Salty was just one of many big bats in Wednesday's whooping.

Warning: High Scoring Objects May Be Smaller than They Seem

I frequently look at the past month’s numbers to help me decide whether to acquire a player by trade or free agency. Usually this is a good indication regarding playing time and when compared to yearly totals and career totals, you can get a feel for what that player will give you. That said, there are exceptions to this rule. When a player produces incredible stats in only one game, you will get a muddy picture of what is happening. This week there have been a number of unusual games that have skewed statistics.

Of course at the top of the charts is the 30-3 pounding given by the Texas Rangers upon the hapless Baltimore Orioles. Any game that has the bottom two of a batting order each driving in seven runs should be thrown out for statistical purposes. So should a save given to Wes Littleton for pitching the last three innings in that 30-3 game? I believe that I could go to the mound and keep a major league team from scoring 27 runs.

Three of the players in the Texas lineup had a week’s worth of statistics in one game. Let’s look at the three lines for the bottom third of the order:

Start with David Murphy. He recently came to the Texas organization in the Eric Gagne trade with the Boston Red Sox that also netted Kason Gabbard for the Ranger starting rotation. Murphy is known as a defensive outfielder who likely would be fourth outfielder material and nothing more. Murphy was a first round pick in 2004 out of Baylor University. He batted .227 in 22 at bats in 2006 for Boston and has a minor league average of .271 and a slugging percentage of .403 going into this year. This year at Triple A Pawtucket, Murphy hit .280 with nine homeruns and eight stolen bases. The 25 year old Murphy is unlikely to ever hit .300 or hit 25 balls over the fence unless you include foul territory. Anyone looking at points and factoring in this game will get an overwhelming impression of his potential.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia was the linchpin of the trade that sent Mark Teixeira to the Atlanta Braves. He is a good prospect who should be the starting catcher for Texas in 2008. However, he came into the game batting .179 and left with a .262 average. His RBI for the year jumped from 17 to 24 in one game. Saltalamacchia had a career minor league average of .273 entering this year with only 40 homeruns in 1229 at bats. This includes a 2006 average in Double A Mississippi of .230. Over time he should become an excellent player but his skills are still raw. Do not go out and grab him because his points were off the chart in your league.

Ramon Vazquez is a 31 year old journeyman who is batting .238 with seven homeruns, two hit in the blowout. In six prior major league seasons, Vazquez never hit more than three homeruns in any season. He offers little future and would be a mistake to take in any but the deepest A.L. only leagues.

This impact was felt on pitchers as well. The Orioles dropped from seventh best ERA in the American League to eleventh. All in one game in August. This is unheard of in major league baseball. Pity Paul Shuey. The 36 year old returned to the majors for the first time since 2003 following hip surgery that led to a long rehab. He entered the game with a horrible 6.75 ERA and left the game with a 9.49 ERA. Since it was a double header, he “took one for the team”.

Finally, one player who was not in that game produced an amazing number. Fourteen year pro, Garret Anderson, had tremendous production against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. In one game he raised his 2007 RBI total to 50 with a ten RBI game. One fifth of his year’s production came in one game. This will color everyone’s thoughts when evaluating him at the end of the year. From 2000 through 2003, Garrett Anderson was an RBI machine, averaging nearly 120 RBI per year. Times have been tough over the past few years and Anderson has averaged 85 over the past three years. Those are not bad numbers. However, this year has seen a turn for the worse. With only 40 RBI going into the 8/21 game, it looked like a 60 RBI season at best. Now this ten RBI bump will make it look like close to an average year. It is not. Keep that in mind when you look at picking up the aforementioned Mr. Anderson.

Questions and comments may be sent to davidkopacz@sportsgrumblings.com