Any Chance Chooch is Juicing?

[IBleedRed(duh)]

You're over-thinking it. How about we compare his stats to guys who were proven to have juiced? And let's track how THEIR stats peaked from one season to the next.

Or.

We could just ask him to make a muscle.

I love how anytime A-Team or another brings up sabermetrics, the small minded ones who can't handle more than AVG or HR or K say something like "you're over thinking it."

AKA "I can't handle all that."

[sexicano31]

Uh oh...small minded ones

*ducks and covers*

[Jbendz]

A-Team doesn't know anything about baseball. Don't listen to anything he says.

[maxpower]

I don't suppose you know much about baseball analytics?

If you do, you'll be familiar with BABIP (batting average on balls in play) which is considered a crude measure of "luck."

As you can imagine, anytime a ball is put in play, there is a chance it's fielded for an out of falls for a hit. There are times when a guy stings the ball and the shortstop makes a leaping catch. Anywhere else on the diamond and that ball is a hit.

Over the course of a season, a player can be lucky, unlucky, or neutral. A lucky hitter might get a number of seeing eye singles that should have been outs and/or some hits that happened to land right in front of an Adam Dunn quality defensive atrocity. An unlucky hitter is the opposite, perhaps they hit too many balls near Michael Bourn.

Lesson in luck aside, Chooch as a very high BABIP - .362. His BABIP should be around .315. Let's call that a 50 point difference which is the same as saying that 5% of his hits on balls in play should have been outs. That's roughly 5 hits to date which reduces his batting average down to .331.

There's more to it then that, but it's possible to deconstruct most of Chooch's season as a sabermetric anomaly. He's certainly been very good even when adjusted back to luck neutral, but it's not such a stark change.

Anyone who has been watchig the games thought, they'll tell you, Chooch is hitting the ball hard almost every AB, so those numbers should definately be high this year.

Chooch has said that after the year ended last season, Charlie told him to come back this year in great shape because we were going to need him, and Chooch said he listened to him and did things differently this offseason. He's even said it's the first time he hit the weights hard during an off season.

I'm with what a lot of people are saying, I think it must be hard to get away with taking any PEDs these days. Even most that are failing drug tests, it's because of suppliments that contain something illegal, not PEDs. Seems Manny is probably the only one that actually got caught with something PED like these days.

[sexicano31]

You are correct Max, he is hitting the ball hard. His LD% is 24% this year, and it had been rising from 2008 onward. Started at 16.8, then 18.7, 20.1, 21 and finally 24 this year

[maxpower]

You are correct Max, he is hitting the ball hard. His LD% is 24% this year, and it had been rising from 2008 onward. Started at 16.8, then 18.7, 20.1, 21 and finally 24 this year

I cried a little when I read those words from you! I'm going to print this post, frame it, and hang it in my house somewhere. I've also marked this day on my calendar.

[Fred]

^Perhaps Sexi was/is juicing and his emotions weren't under control?

[sexicano31]

Im just so excited to go see roger waters that I'm being super agreeable

[More-Than-Most]

Im just so excited to go see roger waters that I'm being super agreeable

Kendrick is great

[sexicano31]

No. Go die

[Fred]

Im just so excited to go see roger waters that I'm being super agreeable

he of the pink floyd fame or you have a buddy by that name?

saw floyd 4X in their prime...amazing each time

[sexicano31]

Pink Floyd sir. He's performing the Wall at CBP tonight. 2nd time I'll be seeing him

[Phillysports101]

The guy's batting average is up SEVENTY points in one year. A HUNDRED points since '09. Heck, he batted .219 in '08!

He's DOUBLED his HR output - in one half of a year - compared to last year's entire season. And in fact in his first 80 games he's knocked out the same number as he had in the two previous seasons COMBINED.

SNIFF SNIFF

Something's fishy.

Watch some of his ABs from year to year. This year, he has a short compact swing and is going with the pitch. In previously years he has had a longer swing and didn't make the same kind of consistent contact. He is really putting it all together with the bat this year.

[Fred]

Pink Floyd sir. He's performing the Wall at CBP tonight. 2nd time I'll be seeing him

You must already be there, but have a great time if you can see this. Their light shows were always phenomenal, especially since we (me and my friends) liked to use little "helpers" when listening to or going to see PF....

Run, run, run is one of my favorites but there are too many to list...

[RickyPrior]

aaaaaaaand another bomb for "el jugo".