When I look at the A's offense, I don't understand how it's generating all those numbers with the personnel available. The only proven RBI guy is Eric Chavez (17 HRs, 60 RBI), but the A's are scoring runs. It's a perfect example of the whole being better than the parts.
>> Come on. It's almost like he reads the site every day and wants to provide us with more content.
Let's take the second sentence. RBI are a miserable stat when it comes to reliably predicting a hitter's actual production. Joe Morgan doesn't understand that, of course. We've gone over this. The thing is, Joe reaches the right conclusion (sort of) with the wrong info. Chavez is actually the only Athletic to have proven himself to be a great hitter before this season (please spare me any Erubiel Durazo mail). And it actually is surprising that this Oakland offense, which looks terrible on paper, is generating a decent amount of runs.
Which brings us to the third sentence:
It's a perfect example of the whole being better than the parts.
NO, IT IS NOT. The "whole" of a baseball offense is essentially the number of runs it scores. The parts are the hitters who produce the runs. The whole cannot in any way be better than the parts. Ever. There aren't any additional runs added in for hustle or teamwork or spirit. It's just hitting, hitting and more hitting.
There are so many interesting ways to think about and analyze what the A's hitters are actually doing without blithely waving them off as "gelling" or whatever that nonsense sentence even implies. Why are they scoring runs with only one great hitter in the lineup? Are they getting on base more? Is it baserunning? Is it bunting or not bunting, sacrificing or not sacrificing? Is there something interesting going on in the batting order? Are guys just on hot streaks in the last month? Is the predominantly young lineup adjusting to major league pitching and coming into its own?
One thing's for certain: Joe Morgan will never, ever help us answer questions like these. In a column presumably intended to inform and educate his audience he outright says, "I don't understand how [the A's offense] is generating all those numbers."
And that's that.
Labels: a's, joe morgan
