In anticipation of a league-wide email to be started in January, I would like to open up the blog to discussion of proposed changes to the Constitution. In this entry, I will put forward what is currently under discussion. If you would like to propose additional rule changes, I would ask that you make a new post, so that we can better track the comments. Here are the current proposals:
(1) Add a second IR spot.
(2) Change tiebreaker to be something else. Likely either innings pitched or total head-to-head points in scoring categories.
(3) Remove restriction that player be out of Host website system to be eligible for minor league draft.
(4) Add restriction to prevent minor league draft of players with international professional experience (i.e. players from the Japanese leagues). This could take the form of a ban on drafting players from the Japanese league or a more generalized ban on players with significant professional experience depending on how people feel.
11.25.2008
11.19.2008
Rob Neyer...WRONG?
Yes, children. I'm afraid it's true. Rob Neyer was wrong. In his attempt to criticize the selection of Dustin Pedroia as AL MVP, his arguments fail.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3710934&name=Neyer_Rob
This is the link for those that haven't seen the article.
I'll address some key points first.
"Aside from his height, there's nothing unique about Dustin Pedroia. Unusual: yes. Unique: no. Chase Utley plays the game right, and is a better hitter and a better fielder than Pedroia. Utley stole 14 bases this season, and was caught twice. Pedroia stole 20 bases, and was caught once. I'm sorry, but one steal per month just doesn't contribute much to uniqueness."
Where do I start...
Utley is a better hitter? Really?
2008: Pedroia- .326 / Utley- .292
Career: Pedroia .313 / Utley- .298
Pedroia was second in the AL in batting. Utley didn't even sniff the top 10.
Perhaps you meant to include walks...Utley does have a 6 point edge in lifetime OBP, but I'm not sure that makes him a better hitter.
Or perhaps you meant POWER HITTER. If so you should have specified, Rob. Because your current statement looks pretty stupid.
Moving on...Utley is better fielder? Really?
2008: Pedroia- .992 fld% (.987 lg avg) 4.63 range (4.51 lg range)
Utley- .984 fld% (.982 lg) 5.05 range (4.04 lg)
So Utley has a slightly better range but made more mistakes last year.
Career: Pedroia- .989 (.986) 4.54 (4.51)
Utley- .982 (.983) 5.05 (4.40)
Funny. I don't see how you conclude that Utley is the better fielder based on these numbers. I wonder- did you look at the stat prior to writing your article?
Steals
Again, your arguments in favor of Utley kind of flop. 12 net steals versus 19? And PEDROIA is the one you choose to criticize? Weird. Again.
Anyhoo, let's put all of that aside. Despite the fact that you were wrong, it wasn't the crux of your column.
_____________________________________
Pedroia versus Mauer
I don't get it, Rob. Look at their stat lines:
Pedroia: 118 R/ 17 HR/ 83 RBI/ .326 avg/ .869 OPS/ 322 TB
Mauer: 98 R/ 9 HR/ 85 RBI/ .328 avg/ .864 OPS/ 242 TB
Now I grant you that pedroia had 100+ extra ABs, and will concede that they inflate his production totals. But the flip side of that is that he MAINTAINED his avg and OPS numbers despite having the extra opportunities to fail.
Just for shits and giggles, here's Dustin's line reduced to 536 ABs (same as Mauer)
97 R/ 14 HR/ 76 RBI
Still comparable despite the fact that Mauer hit 3rd and Pedroia hit 2nd for most of the year.
1. VORP-
Pedroia wins. At least you admit it.
"Measured by Baseball Prospectus' Wins Above Replacement Player (which considers defense), Mauer finished a close second to Pedroia."
2. Clutch
"Clutch" is bullcrap, you should know better. Even so, I'll point out that in 5 games in the cleanup spot, Pedroia hit .667 with an OPS of 1.889.
CLEANUP. As a 2B. That seems pretty freaking clutch to me.
3. Runs created
Pedroia LED the Sox with 123. Mauer DID NOT lead the Twins. Morneau did.
Pedroia also led the Sox in runs, hits, total bases, doubles, average, times on base, AB/ K, and power/ speed numbers.
With the exception of runs and average, Mauer didn't lead the Twins in any of those.
I know it's hard to compare a 2B with a C, but there's no way you can say Mauer did more offensively for his team than Pedroia did for his.
4. Win shares
You cite Mauer's edge here, but assessing players using win share s needs to be done very carefully and in the context of other statistics. Given Pedroia's edge in the stat line, I'm not sure how Mauer overcomes him here. Still, for argument's sake I'll give you this one.
____________________________________________
Looking at the overall picture though, I just fail to see how you arrive at Mauer being the better choice. And you compound your folly with this line:
"And for as long as I've been doing this, every time the MVP voters have a choice between the guy with the power stats and the guy who does the little things, they pick the guy with the big numbers."
Dude. Seriously? Is Pedroia supposed to be the "guy with the power stats" in this equation? Because you spent the first half of your column ripping him for his LACK of uniqueness when it comes to stats.
Here's my conclusion: Pedroia did more for the Sox than Mauer did for the Twins. He did things that very few second basemen have done. He batted in 4 different spots in the lineup. He carried that team through injuries to nearly every other contributor.
Mauer's batting title is great. But given that he wasn't even the most valuable TWIN, he did not deserve the MVP.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3710934&name=Neyer_Rob
This is the link for those that haven't seen the article.
I'll address some key points first.
"Aside from his height, there's nothing unique about Dustin Pedroia. Unusual: yes. Unique: no. Chase Utley plays the game right, and is a better hitter and a better fielder than Pedroia. Utley stole 14 bases this season, and was caught twice. Pedroia stole 20 bases, and was caught once. I'm sorry, but one steal per month just doesn't contribute much to uniqueness."
Where do I start...
Utley is a better hitter? Really?
2008: Pedroia- .326 / Utley- .292
Career: Pedroia .313 / Utley- .298
Pedroia was second in the AL in batting. Utley didn't even sniff the top 10.
Perhaps you meant to include walks...Utley does have a 6 point edge in lifetime OBP, but I'm not sure that makes him a better hitter.
Or perhaps you meant POWER HITTER. If so you should have specified, Rob. Because your current statement looks pretty stupid.
Moving on...Utley is better fielder? Really?
2008: Pedroia- .992 fld% (.987 lg avg) 4.63 range (4.51 lg range)
Utley- .984 fld% (.982 lg) 5.05 range (4.04 lg)
So Utley has a slightly better range but made more mistakes last year.
Career: Pedroia- .989 (.986) 4.54 (4.51)
Utley- .982 (.983) 5.05 (4.40)
Funny. I don't see how you conclude that Utley is the better fielder based on these numbers. I wonder- did you look at the stat prior to writing your article?
Steals
Again, your arguments in favor of Utley kind of flop. 12 net steals versus 19? And PEDROIA is the one you choose to criticize? Weird. Again.
Anyhoo, let's put all of that aside. Despite the fact that you were wrong, it wasn't the crux of your column.
_____________________________________
Pedroia versus Mauer
I don't get it, Rob. Look at their stat lines:
Pedroia: 118 R/ 17 HR/ 83 RBI/ .326 avg/ .869 OPS/ 322 TB
Mauer: 98 R/ 9 HR/ 85 RBI/ .328 avg/ .864 OPS/ 242 TB
Now I grant you that pedroia had 100+ extra ABs, and will concede that they inflate his production totals. But the flip side of that is that he MAINTAINED his avg and OPS numbers despite having the extra opportunities to fail.
Just for shits and giggles, here's Dustin's line reduced to 536 ABs (same as Mauer)
97 R/ 14 HR/ 76 RBI
Still comparable despite the fact that Mauer hit 3rd and Pedroia hit 2nd for most of the year.
1. VORP-
Pedroia wins. At least you admit it.
"Measured by Baseball Prospectus' Wins Above Replacement Player (which considers defense), Mauer finished a close second to Pedroia."
2. Clutch
"Clutch" is bullcrap, you should know better. Even so, I'll point out that in 5 games in the cleanup spot, Pedroia hit .667 with an OPS of 1.889.
CLEANUP. As a 2B. That seems pretty freaking clutch to me.
3. Runs created
Pedroia LED the Sox with 123. Mauer DID NOT lead the Twins. Morneau did.
Pedroia also led the Sox in runs, hits, total bases, doubles, average, times on base, AB/ K, and power/ speed numbers.
With the exception of runs and average, Mauer didn't lead the Twins in any of those.
I know it's hard to compare a 2B with a C, but there's no way you can say Mauer did more offensively for his team than Pedroia did for his.
4. Win shares
You cite Mauer's edge here, but assessing players using win share s needs to be done very carefully and in the context of other statistics. Given Pedroia's edge in the stat line, I'm not sure how Mauer overcomes him here. Still, for argument's sake I'll give you this one.
____________________________________________
Looking at the overall picture though, I just fail to see how you arrive at Mauer being the better choice. And you compound your folly with this line:
"And for as long as I've been doing this, every time the MVP voters have a choice between the guy with the power stats and the guy who does the little things, they pick the guy with the big numbers."
Dude. Seriously? Is Pedroia supposed to be the "guy with the power stats" in this equation? Because you spent the first half of your column ripping him for his LACK of uniqueness when it comes to stats.
Here's my conclusion: Pedroia did more for the Sox than Mauer did for the Twins. He did things that very few second basemen have done. He batted in 4 different spots in the lineup. He carried that team through injuries to nearly every other contributor.
Mauer's batting title is great. But given that he wasn't even the most valuable TWIN, he did not deserve the MVP.
11.12.2008
Refresh
In the interest of keeping from going stir crazy, I am thinking about writing some posts about the fantasy baseball impact of select off-season moves. If you are checking this website, you can look forward that. Alternatively, if you want to write about anything fantasy baseball related, I would also welcome that. I am very tempted to write about video game news as well, but, seeing as how that is not included in the mission statement above, I will resist that temptation for now.
Dear Mysterious Hyperlinker
Thank you for linking my championship photo to an appropriately topical YouTube clip. I am at work now and will assume that the clip's sound matches up with its title and is in no way's ironic.
Hey Chris De Luca- I'm Calling You Out!
This post is a response to an article in the San Fransisco Chronicle. You can read it here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/11/SPHO142DD9.DTL
Recently, the National League Cy Young award was presented to Giants' pitcher Tim Lincecum. Of the 32 voters to weigh in on the award, 23 of them saw fit to put him in first place. Others who mertied serious consideration included Brandon Webb and Johan Santana, each of whom garnered 4 first place votes.
Voting for the award involves selecting three pitchers for the ballot. Based on personal opinion, the voter then puts those three in order, with the guy at the top being the most deserving of the award.
Only ONE of the 32 voters left Lincecum off of his ballot entirely. Chris De Luca, a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. De Luca selected Webb, Brad Lidge, and Santana as his top 3.
Now I'll admit that each of those pitchers had a great season. And I'm not arguing that Lincecum should or should not have won the award. I won't even criticize his inclusion of a closer. But I will call him out for his atrocious logic.
"It's funny because toward the end of the season, in early September, I was thinking Lincecum would be in my top two," De Luca said. "I thought Webb's victories (22) stood out to me more than anything, and Lincecum didn't have the victories. Twenty victories was a big deal. We had a stretch there where no one was hitting 20."
I'm sorry, didn't we just determine that you, Mr. De Luca, are a national writer for a major metropolitan newspaper? A national sports writer? Maybe I misunderstood then, because based on that quote, you have no business being anywhere near sports.
Do you watch baseball? Do you understand the game, and the roles of the various players? Perhaps you should take some time off to familiarize yourself with how pitching works. A pitcher's win/loss record is perhaps the WORST way to assess his level of talent, and yet that is the stat you seemed to focus on in submitting your vote.
Luckily your idiocy didn't cost Lincecum the award. If it had, I suspect you'd be on the run from a mob of Giants fans who would do their level best to leave you floating in McCovey Cove. But just because your terrible decision didn't have consequences on the game doesn't mean you should get away with it.
Lincecum had:
- a better ERA (2.62 to 3.30)
- a better WHIP (1.17 to 1.20)
- more strikeouts (265 to 183)
- a better K:BB ratio (3.15 to 2.82)
- more innings (227 to 226.2)
- fewer hits allowed (182 to 206)
- fewer total bases allowed (260 to 284)
- more quality starts (26 to 24)
- and a better QS % (.79 to .71)
Opposing hitters batted only .221 against him (.242 versus Webb) and slugged at a .316 clip (.334 versus Webb).
And Lincecum did it all while getting less run support than Webb.
So tell me...when you looked at those statistics, those facts that describe the 2008 season, did you:
A) not understand them, or
B) merely choose to ignore them?
Oh yes, the victories. I keep forgetting. Webb crossed the magical threshold of 20 wins. IT'S 20. A ROUND NUMBER.
Let's go back to what I posted above- see that pesky quality start thingy? That actually means something. It means that Lincecum put his team in a position to win MORE OFTEN than did Webb. It means that if victories were actually based on pitching performance, Lincecum would have outdueled Webb. It means that despite playing for the black hole that it the San Fransisco Giants, Lincecum did more to help his team than Webb did for his.
By using victories as your deciding factor, you're rewarding Webb for playing on a better team. THAT'S your determinant? REALLY? And you write about sports for a living??
Consider yourself called out. I sure as hell hope you have more to back up your choice than victories. If so, come find me and we can debate your reasoning skills. But if not, the league should be tripping all over itself in its rush to strip you of your vote.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/11/SPHO142DD9.DTL
Recently, the National League Cy Young award was presented to Giants' pitcher Tim Lincecum. Of the 32 voters to weigh in on the award, 23 of them saw fit to put him in first place. Others who mertied serious consideration included Brandon Webb and Johan Santana, each of whom garnered 4 first place votes.
Voting for the award involves selecting three pitchers for the ballot. Based on personal opinion, the voter then puts those three in order, with the guy at the top being the most deserving of the award.
Only ONE of the 32 voters left Lincecum off of his ballot entirely. Chris De Luca, a writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. De Luca selected Webb, Brad Lidge, and Santana as his top 3.
Now I'll admit that each of those pitchers had a great season. And I'm not arguing that Lincecum should or should not have won the award. I won't even criticize his inclusion of a closer. But I will call him out for his atrocious logic.
"It's funny because toward the end of the season, in early September, I was thinking Lincecum would be in my top two," De Luca said. "I thought Webb's victories (22) stood out to me more than anything, and Lincecum didn't have the victories. Twenty victories was a big deal. We had a stretch there where no one was hitting 20."
I'm sorry, didn't we just determine that you, Mr. De Luca, are a national writer for a major metropolitan newspaper? A national sports writer? Maybe I misunderstood then, because based on that quote, you have no business being anywhere near sports.
Do you watch baseball? Do you understand the game, and the roles of the various players? Perhaps you should take some time off to familiarize yourself with how pitching works. A pitcher's win/loss record is perhaps the WORST way to assess his level of talent, and yet that is the stat you seemed to focus on in submitting your vote.
Luckily your idiocy didn't cost Lincecum the award. If it had, I suspect you'd be on the run from a mob of Giants fans who would do their level best to leave you floating in McCovey Cove. But just because your terrible decision didn't have consequences on the game doesn't mean you should get away with it.
Lincecum had:
- a better ERA (2.62 to 3.30)
- a better WHIP (1.17 to 1.20)
- more strikeouts (265 to 183)
- a better K:BB ratio (3.15 to 2.82)
- more innings (227 to 226.2)
- fewer hits allowed (182 to 206)
- fewer total bases allowed (260 to 284)
- more quality starts (26 to 24)
- and a better QS % (.79 to .71)
Opposing hitters batted only .221 against him (.242 versus Webb) and slugged at a .316 clip (.334 versus Webb).
And Lincecum did it all while getting less run support than Webb.
So tell me...when you looked at those statistics, those facts that describe the 2008 season, did you:
A) not understand them, or
B) merely choose to ignore them?
Oh yes, the victories. I keep forgetting. Webb crossed the magical threshold of 20 wins. IT'S 20. A ROUND NUMBER.
Let's go back to what I posted above- see that pesky quality start thingy? That actually means something. It means that Lincecum put his team in a position to win MORE OFTEN than did Webb. It means that if victories were actually based on pitching performance, Lincecum would have outdueled Webb. It means that despite playing for the black hole that it the San Fransisco Giants, Lincecum did more to help his team than Webb did for his.
By using victories as your deciding factor, you're rewarding Webb for playing on a better team. THAT'S your determinant? REALLY? And you write about sports for a living??
Consider yourself called out. I sure as hell hope you have more to back up your choice than victories. If so, come find me and we can debate your reasoning skills. But if not, the league should be tripping all over itself in its rush to strip you of your vote.
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