Outshined_One

Edit: I'm not totally sure, to be honest.

Remind me again how people are able to get jobs in sports broadcasting despite not knowing about baseball?

There were most definitely some...interesting choices and rankings on that list. Some I fully agree with (Matsuzaka at #1), but others either carry a serious media bias with them or are a bit too ceiling-happy for my tastes.

Base ball!

That's a moment that will haunt me forever. I was driving home listening to that game when it happened. I could only imagine what was going through his mind. That moment ranks among the most absolute hilarious moments of Dusty's tenure. It puts a smile on my face even now just thinking about it. Here's a gem no one's mentioned yet:

Them's slap-fighting words. :twisted: Fixed for context. :D

That's not entirely out of line for undeveloped land. Especially considering he bought it from an elderly aunt.

Nobody is their stat line. We've all seen hitters and pitchers perform above and beyond their potential (and well below it, I'll add). While we have stats like BABIP to help us determine how lucky a player is in a given year and the likelihood that the player will suffer a correction in his production, nothing is a given. Most statistics tend to cluster around a certain area, but you will always have outliers. Cuse, what you are looking at is something which can inherently be tied into human aspects of the game. I have no doubts that a player's own life can affect the way he plays a game. It won't necessarily have an effect, but, in various instances things beyond performance, you might see things alter a player's performance and ceiling. You see this in the minor leagues especially. Let's say a first baseman down in Peoria (Low A) hits .250/.310/.370 with 10 HRs over the course of a season, with nothing looking too out of whack in terms of K/BB, BABIP, and various splits. No one would bat an eye at those numbers. Frankly, for a first baseman at that low of a level, that is a pretty bad line. However, let's start adding variables on top of that stat line. The first baseman was actually 19 that season, with a lanky and thin frame. He showed a tremendous work ethic and enough athleticism to have plus defense at 1B. Moreover, the Midwest League was dominated by pitching that season, with a number of top prospects emerging and performing. All of a sudden, that stat line does not look so bad. Disappointing, yes, but not to the point of making a team likely to see the guy as minor league filler. If he showed up to camp the next season with a frame filled out with lithe muscle following an intense offseason workout regimen where he watched countless hours of tape and made a second home at the batting cages to get a better eye for breaking balls, I would definitely expect him to improve on that line. So, in that respect, I understand what you are getting at. However, statistics have inherent in them the notion of probability. They have predictive power, there is no doubt in anyone's mind about that. Neifi Perez's stat line has sucked for his entire career and there is no doubt in anyone's mind that it will continue to suck. When you have guys that bad, it will show. However, that predictive power can vary quite a bit in some cases. Carlos Zambrano is one of the best example on this team regarding this. We have a mountain of statistical data that strengthens arguments that he will either suffer an injury or have his performance decline this year (thank you Dusty F. Baker). He has some trends which are worrying from a statistical standpoint (increased walk rate). Yet, Zambrano is unusual. It could well be that he was able to withstand those countless 120+ pitch outings and will still be able to maintain his stuff. He might be one of the Top 5 pitchers in the NL this year for all we know. He most certainly has what it takes to get there, but we can't predict if something will happen using these statistics. All we have are probabilities, some of which are stronger than others. In Zambrano's case, it's hard to accurately pinpoint what is the strength of the probability of his decline. Hopefully this explained some things and didn't confuse people any further. :D

\:D/ \:D/ \:D/

Look at his awards and tell me what sticks out. If we can induct Ozzie Smith into the Hall because he's one of the top two or three greatest defensive shortstops of all time while being decent offensively, then Kaat by analogy should get in for being one of the two or three best defense pitchers of all time while being a decent pitcher.

The Murray Chass thread got me thinking about something. While the majority of people on this board are comfortable with stats and are able to explain them, it seems like some people on this board are on completely different wavelengths when it comes to interpreting and understanding these statistics. So, for example, I can calculate and explain some things like OBP, SLG, OPS, K/9, BB/9, IsoD, IsoP, and so on. I have a basic understanding of things like VORP, OPS+, EqA, and ERA+. For the life of me, I can't make heads or tails of WARP and advanced fielding metrics. I'd really like to learn more about them, don't get me wrong, but my current knowledge of them is not very good. Getting down to the point of this thread, I have a few questions for all of you. I'm trying to get a better understanding of the breakdown of the people on this board when it comes to their opinions regarding statistics. 1) Do you prefer traditional statistics (AVG, RBI, ERA) or newer statistics (OBP, SLG, ERA+)? Why? 1a) If you prefer traditional statistics, do the newer statistics draw your interest? If not, why? 2) What particular statistics are you comfortable with using and interpreting? 3) What particular statistics might as well be a completely different language to you? Perhaps we can use this thread to understand more about stats. That's my hope, at least. :D

FJM had a quality line which I agree with in full:

He's already logged 3.1 IP and notched a save this season, from what I can tell.

The report didn't say it was lean muscle. Weightlifters can put on a lot of weight in a hurry by loading up on protein after workouts on a regular basis without much happening to cut that muscle down. It's probably a lot of bulk, but not very well cut, if you get the picture.

But...but...but...but...but...but...but...but...but...but...but...HE PLAYED FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!

Oden's been under a microscope pretty much since he picked up a basketball. He would have been the #1 overall pick coming out of high school last year under the old rules. Teams know what he needs to improve on, what his ceiling looks like, and what his floor is. Perhaps he needs polish before he lives up to his potential, but no player in any sport is able to play up to his potential from the moment he is drafted. Oden's right hand is still not 100% and his game could use some work, true. However, he'll go #2 overall at the very worst come this summer (barring a catastrophe). He'd be insane not to declare. After all, he would get much better coaching and experience in the NBA.

Wieters has the goods to play 3B or RF, especially given that his arm could have gotten him a first round nod as a pitcher. He's got the kind of athleticism that will allow him to stick at 1B/3B/RF/LF and be effective at that position. Whether or not he can stick at catcher is anyone's guess.

They did. Barry Bonds dressed up as Paula Abdul. Everyone was merry.

Tim Lincecum is a stylin' man. Gotta give him credit for the swank choice.

Link, Scroll Down

You should see the OSU message boards right now screaming about the bad calls going their way. It's kinda funny.

Commence mugging!

lol @ Thad Matta's gum.

I think that last sequence saw approximately 30 fouls underneath the basket.

Would Bill Simmons' head explode if Durant and Oden stayed in school another year?