GREEDY Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 QUOTE (ptatc @ Feb 20, 2009 -> 08:51 AM) Players play to their strengths. with his swing if he tried to "go the other way he would just hit lazy fly balls to the outfield." I guess players like Ted Williams have no class as well. There is a big difference between "pure class" and "no class". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Hibbard Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I did a little more digging because I was not too familiar with his career numbers and I was really pleasantly surprised. I think what we can all agree on: Despite Thome's sluggishness and age, his OBP (arguably the most important indicator of consistent offensive performance) obviously puts him in an elite class. He was #25 in the AL and #55 overall in 2008. Now, check this out....for being #25 in the AL and #55 overall...very good numbers...he also had his worst season with 200 ABs or more batting average wise EVER at .244. It's not even close - his closest qualifying batting average is like .266. His OPS was more than 100 points off of his career average. Is it likely that he had that precipitous of a decline overnight because of age? I doubt it. His fundamentals have not changed much and neither has his approach. He does not look to have lost that much. If Thome puts up a number even 15 points lower than his career batting average and 20 points lower than his career OPS, you'll be dancing on the f***ing ceiling with that production. It would translate to .264/.386/.540/.920 with about 30 homers and 90 RBI, and it's not only realistic, it would be among the best for DH's. IF HE STAYS HEALTHY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Chappas Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 QUOTE (SouthsideDon48 @ Feb 19, 2009 -> 05:21 PM) I'm not going to get into every single player, but here's how I think the 5 most recent American League champions' DH players' value are compared to Thome: Thome Thome Thome Thome = David Ortiz (Both useless, neither can play on the field anymore) Thome Am I reading correctly that both Jim Thome and David Ortiz are not as valuable in your mind than Marcus Thames. Ortiz and Thome could play first if they had but they don't have to so they do not play there. If Carlos Delgado can play first so could Ortiz and Thome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 QUOTE (Jenks Heat @ Feb 20, 2009 -> 12:13 PM) Am I reading correctly that both Jim Thome and David Ortiz are not as valuable in your mind than Marcus Thames. Ortiz and Thome could play first if they had but they don't have to so they do not play there. If Carlos Delgado can play first so could Ortiz and Thome. Thome, not too many years ago, was actually considered a pretty good defensive 1B. I'm sure if he had to play there in a pinch, he'd find a way to not be completely awful. But with his back issues and not having played there more than a few games in recent years, I think that is a last ditch option only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostfan Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I want to kill myself after reading this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxpranos Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Must be slow time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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