... after Sunday's plunk-fest, Shin-Soo Choo's sitting on a .523 on-base percentage. This is notable for two reasons: a .523 on-base percentage is amazing, and last year the Cincinnati Reds' leadoff men were horrible.
Actually, is there something worse than horrible? Last year, Cincinnati's leadoff men -- and at this point, there's little reason to shame anyone [but] Zack Cozart and also a little bit of Brandon Phillips and Drew Stubbs -- combined for a .254 on-base percentage. How worse than horrible was that? The next most horrible leadoff men, the Dodgers' leadoff men, were 27 points of on-base percentage better.
The bad news is that Zack Cozart's still in the lineup, and still can't get on base at all. Worse, Dusty Baker has insisted on batting Cozart second in the lineup for more than a week now because ... well, probably because he's a middle infielder without any power and that's what managers do with guys like that. You [know], because of tradition and stuff.
The good news is that Shin-Soo Choo has not only boosted the Reds at the top of the order; he's also reached base far more often than Drew Stubbs did last year, and it's really Stubbs who Choo is replacing, both in center field and also as The Guy With Some Pop and Some Speed. Of course, Choo's also The Guy Who Walks a Lot and Gets Hit By Pitches, and that wasn't Drew Stubbs at all.
Last year, Stubbs scored 75 runs in 136 games. This year, Choo has scored 17 runs in 18 games.
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