Quote :

"But its pretty much a self-fulfilling prophecy that the best hitters will have the most rbi, simply because of opportunity, outliers like Mike Lowell's 120 steak season hitting sixth nonwithstanding."

i mean, i understand where you're coming from, but i don't think you can use "best hitters" and "rbi" in that sentence, or any sentence, because it's more like "most opportunistic hitters." and i know you mention lowell's 120 rbi season here as an outlier, but that's pointing out exactly why the stat is severely flawed. you can hit 6th on a high powered offensive team and appear to have had a better season compared to a player of similar quality because you had more RBI. granted, lowell was better than a lot of people that year with a slash line of .324/.378/.501 and 21 homers. it also looks impressive when ruben sierra can drive in 101 RBI, yet he hits .233 on the season.

Quote :

"We know how goofy RBI are. Stop ruining baseball threads with your sabermetric haranguing"

then why use it or defend it? and how am i ruining threads with sabermetric haranguing? when have i said "guys guys don't use this stat, use this highly complicated stat a dude in his basement came up with instead"?

[Edited on May 3, 2012 at 3:49 PM. Reason : .]

5/3/2012 3:47:05 PM

Rat Soup blazing ground not tread by stat guys in 30 years!

Counting stats are unreliable, can't believe it.

5/3/2012 3:48:44 PM

whats impressive is when a leadoff guy like Ellsbury can get over 100 RBI when theres guaranteed to be nobody on base for a quarter of his plate appearances

5/3/2012 3:55:10 PM

Drive in 100 leading off for an NL team and I'll be impressed

5/3/2012 3:56:17 PM

i think Rollins at 94 is the closest and I think Ellsbury is the only leadoff guy ever to hit 100+

5/3/2012 4:01:23 PM

Quote :

"then why use it or defend it? and how am i ruining threads with sabermetric haranguing? when have i said "guys guys don't use this stat, use this highly complicated stat a dude in his basement came up with instead"? "

Jesus fuck, this is what I'm talking about. I've read every book you've read; I pay for BP and BR.com. Anytime any baseball thread mentions ERA or RBI or wins or fucking whatever, you've got to run in and gargle up some shit that Bill James dropped before you were born like you just dug it out of the Dead Sea.

I'm not valuing Pujols' worth based on his RBI output through a month. Really? You think I was somehow proposing that Carlos Ruiz (who only hits against Atlanta) and Carlos Beltran (who has worse legs than my dead grandmother) is more valuable to anything Albert Pujols?

Get some perspective and stop trying to pounce on every back-of-the-card stat you see mentioned on the internet.

5/3/2012 4:02:57 PM

Quote :

"I'm not valuing Pujols' worth based on his RBI output through a month. Really? You think I was somehow proposing that Carlos Ruiz (who only hits against Atlanta) and Carlos Beltran (who has worse legs than my dead grandmother) is more valuable to anything Albert Pujols? Get some perspective and stop trying to pounce on every back-of-the-card stat you see mentioned on the internet"

no, i don't think that you think that. sorry i don't possess the clairvoyance to know that you PAY for BP (yet somehow i'm the sabr guy) and are just rattling off pointless stuff like this on the wolf web even though you know better. whatever dude. didn't mean to ruin your day and i'm sorry i'm taking all the fun out of baseball for you. hope you didn't lash out at anyone because the magic of christmas was ruined once you found out santa wasn't real.

5/3/2012 4:17:13 PM

there's a section you have to pay for at baseballreference?

5/3/2012 4:28:18 PM

First base ump Tim Welke called that an out

[Edited on May 3, 2012 at 4:32 PM. Reason : a]

5/3/2012 4:31:41 PM

The saddest part about that whole thing is that it probably still won't get us any closer to more instant replay

5/3/2012 4:39:14 PM

Yeah, dude, you burst the RBI as valuable stat bubble for me. I was totally on the hook before you showed up.

5/3/2012 4:43:47 PM

Musta thought Dhalsim ws playing first

5/3/2012 4:46:36 PM

Quote :

"Yeah, dude, you burst the RBI as valuable stat bubble for me. I was totally on the hook before you showed up."

i wasn't trying to suggest i did. i realize you prescribe to similar trains of thought since you read BP, and i don't mean this in an insulting manner or as a way of encouraging incendiary remarks, but saying i'm taking the fun out of baseball just doesn't mean a whole lot since you're paying for content written by men with baseball autism. hence, "i'm sorry i'm taking all the fun out of baseball for you." sarcasm doesn't always translate well via text. the santa thing could've been worded better, too.

[Edited on May 3, 2012 at 5:24 PM. Reason : .]

5/3/2012 5:22:10 PM

Instant replay in baseball needs to be modeled like the NFL. Managers should be able to challenge one call per game and if they win the challenge, they get a another challenge. Too many games decided on bullshit calls. This should definitely be implemented for the playoffs if nothing else.

5/3/2012 5:23:44 PM

So looks like the Rays have a real shot at taking the AL East this season.

My Red Sox have a terrible closer and horrible bullpen

The Yankees just lost a hall of famer and don't have his heir apparent for a few more months.

We all know the Orioles will fall a part by the end of June so that leaves the Rays and Jays to battle it out.

5/4/2012 8:35:07 AM

^ it's the first week of may. the yankees have an offense that should score a lot of runs and will probably make moves to acquire other starters or bullpen arms. I'd still put them ahead of the jays.

5/4/2012 10:57:25 AM

David Robertson = Beast (100 k's in 66.2 IP last year and 1.08 ERA) along with Soriano who had 45 saves two years ago, the Yankees may not be as bad off as people think.

The AL east has been hit by a truck this year though. Longoria is hurt and Farnsworth is down, Ellsbury is hurt (and the sox are having enough issues even without that), and now Rivera cripples himself shagging fly balls along with Pineda being out for the year. If the Orioles and Jays can't get it going this year they never will.

5/4/2012 10:58:27 AM

the optimist in me would like to say something about brian matusz turning a corner and wei yin chen and jake arrieta hopefully being effective all year and something about the bullpen keeping it up, but i know better. the o's have a pretty decent offense, and the bullpen could end up being awesome all year, but the starters will inevitably shit themselves. can't wait til the FO fucks up dylan bundy's development as they're already showing signs that they probably will.

5/4/2012 11:13:22 AM

is it wrong that every time i see the clip of Rivera tearing his ACL, i laugh? not laughing at the torn ACL, just laughing at how clumsy the play is

5/4/2012 2:11:33 PM

Quote :

"The Yankees just lost a hall of famer and don't have his heir apparent for a few more months. "

ssly David robertson was the best relief pitcher (including closers) for the past 2 years

5/4/2012 2:27:23 PM

I'd still give the edge to mo the last 2 years. they pitched almost the same amount of innings, and even though robertson had more Ks, he walked WAY more batters.

5/4/2012 2:55:00 PM

Kimbrel was as good as any reliever in baseball last year. Robertson by not being a closer automatically loses the argument. Getting a hold in the 7th or 8th inning is not the same as getting the save.

5/4/2012 5:23:06 PM

And Venters was just as good as Robertson last year, except maybe for Robertson's retarded K/9

5/4/2012 5:50:25 PM

Ernie bout to go see Strasburg! I'll be sure to snap plenty of pics

5/4/2012 5:52:37 PM

Quote :

"Kimbrel was as good as any reliever in baseball last year. Robertson by not being a closer automatically loses the argument. Getting a hold in the 7th or 8th inning is not the same as getting the save."

half right. if the yankees are up 1 run in the 8th and rafael soriano allows runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs, the opposing team has a pretty decent chance at scoring. if girardi decides to go to david robertson in that situation and the yankees get out of it unscathed because robertson retires the rest of the order without allowing a run followed by mo retiring the side in order in the 9th, the yankees had a much higher chance of losing the game in that scenario in the 8th inning than they did in the 9th when mo was brought in with nobody on since the game was pretty much over at that point. mo would get the save, but it wouldn't have been as important as what happened the inning before.

[Edited on May 4, 2012 at 6:06 PM. Reason : .]

5/4/2012 6:05:05 PM

Only 10 of Robertson's 70 appearances last year came in the eighth or later with a one run lead. In none of those appearances did he enter with even a single runner on base. So yes, the situation you imagined that never happened would be quite difficult to pitch out of were it to actually have happened even once.

5/4/2012 7:48:18 PM

Quote :

"Only 10 of Robertson's 70 appearances last year came in the eighth or later with a one run lead. In none of those appearances did he enter with even a single runner on base. So yes, the situation you imagined that never happened would be quite difficult to pitch out of were it to actually have happened even once."

whether or not it actually happened isn't really the point as you could substitute the 3 names i used with 3 names on any bullpen for any team. you can't hold it against robertson for being at the mercy of joe girardi in terms of when he enters a game. it was an argument against

Quote :

"Getting a hold in the 7th or 8th inning is not the same as getting the save."

which suggested any scenario where a reliever gets out of trouble is in no way as valuable as getting a save in the 9th, even though a save can be recorded in a situation far less critical than a situation in an earlier inning where the chance of losing the game was higher.

5/4/2012 8:10:22 PM

I missed Weaver's no hitter, but did witness a small bit of history tonight in Anaheim.

Quote :

"According to Stats Inc., Santana is the first pitcher since at least 1974 to have his team shut out in five straight starts."

5/5/2012 3:28:12 AM

Quote :

"Jack off to a terrific start this season"

5/5/2012 8:16:58 AM

5/5/2012 4:22:11 PM

Nice to see the Twins muster up a hit last night.

5/6/2012 1:27:58 PM

wow luebke an huston street both headed to tommy john surgery

not like the padres had a chance anyways

5/6/2012 2:35:15 PM

god ive always hated jose valverde, even last year

5/6/2012 4:06:58 PM

Harper just stole home when Hamels threw a slow pickoff attempt to first

5/6/2012 8:20:46 PM

Chris Davis was the O's winning pitcher tonight.

Chris Davis, the 1st Basemen.



Wild game in Boston.

5/6/2012 8:29:40 PM

Hahaha that was the best game ever. Between this series and the red sox losing 5 of 7 to the o's at the end of last season it'd be great if there was a more heated rivalry between the 2 teams. I just cant figure out how the red sox didnt have a position player who could've pitched better than mcdonald

5/6/2012 8:46:28 PM

And Chris Davis was 0/8 and the win doesn't count for me for fantasy. Fuck.

5/6/2012 9:02:52 PM

Yay, Orioles!

5/6/2012 9:06:21 PM

^^ haha don't forget 5 Ks

5/6/2012 9:09:32 PM

Albert finally homered.

5/6/2012 10:22:56 PM

He'll hit like 10 this week.

5/6/2012 10:33:53 PM

The best part is that davis struck out adrian gonzalez

5/6/2012 10:45:58 PM

^ and it was filthy

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/vi...221405&c_id=mlb

saltalamacchia

http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/vi...220923&c_id=mlb

5/6/2012 10:51:33 PM

cole hamels on intentionally hitting bryce harper

Quote :

""I was trying to hit him. I'm not going to deny it. It's something I grew up watching. That's what happened. I'm just trying to continue the old baseball. Some people get away from it. I remember when I was a rookie, the strike zone was really, really small and you didn't say anything. That's the way baseball is. Sometimes the league is protecting certain players. It's that old-school prestigious way of baseball. "I'm not going to injure a guy. They're probably not going to like me for it but I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't trying to do it. I think they understood the message and they threw it right back. That's the way, and I respect it. They can say whatever they want.""

i know everyone's heard the stories about harper being an arrogant little shit in the minors, but has he done or said anything so far in the majors that people would consider too cocky or something? to my knowledge, all he's done so far is play hard and hit the hell out of the ball. hamels sounds like a real douche. that old timey baseball crap is such nonsense. suspend/fine the hell out of him. harper already came out on top for going 2-3 and stealing home after hamels put him on, and then hamels comes out and admits he intentionally went after a 19 year old kid. too bad the nats didn't win.

5/7/2012 7:11:02 AM

^
How did you reach that conclusion from Hamels' quote? It had nothing to do with Harper's attitude. (I agree the ole time baseball stuff gets ridiculous at times, and baseball's my favorite pro sport)

5/7/2012 12:29:36 PM

Quote :

"How did you reach that conclusion from Hamels' quote? It had nothing to do with Harper's attitude. (I agree the ole time baseball stuff gets ridiculous at times, and baseball's my favorite pro sport) "

does hamels have a history of "welcoming" rookies all over the league like this? that's a serious question, because if he does then maybe this is no different.

hamels is acting like he was sending some sort of message to harper or the nats, or that it was a "welcome to the majors" thing, but there was no reason for a message to be sent. all signs point to this being a personal issue on hamels' part. like, how has the league even been protecting harper? he'd played like 7 or 8 games. the kid can't help the amount of attention the media puts on him. i could see someone drilling him for showboating or doing the kind of crap he pulled in the minors for a while (though i still wouldn't agree with it), but hitting a teenager just to hit him? what also doesn't help is that a reporter asked hamels when he decided he was going to hit harper, and he said "i can't tell you that." this guy decided a while ago he wanted to hit this kid, and he took it as some kind of strange personal duty to hit him with a fastball. sounds like the issue was more about hamels than the old traditions, or whatever garbage he's talking about.

when bryce harper is the one who comes out not looking like an ass, you screwed up. harper's response after the game will do nothing but elevate his standing even higher. meanwhile, hamels will get a few silent nods from some cranky old baseball men.

5/7/2012 12:43:48 PM

Quote :

"when bryce harper is the one who comes out not looking like an ass, you screwed up"

what does this mean

5/7/2012 12:51:10 PM

you must not be familiar with his antics over the last few years

5/7/2012 1:00:23 PM

so what you're saying is that BH is an ass. and you're also wondering why CH would peg him.

i don't really understand what you're driving at

5/7/2012 1:09:29 PM

what i'm driving at is you don't throw at a teenager who has been in the league for a week and hasn't done anything to deserve it, not that he should be thrown at in the first place. bryce harper was very arrogant for a while and did and said a bunch of things that made him look like a real horse's ass, but that doesn't mean you hit the kid just because you decided you want to do it and then hide behind "old school." teams will haze their own rookies. it's unacceptable to have a vigilante pitcher delivering initiation rights across the the majors.

i don't really understand what's so hard to understand about this

5/7/2012 1:31:57 PM