The Curious Case of Sidd ... er ... James Saitou

The decline of James Saitou has been discussed at length this season.  The leading "theory" is that his weak push/pull tendency coupled with a spacious ballpark is depressing his numbers.

But here at home, I am inclined to think his awful season is just an anomaly.  He has been a pretty steady performer for 4+ seasons (his Milwaukee seasons are shaded in blue).  But his OPS vs LHP is 45% down over each of the prior two seasons.  Likewise, his performance on the road has dropped 38% over the prior season.

Perhaps most importantly, Saitou has created 51 fewer runs this season than last (84 vs 33).

For a team that has lost 33 games by one run (19-33 vs 29-25 last season), those 51 extra runs could come in handy.

 
 
I believe Saitou will return to being a .775-.825 OPS player next season.  He probably needs to be a 1B, though, and not a LF.