Which would you rather have:

Lonnie Smith - 8 hr, .307 avr .350 obp, bb 64 so 74 speed 90

Litwhiler - 18 hr, .305 av, .352 obp, bb 39, so 43, speed 66

Litwhiler is a A- range while smith is a c- range.

Fast Ozzie Smith is leading off. My concern is the DP. Any thoughts?

I'd say it's a tossup. Litwhiler is slow and Ks less, so he will hit into significantly more DPs. On the other hand the lower K rate also means he'll do a better job of moving Smith over. It seems odd to me that Litwhiler has a lower average and less walks but somehow a higher OBP. If the season lengths are somehow significantly different then maybe that K difference isn't what I thought it was. And the HR difference significantly bigger. How many doubles do each of them hit?

Isn't that Lonnie Smith the '82 iteration? If so, his speed is 95 and his OBP is .381. I would consider batting him second (heck, even first and dropping Ozzie to second in the order, if it's one of the fast Ozzies - one of the 4 with an 87 speed rating, all of his contact ratings are over 90% & he'll keep out of the DP). Lonnie has a good .341 Hit Rate and a decent .875 contact rate. Lonnie stole a lot of bases that year at a 72% success rate.

Litwhiler will hit into a lot more DPs and should probably be a 5 or 6 spot hitter.

You are right it is the '82 Lonnie smith and his speed is 95. He hit 35 doubles as opposed to Litwhiler 29.

I have not made a final decision on the park, but leaning towrds Oriole Park +1/+1 hr 0 -2 -3.

I tried a new tactic to building a team this time. I went through the batting order and tried to find the perfect leadoff guy for x amount of money, the ideal 2nd hole guy all the way through the lineup till I reached the 8 hole (which is always occupied by Matt Walbeck.)

I had settled on Litwhiler, but had an extra $2000 over and hit the 'cash ' button and out popped Lonnie Smith.

You fellas know what happens then - I am lying awake trying to go to sleep and you get to thinking..."humm Smith won't hit into as many double plays..."

so you're saying it's either Smith or Litwhiler? Smith is the better value and I don't think it's even close.

skates

Quote: Originally Posted By dahsdebater on 4/02/2010
so he will hit into significantly more DPs. On the other hand the lower K rate also means he'll do a better job of moving Smith over.

thats a contradiction. low k rate means he will hit into more double plays. it isn't a plus, although it isn't much of a negative either.

Quote: Originally Posted By boogerlips on 4/03/2010

Quote: Originally Posted By dahsdebater on 4/02/2010
so he will hit into significantly more DPs. On the other hand the lower K rate also means he'll do a better job of moving Smith over.

thats a contradiction. low k rate means he will hit into more double plays. it isn't a plus, although it isn't much of a negative either

Boog, I don't think that is a contradiction. Lower K rates lead both to advancing more runners and more double plays. Putting the ball in-play is a bit of a double-edged sword in that regard.

Quote: Originally Posted By truemen on 4/02/2010
You are right it is the '82 Lonnie smith and his speed is 95. He hit 35 doubles as opposed to Litwhiler 29.

I have not made a final decision on the park, but leaning towrds Oriole Park +1/+1 hr 0 -2 -3.

I tried a new tactic to building a team this time. I went through the batting order and tried to find the perfect leadoff guy for x amount of money, the ideal 2nd hole guy all the way through the lineup till I reached the 8 hole (which is always occupied by Matt Walbeck.)

I had settled on Litwhiler, but had an extra $2000 over and hit the 'cash ' button and out popped Lonnie Smith.

You fellas know what happens then - I am lying awake trying to go to sleep and you get to thinking..."humm Smith won't hit into as many double plays..."

You need to get a girlfriend

Quote: Originally Posted By micki on 4/03/2010

Quote: Originally Posted By truemen on 4/02/2010

You are right it is the '82 Lonnie smith and his speed is 95. He hit 35 doubles as opposed to Litwhiler 29.

I have not made a final decision on the park, but leaning towrds Oriole Park +1/+1 hr 0 -2 -3.

I tried a new tactic to building a team this time. I went through the batting order and tried to find the perfect leadoff guy for x amount of money, the ideal 2nd hole guy all the way through the lineup till I reached the 8 hole (which is always occupied by Matt Walbeck.)

I had settled on Litwhiler, but had an extra $2000 over and hit the 'cash ' button and out popped Lonnie Smith.

You fellas know what happens then - I am lying awake trying to go to sleep and you get to thinking..."humm Smith won't hit into as many double plays..."

You need to get a girlfriend

Micki must be looking for a boyfriend...

To answer your question though true, I agree with the concensus...Lonnie is the obvious choice...

Quote: Originally Posted By zubinsum on 4/03/2010

Quote: Originally Posted By boogerlips on 4/03/2010

Quote: Originally Posted By dahsdebater on 4/02/2010
so he will hit into significantly more DPs. On the other hand the lower K rate also means he'll do a better job of moving Smith over.

thats a contradiction. low k rate means he will hit into more double plays. it isn't a plus, although it isn't much of a negative either.

Boog, I don't think that is a contradiction. Lower K rates lead both to advancing more runners and more double plays. Putting the ball in-play is a bit of a double-edged sword in that regard.

When you say that its a bad thing to hit into more double plays, but then say its a plus for said player to put the ball into play and hit into more double plays, you're contradicting yourself.
The rest of that stuff you wrote is the same thing I was saying. Double plays and scoring more runs via advancing the runner cancel each other out surprisingly closely. The ratio ought to favor DP's for a slower runner and favor advancement for a faster runner, but not enough to bother paying attn to contact rate imo.