ESPN article on the impact of Robbie

[southsider2k5]

What," you are asking, "is the "Joe Hardy Syndrome?""

 

 

I would best describe it as a mythical circumstance in which the arrival of one single ballplayer on a team suddenly changes the rest of the roster into much better players. The name is taken from the lead character in "Damn Yankees." Hardy, an older man transformed into a superstar slugger by Old Scratch himself in exchange for his soul, shows up on the Washington Senators roster and almost immediately makes the rest of the team better.

 

Roberto Alomar

Second Base

Chicago White Sox 

Profile

 

 

2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM HR RBI R SB AVG

116 3 32 60 12 .261

 

 

If we are to believe the Chicago White Sox (who damned the Yankees themselves Tuesday night, 13-2), then Roberto Alomar has done this very thing for their ballclub. "He makes our team older, and I think we've gained some credibility," Chicago's Paul Konerko told Dave Caldwell of the New York Times. "Thinking back to the point when we got him and Carl Everett, from that point on we've been playing good, solid baseball. You definitely have to say that's because those guys showed up on the scene."

 

Said his brother Sandy, the catcher, "He has really changed this team dramatically," the 37-year-old Sandy said. "Not only fundamentally, but defensively. He has changed the style of play. We were more of a team that wanted to bang the ball around - and we weren't banging the ball. It's not just batting average and runs batted in that win games."

 

How true. It's slugging average and on base percentage and Sandy's brother has not been very forthcoming with either of those things. Therein lies the main difference between Alomar and Joe Hardy. While Hardy was an offensive monster, Alomar is actually playing worse for the White Sox than he was for the Mets -- and what he was doing for the Mets was way below his previous career numbers. Caldwell is quick to point out that Alomar has not been hitting all that well.

 

In fact, dare I say it, he has actually been less productive than the man he replaced -- D'Angelo Jimenez.

 

On Base Percentage: Alomar, .340 to .332

Slugging Average: Jimenez, .410 to .313

OPS: Jimenez, .742 to .654

 

To this point with the Sox, Alomar has left his power stroke behind him. On the defensive side of things, Alomar has a slightly better fielding average but his Zone Rating and Range Factors are not quite as good. I would not go so far as to say Jimenez played second base better than Alomar, but Alomar has not been demonstrably all that much better.

 

While everyone is quick to point out that the White Sox record is better with Alomar than it was before he got there, the other side of the coin is that the Mets were playing .432 ball before he left and have gone .469 since he left. Is his departure the reason for the improvement? Of course not -- just like his arrival isn't the reason the White Sox have gotten better. What has happened is this: the team's slumbering giants have woken up. Many people picked Chicago to win its division this year. This was a prediction based on the personnel on hand before the season started. Unfortunately for the White Sox and their fans, their best hitters came out of the gate slowly and the team could not get untracked. Let's look at the four players who homered off of Roger Clemens in last night's big win:

 

Paul Konerko: Through June, Konerko was bad. Then, he got even worse. He perked up in July, however, playing like the Konerko of old. There has been some backsliding in August.

 

Magglio Ordonez: Decent numbers before July 1 but still below what he had done the previous three seasons. Exploded with a huge July while falling back somewhat in August.

 

Joe Crede: Was miserable through June, failing to live up to the promise shown in his rookie year. Improved somewhat in July and is having an outstanding August.

 

Frank Thomas: Thomas has been fairly consistent all year.

 

Now, one can choose to believe that Alomar's arrival sparked something in these men that made them play better or one can choose to believe that, as athletes in their primes, they are bound to move toward their career expectations eventually. For their part, the White Sox seem to have bought into the concept that having Alomar on the field with them makes them a better team.

 

If that's what works for them, then so be it. It certainly worked for the fictitious Senators.

[upnorthsox]

And who wrote that?

[southsider2k5]

And who wrote that?

The guys name is Jim Baker. I have never heard of the guy personally