James Loney: NL West Assassin, Sort Of

by Eric Stephen on Apr 5, 2009 10:34 AM PDT in Game Threads Comment 5 comments

Dodgers @ Giants, 1:05pm

2009 is a pivotal year for James Loney. The soon-to-be 25-year old first baseman is firmly entrenched as the starting first baseman for the immediate future, but for how long will that last?

Loney regressed in 2008, showing a decline in production across the board:

Year	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS+	wOBA
2006	111	.284	.342	.559	125	.377
2007	375	.331	.388	.538	131	.389
2008	651	.289	.338	.434	102	.333
Career	1137	.303	.353	.480	114	.356

One thing I thought was interesting is that over his career, Loney has fared best against the clubs he has faced the most.

Opponent	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS+
NL West	522	.319	.374	.519	129
Everyone Else	614	.288	.336	.448	101

We all know about his prowess against the Rockies -- 40 RBI in 40 games, only 29 of them starts -- but Loney has fared even better against the Diamonbacks and Padres.

Opponent	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS+
Padres	108	.361	.417	.577	155
Diamondbacks	133	.390	.429	.545	151
Rockies	139	.331	.388	.575	146

The only NL West team Loney has struggled against is today's opponent, the Giants.

Opponent	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS+
Giants	142	.209	.275	.395	71

These are small sample sizes to be sure, but perhaps one reason Loney has struggled so much against San Francisco is that the Giants have started a left-handed pitcher in 12 of the last 26 games started by Loney against them.

What do these numbers mean? Well, probably nothing, but I thought they were kind of interesting.

Be sure to get your final votes in for the 2009 Dodger Prediction Bracket contest. Voting will run through Monday night, to determine which team -- 2004 or 1963 -- is most like the 2009 Dodger squad.

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