at the 2B position. He should hit for 20 home runs, and a line of .245/.300/.420. Rafael Furcal will continue to hit leadoff after another steady season in 2010. Furcal doesn’t have the same speed, but he should swipe 20 bases with7-10 home runs and produce a line of .285/.355/.405. Loney doesn’t have the prototypical first baseman power (10-15 home runs), and his numbers have steadily declined in every season since 2007. Expect a slight up-tick in average back to .285, but the Dodgers need to get more production from the five hole. Casey Blake is battling a rib injury, but if healthy he can produce 15-20 home runs with a .260 average in the seventh spot in the order. 

The Dodgers’ defense ranked 25th in UZR rating during the 2010 season. The infield defense was not the problem, and it should be improved with Uribe, who is considered an above average defender at 2B. Rafael Furcal may make some errors at SS, but he has great range to both sides. Casey Blake and James Loney are plus defenders on the corners. Blake has great range, and Loney is very sure handed. Rod Barajas is a great receiver behind the plate, but his caught stealing percentage is below average.

The outfield defense relies on how well Matt Kemp bounces back from his terrible defensive season. He took terrible routes to balls and was the worst rated center fielder in baseball. Andre Either was also the ranked last among right fielders, and the left field combination of Jay Gibbons and Marcus Thames will make the Dodgers’ outfield defense the worst in baseball. 

BENCH

IF- Jamey Carroll (R) 

IF- Ivan DeJesus (R) 

OF- Jay Gibbons (L)/ Marcus Thames (R)

C- Dioner Navarro (S) (Will miss first month of season)

C- AJ Ellis (R) or Hector Gimenez (R)

IF- Aaron Miles (S)

OF- Xavier Paul (L)

OF- Tony Gwynn Jr.

STARTING ROTATION 

LHP- Clayton Kershaw

RHP- Chad Billingsley 

LHP- Ted Lilly 

RHP- Hiroki Kuroda 

RHP- Jon Garland (Will start season on DL)  

The Dodgers’ rotation, when fully healthy, is one of the deeper rotations in the National League. Clayton Kershaw, the ace of the Dodger staff, is often forgotten as one of the best pitchers in the league. Kershaw lost a little velocity in 2010, but he still averages 92.5 MPH on his fastball and he uses his filthy slider and decent curveball to strike out more than a hitter per inning. He still needs to work on his command, but Kershaw will pitch at around a 3.00 ERA, and still strikeout more than a hitter per inning. Clay Billingsley is a good number two starter behind Kershaw. Billingsley uses a 91-93 MPH fastball, good slider, great cutter, curveball, and changeup. His command can be a little touch and go (should have 3.5-4.00 BB/9), but his groundball rate (49 percent in 2010) and strikeout rate (usually 8 K/9) should leave his ERA around 3.50 for the season. 

The soft tossing left-hander, Ted Lilly, will be the number three starter. Lilly uses a good slow curve, slider, and changeup with his 86-88 MPH fastball to get a lot of flyballs and strikeout more than 7 per 9 innings. Lilly will benefit pitching in Dodger Stadium for the entire season, and should pitch to a 3.40-3.60 ERA. Hiroki Kuroda may be one of the more underrated pitchers in the league. His xFIP (3.5&) indicates that his 3.36 ERA indicates his success in 2010. Kuroda features three plus pitches: a fastball that averages 92.5 MPH, a hard breaking slider, and good splitter. Kuroda will strike out close something close to 7 per 9 innings and pitch to a mid 3 ERA. 

The Dodgers will start the season with only four starters until a fifth will be needed later in the month. Jon Garland is on the DL with a strained oblique, but he will be one of the best fifth starters in baseball when he returns. He is a good groundball pitcher, who usually displays good command (2010 was an exception), and should pitch to a 3.90-4.10 ERA when he returns.   

BULLPEN

RHP- Jonathan Broxton (Closer) 

LHP- Hong-Chih Kuo 

RHP- Matt Guerrier 

RHP- Kenley Jansen 

RHP- Blake Hawksworth 

RHP- Mike MacDougal 

RHP- Lance Cormier or LHP- Scott Elbert

RHP- Vincente Padilla (On DL until late April) 

Jonathan Broxton comes into the 2011 season on shaky footing after loosing the closer job late last season.Broxton’s walk rate increased to 4.04 per 9 innings, but his .366 BABIP inflated his ERA to 4.04. His xFIP indicated he should have been pitching to an ERA in the low 3.00’s, so look for Broxton to have a bounce back season. Kuo was one of the most dominant left-handed relievers in baseball last season pitching to a 1.20 ERA.Kuo’s mid 90’s fastball and good slider make him tough for both right and left-handed hitters to face. His good strikeout numbers and unbelievable home run rate should allow him to pitch at a high level again if he remains healthy. 

Matt Guerrier has become a good setup man over the last few seasons despite lacking strikeout stuff. He uses good control and a starter’s repertoire to pitch to an ERA in the 3.40-3.70 range. Kenley Jansen, the converted catcher, showed great stuff in 25 games with the Dodgers last season. Jansen’s control can be spotty, but his 94-96 MPH fastball is very heavy, and he has shown a very good slider. He has been able to strikeout more than 13 per 9 innings at every level during the last two seasons. 

Blake Hawksworth looks like he will pitch some long relief to begin the season. Mike MacDougal looks like he will make the roster as a non roster invitee. MacDougal is a groundball specialist with a heavy 94.7 MPH two-seamer and slider, but his command is all over the place. Scott Elbert and Lance Cormier are still battling it out for the last spot in the rotation, but I bet Elbert gets the last spot so Mattingly can have another left-handed pitcher at his disposal. 

NOTABLE NON ROSTER INVITEES 

RHP- Roman Colon

RHP- Lance Cormier 

RHP- Mike MacDougal 

LHP- Dana Eveland 

RHP- Tim Redding 

RHP- Oscar Villareal 

IF- Juan Castro (R)

IF- Aaron Miles (S)

OF- Gabe Kapler (R)

KEY PLAYER- Matt Kemp

It is no coincidence that both the when Matt Kemp struggles the entire Dodgers team struggles. Kemp can’t hit .249 again if the Dodgers want to make a run at the NL West. In addition, Kemp had the worst UZR among any center fielder, mostly because of bad routes to the ball. Kemp seemed like he was in a daze the entire 2010 season, but he has too much talent not to rebound in 2011. Look for Kemp to hit 25-28 home runs, 25 stolen bases, and a line of .285/.340/.485. 

PROSPECT TO WATCH- SS Dee Gordon (L)

Dee Gordon has all the tools to be a dangerous offensive weapon in the majors. Gordon does not have much power, but he can hit line drives to all areas of the field. Many scouts project him as a dangerous .300 hitter, but his number one weapon is his speed. He stole 53 bases in AA last season. He does need to work on his defense, but getting a year at AAA will do him well. If everything goes according to plan, Dodger fans could see him in a uniform in September.  

PROJECTED FINISH- Third in NL West

The Dodgers should improve over a poor 2010 season, but the offensive holes at catcher and left field are too big to ignore. The team will finish in fourth place again if Matt Kemp struggles, but if the Dodgers could contend if he plays well. Overall, I think the Dodgers will be in it until September finishing above .500, but the Giants and Rockies have better overall teams. 

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With Opening Day only one week away and the list of injuries seemingly growing, fans across Dodgertown are left wondering if a door may open for one of several minor league prospects within the organization.

The track record of general manager Ned Colletti suggests that he much rather prefers middle-of-the-road veterans over the youngsters, however a handful of the farmhands have already shown positive value over the course of Cactus League play this spring.

There are still at least two to three roster spots wide open, and considering that Vicente Padilla, Jon Garland and Casey Blake may not be ready for the opener against the San Francisco Giants on March 31, management may indeed turn to one of the youngsters early.

The following slides show seven current minor league players who may be called upon much earlier than anticipated, offer a brief background on each, as well as offer a short summary on how each performed during their opportunities this spring.

Begin Slideshow

After a disappointing 2010 campaign, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed first-baseman James Loney only to a one-year deal.

With a decrease in home-runs and batting average each of the last four seasons, anything more than a one-year deal may have been questioned.

So, the question remains; Should the Dodgers give him one more year to get back on track, or put him on the trade block?

Well, here are some potential candidates if L.A. chooses the latter. 

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Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers 2006 first-round draft pick, has slowly been gaining steam since making his Major League debut in 2008.  He’s been highly regarded since the day he first donned a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform, but his 2010 campaign showed us just how good he could be:

13 Wins
204.1 Innings
2.91 ERA
1.18 WHIP
212 Strikeouts (9.34 K/9)
81 Walks (3.57 BB/9)
.275 BABIP

There really is little not to like from those numbers, isn’t there?  There also is nothing overly unrealistic about them either.  The BABIP is not overly lucky.  He posted a strand rate of 76.2 percent, right along the lines of his career mark of 76.5 percent. 

Where he has vastly improved since making his debut is in his walk rate:

• 2008 – 4.35 BB/9
• 2009 – 4.79 BB/9
• 2010 – 3.57 BB/9

Is he able to replicate, if not better, that number is what will ultimately determine his overall success in 2011.  First of all, by limiting the walks, he was able to work deeper into games.  In 2009 he threw 5.63 innings per start, leading to just eight wins.  In 2010 he threw 6.38 innings per start, and you could see the increase in his wins from the statistics above.

The deeper a starting pitcher can go into games, the more opportunity he is going to have for wins.  There just is no way around that, because you never know exactly what your bullpen is going to do.  One would have thought Jonathan Broxton would’ve been able to hold on to just about every lead he was handed, but that wasn’t the case in ’10.  The more outs you can get yourself, the more you put your fate into your own hands.

The drop in the walk rate also allows him to post a potentially elite WHIP.  He was just outside the Top 20 in 2010 and, with his strikeout rate, there is no reason to think that he can’t repeat that type of performance again as long as he maintains the walk rate.  If he can take a step forward, he is going to be among the best in the league.

What is interesting to note is that as his strikeouts fell during the year, his walk rate improved.  In the first half of the season he had a K/9 of 10.28, but a BB/9 of 4.01.  In the second half he had a K/9 of 8.22, but a BB/9 of 3.03.

Is there any conclusion we can draw from this?  Do we think Kershaw is going to focus on pounding the strike zone, lowering his strikeout rate in favor of walking fewer batters? 

It’s something to watch, but it is hard to imagine Kershaw not being among the elite strikeout artists in the game.  If he can maintain that, along with the impeccable second half control, the sky truly is the limit.

Let’s take a look at what I am projecting for him in 2011:

200.0 IP, 16 W, 2.88 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 211 K (9.50 K/9), 80 BB (3.60 BB/9)

He’s already proven that he has the stuff to be a Top 10 pitcher, making him a tremendous selection on draft day.

What are your thoughts of Kershaw?  Can he be a Top 10 pitcher in 2011?  What are the chances of that happening?

**** Make sure to order your copy of the Rotoprofessor 2011 Fantasy Baseball Draft Guide, selling for just $5, by clicking here. ****

Make sure to check out some of our 2011 projections:

• Barmes, Clint
• Buchholz, Clay
• Butler, Billy
• Choo, Shin-Soo
• Drew, Stephen
• Ethier, Andre
• Freese, David
• Hudson, Tim
• Hughes, Phil
• Jaso, John
• Johnson, Chris
• Uggla, Dan
• Morrow, Brandon
• Phillips, Brandon
• Reyes, Jose
• Reynolds, Mark
• Rios, Alex
• Sanchez, Gaby
• Stanton, Mike
• Suzuki, Kurt
• Wieters, Matt
• Willingham, Josh
• Young, Michael

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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First of all, the Dodgers finished fourth in the NL West last season, so let’s not kid ourselves…this isn’t about Dodgers versus Giants. But what can the Dodgers do to win the division?

On paper, the team is good. But how can they separate themselves from the Giants and Rockies? All three have a legitimate ace. All three have offensive holes. So what’s the difference? 

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I didn’t choose to be Mexican. I didn’t chose to be Catholic. I didn’t choose to be left handed and I didn’t choose to be a Dodgers fan. These were all things I was born into. I did however choose not to be an ignorant sports fan.

Being born and raised in Los Angeles I have pledged my allegiance to all of my local teams.

But the Dodgers and baseball in general are my obsession. As a Dodgers fan I naturally hate the San Francisco Giants, their players, fans, and the city as a whole, BUT I do recognize that these players and people are in fact people.

I hate them for being Giants fans but I respect them for being fans of the game of baseball. I hate their players but still respect them as individuals and as athletes. I recognize that they have talent and that Tim Lincecum is a great pitcher. This makes me an educated fan.

Over the years its gotten to the point where I will go to opening day but really cringe at the thought of actually being in the stadium with the two other types of fans.

Ive come to categorize fans into three types.

The Casual Fan

This person, like my father, knows about the team and its location but doesn’t really know anyone who isn’t a huge name. This is the fan that will take the family out to a few games a year and will pretend to be interested when a game is on television by asking what the score is.

I firmly believe that NO ONE is allowed to ask who is playing because that should be obvious by looking at the uniforms.

This is the fan that makes up random stats hoping to sound like they know the sport. They are the ones that stand up with excitement when the ball is hit weakly to the outfield.

The Educated Fan

 I consider myself, and the fine people on bleacher report, a part of this group. There are many levels of this fan ranging from the ‘die-hard” to the “blogger” to the “fantasy baseball” type, but no matter how you slice it they are educated on the sport. We know our line ups and theirs, we know the stats and we are the ones that understand why baseball is not boring. WE CAN NAME THE BENCH PLAYERS!

We understand that its all about anticipation and appreciate the importance of every pitch. We are the ones that buy the whole seat but only need the edge. We understand that there’s a game within the game called “Strategy.”

We are the ones that think like mangers and GM’s. We are the ones that yell at the television because no matter what the woman in our lives think, us yelling WILL make our teams better.

The Left Field Pavilion Fan

These are a slight combination of the first two. They are casual enough to know the sport and some of its players but cling on to that one stat. They boo when we bunt and boo when we walk a batter to set up a double play. They randomly chant that someone sucks. They stab people in the parking lot and will forever wear their “Valenzuela” jersey even though they never saw him play.

These are the people who wear Dodgers gear in purple and gold. They are the Raider type Dodgers fans. They are the 4 Million people that go through those gates every year allowing the McCourts to keep on doing what they’re doing because these people have blind love for the Dodgers. They are essentially the bulk of the Dodgers economy, from the gear to the $12 beers, they fund the teams payroll.

In all honesty we need all three to stay alive and every team has these fans.

When we, the educated fans, call for a boycott of the McCourts and their foul play we will always fail. We simply do not have the numbers to matter. This is why I believe that unless something drastic happens in court, Bud Selig will never step in and remove the team from the McCourts. Revenue and attendance will continue to go up, just like the ticket prices, and payroll and wins will go down.

Our ownership may not be as important as our economy or the conflict in Iraq but it matters to me, it matters to millions across the country, across the world, spanning this and several generations of fans.

I once told Tommy Lasorda that he ruined my child hood in the 90’s. That his ego and terrible decision making was the reason why the Dodgers were a .500 team growing up. He called me a fool and waddled away.

This is what the McCourts are doing to us all. They are taking our money, while ruining what we love most and I’ll be the first one to tell you that its hard. Ive said it time and time again that I would not support them but I, like an abused woman, always go back for more. I tell myself that this time it will be different, that this year they will change.

I tell myself that they didn’t mean to make these horrible decisions but it never changes. Its never any different. Its hard for me to support the players while not supporting the McCourts financially. Everything I buy, every time I watch, and every time I attend games I put money in their pockets.

Frank McCourt once addressed his critics by saying that under his ownership the Dodgers won back to back NL WEST titles and made it to two NLCS. But it wanst his ownership or leadership that got us their. It was the farm players that were there BEFORE he bought the team. It was the work of Logan White and Kim Ng. It was Ned Colleti trading away Milton Bradley for Andre Eithier.

With his plan to raise prices and drop payroll over the next decade while only having five Dodgers on payroll through the end of this year, expect a long road of mediocracy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If the Dodgers are not withing five or six games of first place at the half, expect a fire sale.

This is a Love/Hate. We love the Dodgers but we hate the Dodgers owners.

This new season starts in less than a month and I have my opening day tickets in hand.

Is this a lost cause? We need to come together as a whole and just stop attending. This will never happen. The casual fans wont care and the Pavilion People wont listen.

Until we can all unite in massive demonstration, even if its for a single weekend series or even one game. If we can have just one game with no attendance we will send the McCourts and Bud Selig a very loud message. We are the city of Los Angeles and regardless of who signs the paychecks, this team belongs to us.

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It wasn’t the season the Los Angeles Dodgers were hoping for in the final year under manager Joe Torre. The Dodgers didn’t exactly play badly at 80-82, but finished fourth in the NL West. Torre’s replacement is Don Mattingly, who will try and bring life to an organization that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006.

The offense will have to be better if the Dodgers are going to contend for the division this year. The only problem is L.A. just didn’t do a whole lot to better their lineup. Here is a closer look at the Dodgers’ starting lineup and starting rotation for the 2011 season, plus our MLB predictions on where they will finish the year in the NL West.

Starting Lineup

For the Dodgers to bring home the division this season, they need an even bigger season out of Andre Either and Matt Kemp. It’s not as though the two were bad last season, but with the supporting cast they have around them, it’s up to them to carry the load.

Kemp delivered 28 home runs last year, but his RBI, OBP, and average all dropped. Either opened the season on fire, but faded down the stretch and must show he can produce over a full season.

What could really get this offense going is a healthy Rafael Furcal, who played less than 100 games last season. On the field, Furcal is one of the top leadoff hitters in the game.

Los Angeles also brought in second baseman Juan Uribe—who set career-highs with 24 home runs and 85 RBI with the Giants last season—but he is getting up their in age, and it’s more likely he declines rather than improves. 

The rest of the lineup draws some concern.

James Loney hasn’t been the hitter the Dodgers had hoped for at first base. If his numbers continue to get worse, you have to wonder how much longer the Dodgers will keep him in the lineup. Third baseman Casey Blake turned 37 last August, and there is no doubt his best days are behind him. Catcher Rod Barajas was added after L.A. decided to not resign Russell Martin. Barajas is coming off a year where he hit 17 home runs, but is another guy on the wrong side of 35. Marcus Thames and Jay Gibbons are expected to split duties in left field, and if they get anything out of these two, it will really help this offense. 

Starting Rotation

The reason the Dodgers were able to even compete in the West last season was the amazing work they got from their starting rotation.

Clayton Kershaw solidified his spot at the top of the rotation after another great run in 2010. Kershaw went just 13-10, but finished with an ERA of 2.91, which shows how little the offense was providing.

Chad Billingsley also didn’t get a lot of run support, as he went 12-11 with a 3.57 ERA.

Los Angeles decided to bring back Ted Lilly, whom they acquired in a midseason trade with the Cubs. Lilly went 7-4 with a 3.52 ERA with the Dodgers, and should be a solid No. 3 starter.

The last two spots in the rotation figure to be filled by Hiroki Kuroda and Jon Garland. Kuroda went just 11-13 last season, but had a 3.39 ERA and 1.161 WHIP. Garland returns to the Dodgers after a season with the Padres, where he went 14-12 with a 3.47 ERA.

Not very often will you find a staff that has five starters who all had an ERA under 4.00 the previous year, and not finish above .500. But unless the offense gets things going, the Dodgers could fit that bill.

2011 Projections: 4th Place NL West

While the Dodgers might not have the star power in their starting rotation, there is no question they have the arms to make a run in the West. The problem is they just don’t have the offense to back it up. Unless a lot of guys have a breakout season in 2011, we don’t see Los Angeles making much progress in the division standings. The Dodgers’ MLB odds to win the NL West this season are currently listed at +225.

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With spring training now at its peak and Cactus League play in full gear, the Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves in the national spotlight of the sports media in regards to a number of popular storylines.

Team ownership is obviously at the forefront, as Frank McCourt was anticipating a $200 million cash advance from Fox until the transaction was blocked by MLB commissioner Bud Selig late last week. It’s unclear exactly where the overall finances of the club lie, but the fact that McCourt was involved in plotting such a deal doesn’t sound encouraging.

In the meantime, the divorce ordeal between Frank and Jamie continues to trudge along. Frank’s gun is loaded with the intention of new trials and appeals, while Jamie continues to express interest in gaining some type of control of the organization. However, the team, the fans and Major League Baseball itself would love nothing more than to see this tedious affliction become resolved.

As for player news, the absence of reliever Ronald Belisario from his third consecutive spring training start also captured its fair share of headlines. While Belisario continues to offer excuses about being separated from the team, he still remains in his native Venezuela. Most analysts around the league seem to agree that he’s already seen his last days wearing Dodger Blue.

Vicente Padilla, re-signed by general manager Ned Colletti to bolster the bullpen and provide insurance to the starting rotation, has already been under the knife to fix a recurring wrist injury that has been bothering him for more than a year. According to various opinions, Padilla may begin throwing again in as little as three-to-four weeks.

The passing of Dodger legend Duke Snider, who could arguably be known as the greatest player the franchise has ever seen, brought a somber moment of sadness to Dodgers fans far and wide. Without a doubt, for his contributions to the Dodger legacy, the Duke will be remembered for eternity.

As all the aforementioned news made headlines nationwide, a number of storylines which are critical to the club’s success continue to fly under the radar. The following slides highlight 10 such stories, as well as offer a brief commentary about each topic shown.

Begin Slideshow

Heading into the upcoming season, new skipper Don Mattingly and the Los Angeles Dodgers have not been hit with a slew of injuries.

However, that’s no excuse for not being concerned with what injuries they do have.

There are only four of note:

1. Pitcher Vicente Padilla’s elbow surgery.

2. Outfielder Jay Gibbons with the flu.

3. Pitcher Tim Redding with an illness.

4. Pitcher Dana Eveland’s strained hamstring.

Spring training has just begun; therefore, Dodger fans, let’s hope this is as bad as it gets.

Here is a breakdown for each injury/illness and what else to look for as time progresses.

Begin Slideshow

The RBI (runs batted in) is a major stat in baseball, but fans and experts debate whether it is meaningful in determining a player’s offensive worth.

James Loney of the Los Angeles Dodgers is a good example of the debate. In 2010, Loney batted just .261 with 10 home runs, but had 88 RBI.

Were Loney’s 88 RBI an indication of a solid contribution with the stick, or were they just a product of him hitting with many ducks on the pond? Baseball experts seem to disagree, and no right or wrong answer seems to exist.

Mike Petriello, a prominent Dodger blogger and creator of the blog “Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness,” says that RBI have no connection to how well a player can swing the bat, as they are too dependent on whether the batters before him reach base.

“The whole point of stats is that they’re supposed to show what a player did, and numbers like RBI (and pitcher wins) have too much noise from the influence of other players,” Petriello said.

Mychael Urban, a baseball insider for CSNBayArea, disagrees with Petriello and believes that a run-producer is a valuable asset to any team.

“Anyone who ignored the importance of driving in runs is asinine,” Urban wrote on Twitter.

Both sides of the coin may have some merit.

Ken Rosenthal, Senior Baseball Writer for Fox Sports, suggests that an argument can be made for both sides, but other baseball statistics are better indicators of a hitter’s ability.

“There is a real difference of opinion on this (on RBIs measuring a player’s offensive worth),” Rosenthal wrote on Twitter. “I say yes, stat has some value, but OBP/SLG mean more.”

Rosenthal’s assessment seems to make the most sense. Although the RBI statistic does not paint a complete picture in determining a player’s offensive worth, it does have an important value.

It takes some sort of hitting talent to drive in runners, regardless of how often people are on base when a player comes up or the team on-base percentage. Anyone who watched the 2009 Giants could clearly see the importance of a consistent RBI-producer.

The 2009 Giants often stranded runners on third with less than two outs. They could not get any runners in, no matter who was on base or how often men were on base. The Giants routinely squandered these golden opportunities.

James Loney was good at getting those runners in. He was able to take advantage of those situational at-bats, even when an out would produce a run.

Unlike most of the 2009 Giants lineup, he had the concentration and hitting ability to get a good pitch to drive to the outfield with runners at third and less than two outs. He could get that RBI hit when it mattered. He could get that RBI ground out with the infield back.

Sometimes the little things—e.g., the manufactured RBI—are what win ball games.

They may not be impressive, but they are just as important. The Giants improved their situational hitting drastically in 2010 and look what happened—they won a championship.

Loney only had 10 home runs, but that does not mean he is a bad hitter. In order to get 88 RBI with such little power, he had to be a smart situational hitter, trading an out for a run if necessary. He had to hit doubles and get those base hits with runners in scoring position.

Loney is a gap-to-gap Mark Grace-type hitter. He was fifth in the National League in doubles, with 41, which might have been a contributing factor toward the solid RBI total.

Regardless of his little power at a power position, Loney demonstrated enough competence at the plate to deliver quality situational at-bats.

Take someone like the Dodgers’ new acquisition Eugenio Velez and ask him to do the same thing Loney did, given that he has the same chances with runners on base as Loney did. Would he be competent enough to reach 88 RBI?

He would chase too many pitches out of the strike zone and would either strike out or pop out. He just does not have the offensive ability to do what Loney does on a consistent basis.

Although driving in runs is just one dimension in assessing a hitter’s offensive ability, it is an important one that cannot be ignored. Of course, a player’s batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, home run total, .OPS, and sabermetric statistics should also be examined when assessing a player’s offensive ability.

Still, someone who can drive in runs, but lacks in other offensive categories, still brings something valuable to the table—he can bring in runs when the situation calls for it.

Every team needs someone like this to win, but to determine if someone is a great hitter requires looking at more of his numbers.

Time to get out that book on advanced statistics.

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