can we talk about Starlin Castro?

[treebird]

i know one month of fielding stats is practically meaningless (for predictive purposes), but i'm really encouraged with early returns

 

per UZR, he leads all SS in range, to where he's still been average overall when factoring errors, and TZ (which had him -27 for '10-'11) has been a big fan so far, putting him at +5

 

http://s5.tinypic.com/igjmsx.jpg

 

i met a friend of a friend last weekend and started talking about the cubs with him. he told me that starlin castro was the worst shortstop in the major leagues and that the cubs were going to move him to center field OVER THE ALL-STAR BREAK because they have a really good shortstop prospect in iowa. he did express concern that this would mean anthony rizzo would have to move from cf to lf.

 

so what i'm saying is that i'm pretty sure you're wrong about all that, sneaky

[Tracer Bullet]

I love/hate talking baseball with people like that.

[Sammy Sofa]

Wow, that gif is outstanding. That kid in the front is just dominating.

[Sammy Sofa]

I love/hate talking baseball with people like that.

 

It's the uncle I was just talking to yesterday, who thinks Darwin Barney is the pinnacle of "what the Cubs need more of" and who still bemoans the loss of Theriot.

[Guest]

I love/hate talking baseball with people like that.

 

It's the uncle I was just talking to yesterday, who thinks Darwin Barney is the pinnacle of "what the Cubs need more of" and who still bemoans the loss of Theriot.

 

What do you do in those conversations?

 

I used to get all riled up and want to argue when I was younger. Now I'm just all like, "Heh. Yea. How about that."

[davell]

I know plenty of "big sports guys" who still think RBI and Win totals for pitchers are the end all, be all.

[SouthSideRyan]

I love/hate talking baseball with people like that.

 

It's the uncle I was just talking to yesterday, who thinks Darwin Barney is the pinnacle of "what the Cubs need more of" and who still bemoans the loss of Theriot.

 

What do you do in those conversations?

 

I used to get all riled up and want to argue when I was younger. Now I'm just all like, "Heh. Yea. How about that."

 

Depends how big an [expletive] they are about it. If they won't shut the [expletive] up and keep insulting people, then I start arguing. (Also helps if I'm drunk at the time)

[bukie]

If I could pick a single baseball stat to abolish, it would be individual W/L for pitchers.

[Sammy Sofa]

I love/hate talking baseball with people like that.

 

It's the uncle I was just talking to yesterday, who thinks Darwin Barney is the pinnacle of "what the Cubs need more of" and who still bemoans the loss of Theriot.

 

What do you do in those conversations?

 

I used to get all riled up and want to argue when I was younger. Now I'm just all like, "Heh. Yea. How about that."

 

Basically. He's of the ilk that loves to jokingly rub it in when a player he thinks I "hate" has a good game or a good stretch or even turns out to be generally productive, like I'm going to be furious that someone is playing well for the Cubs (which is what he does; basically any time Soriano does something not horrible he acts like he's been stabbed in the dick). There's really not much you can do that won't escalate to an argument so I just roll with it and let him keep providing me with choice free tickets.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Sammy Sofa

[SouthSideRyan]

I love/hate talking baseball with people like that.

 

It's the uncle I was just talking to yesterday, who thinks Darwin Barney is the pinnacle of "what the Cubs need more of" and who still bemoans the loss of Theriot.

 

What do you do in those conversations?

 

I used to get all riled up and want to argue when I was younger. Now I'm just all like, "Heh. Yea. How about that."

 

Basically. He's of the ilk that loves to jokingly rub it in when a player he thinks I "hate" has a good game or a good stretch or even turns out to be generally productive, like I'm going to be furious that someone is playing well for the Cubs. There's really not much you can do that won't escalate to an argument so I just roll with it and let him keep providing me with choice free tickets.

 

SHARESHARESHARE

[Magnetic Curses]

I love/hate talking baseball with people like that.

 

It's the uncle I was just talking to yesterday, who thinks Darwin Barney is the pinnacle of "what the Cubs need more of" and who still bemoans the loss of Theriot.

 

What do you do in those conversations?

 

I used to get all riled up and want to argue when I was younger. Now I'm just all like, "Heh. Yea. How about that."

 

Basically. He's of the ilk that loves to jokingly rub it in when a player he thinks I "hate" has a good game or a good stretch or even turns out to be generally productive, like I'm going to be furious that someone is playing well for the Cubs (which is what he does; basically any time Soriano does something not horrible he acts like he's been stabbed in the dick). There's really not much you can do that won't escalate to an argument so I just roll with it and let him keep providing me with choice free tickets.

 

there are so many people in wisconsin that just talk and talk and talk and talk and never listen. mostly it's about themselves or the packers or the brewers. if you make a suggestion, it does not compute because they aren't programmed to absorb information that may run contrary to their own beliefs. it's best just to let those people talk and smile politely rather than explain to them what OPS is and watch them wait for their turn to talk again.

[XZero771679666304]

 

there are so many people in wisconsin that just talk and talk and talk and talk and never listen. mostly it's about themselves or the packers or the brewers. if you make a suggestion, it does not compute because they aren't programmed to absorb information that may run contrary to their own beliefs. it's best just to let those people talk and smile politely rather than explain to them what OPS is and watch them wait for their turn to talk again.

 

I'm pretty sure you just described most Americans and whatever team/interest they have.

[Sammy Sofa]

It's like everyone's racist grandfather; you know he's awful and wrong but he's so damn old and set in his ways that after a while it just ends up as "what's the [expletive] point?"

[XZero771679666304]

I was at the store yesterday and a guy in comes up to me, points to my Cubs hat and asks me if I'm a big fan. I say yes, and he says he's a huge fan, but asks me what the team's record is. I tell him and he repeats it back to me with a frown. So I say "but it's a rebuilding year, so we can deal with it for now, right? We can trust Theo for the time being."

 

So he's like "Who?", and I'm not sure what to say. Then he says, "well I don't know about that, but I'm pretty pissed off Sandberg wasn't hired as the manager...you could have given him just about any players and he'd win with them. Ryno is the man."

 

The guy was wearing a Bears cap so I tried to change the subject to the draft, but he said "Oh, I love the Bears but I don't know half as much about them as I do the Cubs", to which I replied "So effectively nothing, then?"

 

He didn't seem too interested in carrying on after that. It's disappointing because there aren't many sports fans here to talk to (most are strictly Broncos fans), and the few Chicago sports fans I run into don't know [expletive] about [expletive].

[Pushfrog98]

I love/hate talking baseball with people like that.

 

It's the uncle I was just talking to yesterday, who thinks Darwin Barney is the pinnacle of "what the Cubs need more of" and who still bemoans the loss of Theriot.

 

What do you do in those conversations?

 

I used to get all riled up and want to argue when I was younger. Now I'm just all like, "Heh. Yea. How about that."

It's like when I get into arguments with Cardinal fans down here who bash the Cubs, but then can't name 5 Cardinals not named Albert Pujols, David Eckstein or David Freese.

[Derwood]

 

there are so many people in wisconsin that just talk and talk and talk and talk and never listen. mostly it's about themselves or the packers or the brewers. if you make a suggestion, it does not compute because they aren't programmed to absorb information that may run contrary to their own beliefs. it's best just to let those people talk and smile politely rather than explain to them what OPS is and watch them wait for their turn to talk again.

 

This is every FOX News viewer

[huff]

 

there are so many people in wisconsin that just talk and talk and talk and talk and never listen. mostly it's about themselves or the packers or the brewers. if you make a suggestion, it does not compute because they aren't programmed to absorb information that may run contrary to their own beliefs. it's best just to let those people talk and smile politely rather than explain to them what OPS is and watch them wait for their turn to talk again.

 

This is every FOX News viewer

 

hahaha i was thinking the same thing about condescending liberals...i heart america lol.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

I know plenty of "big sports guys" who still think RBI and Win totals for pitchers are the end all, be all.

 

I can bs with those guys to a point if they understand the actual actions/movements of the pro athletes, which he conversation never gets to. In fact, that conversation is much easier in real life than on the Internet because people LOVE numbers on the Internet. That said, more and more numbers (velocities, pitch movements, etc) are helping quantify scouting to an extent...Though its still hard to sift through the numbers, apply context, and get everyone to agree with you. The Garza trade was a big lesson in that...Some Paul Wilson clone he turned out to be.

[Splendid Splinter]

Ugh.. all this talk made me think about the arguments I got with my sister-in-law's uncle who STILL think Jack Morris is a better pitcher than Bert Blyleven. No joke.

[Soul]

 

there are so many people in wisconsin that just talk and talk and talk and talk and never listen. mostly it's about themselves or the packers or the brewers. if you make a suggestion, it does not compute because they aren't programmed to absorb information that may run contrary to their own beliefs. it's best just to let those people talk and smile politely rather than explain to them what OPS is and watch them wait for their turn to talk again.

 

This is every FOX News viewer

 

This is basically Wisconsin, period.

 

People here are completely and totally convinced everything they think & do is 100% right. They aren't even interested in arguing their point of view, necessarily. Wisconsinites think they know it all, and don't care about anyone else's opinion.

 

...but they'll smile at you when you contradict them and then just go about their business...

 

It's wonderful, as long as you agree with them. Otherwise it's like living in some Orwellian nightmare.

[Tryptamine]

I'm catching an unbelievable amount of [expletive] thanks to LaHair raking right now. It's completely futile to argue with these people either, as they have no idea what babip or hr/fb are and have no interest in learning.

[Warpticon]

If I could pick a single baseball stat to abolish, it would be individual W/L for pitchers.

 

Worst stat in all of sports.

[Have a seat, Neifi]

If I could pick a single baseball stat to abolish, it would be individual W/L for pitchers.

 

Worst stat in all of sports.

That or the Save statistic. Even more than W/L, I feel like the Save has actually dictated and affected the development of the on-field product. Because of the Save, every team needs a "Closer" and said "Closer" is only allowed to pitch in "Save situations."

[KingCubsFan]

If I could pick a single baseball stat to abolish, it would be individual W/L for pitchers.

 

Worst stat in all of sports.

That or the Save statistic. Even more than W/L, I feel like the Save has actually dictated and affected the development of the on-field product. Because of the Save, every team needs a "Closer" and said "Closer" is only allowed to pitch in "Save situations."

You see managers leave pitchers in to get to 5 innings even when they're struggling so they can get the win. Sveum almost blew that Cardinals game when it was clear Samardzija was out of gas in the 5th. I think the save statistic should probably be tweaked, but it's not totally worthless. I know people like to think the 9th inning is the same as every other inning, but LaTroy Hawkins showed us that's not always the case.

[jersey cubs fan]

You see managers leave pitchers in to get to 5 innings even when they're struggling so they can get the win. Sveum almost blew that Cardinals game when it was clear Samardzija was out of gas in the 5th. I think the save statistic should probably be tweaked, but it's not totally worthless. I know people like to think the 9th inning is the same as every other inning, but LaTroy Hawkins showed us that's not always the case.

 

Managers leaving a struggling pitcher in to get the win is much less of an issue than the stupidity that is involved with the save stat.