Batting average not an issue for Chicago Cubs' Maddon
LOS ANGELES - Proponents of advanced statistics say to ignore batting average, at least for the most part.
Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Sunday he's been doing that for decades. The Cubs as a team entered the day ranked 12th in the National League in batting average (.239). They were seventh in on-base percentage, and ninth in both slugging percentage and OPS.
"Even as a young hitting instructor, which I was in the late '80s, I'd walk into the different clubhouses," Maddon said. "I'd get the stat sheet, and I would cross out batting average, and I'd have them look at their walks, strikeouts, runs scored, RBIs and on-base percentage. I'd have them look at that and never look at (batting average).
"I didn't have all the intel we have right now. I didn't understand exactly where I was coming from, but I knew that. Yeah, it's about scoring more runs. Of course, normally when you get more hits, you probably are going to score more runs. That's normally part of the evening."
Is there any comparison?
Joe Maddon is in his third year of managing the Cubs. Earlier in his career, he was a coach with the Dodgers' neighbors, the Angels.
So does Dodgers-Angels have the same bite as Cubs vs. White Sox?
"Yes and no," he said. "Anaheim vs. L.A. Is two disparate points, whereas Chicago is Chicago. You have two teams in the same city, a longer fan base with the White Sox versus the Cubs. I think there's a little bit more at stake there, in a sense.
"Once the Angels won the World Series (2002), it got a little bit more involved here, I thought, although part of that was there was never interleague play (before 1997). You played them in the Freeway Series (before the regular season started).
"It was always kind of fun. I think once interleague play got going, it might have stirred it up a bit. But I think the Angels winning the World Series actually put them over top of the Dodgers for a bit. I don't know exactly where it's at right now.
"But two different worlds, this compared to Orange County, the type of following."
Zobrist hopeful of return:
Infielder-outfielder Ben Zobrist said he expects to be in Monday's starting lineup at San Diego after not starting Saturday or Sunday because of a sore left wrist.
"If he's good to go," Joe Maddon said. "I thought it was not wise to push him today based on everything he's been saying. I try to read him as well as I can. If you don't mess with him today, then we should have him for a while. So let's not mess with him."