Hudson got hurt though, right? At least he plays the infield, Bellylard plays like Ted Williams is always at bat.

I love the way a lot of slop is thrown up against the wall and one has no choice but to infer causation. Fraternization. Second half "slump". It's all related. CLEARLY!

Fraternization among players before the game is pretty common now--or at least that's my impression. The "old school" approach is the exception in today's game. I think free agency, and the friendships which arose among former teammates, has something to do with the change in players' attitudes. I don't see why teams should hold that against Hudson when it's true of most players.

Know what the difference between hitting .270 and .297 for a half season is?

It's 7 hits. 7 hits in 250 at bats is 27 points, okay? There's 3 months in a half season, that's about 12 weeks.

That means if you get just one half of an extra flare a week - just one half - a half gorp... you get a half groundball, you get a half groundball with eyes... you get a half dying quail, just one more half dying quail a week... and you're in Joe Torre's good books.

The great philosopher-first baseman Lao Blue once said:

"he who talks to others may be powerful, but he who pounds Budweiser with his teammates is mightier still."

Would have worked better with "just one flare every other week".

I liked the sound of such ridiculousness as "a half gorp".

Maybe he did get an extra half-gorp every week, and otherwise would have hit .245.

Didn't Chad Curtis get angry with Jeter for fraternizing with players on the other team? When Joe Torre was their manager?

Fraternizing with the other team around the batting cage is VERY common these days. And you know who does it the most? The great clubhouse guys. Which should be obvious.

fraternize: "to associate cordially or intimately with natives of a conquered country, enemy troops, etc."

O-Dog, I have a suggestion, and I know this is hard for you. You're in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Don't tell and they won't ask. And if you can't manage that, come on home to the great white north.

Would have worked better with "just one flare every other week".

I like, "just one extra flare a fortnight..."

I read lots of posts like #4 here, and something about them doesn't sit right with me. Of course it is a valid and worthwhile point that the difference between a .270 and .300 batting average over even a season is a small number of hits.

However, the "1 blooper a week" thing is misleading. There is the point made in #8, for one. Also, most mlb hits are not bloopers or bleeders, and most bloopers do not fall in, so even over a half season it would be very lucky to get that 1 extra hit every week without actually playing better.

And in this case, the difference between first half results and second half results for Hudson was not just singles, it was also walks and power. So it starts to become: if 1 extra flyout instead clears the fence per week, and 1 extra popout becomes a walk per week...etc.

Total buzzkill, Nate.

Hell, GMs sometimes socialize with opponents before games as well. Didn't people get their panties in a bunch when Omar Minaya was conversing with Miggy Cabrera at the batting cage a few years ago?

George Brett's average actually went down when he used to get one flare-up per week. (better, Srul?)

Orlando hudsons one of my favorites in the game, for his free-spirited attitude. and I'd suggest he declines in the second-half cos he doesn't coast..plus he's getting older.
old school needs to retire already.

Well, that's the last time I try to use a tongue-in-cheek Bull Durham quote with the adults in the room.

FWIW, Hudson's BABIP was actually higher (.333) in the second half than in the first half (.325)

Robothal says the Twin's have intensified their pursuit of the fraternizer.

MLBTraderumors (etc) says a deal with the Twins is almost done. But so was Mauer's.

Nasty Nate doesn't believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last for 7 days.

I never get these.

Other than Pujols (who's a machine), every player's production bounces around if cut up month-by-month or half-by-half or April/Aug/Sept vs. May/June/July. It's just the nature of the game.

And Hudson? His first half OPS was 779; his second half OPS was a staggeringly horrible 767. His first half BA was 283; second half was 284. This is unheard of! His first half OBP was 353, second half was 363 -- unpossible!

Yes, you read those numbers right. Hudson had a great April, a good May, a horrible June and early July, a good late July and a solid Aug and Sept (227 BA but 354 OBP). Hudson was every bit as productive a hitter after the AS break as he had been before. The major negative is that he grounded into a TON of DPs in the 2nd half (12 in just 208 PA -- that's Riceian!) but even that still only put him right around his career average for the season.

Hudson put up his career average OPS and the (barely) best OPS+ of his career in the 2nd most PA of his career -- there's absolutely no way you can paint that as a disappointing offensive performance.

I'll go for this: Torre freaked out at Hudson's 227 Sept BA, didn't notice all the walks and made a dumb decision ... and one that will likely cost his team games in 2010 as they go into the season with Belliard, DeWitt and Carroll at 2B. (Not that Hudson was guaranteed to re-sign with the Dodgers anyway.)

Ronnie Belliard in Sept 2008: .351/.398/.636 in 83 PAs

FWIW, over his career, Hudson's BABIP in September is .287 which is noticeably the poorest of any of his months. It is probably random, but he has had a couple of leg injuries late in the year. By this theory, Chase Utley, whose BABIP over his career has fallen noticeably when August 1 arrives and remains lower throughout September, ought to be out of the league by now!

Wasn't the formation of the union the primary source of increased fraternization?

Twins set to announce they have signed Orlando Hudson to a one-year, $5 million deal.

From the Star Trib.