Wednesday, August 29, 2007

A Man Alone


I must be insane. My relationship with J.D. Drew is very abusive one. I know i should leave, but I'm scared about my life after him. It was love at first sight when i say the Red Sox signed Drew. It was like i was living on cloud nine. "Wow, Drew!," i said, "he is the perfect replacement for Trot." How wrong i was. Drew has done nothing to warrant my excitement. He is hitting .259/.359/.39o, but the SABR stats are even more worrisome. It isn't just his hitting either. His defense has proven to be less than advertised. To show his fall, look at his current stats and last years.

2007
EqA - .255
EqR - 47
WARP3 - 3.1
OPS+ - 97
RC/27 - 4.9
Batting WS - 6.7
Fielding WS - 1.9
Rate2 - 91
FRAA - -8

2006
EqA - .299
EqR - 89
WARP3 - 8.5
OPS+ - 125
RC/27 - 7.6
Batting WS - 18.5
Fielding WS - 3.1
Rate2 - 112
FRAA - 12

At this point i should note that many people view last year as a down year for Drew. Every stat i just showed clearly explains why he is a disappointment. He hasn't improved anything. In many stats, he went from a good hitter to a below average hitter. I guess that begs the question, why has this happened? That is a lot more difficult to explain that one would think. When trying to explain this i looked at his rates and what i found was rather shocking. Besides the power rates, nothing makes sense.

2007
K% - 18.5%
BB% - 14.8
LD% - 17%
GB% - 48%
BABIP - .316
ISOP - .131

2006
K% - 17.8%
BB% - 15%
LD% - 18%
GB% - 47%
BABIP - .326
ISOP - .251

Yes, every rate is down. But none of those are noticeably down, besides ISOP. Changes like that can be attributed to many different things and the best argument would not be a decline in talent. So, we are right back to where we were before i showed the stats. What is the problem? He is hitting lefties extremely poorly this season, but it is not like he was ever Babe Ruth against them to beginning with. League change? Maybe, he hit his best during interleague play. There has to be something to the familiarity or hitters with pitchers. Family issues? Yes, his young child has been sick. I really can't speak to this one. He seems like the kind of guy that can play through something like this, but he isn't a robot. I'm sure it has effected him to some extent. The new home ballpark? I doubt it. He needs to learn how to hit to the opposite field and use the monster, that's why his BABIP is 50 points lower at home, but overall the numbers are pretty close.

I give up. I can't find any specific thing that is wrong with the guy. Clearly, he is not the same player. But to why? I can't answer. Your guess is as good as mine. What i can say for a fact is, he is as talented as anyone on this team. Will it ever manifest itself on the field? I really hope so. Many people don't like his attitude, but the guy is just odd. He doesn't show emotion, that doesn't mean he doesn't have them. From here on in, me and Drew are on a break. I hope we can rekindle our love sooner rather than later.

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