The Cliff Floyd Factor

From the blog of Paul DePodesta, Billy Beane's ex-Assistant GM:

We've been talking for a number of weeks internally about the need to add a left-handed bat into the mix, as our bench was looking awfully right-handed. In an ideal world, we wanted to find a guy who could provide three primary skills: 1) the ability to do damage against RHP as either a pinch hitter, DH or occasional starter, 2) the ability to play somewhere other than 1B if need be, and 3) the ability to act as a leader for our younger players. We found a match in Cliff.

I wonder DePodesta realizes that:
1) The Padres, who play in the NL, do not have a DH spot
2) Cliff Floyd has a -10 UZR/150 rating in the outfield
3) Cliff Floyd has an career OPS below 700 as a Pinch Hitter

Also, on the topic of Cliff Floyd, I am reminded of this "great" article I read last year by Dave Hollander, in which he suggested that Cliff Floyd possessed a unique and immeasurable skill that he dubbed The Cliff Floyd Factor:

Wherever Cliff Floyd goes, his teams win. Not only do they win, they turnaround. It's as if before Floyd got there not only weren't they winning but his teams appeared to have little idea how to win.

My favorite part of that article, however, was Hollander's conclusion about Cliff Floyd's important contribution to the major league baseball:

"Unfortunatley sabermetrics cannot nor can any kind of metrics measure the unmeasurable little things teammates do for each other to make each other better. You can't quantify a well timed joke that eases tension in the clubhouse. Or a look that reassures...These are the human qualities that elude objective statistical analysis. But they're crucial to creating a winning team. In order to win, especially to win a championship, it's not simply about being the best player"

Hilarious jokes -- not walks, home runs, doubles, not making outs or good pitching -- are what win World Series titles. The Cubs choked in October because they had no sense of humor (unless you count signing Jason Marquis to a 3 year deal worth just under 30 million).