When the team is winning...

[Hawaii007]

no one complains about the individual performances. This i am glad about since all that matters is how the team does.

But just to pre-empt any of those Anderson and Ricky bashers. Anderson is down below .200 on the BA. Also, Ricky is now at around .240.
This was after their fast starts, I hope that it is just a temporary slump. Ricky I am less concerned about since he is hitting well, but Brady seems to be really struggeling lately.

[The Genius]

Yeah, who can complain? This in unreal.
I have less loyalty to Brady than to any of the others. I hope he is one deleted when Cabrera comes back.

[Alex]

After the four game sweep against Minnesota, I noticed a bunch of batting averages in the low .200-250 range...how could that be, we had scored 31 runs in four games against Minnesota, yet several batting averages were plummeting.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Guys, guys, guys.

Brady's batting .190. But he has a .357 OBP.

Branyan's battng .200, with an OBP of .355.The TEAM OBP is nearly .100 points higher than the team BA -- thaht's why we're leading the majors in runs, which is the only offensive number that matters.

Brady is contributing to this team by getting on base and not making outs. THAT is the name of the game.

[supersleuth]

That OBP is why I'm not worried about Branyan- it shows he is making real progress with plate discipline. Turning that into a comfortably above-Mendoza BA and a bunch of HR is something that won't happen overnight, but it's the start of a process that should lead in that direction. Charlie just needs to be patient with him, as he has given every indication of doing.

And with Colon finally pitching like a veteran and Sabathia prematurely pitching like one, a healthy Finley, the raw talent of Baez and Drese overcoming their inexperience, and what sure looks like the best bullpen in baseball, we can ride out periods when the bats cool down (plus we seem to have guys that get on base even when they're not hitting much). Shapiro was right- this team appears to have unusually good balance. And it sure has pitching. I seem to recall a recent WS winner with two unhittable pitchers, one big bat and not a whole lot else...

[srg]

Brady is what, 0-his last 12? Pitchers are just blowing his doors off. It is quite clear he can't get around on any fastball. His days are numbered.

[Ytown Tribe fan]

Brady has more walks than hits. He has an OBP of .357. That is pretty good. He is a fine centerfielder.

What is your fascination with Batting average about?

The single greatest correlation between statistics in baseball history is the correlation between team OBP and team runs scored.

Forget BA. If he never gets another hit all year, Brady's OBP could still be good enough to make him an effective leadoff batter.

[Hawaii007]

Like I said in the first post, I am happy no one is bitching. I do find it funny how many runs we scored against the Twins when we had three people get O fers for a few of the games at a time. That is why I didn't include Branyan to the list is because I believe he has made a lot of improvement. I think a huge key is that when I watched a recent game, the two Ks I saw were looking and the pitches were perfect, inside corner right around the belt area, moving over the inside corner. Nothing he could have done about the pitch. And they were both on 3-2 counts. He has been showing discipline, and just like Thome, if he keeps his OBP up, I will be willing to take a few K's. Like I said, Ricky has been hitting the ball hard but nothing to show for it. Anderson worries me because he is not making really good contact, that is all.

[Alex]

OBP is a definite barometer, but keep in mind...most teams are within 10-20 points of each other...so one team may be at .360, another at .350, another at .340, that's not that great a difference.

I think we must have a phenomal BA with runners on base.

I mean, like an unreal average.