Should Luke Scott bat against left handers?

by Stacey on Jun 12, 2008 4:44 PM EDT

Facts:

Luke Scott is left handed.
Traditional knowledge tells us left handers hitters don't hit left handed pitchers as well as they do right handers.
In his career, Luke Scott has a .900 OPS vs. RHP and .734 vs. LHP.
In 2007, Luke Scott had an .856 OPS vs. RHP and an .850 OPS vs. LHP.
This year, Luke's OPS vs RHP is .947 and vs. LHP it is .465.
Jay Payton's career OPS vs. LHP is .805. This year it is .874.
Aubrey Huff's caereer OPS vs. LHP is .747. This year it is .616.
This year, Jay Payton has 43 PA vs. LHP. Huff has 72. Luke has 34.
Luke Scott has 214 PA so far this year, less than Nick Markakis, Aubrey Huff, Kevin Millar, Melvin Mora, Brian Roberts, and Adam Jones.
Luke Scott has a higher OPS than everyone in # 8 other than Nick Markakis (difference: .009).
Luke Scott has more home runs than everyone in # 8 other than Markakis (tied) and Kevin Millar (1 less).

So, why is Luke so successful? Is it because he's essentially been platooned with Jay Payton against LHP this year? Or is it in spite of it? His OPS vs. LHP this year is AWFUL, but is that because he hardly ever gets to see it? Or just because he sucks vs. LHP?

I actually came into this thinking Luke should be starting in front of Jay Payton vs. LHP. After looking up the stats, though, maybe it makes sense for him to get those ABs from Huff. Huff is in the lineup every day, even against LHP, and Luke often sits. Luke's OPS so far doesn't lead us to believe he should be batting vs. lefties, but I don't think that's the whole story.

I know that platoons can lead to very successful teams, and they have on past Orioles teams. But Luke seems to have the stigma that he can't hit lefties, although he was quite successful last year. So do you guys think he should be given a chance? Or is the platoon working out to your liking?

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I’m all for Luke getting more ABs, against anyone, really.

by getxstoked on Jun 12, 2008 5:18 PM EDT 0 recs

yep, agreed

after a while, if he’s not hitting leftys, then start platooning.

guess trembley feels differently.

by Y Not on Jun 12, 2008 5:43 PM EDT up 0 recs

i agree as well

its also a limited sample size this year for luke - he has 40 at bats against lefties so if 4 hits squeezed through we wouldn’t be having this discussion

by Slobbity on Jun 15, 2008 11:41 AM EDT up 0 recs

Apparently we're facing all lefties vs. Pittsburgh

But with Millar likely to be out the first few days, I imagine this will be irrelevant, as we’ll see Huff at 1B, Payton in LF and Scott DHing. Just my guess. Once Millar is healthy again I’d like to see Huff and Scott get the shared rest against lefties rather than Scott and Payton. This is saying nothing in favor of Payton other than he’s right-handed and seems to have traditional splits.

by punkrawka on Jun 13, 2008 7:10 AM EDT 0 recs

Gary said last night

That Luke will be starting against the lefties this series, even before Millar got hurt. I wouldn’t mind seeing Huff sit and Salazar at first, with Luke DH’ing. I’d like to see what Salazar can do.

"We’re not concerned about what other teams think. I know teams come in here thinking we’re playing the Orioles. And then 9 innings later, they got the loss, they know what we’re about." ~Adam Jones

by Stacey on Jun 13, 2008 8:47 AM EDT up 0 recs