i like the ortiz. don’t to retardo. more ortiz please!

that whole cowboy up thing is only tolerable until the “you gotta climb that mountain to the top” country music starts playing. cheesus.

Yeah I know, the first song sucks. The rest is good though. My other complaint is I would have turned the music down so you can hear some more of the calls. But other than that, the guy strung together a whole damn video of Ortiz walk-offs. And that is something I cannot nitpick.

Sorry, but I had to leave it muted. Just cause I now live in Texas by no means does that give anyone the right to force me to listen to that format. The wonderful creators of video application created the mute button for a REASON! But not that withstanding, Big Poppy kicks ass. Although I’m more of a Manny fan, I’d love to see him that Barry’s place in SF when he retires. Like my good friend Mikey says, we can replace one aloof left fielder for another…works for me…

Mighty fine man-crush you’ve got there, Brad.

Mighty fine man-crush you’ve got there, Brad.

I admit it. It’s still less lame than the Poor Man’s crush on Wesley Clark.

Make Ortiz play the field. He ain’t a reall ballplayer until he does.

Incidentally, only blogofascists and their terrorist enabling brethren at the New york Times follow the Pinko-Commie Sox. It’s a fact, look it up.

It’ll always be Billy Mumy for me.

Will Robinson’s Axiom: The adults have no idea how this shit works.

What Brian said. Bring Manny to the Giants!! I like everything he does, including disappearing for an inning because, well, because. I’m tellin ya, that dood does NOT belong in Boston, for that matter, he’s a national leaguer by style. I’m all over that…

Mighty fine man-crush you’ve got there, Brad.

I admit it. It’s still less lame than the Poor Man’s crush on Wesley Clark.

Can’t hold a candle to the man-crush I’ve got on Cap’n Jack Sparrow….

mikey

I admit it. It’s still less lame than the Poor Man’s crush on Wesley Clark.

True. I saw him writing “Mrs. Gen. Wesley Clark” over and over again on his Trapper Keeper in study hall.

Plus Manny is a lot better looking than Poppy, jast sayin…but nun of them hold a candle to Mikey’s crush Capn’ Jack Sparrow…can’t blame him though…

OK, there are a bazillion baseball stats fanatics out there. Has anybody compiled a “clutch hit/RBI/HR percentage”? I’d be curious about who tops that list, season by season and overall.

Dan- the general consensus is there’s no such thing as “clutch hitting.” Here are Papi’s numbers in late innings of close games this year- he’s only slugging a pedestrian .455.

Ortiz isn’t a good clutch hitter, he’s just a good hitter. For some fluky reason, a lot of his hits come in situations where he can win ballgames. But many more times, he DOESN’T deliver in the clutch, just like everybody else.

Thanks Brad! We enjoyed meeting you and your lovely friend. UC was pleased to talk sports with you because AG is of no use when it comes to Boston teams (or about Sci fi or horror movies for that matter)!

I find it hard to believe that in a world of statsmania where people are willing to tease out stats about on-base percentage versus left-handed pitchers in night games after the All-Star break, nobody finds it interesting to know how often a guy gets a hit to win in the final inning of a game when his team is down or tied. That “Late Innings of Close Games” chart probably comes pretty close to the mark, and I think it’s interesting to note that Manny Ramirez has a higher percentage (and higher slugging pct) than Big Papi in those conditions.

Grrrrrr. The Twins had him and fucked up his game. It makes me sick every time I see something like this. Oh, well, we wouldn’t be able to afford him any more anyways. It looks like they may have learned their lesson. They’re letting Justin Morneau swing for the fences rather than move hitters over.

Bill James wrote in the Baseball Research Journal (vol. 33, 2003) that clutch hitting basically doesn’t exist. There’s really no way to quantify what is a “clutch” situation. You just remember the times a batter comes through and forget when he strikes out. It’s like Brad says: Ortiz is just a really good hitter. How long has been in Boston now, 3 and half years? I say we stop all this talk about Yaz and Fisk and Williams. It’s funny to think that they got Ortiz in case Jeremy Giambi didn’t work out. Good thing we got the wrong brother that time.

the general consensus is there’s no such thing as “clutch hitting.�

Except for Reggie Jackson. I am pretty sure he only hit in clutch situations. Man I hated that guy.

Except for Reggie Jackson. I am pretty sure he only hit in clutch situations. Man I hated that guy.

Yeah, but remember when Ricardo Montelban tried to get him to kill the queen? Pfft. He sure choked on that one.

Good point. Hadn’t taken that into consideration.

Well, the whole designation of “clutch” v.s. “not clutch” is arbritary and really silly. A-Rod gets tagged as “not clutch” all the time, but if you ask me, he helps the Yankees win more games than Jeter does (and Jeter is an excellent, first ballot HOF player, btw, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that players like A-Rod come around once every 20 years or so). Manny doesn’t have the “clutch” reputation that Papi does, and yet as Dan noted, his OPS in close/late situations is actually better this year.

Another thing to consider- what is a “clutch” RBI? Let’s say you’re A-Rod and you’re facing Johann Santana, with Mike Mussina going for your team. And let’s say you homer off Santana in the first, and that’s the only run he gives up all day. And then let’s say Mussina pitches eight shutout innings before handing it off to Mo for the save. Is A-Rod’s homer less “clutch” just because it came in the first inning? Hell no- it’s the fucking difference in the game.

Now all that said, Ortiz’s ability to get hits AT THE EXACT RIGHT TIME is certainly uncanny. It’s the closest thing to a clutch performance I’ve seen yet, but when you look at the overall numbers during the season, they don’t pan out.

I think one of the arguments against clutch hitting “skill” is that it doesn’t follow through the years- Ortiz may hit .455 in clutch situations this year, but .235 next year. And .493 the next. If it was a skill, it would follow a progression.

He’s a “clutch hitter” because he finds himself up with runners on more than most. In other words, the hitters before him make him a clutch hitter.

Let’s not forget that Manny bats behind Ortiz, meaning he’s going to see more pitches over the plate.

He’s a “clutch hitter� because he finds himself up with runners on more than most. In other words, the hitters before him make him a clutch hitter.

Also, a lot of Ortiz’s clutch hits are the result of poor bullpen pitching. If you had a bullpen that didn’t blow leads like the Sox did last year (and to a much less extent this year- I’m looking at you, Julian Tavarez and Rudy Seanez), he wouldn’t be in those situations.

Let’s not forget that Manny bats behind Ortiz, meaning he’s going to see more pitches over the plate.

Another excellent point. I can’t believe Theo almost traded him last summer for Mike Cameron and Aubrey Huff.

Aubrey Huff? I hate THAT guy.

[…] Needless to say, it was the greatest non-David-Ortiz-related moment of my life. […]

[…] And yes, Otto Man, my man-crush just got stronger. Sorry, Coach Dave, but you’ve been knocked down to #2. […]

[…] And so on. A politician’s ability to make my “eyes swell with tears” and my “heart beat with patriotism” is very low on that list. Lewis’ desire to feel emotionally connected to the people he votes for is really kinda sad. The way Lewis talks about his dream politician is the same way I used to talk about Wade Boggs when I was 8 years old (or hell, how I talked about David Ortiz last year). That’s not a good thing. […]