I seem to remember some guy named Weaver who used to speak fondly of the 3 run HR. Was he on steroids? I forget.

Putting A-Rod and Reyes on the list is a desperate cry for attention. But I do like Paul O'Neill manning RF...

Year SD WINPCT NL HR/AB
2006 .546 33.1
2007 .391 33.8

Yes, Scott, the Padres lost 150 points of winning percentage because they can't cope with that additional 0.7 at-bats it takes to hit a homer in the NL.

And being 12th in homers and 15th in on-base percentage certainly suggests that the Padres are over-obsessed with these things.

Next up, the in-depth examination as to how the Rangers are not in 1st place because they're too obsessed with pitching.

I also like how Jose Reyes's performance has been "respectable." He's been no worse than the second-best SS in baseball this season and one of the reasons the Mets are still within striking distance of the division. At this point in their respective careers, Derek Jeter can only wish he contributed as much to his team as Reyes does.

Poster Boy for the bullheaded philosophies of Padres president Sandy Alderson, assistant Paul DePodesta and others in the executive offices who have made a shambles of this one-time NL West contender.

There's a name missing from this management triumvirate. I can't quite recall it. Boothe Powers? Whiskey Sours? Something like that.

Francoeur earned his place on this squad but for Paul O'Neil you've got to take a step back...

I suppose the Padres are trying their darndest to win the Strasburg sweepstakes...at this rate, those three games at Nats Park the next-to-last weekend of the season may be MLB's equivalent of giveaway checkers.

"There's a name missing from this management triumvirate. I can't quite recall it. Boothe Powers? Whiskey Sours? Something like that."

Noted historian John Dower?

This is a terrible article, but this Miller guy is really gonna have to work on his poor writing if he wants to compete with the likes of Mariotti and Plaschke.

Looks to me like McAnulty's performance is very much in line with his minor league numbers. He was great in '05 and '06, but the power (and with it, the average) has evaporated since then.

Where is Matt Kemp? The Dodgers are not scoring runs solely because Matt Kemp is the worst guy in MLB.

Third base: Alex Rodriguez, Yankees.

He's in line for a lifetime contract as an Anti All-Star after his incredibly selfish -- and not forgotten -- act of opting out of his Yankees contract during the Red Sox's World Series-clinching victory last fall. He might be starting the real All-Star Game, but after essentially putting out a signal that he thinks he is bigger than the game by the arrogant and stupid timing of the opt-out move, there's no question he very much retains many Anti All-Star qualities.

First he stole the thunder from the World Series, now he's grabbing the spotlight at the All-Star Game with Madonna. Can't wait to see what he pulls for next spring's World Baseball Classic.


I'm not usually one to pile on horrible sportswriting, but good god, people really get paid to come up with this kind of nonsense?

Miller's a moron, he forgot one OBVIOUS choice

Tony Pena, Jr., Shortstop, KC Royals: .155/.176/.204, 189 PA, An OPS+ of 1

Not 10, but ONE.

Pena Jr had 81 PA in April (.156/.175/.208), 79 PA in May (.156/.177/.182), but only 17 PA in June and 12 PA in July. Proving that Trey Hillman is smarter than a mop.

Mike Aviles took TPJ's job. But seriously. Tony Pena Sr. probably stood a decent shot of outhitting TPJ this year.

I'm not usually one to pile on horrible sportswriting, but good god, people really get paid to come up with this kind of nonsense?

Even more, no matter how much the media piles on and tells fans to hate A-Rod, he still is one of the most popular players in all of baseball. This is the second or third year in a row that A-Rod's been the MLB leader in votes.

CHB was on PTI yesterday saying that A-Rod loves all this negative press. How else do you explain him going out of his way to get all this negative press? I thought LeBetard was going to hit him after that.

First he stole the thunder from the World Series, now he's grabbing the spotlight at the All-Star Game with Madonna. Can't wait to see what he pulls for next spring's World Baseball Classic.

A-Rod will personally invade Iran next spring to distract people from the WBC. Duh.

Not 10, but ONE.

Oh, he got into positives? Last time I checked his OPS+ was negative.

Pena's OPS+ was close to 10 around the time he hit that home run (idk if a microburst occured in Baltimore that allowed for Pena to hit one off of Garrett Olson), but it dropped back to 1 after a few more hitless games.

TPJ has started in 53 games, and got a hit in only 25 games.

TPJ's OPS+ is around the worst for someone with his amount of playing time since the Deadball era.

There are some long-standing Kansas City traditions to uphold here. Anyone remember Buddy Biancalana (and the mileage David Letterman got out of him)? Argenis Salazar?

Worst OPS+'s for a player with 189 PAs

1. Ed Morris, 193 PA, -20 OPS+, 1888 Pittsburgh, .101/.119/.122
2. Gus Weyhing, 206 PA, -18 OPS+, 1891 Philadelphia (AA), .111/.146/.146
3. Mark Baldwin, 191 PA, -12 OPS+, 1892 Pittsburgh, .101/.162/.129
4. Frank O'Rourke, 216 PA, -11 OPS+, 1912 Boston (NL), .122/.177/.148
5. Gus Weyhing, 201 PA, -9 OPS+, 1889 Philadelphia (AA), .131/.174/.141
6. Bill Bergen, 250 PA, -4 OPS+, 1911 Brooklyn, .132/.183/.154
7. Morgan Murphy, 218 PA, 0 OPS+, 1897 St. Louis, .169/.196/.179
8. Bill Bergen, 372 PA, 1 OPS+, 1909 Brooklyn, .139/.163/.156
9. Tony Pena Jr, 189 PA, 1 OPS+, 2008 Kansas City, .155/.176/.204

Only 18 players with over 189 PAs have had an OPS+ at 10 or lower.

But the season's not over. Who knows - he might go on a hot streak and get up to the neighborhood of Salazar's 1987 (OPS+ 23).

The worst thing you could probably say about Reyes is that he isn't as good as Hanley Ramirez.

now he's grabbing the spotlight at the All-Star Game with Madonna.

I'll watch if Madonna pitches and ARod catches.

I don't think Tony F. Pena will get enough playing time to get his OPS+ that high.

After all, Mike Aviles took TPJ's job.

Since PlayIndex is free until the 19th, I can tell you that Aviles is having the 20th best rookie season for a 27 year old in history. (Although idk if any technical 27 year old rookies had better years if they played before their 27th year)

-
Is that a young ARod at the 3:52 mark?

If one of Rodriguez's friends doesn't pitch any better than one of Jeter's friends, it's probably not worth it.

Only 18 players with over 189 PAs have had an OPS+ at 10 or lower.

Man, Bill Bergan was terrible...
Non-pitchers career OPS+ 2000+ PAs:
Cnt Player OPS+ PA From To Ages
+----+-----------------+----+-----+----+----+-----+
1 Bill Bergen 21 3228 1901 1911 23-33
2 Warren Spahn 43 2055 1942 1965 21-44
3 Rafael Belliard 46 2524 1982 1998 20-36
4 Skeeter Webb 46 2453 1932 1948 22-38
5 Hal Lanier 49 3940 1964 1973 21-30
6 Mike Ryan 51 2098 1964 1974 22-32
7 Tommy Thevenow 51 4484 1924 1938 20-34
8 Billy Hunter 53 2052 1953 1958 25-30
9 Matt Walbeck 54 2280 1993 2003 23-33
10 Bobby Wine 55 3467 1960 1972 21-33

What's unique about TPJ is his age- he's in his prime- here are the worst performers, ages 26-28:
Cnt Player OPS+ PA Year Age Tm
+----+-----------------+----+---+----+---+---+
1 Tony Pena 1 189 2008 27 KCR
2 Alex McCarthy 13 189 1914 26 PIT
3 Bill Bergen 16 372 1906 28 BRO
4 Donnie Sadler 18 211 2001 26 TOT
5 Harvey McClellan 19 215 1921 26 CHW
6 Bert Adams 21 247 1918 27 PHI
7 Harry Smith 21 234 1903 28 PIT
8 Al Lakeman 22 191 1947 28 TOT
9 Huck Geary 22 185 1943 26 PIT
10 Doc Farrell 22 200 1929 27 TOT

TPJ's career minor league line is .252/.282/.332 what does that work out to? an MLE of .220/.250/.290???? True talent 40 OPS+???

Did KC have any idea that TPJ was hitting over his head last year? (.267/.284/.356)

How the hell can you have an OPS+ of one?

Wonder if his dad encouraged or discouraged him from pursing pro ball.

Tony Pena Jr just didn't listen when his dad was encouraging him to become a pitcher. (TPJ was stuck catching the honorary first pitch at one of the games I went to, along with Esteban German)

In 2007, TPJ had a 101 OPS+ in KC and a 36 OPS+ on the road. This year, it's a 12 OPS+ at home and a -3 OPS+ on the road.

Non-pitchers career OPS+ 2000+ PAs:
...
2 Warren Spahn 43 2055 1942 1965 21-44

?

Non-pitchers career OPS+ 2000+ PAs:
...
2 Warren Spahn 43 2055 1942 1965 21-44

?

BBREF PI kicked him out there.... must be a glitch, never played so much as one game at another spot

By the difference in games between Spahn's pitching and hitting stats, it looks like he may have pinch-hit 30+ times in his career. If that's right, maybe that's why he's on the list.

He's in line for a lifetime contract as an Anti All-Star after his incredibly selfish -- and not forgotten -- act of opting out of his Yankees contract during the Red Sox's World Series-clinching victory last fall. He might be starting the real All-Star Game, but after essentially putting out a signal that he thinks he is bigger than the game by the arrogant and stupid timing of the opt-out move, there's no question he very much retains many Anti All-Star qualities.

First he stole the thunder from the World Series, now he's grabbing the spotlight at the All-Star Game with Madonna. Can't wait to see what he pulls for next spring's World Baseball Classic.

Is this writer a real person, or the villain of an Ayn Rand novel?

Only 18 players with over 189 PAs have had an OPS+ at 10 or lower.

And only 25 have had an OPS+ of 26 or lower in that many PAs. And who is one of the 25? Why, Tony Pena Sr. of course!