MasterBlaster

This ump is making my case for a 'no umps' league very nicely. This strikezone is outrageous.

That's an excellent idea, I'd still like to see Houston sent to the AL West in the meantime to even things out. I would move Arizona before Houston. But then you create the problem of having only 4 teams in the NL West. I definitely think a realignment is in order, and expansion seems to be one way to achieve equality. Indianapolis as an AL team is an intriguing prospect, since you've got Cubs, Cards, and Reds fans in the city. Most of the area surrounding Indy from my experience tend to be Reds fans. This would be a good time to create an MLB franchise there, since the Reds suck perennially, a franchise could easily sway those fans to a new home team. You're not going to move Cubs or Cards fans at this point, but certainly with the Reds fans, I think an alternative could be enticing for those based in and around Indy. It also helps that with the success of the Colts, I think it's safe to say that there is a heightened sports attentiveness, and that certainly would bode good for any MLB team. Interleague would actually help an Indianapolis team out tremendously, as any Cards or Cubs matchups in Indy would certainly pack the house. I don't like interleague play, but if Indy were an AL team, there is no doubt that it would be good for a startup franchise to sell tickets.

That's an excellent idea, I'd still like to see Houston sent to the AL West in the meantime to even things out.

Why would we need to move the Marlins to Portland? Wouldn't simply moving Houston to the AL West be the easiest solution to evening out the leagues? It's not like Houston has 'the tie that binds' type stranglehold on a claim of the NL Central, they haven't won a World Series for example. This is a move that should be made without regard to expansion anyway IMHO.

I'm not opposed to another expansion either, and I would like to see Interleague play go the way of the Dodo. Adding another 2 teams would make interleague suck even more than it already does. It's bad enough that we only get two series per year against the Phillies and Mets, but with the extra teams due to expansion, if interleague stayed on, that would mean that we get even less series against our own division as an expense. Although breaking the divisions into quads might alleviate that a bit as well.

I wonder who the lucky bum is that will replace him in that awesome bum lineup.

Well that should be the very reason why you should learn sabermetics, not shun them. With sabermetrics you learn about sample size that explains that series. 'Shun' isn't even close to describing how I view sabr. I like the stats, but they are not absolute and only explain results, not necessarily predict. What do you use to predict player/team performance? Well, I'm not betting on baseball, so I tend not to predict results. I don't see much value in personally spending copious amounts of time studying the deeper statistics, in order to predict an outcome of a baseball game. I have no use for that. I just listen/watch the game and hope my Cubs win. Stats are useful for fantasy baseball though. I think a manager should use stats to make lineups of course, and not go with gut feelings. However, something that bothers me is when stats betray us (like last years playoff series vs the D-backs), it's simply written off as 'fluke' or 'small sample size', which has just as much justification as a good excuse as gut feelings or hunches.

Every time I see this guy: Russell Branyan I do this: http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l112/RockyBalboa_06/rolleyes.gif

Harden has the most ripped forearms I've ever seen on a ballplayer.

I could plainly hear some loudmouth fan yelling at Kosuke "YOU SUCK!", while listening to the game on mlb audio.

Dempster is near unstoppable at home, things are looking up today!

Yeah I don't like his voice, but he's still better than Santo. I have to listen to MLB audio because I don't have cable or satellite tv. Ron totally told Cory to shut up during the 5th inning though, that was hilarious. Cory said something about the Brewers being a half game back, and Ron basically told him to shut up and not talk about that half game crap, and how much he hates half-game talk. lulz.

Well that should be the very reason why you should learn sabermetics, not shun them. With sabermetrics you learn about sample size that explains that series. 'Shun' isn't even close to describing how I view sabr. I like the stats, but they are not absolute and only explain results, not necessarily predict.

I would think the players want the calls to be right as well. I just don't see any benefit of blown calls, even if half of them go our way. The White Sox would not even have went to the WS if not for one of the most outrageous blown calls I've ever seen. Even if we can't totally get rid of Human umpires, it's best to minimize their impact.

They're taking us to another dimension between time and space..

I've learned alot about sabr stats from this very site. I'm not affluent in many of them though. Last years playoff series vs. the d-bags made me somewhat despondent from sabr, as everything you could think of favored the Cubs, and there was really no logical reason the Cubs didn't instead sweep the d-bags.

I've had enough strike em out throw em out this season. I'd rather force them to take the 1st pitch every at bat the first time through.

Not really. The topic is about a new poster coming on with an in-your-face "I told you so" message to people who criticized Theriot in the past.Yeah you are right about that. I still think Theriot deserves a good thread though.

It's these kinds of posts that really help new members feel welcome. Good grief. You're right. I should have followed it with "welcome to the board!" This board is tame compared to what I'm used to. But, I'm also used to more discussion so I perhaps got long winded. Saying that, the topic is about praising Theriot. Simply posting his last 10 games statistics isn't much of a praise really. Most people here have no problem looking at his baseball reference page anytime. Here's a special short version of my first post for you: "All stats being equal, I'll take the higher character guy on my team"

Positive: We get to play Milwaukee again. Despite the slump, I have confidence this team will hand the Central Division opponents their heads when it's time.

"It's my first day"

The lack of walks is the entire problem I think. Didn't Randy Johnson have only 72 pitches at the start of the 7th inning last night? Thats just unacceptable and so 2007. At some point Lou has to intervene. I know those guys are professional hitters, but force them to be patient, why not tell the team to at least take the 1st pitch each at bat the first time through the order, no matter how sweet a strike it is. That's how the team succeeded early in the year, take alot of walks and get the SP over 100 pc by the 5th or 6th, then feast on the bullpens. I know we scored a ton of runs from the 7th inning on before we started sucking.

I remember reading an interesting argument on here awhile back on Theriot vs. Cedeno. The argument was formed from the question of which player would you rather have: If both players OPS .750, do you want Theriot who has to work really really hard to obtain .750, or Cedeno who has natural talent and could possibly perform better, but for some reason doesn't utilize his talents at the MLB, yet still OPS .750? I thought it was an OK question, one that heavily favored Cedeno based on potential, and also totally ignores that Cedeno had an entire season starting at the MLB level before Theriot even got a chance. I never really understood why players who have to play hard (grit) get so much flack, I mean I know that David Eckstein pretty much sucks and was on a rival team, but it shouldn't be such a shock that people in general will find attraction with players who don't have natural talent, but rather toil and grind their way into the system. What I like about Theriot is that he has an appreciation for how fortunate he is to even be in MLB. Someone like Cedeno who can probably OPS .750 with half the effort (with regular playing time), IMHO, doesn't quite have that same level of understanding or care about his situation. Doesn't (or hasn't) Cedeno pretty much utilize his time with the Cubs as a giant after hours party? IIRC he's kind of a playboy out of uniform. Correct me if I'm wrong. What does off the field activities have to do with anything? Dedication. I know, I know, dedication isn't a statistic. While I value certain statistics highly, I try to keep an opinion that bears in mind that no matter how many stats we surround ourselves with, and despite my dream of having computerized umps, the players are not robots. I honestly think some of you knowledgeable statistics guys totally forget this. They aren't robots. This of course leads to the concept of team chemistry which I know you guys hate, but I don't think it's the laughable joke many of you think it is. Anyone who's worked a real job with other individuals can tell you that work is much easier when everyone respects eachother and people get along. Players will still hate each other when the team is winning, I don't buy the argument that Wins create good chemistry. It might zip some lips for a little bit, that's all. I want and respect the guy on the team that knows he has to play his hardest to succeed. IMO, Theriot sets a much better example for his teammates than Cedeno (of course I don't know how the team views either player, but I know how I view them), and has real motivation to play well. I'm really happy with Theriot's performance this year, and I would prefer to see all the grit jokes stop. I don't see whats so cute and funny about making fun of hard work.

ooh!...ooh!...grade me!

That's my first reaction, they just took 2 of 3 from the Cubs, that means they have a chance. :good: