Miguel Tejada- HOU- Cold- Since May 24th, Tejada has lost 38 points off his batting average and is now hitting an even .300 for the season. In that span he has gone 14-for-73 with 4 homers, 6 RBI and 10 runs scored in 18 games. Tejada seems to have developed an extreme allergy to bases on balls, as he has walked only three times while striking out 9 for an abysmal .25 Batting EYE. That is far off his career pace and will be worrisome if he doesn’t correct it soon.
Chipper Jones- ATL- Hot- Jones flirted with seeing his average drop below .400 as he was at that level after going hitless in his first 2 at bats last night and had dropped from .419 in an 0-for-12 stretch. He broke out of the slump by managing hits in his final 2 times to the plate, knocking in 2 runs and scoring once to bring his average back up to .403. His .388 BHIPx indicates he is not going to be replacing Ted Williams as the last batter to hit .400 over the course of a season, but it’s certainly fun while it lasts.
Jason Kendall- MIL- Hot- Kendall’s luck may be turning around. He had been battling a .201 BHIPx through last Thursday, a day when he went 2-for-5. Since then he has continued the hot streak and gone 4-for-11. Kendall’s Batting EYE is back this year, at 1.06, so a regression to the mean for his will be a positive thing. Combine that with his durability and his value will increase.
Braden Looper- STL- FYI- Keep a watch on Looper’s start tonight against KC. He credits a new, more deliberate, delivery for his success in shutting out the Reds in his last outing, in which he allowed only three hits and no walks. Looper’s walk totals have not been that bad over his career, but with a K ratio of about .5/IP he doesn’t have a lot of room for error in the control department. If he becomes almost Carlos Silva-like in stinginess in the bases on balls department, that, combined with an expected regression to the mean of his .300 BHIP%, could add up to an impressive second half.
Tim Lincecum- SF- Hot- Although he failed to record a quality start for the first time since his first outing of the year, Lincecum doesn’t have to hang his head about last night’s performance. If umpire Tom Hallion hadn’t blown a play at the plate, calling Ivan Rodriguez safe on a sac fly when Bengie Molina actually tagged him before he got to the plate, maybe Lincecum would have had that quality start after all. As it stood, he allowed 4 runs in 7 IP on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3. Lincecum has posted his dominating numbers this season despite suffering from the bad luck exhibited by a .300 BHIP%. He is not a “sell high” candidate.
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