Numbers on Choi’s Side, if Not Tracy

Bloggers, statistics experts and message board devotees rejoiced Sunday.

Hee-Seop Choi was in the Dodger lineup.

The sparingly used first baseman is a favorite, it seems, of nearly everyone except the person who matters most.

That would be Manager Jim Tracy, who started Choi for the first time since July 24. Tracy won’t speak at length on the record, but he believes the 26-year-old South Korean is a defensive liability who lacks baseball savvy and doesn’t hit well with runners in scoring position.

Choi’s supporters point out that he has an above-average OPS of .802 with an on-base percentage of .331 and a slugging percentage of .471. His overall numbers compare to those of J.D. Drew, who batted third until he was injured five weeks ago.

In 253 at-bats, Choi has 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 36 runs batted in.

In 252 at-bats, Drew has 12 doubles, 15 home runs and 36 RBIs. Drew has nine more hits than Choi and nearly twice as many walks, which hikes Drew’s OPS to a team-high .932.

The pro-Choi contingent was particularly galled when Tracy started Jason Phillips at first base after he lost his catching job.

The respected website Baseball Prospectus called Tracy’s decision to employ Phillips and his .675 OPS at first “a serious misallocation of resources that is costing the already punch-less Dodgers dearly.”

Jon Weisman at Dodgerthoughts.com teasingly pointed out that Tracy’s batting average with runners in scoring position during his short time in the majors was .104.

“So you can understand why he might be sensitive,” Weisman wrote. “Hee-Seop Choi hits all right -- he hits too close to home.”

A message board post jokingly suggested that perhaps Tracy should move Choi to left field, a reference to the Dodgers’ playing career infielder Jose Valentin at the position and trying to give infielder Antonio Perez a crash course there.

Choi is oblivious to the support. He said he doesn’t read Dodger-related sites. He also doesn’t read too much into his infrequent starts.

On Sunday he pointed to the lineup card taped to the clubhouse wall, smiled and said, “Today I’m playing. I’m OK.”

He contributed, getting two hits and driving in two runs with a single in the six-run Dodger third inning.

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Phillips missed his fourth consecutive game because of a sore left hand. His status for the homestand that begins Tuesday is uncertain.

“I’m not completely optimistic about it,” Tracy said.

Placing Phillips on the disabled list might be a consideration because rookie Dioner Navarro is the only healthy catcher on the roster.