A loogie is a conglomeration of saliva, phlegm and other goodies that you generally want to get rid of as quickly as possible.  A LOOGY is a baseball player who could sometimes fit into the same category.  But here I recognize the best LOOGYs in the business as well as giving a tip of the hat to the originator of the phrase.

As writers we have many goals. Yes, we want to influence how you think about things. We also want to inform and entertain. But we also want to make a lasting influence. Certainly, Bill James has contributed many, many things that have jumped into the nation’s conscience and he is far from the only one.

One analyst I particularly enjoy is John Sickels. As most of you know, Sickels is an expert on minor league ballplayers. His annual Baseball Prospect Book is one of the must-buy books for any fantasy player. Sickels has done great work analyzing and identifying both top prospects and sleepers through his many years of work.

But if you say the name “John Sickels” you may or may not get recognition from your audience. Sickels is well known in the baseball community but he certainly does not have the name recognition of a Bill James to the outside world. But Sickels has made a lasting influence, even if people do not realize he is the one who coined the term.

Back in the early 2000s, Sickels came up with the phrase “LOOGY” which stands for Lefty One Out GuY. It is a catchy phrase that quickly entered the baseball vernacular, no small feat and one which I hope Sickels is proud of, even if we should recognize him for far more than that. It is so much easier to say “LOOGY” than “situational lefthander” or any other previously-used phrase. I also find the term to be nicely descriptive.

So, here are the Top 10 LOOGYs of 2009 (so far). Stats are from baseball-reference.com, are through Friday’s games and are AVG/OBP/SLG and sOPS+ (OPS+ versus the pitcher for lefty batters – the lower the better for the pitcher, with 100 being average). A minimum of 30 plate appearances were needed to qualify.

10. Eric O’Flaherty (Braves) – 42 PA .200/.238/.300 and 51

 

National League East teams are well represented on this list, as teams need a lefty reliever to counter the big lefty hitters, like Carlos Delgado, Adam Dunn, Ryan Howard, Brian McCann and others, in the division. Atlanta picked up O’Flaherty off waivers from the Mariners following the 2008 season and he has already gotten into 32 games and acquitted himself well against lefty batters.

9. Ron Villone (Nationals) – 34 PA .167/.265/.233 and 42

You can be forgiven if you did not know that Villone was still in the league, much less pitching so well. The Nationals are the third different team that Villone has pitched for the past three seasons and the 12^th different team in his 15-year career in the majors. And it is not just lefties that Villone is handling this year. He has a 0.49 ERA overall in 21 games and 18.1 innings and a rather impressive 878 ERA+.

8. Dennys Reyes (Cardinals) – 43 PA .189/.262/.216 and 37

If Sickels created the term LOOGY, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa is the man who gave them such prominence in the first place. And while the NL East is well represented on this list, so are the Cardinals, who have two of the top 10 LOOGYs in the game. Reyes has done a fantastic job versus lefties, unfortunately he faces some righties too and they eat him up. Despite his outstanding work versus LHB, Reyes has a 5.40 ERA overall, as RHB have a 1.035 OPS versus the veteran lefty.

T7. Trever Miller (Cardinals) – 46 PA .143/.178/.238 and 16

 

This is my favorite LOOGY of all time. Miller earns this distinction due to his setting of an obscure record in 2007 that, in my estimation, will never be broken. While a member of the Houston Astros, Miller appeared in 76 games that season without earning a decision. Miller’s final record was 0-0, just like it was on Opening Day. He shattered the previous mark of 48 games, established by Scott Aldred in 1998. And while Miller is having an outstanding season versus lefties, his 2007 record is safe, as he already has two wins on the season.

T7. Mitch Stetter (Brewers) – 50 PA .093/.220/.186 and 16

I feel bad because I did not know who Stetter was prior to this article. After a cup of coffee in 2007, Stetter had a fine season in 30 games and 25.1 innings last year. And he is picking up where he left off last season. Stetter’s bread-and-butter pitch is his slider, which he throws roughly two-thirds of the time. He may not be overpowering but unlike me, LHB certainly know who he is.

5. Hideki Okajima (Red Sox) – 48 PA .111/.167/.244 and 14

Maybe Boston brought him along to be a pal for Daisuke Matsuzaka but no one can quibble with how well Okajima has pitched since joining the club from Japan in 2007. In 158 games in the majors, he has an 8-4 record with a 2.39 ERA. It is really not fair to dub him a LOOGY but since there is no such thing as bad publicity, I hope Okajima does not mind being on this list.

4. Pedro Feliciano (Mets) – 63 PA .129/.143/.242 and 6

Last year fans would cringe when Feliciano came in from the bullpen. And now this year he is like money in the bank. It helps that the club has limited his exposure to RHB this season. In 2008 his appearances were split evenly between lefties and righties. So far this year, Feliciano has faced 63 LHB and 39 RHB. Over the last two seasons, Feliciano has done a tremendous job against Philadelphia’s Howard. In 14 PA, Howard is 0-13 with one walk, six strikeouts and six groundouts.

3. Jose Mijares (Twins) – 35 PA .067/.200/.167 and 5

 

Anyone who can throw 98 mph deserves attention and Mijares is no exception. But, as you probably guess by looking at his average and then OBP allowed to lefties, Mijares has some command issues. He has allowed 10 walks in 19.1 innings. If Mijares can ever harness his command, he could become much more than a LOOGY. He is only 24-years-old, so there is still plenty of time for Mijares to figure it out.

2. Matt Thornton (White Sox) – 41 PA .105/.171/.158 and -6

A former first-round draft pick, Thornton was the 22^nd choice in the 1998 draft by the Seattle Mariners. He had two forgettable seasons for the Mariners before they shipped him to the White Sox for Joe Borchard during Spring Training in 2006. I think it is fair to call this deal a slam dunk for Kenny Williams and Chicago. Thornton has already given the White Sox one average and two fine seasons and this year promises to be his best yet. Meanwhile, Borchard played just six games in Seattle before they waived him.

1. Arthur Rhodes (Reds) – 32 PA .074/.188/.074 and -22

 

LHB have 27 AB versus Rhodes this season and have managed two singles. Shin-Soo Choo and Casey Kotchman are the only lefties to get a hit versus Rhodes this season. Rhodes came up as a flame-throwing lefty and seemed destined for a long career as a starter. Rhodes did indeed have a long career but only 61 of his 740 games were starts. And he still throws heat. Even as a 39-year-old, Rhodes fastball averages 92 mph. In 2002, the first year which we have reliable data, Rhodes averaged 94.5 mph.

I would like to give an honorable mention to closers Brian Fuentes and George Sherrill, who each had sOPS+ low enough versus lefties to makes this list, but ones that I felt comfortable promoting beyond LOOGY status. Additionally, Aaron Laffey also qualifies for this list, but I left him off due to the fact that he started all 16 games in the majors last year and four of 10 so far this season.

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O'Flaherty - Oh No!
written by Brian J, June 14, 2009

And three of the four who reached base against him were LHB!

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written by Kevin A. Orris, June 14, 2009

Brian-

You're killing me by putting Eric O'Flaherty in here after he blew the game open yesterday. Props on including Mitch Stetter though.

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