Banterites continue to marvel/giggle from afar at the plight of Big Papi, who has continued his slide from feared slugger to possibly benched DH by K’ing 12 times in his first 25 plate appearances (23 ABs) this season.
It brings to mind the Yanks’ history of famed, and in some case surprising, whiffers.
Mike Pagliraulo, who struck out once every 5.5 plate appearances in his career, holds the franchise record for most consecutive game starts from the beginning of the season with at least one K, with 9 in 1988. Ortiz’s worst such streak was the first four games of 1999, when he was still with the Twins.
None other than Alex Rodriguez has the team record for most consecutive starts with at least one strikeout, with 15 in July/August of 2005. Despite this, A-Rod DID hit .276/.377/.603 during the streak, with 6 homers and 12 ribbies. Ortiz compiled a ten-game streak during 2006. If you are wondering, Mickey Mantle’s longest such streak was 11 in 1952. Reggie Jackson had a 17-game streak in ’82, but he was already with the Angels by then.
Big Papi has K’ed at least twice in his last five starts. Six different Yankees have compiled streaks of five straight two-K starts, most recently Tony Clark in 2004.
Ortiz’s high-water mark in terms of season’s strikeouts was last year’s 134, when he put up a line of .238/.332/.462. He also struck out 133 times in 2004, but that year he hit .301/.380/.603. Alfonso Soriano holds the Yankee season strikeout record with 157 in 2002.
I picked him up late in our fantasy draft this year, so I like to think that as long as I give him a roster spot, I can ensurehe'll be terrible. I'll stick it out for 162 if he keeps up his end of the bargain.
Whatevah. It seems like the moment Manny left town, Papi ceased to be a fear factor. The other part of that is how he's responded to it, which has been, um, rather verbal...
I was fascinated by Francona using him against lefties this year rather than Lowell. When your players' egos are so fragile that you have to play them even when it is obviously not the best move for your ballclub, you're in trouble. It will be interesting to see how long Big Juicy lasts this year. We should get a pool going.
Lowell is starting at DH today against Liraiano, FWIW.
[4] too bad (though good for lowell). one of the best things for the yanks is the high number of abs boston is giving papi and tampa burell,
[5] Definitely.
Other than winning the first two series, the highpoint of the season for me has been listening to Sox fans council patience with Ortiz. It gives me shivers of delight to imagine him occupying the DH through the all star break despite a .400 OPS+. I've been imagining what sorts of lows he could reach by occasionally giving signs of recovery.
If he gets two hits every 7th game, would that keep him in the lineup? Maybe he just needs to show a little more tenaciousness, grit, and hustle? Perhaps if he loses a little weight, there'll be enough hope to get him through May. Whatever it takes, I hope the faithful stay faithful to their number five spot anchor all the way to bottom of the sea.
The guy has certainly taken a big poopi all over his career.