While watching the Braves/Astros Spring Training game today, John Kruk went on a good ol' fashioned anti-sabermetrics rant. He kept repeating, "Baseball players" as though it was a mantra of some sort.
Because numbers tell you NOTHING about how a baseball player plays baseball. Derek Jeter is apparently a baseball player. Never mind that he has been called the worst fielding shortstop in baseball (Link!). He's got grit and heart and stuff.
Guys like Jimmy Rollins. They're baseball players. I mean, statistics say he's good, but it's the heart and guts and stuff that REALLY make him good.
A-Rod...he's not clutch. Statistics say that he's the best player in baseball. But he doesn't have heart and guts. He's crap. Shouldn't even be in the league.
Look, to deny that there's a psychological aspect of the game is stupid. Plain, outright, stupid. But it's just as stupid to think that there's some sort of quotient for heart. If a guy's good at baseball, why complain that numbers indicate it? Who cares what he looks like? *sigh* I miss the Fire Joe Morgan guys. They could have done this much better than me.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Please Fire Rick Reilly
Mr. Reilly's new column on ESPN.com (remember, highest paid sportswriter ever) features a sarcastic "giving back" of MVP awards to the players who finished second to 'roiders during the infamous "Steroid Era" of baseball.
This, I have no problem with. I mean, it's a decent concept. The problem is, Reilly's assuming that all these other players weren't on steroids. This is not a good thing to do, as we've learned that NO ONE should be trusted during this era in baseball.
Also, in defense of the game of baseball (and totally off the subject of Reilly): It is absolutely ludicrous that baseball is the game being picked on by the sportswriters and the public. To say that baseball is tainted is ridiculous. The game is being treated differently on the basis that steroids help people more in baseball than in other sports.
Really? Because, and I'm young so I might be way off, I thought that being stronger than your opponent conferred a slight advantage to a football player. I was way off.
The MLB's steroid rules dictate suspensions and fines. The NFL says, if you're caught (which basically requires you to go into a crowded room and shout: "SOMEONE SHOULD STICK A NEEDLE IN MY BUTT!!!! I LOVE DA 'ROIDS!!!!") you don't get to go to the Pro Bowl. Wooo. Wow, what a punishment! I'd hate to make, say, 1 million dollars a year (Shawne Merriman, anyone?) and miss out on $45,000 for the Pro Bowl.
So please, someone stop the madness. Baseball players aren't clean. They weren't clean. Neither were football players. Cyclists weren't clean for crying out loud. Make it stop!
This, I have no problem with. I mean, it's a decent concept. The problem is, Reilly's assuming that all these other players weren't on steroids. This is not a good thing to do, as we've learned that NO ONE should be trusted during this era in baseball.
Also, in defense of the game of baseball (and totally off the subject of Reilly): It is absolutely ludicrous that baseball is the game being picked on by the sportswriters and the public. To say that baseball is tainted is ridiculous. The game is being treated differently on the basis that steroids help people more in baseball than in other sports.
Really? Because, and I'm young so I might be way off, I thought that being stronger than your opponent conferred a slight advantage to a football player. I was way off.
The MLB's steroid rules dictate suspensions and fines. The NFL says, if you're caught (which basically requires you to go into a crowded room and shout: "SOMEONE SHOULD STICK A NEEDLE IN MY BUTT!!!! I LOVE DA 'ROIDS!!!!") you don't get to go to the Pro Bowl. Wooo. Wow, what a punishment! I'd hate to make, say, 1 million dollars a year (Shawne Merriman, anyone?) and miss out on $45,000 for the Pro Bowl.
So please, someone stop the madness. Baseball players aren't clean. They weren't clean. Neither were football players. Cyclists weren't clean for crying out loud. Make it stop!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Further Super Bowling
If you're reading this, then I've been captured and eaten by cannibals, please send my belongings to President Obama, who, apparently is supposed to be thanked for everything that happens, including Super Bowl victories. Also, if you are reading this, then you know I'm a sarcastic jerk, and we should all just go down a line and try restarting this paragraph.
Ahem...
If you're reading this, then you watched the Super Bowl. You know all about the Steelers, the Cardinals, the commercials that were good, the commercials that were bad, the 3D commercials, and Springsteen's crotch. Given that, would there be a point to reviewing this game?
No, since it's the most watched sporting event there is every single freakin' year.
In fact, the only really egregious thing to me is James Harrison not being tossed from the game for assaulting a Cardinals player. (Well, that and Harrison's 100 yard touchdown run which was impressive. Less so because it featured some holding and a pretty flagrant clip that would have been called on a kickoff or punt return. But, hey, I'm not a Cardinals fan, so whatever.) The NFL needs to crack down on this sort of thing. Fining Harrison will be completely ineffectual. I mean, the man makes how much a year? It's absurd to think that fining him for about a quarter's worth of "work" will do anything to him.
PS to the NFL rules change committee: Change the "roughing" rule. Please. There is no reason Pittsburgh should have gotten 8 tries inside the 10 to score during the 3rd quarter of the SUPER BOWL!
PPS to ESPN: Please fire Rick Reilly, as reading his articles causes me to question if there is justice in the world. If you do not believe me, please watch this video which you have put on your website's own front page.
It is not about the "right team" winning, sir. It's about who scores more points during the game. The only time the "right team" doesn't win is if, somehow, they score more points and don't win the game. I do not care which fan base cares more. If UVa scores more points than Virginia Tech, then the right team wins the game. If Arizona had scored more points than Pittsburgh, then the right team would have won the game! This inane crap about having a good fan base/"family" is utterly bizarre. The Cubs have a great fan base. Does this mean that the "wrong" team has won the World Series every year since 1908?! In conclusion, please, please quit ruining sports journalism. Thank you.
Ahem...
If you're reading this, then you watched the Super Bowl. You know all about the Steelers, the Cardinals, the commercials that were good, the commercials that were bad, the 3D commercials, and Springsteen's crotch. Given that, would there be a point to reviewing this game?
No, since it's the most watched sporting event there is every single freakin' year.
In fact, the only really egregious thing to me is James Harrison not being tossed from the game for assaulting a Cardinals player. (Well, that and Harrison's 100 yard touchdown run which was impressive. Less so because it featured some holding and a pretty flagrant clip that would have been called on a kickoff or punt return. But, hey, I'm not a Cardinals fan, so whatever.) The NFL needs to crack down on this sort of thing. Fining Harrison will be completely ineffectual. I mean, the man makes how much a year? It's absurd to think that fining him for about a quarter's worth of "work" will do anything to him.
PS to the NFL rules change committee: Change the "roughing" rule. Please. There is no reason Pittsburgh should have gotten 8 tries inside the 10 to score during the 3rd quarter of the SUPER BOWL!
PPS to ESPN: Please fire Rick Reilly, as reading his articles causes me to question if there is justice in the world. If you do not believe me, please watch this video which you have put on your website's own front page.
It is not about the "right team" winning, sir. It's about who scores more points during the game. The only time the "right team" doesn't win is if, somehow, they score more points and don't win the game. I do not care which fan base cares more. If UVa scores more points than Virginia Tech, then the right team wins the game. If Arizona had scored more points than Pittsburgh, then the right team would have won the game! This inane crap about having a good fan base/"family" is utterly bizarre. The Cubs have a great fan base. Does this mean that the "wrong" team has won the World Series every year since 1908?! In conclusion, please, please quit ruining sports journalism. Thank you.
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