But that doesn't mean we throw it out completely. The comparison to Puljos and Longoria similar obps but nowhere near the hitter is a good one if some stat head thinks NJ is as good a “hitter”. But to those who think his offensive contribution in the 2 spot is as conducive to scoring runs as almost any other top of the line-up hitters they may be right.

From my perpective stats are things we invent to try to measure and compare players but they only tell us what they are designed to tell us–reflecting the biases of the creators of the measurements–inevitably they don't describe or explain everything we see. I still view OBP as a marginal stat. Both Nick Swisher and Albert Pujols have OBPs +100 points higher than their BAs, but big deal. Swisher and Evan Longoria have career OBP about 10 points apart, but are they really comparable hitters? That's what I mean about OBP being a marginal stat, it separates otherwise similar players, but comparing one players OBP to another's doesn't tell us much about the value of a hitter in the abstract.

OPS gets closer to something like total bases which I like as a stat to gauge how productive a hitter is. I also like %BRS as a productivity stat. But I start with my eyes and then see if the stats describe what I see, just like I start with my ears and see if the measurements describe what I hear with audio circuits. If the stats and measurements don't comport with what I see then my presumption is that we're measuring the wrong things.

As to Johnson v. Matsui, they are comparable in that they fill the same roster spots, they're both LH hitters, and in essence the team replaced one with the other in terms of roster and salary. With respect to their intended roles in the line up they are different obviously, though, as I've said previously in this thread in any given game, past the first inning, any hitter can come up in any kind of situation–a get on base situation, a move runners over situation, a drive runners in situation. There's no doubt that Matsui is an excellent situational hitter. I don't imagine Nick Johnson on his best day single handedly winning a world series game the way Matsui did with his 6 RBIs in game 6.

Look, Johnson will occasionally beat you and yes, he's a professional hitter, not a bum. But he's no Matsui or Damon. I've been to dozens of games where Johnson played against the Mets. Sure, he's got that gaudy OBP but he's just not a force at all. And he's lost all his range at 1B (again, Posada has more – at first!), though he still has the quick glove. But you'll find that out….

Steve Vai, well, you know, a player with amazing technique who expanded the vocabulary of his instrument, but I find I never want to listen to the music he's composed…as a writer he's a sideman. As to OBP, well, everyone knows what I think, not that telling a statistic and of marginal importance to a player's offensive output. As to Nick Johnson, well everyone knows what I think about that too, I like Nick Johnson as a player, but for a single season of 2010 I'd rather have Matsui.