In the '09 off-season, the Phillies let Pat Burrell walk and signed Raul Ibanez to replace him for more money than Burrell got in Tampa. In this space and elsewhere, Phily management was excoriated for its less-for-more strategy. Ibanez is four years older, gets on base less and hits for less power. Dumb.
Until this year. Raul the Jewel is playing like his hair's on fire, which, given his coif, would mean his head was ablaze. He's batting .335 and smacking the ball around and out of Citizens Bank Park. He's "on pace" to hit 60 home runs and top his best previous slugging percentage by 150 points. The rejuvenation even extends to the field, where he seems to be handling left field with grace.
Burrell on the other hand, has battled injuries and compiled all of five extra base hits in more than 100 at bats. He's stunk worse than my analysis.
What's going on here? A few things seem obvious. Ibanez was hitting in a cavern in Seattle, surrounded by Ichiro and the seven dwarves. Put him in Philadelphia's Little League park, in the middle of Murderer's Row, in the Year of Pitching Dangerously, and you have a big ol' uptick in power.
Ibanez was always a good hitter, but you don't expect his career year to be his 14th Major League campaign. There's plenty of season left for him to slump back to expectations, but if he doesn't, we'll know some of the externalities affecting his performance. In the meantime Philly fans, enjoy what you've got. Sometimes even dumb decisions work out well; it's just not the way to bet.
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