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Looking only at his 2005 and 2006 seasons as a reliever, it certainly seems like we saw two different Dempsters. If you look at his peripherals and batted ball data, though, while he was a little better in 2005, he wasn't that much better than he was in 2006. Verdict: same pitcher, very different results. Dempster in '05 was a much better reliever than starter. He had a handful of starts, then switched to the pen and was much better from there on out. Good point, UK. I haven't separated his relief stats from his stats as a starter. I shouldn't have forgotten about Dempster's period as a starter in 2005. I was in the 7th row behind home plate at Wrigley on April 27, 2005 for what must have been one of his last starts. He had control problems early and the Reds jumped out to a big lead. Derrek Lee hit two homers, IIRC, and the Cubs tied the game. Corey Patterson then hit a walk off homerun, my best memory of Corey as a Cub. And then I went to the United Center and watched the Bulls beat the Wizards in a playoff game. What a great day. :)

Looking only at his 2005 and 2006 seasons as a reliever, it certainly seems like we saw two different Dempsters. If you look at his peripherals and batted ball data, though, while he was a little better in 2005, he wasn't that much better than he was in 2006. Verdict: same pitcher, very different results.

Now that hurts. Why do I feel like the guy in the GEICO commercial? Well, I'll be 50 in April, and the guy who asked about OPS is in his late 60s. The guy that said I was "carrying on" about on-base percentage claimed to be a Cubs fan for 60 years. Were these questions sent to you via telegraph? Derrek Lee hit 60 rods to the hogs head back in aught 5. I laughed at this. :lol:

It's going to be a long time before you see pieces in the mainstream media that are akin to what they do in BP and the Hardball Times. Now and then, yes, but not regularly. And with some good reason. While most of the people here are in-tune with sabermetrics and the like, you must remember that this is a very specialized board and that many in the general public don't have the foggiest notion of what things like VORP are. Nor do they care to learn. I had an older reader ask me what OPS was. Another asked why I was constantly "carrying on" about on-base percentage. The job of the baseball writer in the newspaper is to tell a story. Sometimes that story revolves around stats. Other times it centers on human interest or injury or intrigue of some sort. On top of that, you have very limited space with which to work in the paper. (As more papers focus more on their Web sites, that problem will be alleviated somewhat, thankfully.) I still have to write for a general audience and bring many of them along slowly when it comes to some of the newer thinking that's shaping the game. A few thoughts about Bruce's post: 1. "The job of the baseball writer in the newspaper is to tell a story." I'm pretty sure we can expand that statement to cover all sports writers in newspapers and other forms of media. I'd personally like to strangle Dick Ebersol (and others like him) for his role in emphasizing storytelling over the athletic event itself. I think it's great that a 15-year-old swimmer from Belarus overcame cancer and dyslexia on her way to the Olympics, but that doesn't mean that I'd rather watch a smarmy ten-minute documentary about her struggles instead of the actual freestyle race. Also, the need to tell a story produces some very questionable cause and effect relationships between off-field events and on-field events. When Rex Grossman throws three interceptions, it's not because he didn't read the defenses correctly, it's because he has a punctured soul and a cracked psyche. When the hits weren't falling for Aramis in the first part of 2006, it had nothing to do with BABIP, it's because he doesn't have the guts and leadership ability to put the team on his back with Derrek Lee hurt. If a sports writer feels the need to do a story on who Derek Jeter is dating or what Ryan Church's religious beliefs or Carl Everett's thoughts on dinosaurs, that's fine. But don't tell me there's a correlation between dating Jennifer Biel and fielding grounders at shortstop. Don't tell me that the Nationals stink because of "bad chemistry" in the clubhouse. Don't tell me that Everett's weird personal beliefs have anything to do with hitting a fastball. 2. It is possible to tell a story to a wide audience without producing total drivel. Integrity (artistic or otherwise) does not preclude commercial success or widespread appeal. The Departed and Scary Movie 4 put up similar box office numbers, for example. I don't dislike Muskat's work because she writes for a broad audience. I dislike her work because she is an unabashed apologist for the Cubs organization. 3. The Bill Plaschkes, Jay Mariottis, and Carrie Muskats of this world make me appreciate writers like Bruce all the more. Sure, he's not going into the same depth as guys like Dan Fox or Nate Silver, but it would be inappropriate to do so considering his audience.

Bad news, Newhan fans: Rotoworld says the Mets are the favorites to land Newhan. :(

I edited that guy's mailbag submission to properly reflect the things he contained that were relevant to HOF voting. Greg Maddux doesn't like to sign autographs. He might not get Carrie Muskat's vote.

Bill Plaschke gets a vote, too, doesn't he? Might as well throw darts to select HOFers.

ZIPS projection if Finley were a Giant in 2007: .227 .291 .335 Yikes. The projection sees his power vanishing this year.

I think a Wilson/Jacque platoon would be quite productive. I think he could still play CF defensively 1/3rd of the time. I dunno. Wilson was the 2nd worst defensive CF in baseball from 2003-2005 according to the Fielding Bible, and I don't think his knees are getting any better. I do like the idea of platooning Jacque in CF, though. A lot of people are in favor of platooning him, and a lot are in favor of playing him in CF, but I haven't seen many advocating both.

I sadly agree 100%, and have felt that way since about the 9th or 10th week. I hope to God I'm wrong, but I have the sickening feeling in my gut I'm not. I've got tix for that game too. Oh well, I'll make it fun no matter what happens. My first playoff game ever. Nice. As pissed as I am right now, I'd still love to have those tickets. I'm moving back to Chicago at the end of January, and it would be really nice if the Bears welcomed me home with a luverly Super Bowl win. SHAPE UP, YE MUTTS, YEZ! Congrats on moving back to Chicago. I had to move away for work - and I love my new job - but I miss Chicago almost every day.

Hopefully Minaya doesn't offend Newhan by speaking street Spanish to him during negotiations.

? I didn't watch the Dallas game today, but Romo's QB rating was over 100, wasn't it? Either way, the Bears D should be fine against either QB. It's the offense that I'm worried about. I'm saying that if Dallas somewhow win the next game with a smacked around and poorly-playing Romo, then the Bears have a shot at stopping him. I'm much more worried about the defense. For last year and most of this year, they've been able to hold the bleeding in check and even make some things happen to keep the Bears in the game or even put them ahead. For the last month they haven't been doing anything even remotely close to that. Teams are almost scoring with abandon on them as long as they focus on the pass. Again, I didn't watch, but did Romo have a bad game today? He completed more than 66% of his passes for over 300 yards and two touchdowns.

Just out of curiosity, why? Griese isn't going to win you a game, might lose you one and with the defense playing the way it has, you're probably going to need that to happen. Rex can win you a game. Rex has been the starter for 16 games, has more great games than any QB in the NFL, and can make plays Griese cannot. He might blow up, but you have to take that chance. QB managers aren't going to win without a dominant defense. The Bears are not a dominant defense. Not necessarily. There have been a few Trent Dilfers and Brad Johnsons over the last few years. I'm not arguing for Griese over Grossman, mind you, as Griese as a Bear is basically an unknown quantity.

? I didn't watch the Dallas game today, but Romo's QB rating was over 100, wasn't it? Either way, the Bears D should be fine against either QB. It's the offense that I'm worried about.

Yeah, can't change commanders in chief in the middle of a war, or something like that. :wink: I really think the Bears are in a no-win situation at QB. Rex isn't horrible (Krenzel, Orton, etc), but he'll probably be the worst starting QB in the playoffs. Griese was a top-5 NFL QB in 2000, but that was 6 years ago, and he's been up and down since then, and he's taken how many snaps with the Bears this year?

Honestly, I don't do it anyways. Sports media is awful. Yeah, it lowers your IQ one point per every hour you listen.

15 rushes and 12 passes is pass-happy ? By John Shoop's standards, maybe.

Huh? More rushing attempts than passing attempts thus far.

He should be in the Pro Bowl. :lol: Rex in Effect!

:shock: He went at least in the 5th or 6th in every league I was in. Congrats on getting him so late.

Nope, but it did look like a good call.

Haha. My Fox station switched about half an hour ago. Refs in the Denver/SF game just made one of the worst calls I've seen in a while. SF player caught a pass, took three steps, and lost the ball as his knee hit the ground. Was it a fumble? Was he down before the fumble? Neither, the ref ruled after replay. It was an incomplete pass. The broadcasters were flabbergasted because they had never even considered that it wasn't a complete pass. For once I'm happy to be 'stuck' with the 49ers game. That was a horrendous call. It was obviously a catch and the receiver's knee was down. It is a pretty exciting game thus far. "Horrendous" is a good word for that call. I can't believe that a living, breathing human being with two functional eyes and a rational mind could make that call after seeing multiple replays.

Haha. My Fox station switched about half an hour ago. Refs in the Denver/SF game just made one of the worst calls I've seen in a while. SF player caught a pass, took three steps, and lost the ball as his knee hit the ground. Was it a fumble? Was he down before the fumble? Neither, the ref ruled after replay. It was an incomplete pass. The broadcasters were flabbergasted because they had never even considered that it wasn't a complete pass.

True, but it's been discussed quite a bit because it looked quite likely that Jones was going to be traded. There are some who want him traded, and there are some who have discussed trading him because Hendry is/was likely to trade him. I didn't like the Jones signing last year, and I don't expect him to repeat last year's performance, but I'd rather have him than many of the currently available alternatives.

I think Carroll's record speaks for itself.