August 25, 2008
Players of the Week
Two White Sox hitters rose to the top of the American League last week. Alexei Ramirez drove in 11 runs, the most in the majors. His eight hits included a triple and three home runs. Nick Swisher led the AL with four home runs in four consecutive games. Unlike Ramirez, he also drew three walks, giving him a better OBA and slugging percentage. He also scored more runs. Grady Sizemore posted a pretty good week, helping Cleveland to extend their winning streak to seven. Seven of his ten RBI came in one game however. So for hitting all week, and doing more things well, Nick Swisher is the Baseball Musings AL Hitter of the Week.
In the National League, Albert Pujols made the choice easy. He posted the highest OBA and Slugging percentage in the majors. He did get a little competition from Mark DeRosa, who hit four home runs. Albert, however, used the week to catch up to Chipper Jones in the race for the NL batting title. Both players are now listed with a .359 BA, although Chipper's is a bit better out to four decimal places. With 11 hits, six for extra bases, four walks and only one strikeout, Albert Pujols wins the Baseball Musings NL Hitter of the Week.
On the pitching side, it's mighty tough to argue with Rich Harden. The recent addition to the Cubs rotation won two games in a powerful fashion. Harden struck out 21 batters in 14 innings without issuing a walk. He only allowed two hits in each of his seven inning performances, and the only run came on a solo homer. For devastating the opposition, Rich Harden wins the Baseball Musings NL Pitcher of the Week.
The pick for AL Pitcher of the Week proved more difficult. Kevin Slowey and Anthony Reyes posted the best ERAs among pitchers with 10 or more innings. Slowey, despite allowing 13 hits in 14 innings, showed the better control, striking out 17 and walking none. Reyes kept the ball in the park, while Kevin allowed two long balls.
Francisco Rodriguez picked up three more saves, bringing his season total to 50. He reached that plateau two weeks earlier than Bobby Thigpen in 1990, who recorded his 50th save Sept. 15th. (The season started a week later in 1990 due to the lockout.) Frankie did not have a perfect week, however, giving up a hit in each outing.
Taking everything into consideration, Kevin Slowey gets the nod. His great strikeout and walk numbers, combined with his low ERA makes him the Baseball Musings AL Pitcher of the Week.
Ramirez is a tough nut to crack. He's a middle infielder with average range and a strong arm with a .200 ISO and a .018 ISOD. Despite that his power and average make for an 825 OPS, which makes him one of the better hitting 2B in baseball.
He's 26 and playing his 1st year in MLB. He'll need to maintain that high average to be a useful player, but with 4-5 years left before he starts to lose bat speed and footspeed he should be alright for the rest of his 4 year deal with the White Sox.
I don't think he will ever learn to take a walk, but if he can improve his defense enough to take over at SS next year he'll be a great piece locked up for the White Sox for the next few years.
