 |
 |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
| Between the Lines |
| Our Mission here at Between the Lines is twofold: First, to expose bad sports commentary in all its forms, for the mindless, poorly written and uttered drivel it is; Second, to go all Teddy Roosevelt on the monopoly that uninformed "experts," dim-witted ex-players, and platitude-spouting hacks exercise over sports journalism. |
| Language: English |
| RSS Feeds for this Blog |
|
Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 23 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 230287 |
| Visitors Out: 3068 |
| Total Visitors Out: 3089 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| Wrapping Up the Rest |
| 2008-01-04 11:28:27 |
I'm going to cover the next few ESPN HoF "debates" in one post, since I have less to say about each of them. Michael Knisley and John Shea tackled Andrew Dawson's candidacy; here's how Shea justified his decision to vote for "The Hawk":For me, the most important ingredient when voting is this: When you saw him play, did you think he was a Hall of Famer or not? Cooperstown has the best Hall of Fame in sports because it's the toughest to get into, because not every borderline candidate is inducted. It could be argued that it's great not for who is in, but for who is not in.In the case of Dawson, I always thought he was usually better than everyone else on the field, a guy who could take over a game, and dominate an era. Plus, what an intimidating fellow. I covered the Padres in '87, Dawson's...
|
| |
|
| Aaaaand We're Back |
| 2008-01-03 21:31:33 |
I've been remiss in my blogging duties, to say the least. Hope I didn't ruin your holidays. Fortunately, I picked a good time to get lazy; these last couple weeks have been about as devoid of news as any during the year. So, what have I missed?I won't go back too far, but recently, ESPN's series of Hall of Fame debates has provided more evidence for what we already knew: some Hall of Fame voters really shouldn't have votes. The series included discussions of Bert Blyleven, Andrew Dawson, Tim Raines, Jim Rice, Goose Gossage, and Mark McGwire, and I want to post some especially egregious excerpts from a few of these.First up: the Blyleven debate, wherein Sean McAdam has wins on the brain. Bob Klapisch does his best, (which can't quite equal the respective bests of Rich Lederer and Jay Jaffe)...
|
| |
|
| Sometimes, Honesty Isn't the Best Policy |
| 2007-12-19 03:28:15 |
Woody Paige has solicited the aid of his readers as he fills out his Hall-of-Fame ballot--and not a moment too soon:I need your help. Do I vote for suspected steroid users, particularly a couple included in the Mitchell report on Thursday, or do I automatically dismiss their candidacy? Do I vote for guys I personally like, or is that not being objective? Do I vote for a creep or a man who committed suicide? Do I check 10 players, the maximum allowed, or keep it to one or two? Do I go with pitcher Tommy John because they named a surgical procedure after him? A couple of those questions are legitimate, but you really shouldn't need assistance with the others. You shouldn't resolve to check either 1 or 2 players, or 10; you should vote for as many players as you think are deserving of enshri...
|
| |
|
| The Eckstein Report |
| 2007-12-14 15:27:22 |
David Eckstein has signed a contract. Go tell it on the mountain--twice. Even if you have to make up erroneous information about a 2nd year in order to make it sound like an original headline.......
|
| |
|
| Around and Around We Go |
| 2007-12-11 23:15:11 |
The "Around the Majors" section of Jon Heyman's CNNSI columns often operates as a haven for misinformation. Fully 1/3 of his latest bullet-pointed entries struck me as misleading and ill-informed, if not flat-out wrong:*The Yankees and Giants could possibly make a deal involving Hideki Matsui, one that involves either pitchers Noah Lowry or Jonathan Sanchez. But would anyone really expect Matsui to waive his no-trade clause to leave the team of his dreams?Yes. Absolutely. Matsui may like being a Yankee, but he also doesn't strike me as the type to stand in the way of a trade which both parties are eager to complete. It's also worth mentioning that many Japanese players have expressed a preference to play on the West Coast, which cuts almost half a day of off the round-trip flight to Japan...
|
| |
|
| Not So Fast |
| 2007-12-09 17:51:01 |
According to Mike Lupica of The Daily News, Jay Gibbons should be lauded for his recent admission of HGH use:In the same week that Barry Bonds stood in a courtroom and issued not-guilty pleas to felony charges that are primarily about him being a stone liar on the subject of steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, Jay Gibbons of the Orioles did something rather amazing in baseball: He told the truth. "I am deeply sorry for the mistakes I have made," Gibbons said. "I have no excuses and bare sole responsibility for my decisions." Gibbons didn't come up with some phantom illness, offer some jived-up explanation of why he had to get the drugs from a dentist operating out of the trunk of his car. He didn't blame a teammate, didn't say he was unaware of what he was taking, didn't say he'd bee...
|
| |
|
| Unfair Expectations |
| 2007-12-09 17:36:57 |
Detroit News columnist Jerry Green (who's old enough to use the word "balderdash" without blushing) felt he had to let us know that "perfection [is] now demanded of new-look Tigers." It's unclear who, exactly, is demanding this flawless performance, other than Green himself.The Tigers must win the World Series next October -- or bust. A division title would not be satisfactory. Not any more. Another American League pennant, the same as the Tigers unexpectedly won in 2006, would be insufficient. The Tigers have to win the pennant plus the World Series next season or the monster trade of the other day becomes a flop.The Tigers didn't make the playoffs last year. One trade later, they have to win the World Series or be considered a disgrace? I mean sure, they picked up a great player, but the...
|
| |
|
| He Said, He Said |
| 2007-12-08 00:02:54 |
I'm not here to criticize the Andruw Jones signing. $18.1 per may be a little pricey, but that seems to be what decent center fielders are going for these days, and it's only for two years. I do agree with Keith Law when he says that it could end up being a mistake if it's a prelude to a Kemp trade and a starting role for Juan Pierre. But I digress; what I'd really like to talk to you about today is the continuing presence of Bill Plaschke at the Los Angeles Times. What's up with that?Folks will complain because Jones, 30, is coming off the worst full season of his career, but every question has an answer.You say he had a bad summer? I say he still would have led the Dodgers in home runs (26) and runs batted in (94).I say RBI are lineup-dependent and tell us very little about Jones' perfor...
|
| |
|
| Kenny Enters the Spin Room |
| 2007-12-07 23:00:20 |
Why did the Tigers trade their two best prospects for an established star and an established ex-star? To compete with those 72-90 Chicago White Sox, of course!Reacting Wednesday to the blockbuster deal that sent power-hitting third baseman Miguel Cabrera and former All-Star left-hander Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins to the Detroit Tigers — wrecking the Sox’ latest offseason plans — Williams said: ‘‘All this has done is put the Tigers in a better position to contend with us.''I suppose that's not exactly a lie, but it certainly is a very strange way of telling the truth.......
|
| |
|
| Not Sure What to Think? Refer to a Senseless Axiom |
| 2007-12-05 11:55:27 |
The Detroit News' Rob Parker on the Cabrera-Willis trade:It was a no-brainer. Whenever you have a chance to trade potential for production, you do it. Really? Even if it means trading a top prospect who's a year away from reaching the Majors for a mediocre veteran who would probably provide only a marginal short-term benefit? Obviously, that's not what happened in this case, as Cabrera, at least, is a star, but that sort of deal does happen way more often than it should. Judging this deal on its own merits is far more helpful than resorting to an unsubstantiated generalization. Don't believe me? Check out this or this.Does anyone draw conclusions from Rob Parker columns when there are so many better sources of information available?......
|
| |
|
| 25 is the New 35 |
| 2007-12-04 12:10:09 |
Red Sox beat writers Gordon Edes and Amalie Benjamin demonstrate just a little unfamiliarity with the roster of their team's main rival:The Yankees, even with lefthander Andy Pettitte informing the club he will return for a 14th big-league season, would seem to have a greater need for Santana. Their rotation is aging and lacking a true No. 1 starter. The Sox potentially have Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Lester, Buchholz and veterans Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield, but would become prohibitive favorites in the AL East if they added Santana, who will be 29 next season.No argument on the Yankees' need for a #1 starter, or the fact that the Sox would be overwhelming favorites should they land Santana. But is the Yanks' rotation really "aging?"The average age of a Wang-Pettitte-Hughes-Chamberl...
|
| |
|
| The Forgotten Confessers |
| 2007-11-28 16:20:12 |
An item in Buster Olney's latest blog entry echoes a certain Rick Morrissey article which you may have seen 'round these parts:But isn't it an incredible coincidence that just about everybody who tests positive points to somebody else? Is it possible that some players actually knowingly took steroids? We could take the denials a little more seriously if somebody besides Matt Lawton acknowledged that he made the decision to take performance-enhancing drugs.Buster has been extremely thorough in his coverage of baseball's steroid problem, so I'm surprised that he, too, failed to remember these guys.......
|
| |
|
| Most Valuable Prognosticator |
| 2007-11-27 13:14:58 |
Another offseason, another Jimmy Rollins prediction:"We'll win probably 100 games . . . 100 games will get us to the playoffs," Rollins told Comcast SportsNet last night, when asked for his forecast for next season.I'm not sure why Rollins thinks it'll take 100 wins to garner the NL East title in 2008, but if either the Mets or the Braves miraculously manages to finish 99-63, he'll be spending October at home. The Phillies finished 89-73 in 2007, and their Pythagorean W-L of 87-75 indicates that they actually outperformed expectations. Teams don't typically vault from 89 wins to 100 wins without a major change in personnel, (although it can happen) so let's look at what the Phillies have done since the end of the NLDS.They re-signed J.C. Romero, (who threw 36 1/3 innings for the team last ...
|
| |
|
| When Guerrero's Eyes Are Smiling... |
| 2007-11-26 16:24:21 |
CNNSI's Jon Heyman approves of Kenny Williams' Orlando Cabrera acquisition:The White Sox's Williams scored big with the deal for Orlando Cabrera, another great chemistry guy. He's the one who kept Guerrero smiling the last couple years.Here's what a real baseball analyst (Keith Law) had to say about the deal a week ago:The White Sox's aim in this deal is less apparent. Cabrera is a good defensive shortstop with very sure hands and good range, but he's mediocre at the plate. His .301 batting average in 2007 was a career best, and he hadn't topped .282 in any of the previous three seasons. Because he doesn't walk or hit for much power, Cabrera's offensive contribution depends on his batting average, and the evidence we have says that he's a .260-.280 hitter, not a .300 hitter. He has good ba...
|
| |
|
| Mountain Time Zone Bias |
| 2007-11-21 17:38:35 |
Bernie Lincicome of the Rocky Mountain News believes that Matt Holliday was the NL's MVP in 2007. He just isn't sure why.Stiffed again. Were we the only ones watching? Was all that happened with the Rockies just air guitar baseball and shadow puppets? Pay no attention to the man behind the screen. He has no MVP vote, anyhow. This one is worse than the other two because Matt Holliday was not only the most valuable player in the National League he was practically in his own league.I'll ignore try the absence of commas in that last sentence, and focus instead on the content of the statement itself. Lincicome implies that Holliday's performance placed him so far above his competitors that one would have to be a fool to deny him an MVP vote, but in fact, Holliday was probably not even one of...
|
| |
|
| The Reason Why Award Voting is Never Unanimous |
| 2007-11-21 17:16:24 |
There's nothing wrong with a little disagreement. In fact, disagreement is the root of all baseball debates, and we all love arguing about our national pastime. But is educated disagreement too much to ask? Apparently so.I knew it would be a losing vote, but that's OK. As long as you follow your conscience, as long as you vote the way you think you should, and what your heart and eyes tell you -- even if it's in a lopsided minority -- then that's the way you need to vote.Be true to what you believe.Normally I'd agree with you. But when what you believe is based on a foolish and ill-informed conclusion, it might be wiser to be true to what others believe.This ballot happened to be for American League Most Valuable Player, a privilege I've had as a baseball writer more than a dozen times ove...
|
| |
|
| Sometimes, the Consensus Choice is the Right One |
| 2007-11-17 05:16:29 |
Jason Tuohey of The Boston Globe insists that the acronym "MVP" (as in MVP Award) actually stands for "Most Valuable Papi." Of course, the rest of us know that it most certainly does not. And only if it did would David Ortiz be the man most qualified to win it.Although the Red Sox World Series victory promises a painful offseason in New York, some Yankees fans will take solace when Alex Rodriguez brings another Most Valuable Player award to the Bronx.I'm certainly not aware of any. How many Yankee fans even like A-Rod? The few who do probably won't be forgetting Papelbon's "Victory Squat" any time soon just because A-Rod took home some regular season hardware.Major League Baseball doesn't announce the MVP awards until Monday, but it's considered a mere formality in the American League this...
|
| |
|
| It's a Conspiracy |
| 2007-11-15 12:24:07 |
Don't believe anything you may have read about Alex Rodriguez's negotiations with the Yankees. Newsday's Wallace Matthews has pierced the veil of lies surrounding the proceedings, and brings you the real scoop:If you really believe Alex Rodriguez is going to negotiate with the Yankees without Scott Boras in the room, you probably also believe Ali G is about to be hired as a correspondent by "60 Minutes".If anyone is being used here, it's the Yankees, but they must know this, mustn't they? Because if they believe they're getting Rodriguez in a room by himself, they must also believe somebody can do a better job of managing this team than Joe Torre. (Oh, wait a minute ... )This article was written after the publication of numerous reports which said that A-Rod had in fact already met with th...
|
| |
|
| The Philadelphia Daily News Has Company |
| 2007-11-15 11:51:10 |
George Vecsey of The New York Times wants to get in on the "A-Rod doesn't improve his teams" act:Rodriguez had a monster season, but the Yankees could not get out of the first round of the playoffs, yet again. He is an enigmatic figure in their clubhouse, clearly not a player who improves his team.This is the Yankees’ big chance to take whatever money they had penciled in for him and spend it on pitching and power and first base and a reasonable approximation of Scott Brosius at third base. Alex Rodriguez let his agent opt out for him, right during the World Series. Now the Yankees should opt out on him.In 4 seasons with the Yankees, A-Rod has made 4 All-Star appearances, won 2 MVP awards, and contributed 43.4 WARP-3. Clearly not a player who has improved the team, especially when one fa...
|
| |
|
| When Great Stats Go to Waste |
| 2007-11-13 12:28:40 |
Check out the caption: "Alex Rodriguez' big stats haven't improved the Rangers or Yanks." Really, Philadelphia Daily News? In seven All-Star seasons, in which Rodriguez won (almost certainly) 3 MVP Awards and amassed a total WARP-3 of 81.5, he failed to improve his teams? Pretty hard to believe.......
|
| |
|
| The Bad, the Worse, and Rick Morrissey |
| 2007-11-12 16:10:06 |
Rick Morrissey of The Chicago Tribune wishes just one steroid user would admit his wrongdoing:For no other reason than to humor us, could one baseball player please admit he used steroids or human growth hormone for the sole purpose of becoming a better athlete? Just one guy? OK, somebody less clownish than Jose Canseco. In other words, it would be nice if a ballplayer, having been outed for buying HGH from an aromatherapist in Scranton or a manicurist in Biloxi, simply said: "You know what? I wanted to be bigger, faster and stronger. So sue me." Instead, we're learning that Major League Baseball is filled with all sorts of maladies that only steroids and HGH can help. And the fact that these drugs happen to be considered performance enhancers … w...
|
| |
|
| A Sore Losing Clinic |
| 2007-11-11 16:10:58 |
Chipper Jones may not flub too many grounders during the season, but off the field, he makes plenty of errors:According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chipper Jones is a bit baffled by David Wright winning the NL Gold Glove. "When I find out [Wright won] I was speechless, for quite some time," Jones said. "Certainly the guys with the least amount of errors and best fielding percentage quite obviously didn't win it."Fortunately, Gold Glove Awards aren't necessarily handed out to the guys with the least amount of errors and the highest fielding percentage. Well, OK, pretty frequently they are, but they shouldn't be; we have far more telling defensive stats at our disposal. Jones did have fewer errors and a higher FP than Wright, but he also had a .662 RZR, compared to Wright's .689, a...
|
| |
|
| Keep Dreaming |
| 2007-11-08 16:45:27 |
Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune plays GM:"How can the Yankees make the folks who bought 4 1/2 million tickets this season forget about A-Rod? They acquire Johan Santana from the Twins for pitchers Philip Hughes and Ian Kennedy and outfielders Melky Cabrera and Jose Tabata.The Twins also add Joe Nathan to the deal and get bullet-throwing Joba Chamberlain.I think this one speaks for itself.......
|
| |
|
| What We've Got Here is a Failure to Communicate |
| 2007-11-07 11:51:44 |
Bill Plaschke really doesn't understand the concept of instant replay:All this talk about bringing instant replay to baseball neglects one piece of, as the football techs like to say, indisputable visual evidence.Baseball already uses instant replay. When a plate umpire checks with a first base umpire on a check swing, isn't that instant replay?When a third base umpire gathers his crew to decide whether a ball that sailed over the fence was fair or foul, isn't that instant replay?No. This is instant replay.......
|
| |
|
| Bad Advice |
| 2007-11-07 11:45:35 |
Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel knows just what the Marlins should do if they can only retain half of the Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis duo:Finally, there's the stark difference between finding another slugger and replacing a legitimate ace. The first is comparatively easy, while the second is nearly "impossible," to use J.P. Ricciardi's word. "You try to get pitching —from anybody," said Ricciardi, the Blue Jays' GM. "You talk to anyone, it's pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching. It becomes gold after a while." That's why the Marlins should hold onto Willis as long as they possibly can, even if it means moving Cabrera now.This would be true, if Dontrelle Willis were anything even close to a "legitimate ace." This is not the case; in fact, he's no longer even league-...
|
| |
|
| Peña Madness |
| 2007-11-05 11:40:10 |
CNNSI's Jon Heyman breaks a huge story in today's "Daily Scoop":Carlos Pena, Kevin Long and Rob Thomson are expected back as Yankees coaches.Last I heard, Tampa Bay was trying to sign slugging 1B Peña to a multi-year deal. Apparently they took too long, because Peña, who hit 46 HR last year, has decided to accept the prestigious Yankees 1B Coach job, replacing the un-related Tony Peña. Best of luck to Carlos as he dons the pinstripes, and kudos to Jon Heyman and his crack team of editors for continuing to pace the journalistic field. ......
|
| |
|
| Now That He's No Longer a Yankee, Posts Like This Might Stop Soon |
| 2007-11-03 15:17:17 |
Glenn Dickey of The San Francisco Examiner exhibited more than the usual media myopia when he decided to take his paper's title literally by examining Alex Rodriguez's playoff performances:He’s Mr. April, flourishing in the regular season but seldom a factor in the postseason.Many stars have had problems in the shorter postseason, when they don’t have time to work out of a brief slump. Babe Ruth once hit .118 in a World Series, Ted Williams just .200. For years, Bonds was known for a negative — his failure to throw out Atlanta’s Sid Bream, who scored the run which won the 1992 NL Championship Series.Williams never got another chance but Ruth got several and excelled. Bonds had a great postseason in 2002, when the Giants nearly won the World Series. But Rodriguez’s bat has always ...
|
| |
|
| Two Justice League Superstars |
| 2007-10-31 19:42:24 |
We haven't posted about him in some time, but Richard Justice is still spewing his unique brand of "SportsJustice" all over the internet at the electric doppelganger of The Houston Chronicle.I'll take Great Moments in Astros History for a thousand, Alex. That's how I feel after getting the news that Brad Ausmus is back with the Astros in 2008. Never mind that he won't be an everyday player. He brings enough to the table in terms of smarts and intelligence to do his part and then some. My only worry now is that Adam Everett's deal will be delayed by the whole arbitration process. With Ausmus and Everett in the fold, I see a contender starting to take shape.Brad Ausmus and Adam Everett: cornerstones of a successful franchise. Keep in mind that both Ausmus (...
|
| |
|
| Let Sleeping Third Basemen Lie |
| 2007-10-29 12:07:20 |
Bob DiCesare of The Buffalo News resurrects a familiar name as a possible replacement for Alex Rodriguez:The roster restructuring overseen by General Manager Brian Cashman has distanced the Yanks from their glory days of not all that long ago. Once baseball’s ultimate gamers, the Yanks have ceded that distinction to the Red Sox. It’s Boston, not New York, that strings together quality at-bats and pushes opposing pitchers to the point of exhaustion. Fact is, the Yankees are in far greater need of a Scott Brosius, a Bernie Williams, a Paul O’Neill than an uninspired (and uninspiring) A-Rod.Not true. Even in his career year, (1998) Scott Brosius was worth over 4 wins less than A-Rod was for the Yankees in 2007--and he was much better that year than in any other year except 1996. Also, h...
|
| |
|
| The Definiition of Insanity... |
| 2007-10-26 15:53:14 |
...is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. OK, so that's not exactly a definition; it's just something that Benjamin Franklin may or may not have said, and it doesn't even make that much sense. Nevertheless, the behavior of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior is starting to make me think that ol' "Poor Richard" himself may have been on to something:Whether it's simply to catch up on the past or plot for the future, new Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker has been chatting with his former Cubs co-aces, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. ''I talked to Mark Prior [Wednesday], and I've heard from Woody and some other guys,'' said Baker, who will turn his focus to managing the Reds once his current gig as an ESPN analyst ends after the World Series. Both pitchers could become...
|
| |
|
| Bunting Their Way to the Top |
| 2007-10-24 11:46:37 |
The White Sox aren't resting on their laurels after a 72-90 season (in which they significantly outperformed their 67-95 Pythagorean W-L). Manager Ozzie Guillen has concocted an ingenious quick fix for all that ails them:Spring training won't be dull if White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has his way. As Guillen talked Tuesday about the additions of third-base coach Jeff Cox and bullpen coach Juan Nieves to his staff, he emphasized the Sox will change their preparation radically in an effort to improve dramatically from their 90-loss season."You're going to see a lot of crazy stuff in spring training, regardless of the baserunning," Guillen said during a conference call. "You're going to see hit-and-run [plays] when it's not a hit-and-run situation. You're going to see people bunting when it's...
|
| |
|
| Dubious Reasoning Strikes Again |
| 2007-10-23 21:37:22 |
Tim Cowlishaw of the The Dallas Morning News thinks that the Rockies are probably going to win the World Series. That's OK. I mean, the evidence suggests otherwise, and as far as I'm concerned, it would be wise to pick the Red Sox, despite all the playoff crapshoot-iness inherent in a series of this nature. But it's not his selection that has me up in arms; it's the rationale, if one can call it that, behind his pick. Observe: It is because of their higher profile, their heavier payroll, their (alleged) home-field advantage and because of the general discrediting of today's National League baseball that the Red Sox are pegged to win their second World Series in four years. I don't see that happening. I'm not saying it's impossible for Boston to beat the Rockies. I just thin...
|
| |
|
| Deep Thoughts with Dusty Baker |
| 2007-10-21 17:23:51 |
Dusty's return has already been a boon to BTL:Ken Griffey Jr. will become the latest of the exclusive 600 home run club to be associated with Baker."I played with Hank Aaron," Baker said. "I managed Barry (Bonds) and Sammy (Sosa). Now Junior. People ask how they compare. They're all great. Are there degrees of greatness?"Yes? Not even sure what else to say here; the answer is just too obvious.......
|
| |
|
| Dusty's Back |
| 2007-10-19 21:51:02 |
The Cincinnati Reds, a struggling organization that hasn't made the playoffs since 1995, have hired as their new manager Dusty Baker, a flailing manager-turned-ESPN-analyst who hasn't been respected since he contributed to the demise of the Prior/Wood combination. This certainly doesn't seem like a good move to me, the casual (but very well-informed) observer. Thus, by the law of zany Joe-Morgan-ness, Joe Morgan must think this is a good move.CLEVELAND — Joe Morgan has one question for any Reds fan unsettled by Dusty Baker's hiring as the team's new manager. "People are going to criticize anything, but were they happy with what happened before?" the Hall of Famer wondered Tuesday night before broadcasting Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on ESPN Radio.Of course they were...
|
| |
|
| Let's Do This One More Time |
| 2007-10-18 10:54:57 |
I'm really trying not to post about A-Rod, I swear. But they're not making it easy for me. And by "they," I mean Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune.The Yankees need to let Alex Rodriguez walk. If they pony up to give him the extension he wants—even if it's more in the range of a mere five years and $150 million, not 10 years and $300 million—they will be ignoring history, not learning from it. You simply can't buy success in the World Series.You can't buy a World Series victory, no. But you can buy better players, who give you a better chance of winning. It's true that playoff success is largely determined by luck, simply because of the small sample sizes involved. But it's not entirely luck; a bunch of Little Leaguers wouldn't be able to take a Major League team simply because it's Oc...
|
| |
|
| We Can Admit When We're Wrong Too (Sort of) |
| 2007-10-18 06:46:31 |
This is a semi-retraction to my recent post on Tony La Russa's new idea: batting the pitcher eighth. Apparently (as it has been pointed out to me by some readers) some recent studies have shown that this strategy does in fact pay off in the long run, to the tune of approximately 2 or 3 runs per season. This is a very small difference, however, equal to about one extra win every four seasons. So maybe La Russa is on to something, as much as I hate to admit it, but it certainly isn't much, and can't be used to explain any large differences in the Cardinals' play this season.In spite of this retraction, I stand by most of my post. Whether or not the strategy is sound, the analysis in Rick Hummel's article is still insubstantial and full of holes.......
|
| |
|
| Simply Maddening |
| 2007-10-17 21:17:29 |
Bill Madden of the NY Daily News can't seem to keep his Joe Torre story straight. On October 12th, he wrote an article entitled:If Yankees drag it out, Joe Torre may stand a chanceThe blurb under this headline on the back page read:The longer Yanks wait to make call, the better Torre's chancesPretty self-explanatory position, right? Yet a mere five days later, Madden has reversed course entirely, penning a column which proclaims:Yankee silence doesn't bode well for Joe TorreIf you're having difficulty following, just try to remember that the longer the Yankees wait to make a decision, the better (or worse) Torre's chances will be.......
|
| |
|
| More About That Team from the Bronx |
| 2007-10-16 00:19:25 |
IGN Sports' Dan Phillips has come up with a list of recommendations for the Yankees as they try to "right" the 94-win ship, with the premise that "The Yanks should wave goodbye to sentimentality." I can't argue with two of them, ("Let Joe Torre Walk" and "Sign A-Rod") but the other two represent the opposite of good advice:2) Let Jorge Posada WalkPosada is coming off the best season by an aging catcher in baseball history, which is precisely why the Yankees should let some other team get suckered into paying him the big bucks. Aging catchers inevitably break down into mere shells of their former selves, and what's worse, they do it suddenly and without warning. Do you really want to fork over a three-year, 45 million-dollar contract to Posada on the assumption that he'll defy one of the fe...
|
| |
|
| Youth Gets Served |
| 2007-10-15 17:52:22 |
If you're wondering how the Rockies have managed to extend their dominant performance deep into the NLCS, you might want to check out this out; Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic treats us to an in-depth analysis of the series, explaining how exactly the Diamondbacks came to find themselves in an 0-3 hole entering Game 4. His conclusion:D-Backs show lack of experienceOh...is that it? Huh.To stay alive, the Diamondbacks will rely on Micah Owings, a guy who hasn't pitched in a major-league game since Sept. 27, against a team that has lost once since the middle of September. The odds are long, to say the least. And if you're wondering what happened to the team that won 90 games and clubbed the Cubs, here's a guess: The Diamondbacks finally are acting their age. Many of the mistakes made this...
|
| |
|
| Clueless Joel |
| 2007-10-12 05:30:41 |
The steady stream of Joe Torre-related articles has shown no sign of abating since the Yankees' early playoff exit, and probably won't until his job status is clarified once and for all. These articles generally stump for Torre's return based solely on past success, or demand Torre's ouster on the basis that it's simply "time for a change." Only a precious few actually take the time and effort to examine Torre's on-the-job performance in an effort to determine his worthiness. The following, written by Joel Sherman of the NY Post just before the Yankees' defeat, is not one of them.Lou Piniella, the man George Steinbrenner wanted last year at this time rather than Joe Torre, just guided his team out of the playoffs, losing three straight games to a Diamondback team that scored fewer runs tha...
|
| |
|
| |
 |
|
| |
| |
|
 |
