The trouble with baseball is that, as it has been well and truly said, momentum is today's starting pitcher (and no, I'm not talking about Sergio Romo).
Houston was all set up for us, coming off a stunning, debilitating, 14-inning loss. But Verlander-Morton-Keuchel will likely revive them, especially the Verlander-German match-up today.
Most likely, Justin and Ms. Upton have been bouncing around Manhattan for a couple days already, seeing old friends, taking in those sights to be seen in exclusive, super model/star athlete parties; sipping health drinks and smart water.
Verlander will emerge tanned, ready, and rested, and put our rat-gnawed bats away without much trouble. Morton and Keuchel will likely do the same.
So let us take these horrid three days to talk of many things, as the Walrus said. To wit, these modest proposals:
—Can Drury play second? Could the solution to the Didi and pitching problems be: deal Didi for an arm, put The Gleyber back at short, and install Drury at the second sack?
This way, we could get a pitcher and avoid some fatally overlong Manny contract. (Neil Walker needs to be simply taken behind the barn and put down.) We could bring back Toe for late-inning defensive purposes, or eventually Thairo the Pharaoh could be brought up, once his 5,000-year-old body has finished ingesting that bullet.
Again, I love Didi, but the leather he's been flashing lately implies he's not physically hurt. Which means the brain has locked. Not good.
—Could a Scranton-Ellsbury platoon be the answer? I know, I know, this assumes that The Ever-Injured Ellsbury will ever be back. But just supposing. His lifetime numbers against righties are much better than Scranton's this season.
And Scranton is killing us. He looks utterly lost against right-handers. I know the prescribed manner of batting these days is to swing for the fences, always and completely. But a 228-strikeout pace is ridiculous. If Jacoby can ever make it back on the field, platoon them and let the fur fly. At worst, Scranton will demand out of the Bronx (oh please, oh please).
—Is there enough of the old ultra-violence on Westworld? Me and the droogies are beginning to wonder.
What started out as a pretty interesting show about human identity has devolved into a gore fest with the visit to Shogunland. It's no Sonny Gray yet, but it's begun to lose both velocity and movement.
Anyway, let's discuss, as they say. Enjoy the oysters, and try to avoid peering at the scoreboard for the next three days' beat down.
Our total today is *Yankees 94, Soccer 87.
If Urban Farmer would just show up and honor us with his insightful comments, I believe DiDi might come out of his tailspin.
ReplyDeleteMy hope is that during the off season, the Dodgers once more become the suckers they were several years ago for the Red Sox and take Stanton in a trade. He is from the LA area and they were hot for him this year so it could happen. They view it as the 2018 season was an anomaly and once he's back to facing NL pitchers, he'll be rejuvenated. We then sign Harper for 6-7 yrs.@ 35 million per. Problem solved!
ReplyDeleteThe old Dutch Connection, KD?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea, Carl, though I'm not a huge Bryce fan.
ReplyDeleteAnything, though, would be better than these strikeouts, often on three pitches.
Not to go Old George on him, but is really seeing the ball? Should he get an eye exam?
ReplyDeleteI am familiar with the discontents expressed on this blog.
-- the old short left-fielder can't hit anymore (altho his OBP is .350)
-- the super-sized imported guy can't hit RHP (altho he mangles LHP)
-- the third-base coach needs to be put on the next rocket to the moon.
-- our shortstop seems to have stopped short
-- our Drury is Dreary. Our Walker should walk the plank.
-- almost the entire pitching staff is worthless
-- Dellin Betances has brain problems. So does Didi.
-- Gary is scary -- with a bat in his hands. With the glove . . . not so much.
-- Booney is swoony.
-- Etc etc etc and so forth.
Here's the thing: I watch baseball games played by other teams, too.
Example: I try to watch the Nationals, but a whole bunch of the guys there have beards, making them look like a replay of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and the Talking Mule. And if ever there was an "in-and-out" team, it's the Nats. Changing managers more frequently than I change underwear has not helped one iota -- same team, basically, as a few years ago; some performance.
Baltimore's Orioles are horrid. The Mets can be pretty funny. The Red Sox seem UNclutch, at the very least. The Rangers, Angels, and Royals didn't look so damn hot recently, did they?
The NL is so bad that San Diego -- putrid refuse on that roster, mostly -- has gone 11-12 since May 1. Cincinnati, which was 7-and-23 on May 1, has gone 12-12 in the last three-plus weeks. I'm not sure what to think about Tampa Bay (in truth, I don't spend much time thinking about the Baying Devils).
Etc.
So the net-net (for me) is: The NYYs might be on the "plus" side of mediocre, while much of the baseball world seems to be on the "somewhat minus" to "heavily minus" side of that measure.
We're about to find out if the 3-out-of-4 wins in Houston was a real thing. As a NYY fan, I root for 2 wins over the Stros this week. That would take the team to 5 wins in 7 outings vs. Houston. That would feel good!!!
But as a baseball fan, no outcome would surprise me -- even a sweep by the Yankees.
ReplyDeleteHoss,
I was playing with the trade Didi and go with Gleybar /Drury idea in my mind a couple of days ago. Therefore it has to be wrong. Right?
That said, it is a a practical solution that solves a lot of problems. Questions: Does it bum out the team? Have a bad month -- end up in Kansas City? The are already Toeless. Who's left that is fun?
Carl,
This I like but why wait? The Dodgers are under performing big time yet are still very much in it. They need a guy who can't hit a change or a curve to save his life.
Do they have any pitching? You know what. Trade him anyway. Free up salary for a free agent pitcher (or Harper) or my choice Machado to play short under the Didi is a dodo scenario and it brings back Red Thunder. Get er done. And I would remind everybody onece again of my desire to put an M in the lineup. All my faves are M guys. (Mantle/Munson/Mattingly/Matsui)No M no WS title.
Doug K.
All great points, Joe FB. I've often had those same kind of thoughts versus the competition. Most here probably have as well. But I think that since this is a Yankees blog, its generally a worry/bitch/complain/vent site for most of us. George Steinbrenner made us this way. Never be confident and never be satisfied.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeleteHell yeah, if the Dodgers want to pull the trigger, let's do it! Perhaps that might prod the Nats to trade Harper to the Yankees with a 48-hr window to sign him. They couldn't expect a king's ransom for him because of his status. But only if they're convinced they have no chance of re-signing him would they entertain doing that.
Here's a better one: If they are 100% sure he wants to play for the Yankees (or elsewhere), they do an even swap for Stanton. Giancarlo has killed the Nats and they'd have him long- term. Of, course, the Yankees would only do that if they had a window to sign him to a long- term deal, themselves.
Maybe the second scenario isn't that far-fetched. If I were the GM, I'd sure feel out the Nats. Certainly within a week of the July 31 trade deadline.
Horace.....perhaps Giancarlo is also getting headaches at this point and should consult with Drury's doc. At least maybe the Yankees can con him into thinking that there's an eye problem and put him on the 60 day DL and recall Frazier. He's making Chris Carter and Joey Gallo look like contact hitters.
ReplyDeleteYarbles!!
ReplyDeleteGerman is so bad. You're telling me they don't have literally ANYONE else?
ReplyDeleteSUZYN IS DOING THE PLAY BY PLAY!
ReplyDeleteWell she was. Called it like a golf game. Did anyone else catch it?
ReplyDeleteActually the trade to the Nats idea is a really good one. They get a "cost controlled superstar and don't have to break the bank to keep Harper.
ReplyDeleteWe get a fired up Harper and even if he doesn't sign we get out from under Stanton's contract freeing up big bucks.
Joe - I know. You are of course correct. But if we accepted everything as is we'd have to start exchanging recipes. Or, given the fairly literate nature of this group, found the "It is High Book Club" which to be honest is not the worst idea. Maybe something for the off season. At a minimum if everyone suggested 5 books to read I'd be set for the year.
Doug K.
Why was Suzyn doing play-by-play? A moment of magnanimity from Sterling, or did he have a seizure?
ReplyDeleteThe only way the Yankees would platoon Stanton is if he lost his leg in a car accident--but even at that they would try to keep him in the lineup.
ReplyDeleteAnd let's get a couple of things settled about Ellsbury once and for all: he is finished as a productive ballplayer and most likely will never see action as a Yankee again; no one else wants him; so his playing career is most likely over.
I hope this is the last time his name will emerge in various Fantasy Island scenarios.
American Pastoral, The Brothers Karamazov, The Sound and the Fury, The Greenlanders, Look Homeward, Angel.
ReplyDeleteNow that that's out of the way, Doug K. and Joe, I love the Scranton-for-Bryce idea, but I can't believe the Nats would bite. They seem overjoyed by this young, cheap kid they can bring in to make the fans forget Harper. I can't see them wanting to give back $30 mill or so of the $35 mill they will be saving.
But yes, Scranton has to go. His sitting out today's game is all too indicative. The guy who is supposed to be your best hitter, the NL MVP last year, sitting out against your chief rival's best pitcher?
This is a major problem, much worse than the pitching. Scranton is showing the potential to be the worst free-agent signing in Yankees history, and his contract may be the worst in sports history.
If we can, somehow, trade him to the Dodgers, yes, definitely, for whoever. If we can trade him to the Nippon Ham Fighters for a dozen canned hams, do it. This guy is a cancer on the team who will make Ellsbury look like a bunion by comparison.
Doug K., I suspect that you're right, and trading Didi will indeed bum out the team.
ReplyDeleteBut again, I think the one thing we should NOT do is trade for Manny this year. That means giving Didi plenty of time to turn himself around.
Also, if we do go to the Gleyber-Drury solution, we would almost HAVE to bring back the Toe, which should cheer everyone up.
And as for our incessant thirst for more and better...yes!
We here are mostly Yankees fans of the Old Breed, and we crave dynasties. Or at least, having suffering through Old George the Mad King, we crave building a team.
Sure, the Yankees are better than most right now, and sure they can probably make the One-Game Play-In Game this season and then who knows?
But I don't see them taking a playoff series against any of the toughest teams, and I would rather keep building than go all out with the magic beans that the likes of Scranton and Sonny-boy Gray represent.
Worst Free-Agent Signing in Yankee History?? A cold damp chill just shot through my spine ...
ReplyDeleteGermán had swing and miss stuff today. Not the outcome we like, but it doesn't matter what the starting pitchers do if we don't score against the Astros.
ReplyDeleteVerlander needs a huge crop of itchy painful peri-anal warts. And a herpetic witlow on his pitching hand.
ReplyDeleteDoug K,
ReplyDeleteHere are five suggestions to get you started:
1. Dynasty - The New York Yankees 1949-1964, by Peter Golenbock
2. Babe - The Legend Comes to Life, by Robert W. Creamer
3. October Men - Reggie Jackson, George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and the Yankees' Miraculous Finish in 1978, by Roger Kahn
4. Top of the Heap - A Yankees Collection, edited by Glenn Stout
5. I'd Rather Be a Yankee - The Men Behind the Legend Tell the Complete Story of Baseball's Greatest Team in Their Own Words, compiled by John Tullius
And five more for next year:
1. Stengel - His Life and Times, by Robert W. Creamer
2. Perfect - Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game and the Men Who Made It Happen, by Lew Paper
3. Birth of a Dynasty - Behind the Pinstripes With the 1996 Yankees, by Joel Sherman
4. Reynolds, Raschi, and Lopat - New York's Big Three and the Great Yankee Dynasty of 1949-1953, by Sol Gittleman
5. Luckiest Man - The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, by Jonathan Eig
Meanwhile, over at RAB, Mike mocks those fans booing Scranton.
ReplyDeleteHow can someone so smart be so clueless? Give up?
Sabermetrics.
"TO ARMS, TO ARMS"!!!Bring back Toe STAT. This team is joy-less, and the look on their faces are septic. THIS LIFELESS STATE is also reflected in their game play!!!
ReplyDeleteTo arms! Toe arms!? I miss their comforting embrace! To arms! Two arms!! We need two more quality pitchers, at least one a starter
ReplyDeleteThanks for the book recommendations. Keep em coming. It's a long summer.
ReplyDeleteHorrace, Since you mentioned The Brothers Karamazov have you read The Brothers K. (no relation)by David James Duncan? One of my favorite baseball books.
R. Angell, Nothing from your cannon? Those are some good choices. I will go find them. It's also the 50th Anniversary of Ball Four. Might Re-read that.
I really liked "The Mickey Mantle Novel" by Peter Gollenbock but to be fair it's a matter of taste because it doesn't really show Mickey in a great light and takes a lot of liberties. I found it funny. I could fully understand if some one else did not.
Doug K.
Oh my, five... based on... how I feel right now.
ReplyDelete1) The Tender Bar J.R. Moehringer
2) The Brothers K. (See above)
3) The Wind up Bird Chronicle (I'm a big Muakami fan - he's not for everyone -
not a lot actually goes on in his books.
4)Catch 22
5) Take your pick of one of these three boxing books "The Fight" Mailer,
"The Professional" W.C. Heinz, "The Harder They Fall" Budd Schulberg
Doug K.
1 w 2 L since the curse of Toe began
ReplyDeleteThat game sucked.
ReplyDeleteAt least Bird made a case for a roster spot.
Walker @ DH? Hitting 9th? One can only hope it is showcasing for a possible (please god, yes) trade.
First, a correction:
ReplyDeleteI meant to write, "worst CONTRACT in Yankees history." Scranton was, of course, acquired in a trade with Derek "Odysseus" Jeter.
Considering how large it is, and how pivotal, it may well turn out to be the worst contract in SPORTS history, period."
Second, nice recommendations, R. Angell! Some of these I have not read. And I will add that I have met the actual Mr. Angell and he is a very nice man. Always a good read, too.
Doug K., yours look great, too, and I will be sure to check out "The Brothers K."
ReplyDeleteA reasonably interesting baseball book is Streak; it chronicles Joe DiMaggio's 56-game streak. It was written in the late 1980s and was interesting because the author went and interviewed players on other teams who had a special role in games that were early in the streak, before people even realized something unique was going on...and while those players were still alive. For example, there was one guy from Cleveland who had a good memory of the first handful of games in the streak because they were coincidentally his first games in the majors.
I found some of the non-baseball parts of the book to be annoying and distracting, but the build-up of the streak, and background color such as how people began taking off from work just to listen to another "installment" during the latter stages was excellent. You can get a copy -- shipped -- on AbeBooks for <= $3.50.
ReplyDeleteP.S. If you scroll down in the link above and pay $0.50 more, you can get a hardcover edition in good condition. If you haven't used it before AbeBooks is a fantastic resource.
Book club:
ReplyDelete"God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" by Vonnegut
"Siddhartha" by Hesse
"Hawaii" by Michener
"The Naked and The Dead' by Mailer
For baseball:
"The Dixie Association" by Donald Hays
Anything by the first three authors is gonna be good, but I have to say Steppenwolf is my least favorite Hesse novel. If you want to binge read, Vonnegut, Hesse or Michener would make for a good set, but I'm an old guy with that kind of taste.
I had to take notes to keep the characters straight in the Brothers Karamazov, so that doesn't make my list.
Interesting, Rufus. I preferred "Centennial"—about Colorado—to "Hawaii," but the latter was quite good.
ReplyDelete...and I'll concur with Catch-22. Both the book and the movie (enjoy them in that order if you can).
ReplyDeleteHoss,
ReplyDeleteI lived in Hawaii for a little while (and will again for next winter), so I'm partial to "Hawaii". It is 'fiction', but has references to many real events/people. Hoxworth and Hale are Castle and Cook for instance. The first chapter is still happening with the volcano right now. I really liked "Mexico" as well for similar reasons.
Here are some good non-fiction baseball books that are not focused on the Yankees:
ReplyDelete1. The Pitch That Killed - The Story of Carl Mays, Ray Chapman, and the Pennant Race of 1920, by Mike Sowell
2. Eight Men Out - The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series, by Eliot Asinof
3. Veeck-As In Wreck, by Bill Veeck with Ed Linn
4. Baseball When the Grass Was Real, interviews by Donald Honig
And here are some good baseball novels:
1. If I Never Get Back, by Darryl Brock (time traveler plays for 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings)
2. The Celebrant, by Eric Rolfe Greenberg (fictionalization of the life and times of Christy Mathewson)
3. The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., by Robert Coover (tabletop baseball game becomes real for its inventor)
4. The Great American Novel, by Philip Roth (the 1943 Mundys baseball team plays all of its games on the road; the team's exhibition game against the patients at a mental institution is a highlight)
5. The End of Baseball, by Peter Schilling Jr. (stars from the Negro Leagues join Bill Veeck's 1944 Philadelphia Athletics)
6. Brittle Innings, by Michael Bishop (Frankenstein's monster plays first base for a minor league team)
and for me:
ReplyDeleteThe Source. With Hawaii second.
Siddhartha #1 Hesse Steppenwolf #2 I read both every ten years.
Interesting thing about the The Naked and the Dead. I like to juxtapose it with Catch 22. Two writers. Similar background (Children of immigrants, Brooklyn Jews etc.) Both go off to WW2. Both are on some level horrified by the experience. Especially the stupidity found in war.
Both come back and write their first books (and possibly their best books. Albeit years apart.) One is one of the most moving works I've ever read and the other one of the funniest. Always thought it would make a good college course.
Doug K.
And yes, The Celebrant is great as well. Also, A False Spring (non fiction) and I hear O Holy Cow is pretty good.
ReplyDeleteDoug K.
Here are the two greatest novels of the twentieth century:
ReplyDeleteJourney to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Howard's End by E. M. Forster
Just a tic behind those two for mastery of language, spiritual depth, and raw honesty are Tropic of Cancer/Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller.
If you doubt me, read them, and many of the other titles listed here will seem like children's books by comparison.
And by the way, Steven Goldman's biography of Stengel is far superior to Creamer's:
https://www.amazon.com/Forging-Genius-Making-Casey-Stengel/dp/1574888749
I wouldn't panic about Stanton yet. If you look at his yearly splits, he's a notoriously slow starter and gradually heats up to some very big numbers in ensuing months. His May numbers in 2017, for example, almost exactly match his May numbers for 2018. Stanton is slugging a very strong .549 for May, about on a par with Judge's May figure of .579.
ReplyDeleteCurious, I know, but just another example of the mysterious depths of hitting psychology.
Sorry--Judge is slugging at .573 for May 2018. Typo.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all for recommendations. I'm sure amazon will appreciate your increase in their profit margin.
ReplyDeleteDriving Mr Yogi.
ReplyDeleteAnd please buy "O Holy Cow". I know I will (along with a bunch of others above).
ReplyDeleteDuque rules. Bigly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Library_100_Best_Novels#Readers'_list_(20th_Century_Great_Novels)
ReplyDeleteWouldn't go by the reader's list, but this site made me remember "Heart of Darkness". Not a beach novel, but pretty good anyway.
Recommended reading for the yanks tonight:
ReplyDelete"The Art of Making Contact"
By: Ronald Sun Tzo Toe
I already have "O Holy Cow," a classic!
ReplyDelete"Howard's End" is indeed great, as if Goldman's book on Stengel. Goldman is one of the smartest people writing about baseball today, and I just wish he would do more.
Never read Celine—he was, after all, an avowed fascist—but I would take a look.
Also amazing: Jonathan Schwartz's very short book—really an article—about 1978, from a Red Sox fan's viewpoint, "A Day of Light and Shadow." Terrific.
Also, time to dispel the "Giancarlo is just getting on his usual track" idea.
ReplyDeleteHis April/May numbers, traditionally, have been pretty good. He is way below them now.
In fact, over his career, he has usually slumped a little in June, then come back with a very good July, a great August, and a pretty good September/October.
He looks nothing like that now,
The guy is a great big nothing burger. I thought he would make Judge a superstar. No. Instead, he sucks all the air out of the lineup.
His acceptance, today, of being benched for Verlander is the final confirmation of his cowardice and reluctance to step up.
This is a guy who has thrived in a small market, with a non-contender. (And quite possibly by juicing.) I bear him no ill will for any of that. Who of us would not have done it, faced with the possibility of riches beyond our imagination?
But he is not a useful player. He is, in fact, a huge drag on the team, and all of the (admittedly limited) brain power of our front office should be utilized toward getting rid of him.
It won't be easy. You don't take on the worst contract in sports history and shed it overnight.
HC66's summary of Stanton's monthly splits in his comment just above is highly inaccurate in almost every particular.
ReplyDeleteStanton's slash line for March/April of 2017 was as follows:
.264/.350/529 and 7 HR
Decent, but hardly MVP numbers.
Then he had an uptick in May:
.299/.348/.579 and 7 HR
Once again, good but not great.
In June of that year he slumped:
.242/.357/.515 and 7 HR
It was not until July and August of 2017 that he put up the staggering numbers that led to his MVP season.
In 2015 and 2016, he was out for parts of those seasons with injuries and so had only 370 and 418 plate appearances, respectively in those years. But the monthly splits show a similar pattern.
In 2015 he had a solid but unspectacular March/April: .284/.376/.594 6HR
But he plummeted in May: .185/.278/.454, redeemed only by 9 HR
Only in June did he really take off before disappearing with injuries for the rest of the season: .344/.404/.800 12 HR
In 2016 he had a solid March/April: .253/.362/.582 8HR, but followed it with a disastrous May, repeating the pattern of 2015: .173/.287/.373, but adding a horrible June as well: .231/.307/.385, with 3 HR. Not until June did he bust out with All-Star numbers: .307/.371./.621 7 HR, before backsliding with poor numbers for the rest of the season, hobbled by injuries in those months.
He started out slowly in 2014--April was his second-worst month that year.
So I have cited the actual numbers, and the pattern is clear: he is a streaky player whose monthly performance splits vary markedly, often wildly; and with only a couple of exceptions he is better later in the season than earlier.
So HC 66's statement--unsupported by any statistical citations of the kind I have given--that Stanton's "April/May numbers, traditionally, have been pretty good" is provably false. Just as false is the statement, "He has usually slumped a little in June [he had a spectacular June in 2015, e.g.], then come back with a very good July, [he had a disastrous July in 2014, for example] a great August, and a pretty good September/October." In fact, a look at his monthly splits for the past several years tell a different story: a typically slow start, followed by an ENTIRELY UNPREDICTABLE pattern in the ensuing months--contrary to EVERY ONE of HC66's statements.
As I have demonstrated, his April/May numbers have NOT been consistently "pretty good," as HC66 falsely states, and his May numbers this year (.268/.337/.549 6HR) are only marginally off from his May numbers in 2017 (.299/.348/.579 7HR)--a very similar May month this year and last.
In conclusion, not one of HC66's sweeping, undocumented assertions is borne out by a look at the numbers. He could not have been more wrong if he was distorting the truth intentionally--and of course, I think his errant claims here are merely the result of sloppiness, not intent. At least I hope so.
But I do hope that el duque will take a hard look a the almost complete inaccuracy of his statements as part of his editorial judgment about who merits featured posts on this blog. In fact, Daniel Patrick Moynihan's statement that "'Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts," ought to be heeded by everyone here to the best of his/er ability, but ESPECIALLY by featured writers.
Do you even read duque’s writing? Like, the old stuff in the side bars? Ever watched his videos? If you did, you’d know what it is that duque and Mustang created and why we love it so much. Please stop trying to turn duque’s blog into something it’s never been. There are plenty of blogs that focus on analytics and the science of the game. Please go there and let us have our fun. Is this really too much to ask? Can’t we have our gonzo community and not be attacked for it?
ReplyDeleteAt least now I can look forward to Scranton's months ahead. If he doesn't get hot with the weather, it's going to be pretty depressing.
ReplyDeleteAnd what KD says is true. This has never, to my knowledge, been a blog for any kind of scientific or statistical analysis, even though the odd number or two does crop up. It's more the heartfelt instinctual kvetching of a bunch of old guys who've watched way too many games over the last 30, 40, or 50+ years. With some jokes.
That some of the people who post here get so much right over time is just a testament to that long experience plus copious quantities of various beers, whiskeys, tequila, and sometimes vodka.
But I will say that this post has over 50 comments, and the civility is nice to see. Even Anon's call for fact checking is, relatively speaking, rather restrained, KD's plea notwithstanding. In fact, I like the statistical approach that Anon brings. It's an added dimension that can be fun in its own way. If it was delivered more in the spirit of the proceedings, I don't know if anyone would object. One man's opinion.
I have no problem with admitting that I'm hardly the end-all in Yankee commentary, scarred for life after seeing Mantle thrown out on a ground ball to right field near the end of his career. That kind of thing leaves a mark. No doubt why I was a wizard in math until I got to pre-calculus, when it all fell apart faster than Knoblauch's fielding ability. So I shy away from numbers, in general.
Life does things to you.
Joe of Brooklyn ( formerly ) , great description of watching the Nats.
ReplyDeleteL:ike a movie about the old testament, with bats.
Everyone else,
No one is lining up to sign our detritus ( Neal Walker, Didi on a 3 -86 run; Aaron Hicks on a .233 run).
They all want Red Thunder. Keeping him is a test of Cashman's fortitude and commitment to youth. A strategy for winning.
Remember: When Red Thunder showed up with his flowing locks, I predicted that he will never be a Yankee ( meaning; he will be traded before he blossoms ). I do not want to be correct.
If Cashman wheels and deals, we revert to mediocrity, a circumstance Boone won't manage well. A proven strategy for losing.
Nor I.
REPLY TO JOHN M. AND KD
ReplyDeletePART I
John M. -- thanks for your civil and constructive recognition of the purpose of my post--simply to correct the record in light of HC66's series of inaccurate assertions about Stanton's past monthly spits and overall performance. Thanks also for calling out KD on his gratuitous sniping over what was merely a factual correction.
But now I am obliged to direct a factual correction to you. You state, "This has never, to my knowledge, been a blog for any kind of scientific or statistical analysis, even though the odd number or two does crop up. It's more the heartfelt instinctual kvetching of a bunch of old guys who've watched way too many games over the last 30, 40, or 50+ years. With some jokes." This is sheer nonsense, as even a casual reader of the blog can attest. duque regularly features lengthy, thoughtful, serious--and very insightful--analyses of the performance of the team and of individual players and of Cashman--using all manner of statistics to buttress his points. At least half his posts are of this nature. So you and others who deny this glaring reality are simply perpetuating arrant falsehoods.
I have made this point to duque several times, and have told him that his analytical insights, as trenchant as they are, could be even stronger if he would advance beyond the use of hundred-year-old, severely flawed statistics of the BA/RBI/ERA/W-L type that he relies on almost exclusively. Unlike you and KD, who miss this point repeatedly, he has graciously acknowledged the validity of this point but has pled greater comfort with the old-style stats--he has certainly never sought to impugn or banish the use of newer sabremetric tools on this blog, unlike you and KD and other misguided stat vigilantes. Nor has Alphonso. duque and Alphonso are open--minded, gracious, tolerant souls, in contrast to the stat vigilantes, with their peevish cliquishness and dishonest and inaccurate attempts to blackball people who march to their own drummers out here; the vigilantes endlessly trot out the worn, phony rationale that this is just a hangout for quipsters and neurotic-obsessive rooting rituals. It is no such thing--certainly not ONLY that--and duque's posts--with their elegant, witty writing and deft insights--are the main testament to this reality that you and others deny.
So you and KD and others leap into the fray to start baiting and sniping NOT when people engage in serious analysis, including stats--if that were the case, your key target would be duque himself. You guys start shooting your poison pellets when people use some updated categories of analysis. That's called hypocrisy--and a double standard. Sorry--I'm not going to tiptoe around this issue--that's exactly what it is.
REPLY TO JOHN M. AND KD
ReplyDeletePART II
Now look at my correction of HC66 above. It uses all traditional stats--batting average, on-base average, slugging percentage, and home runs. But KD STILL gallumphs in to view, guns blazing, blasting commands, anathemas, and malice, giving the lie to his absurd claim to speak for duque, who never does any of the foregoing but rather engages constructively with all manner of posts.
HC66's preceding post, which I corrected with mine, also relies on the same statistical data, but reported it with 100-percent dishonesty and/or inaccuracy. So a correction was in order. But did KD object to the dishonest/inaccurate post? Does he charge into action to vilify duque over his serious analytical posts, replete with stats? No--KD works up his irrational head of lather over MY rational, honest post, even though my and HC66's are both attempts at serious analysis, relying on data. The only difference was that HC66's was 100 percent inaccurate, and mine was 100-percent accurate.
Then what's KD's real agenda? It's obviously not about the the deployment of serious analysis or stats of any kind. It's about personal animus. It his HE--and people like him--who are letting their petty vendettas and personal animosities fuck up this blog. HE is the one--he with his false characterizations of the nature of this blog, his compulsive flaming, his lie that duque and others never engage in serious baseball analysis, his silence over inaccurate distortive posts in contrast to his ire over accurate, thorough ones--it is HE and his ilk who need to "stop," and now.
Nobody is objecting to statistics, even if we like to make fun of some modern metrics, simply for the sake of humor.
ReplyDeleteWhat people here object to are personal attacks. While it has become two-sided recently, one side has not been able to cop to their part in it and, I'm afraid, never will. A serious personality disorder is difficult, if not impossible to treat.
What I object to most of all - and this is my opinion - is the complete lack of humor and the monstrous self-seriousness, self-delusion, and certainty of one party in the face of everything.
AND, it's amazing that you, King Statbaby, can make yourself out to be the victim here after your relentless ad-hominem attacks, all of which you have found a way to justify. Again, the mark of a true nut case.
You're a sick man. You will not get help. Find another house to haunt if you can't play nice with people.
PS: I'm saving all of your posts. They'll make the basis for a great article. Luckily, you're anonymous, so I'll use them freely.
ReplyDeleteIt's not me!
ReplyDeleteAll of you are picking on me!
YOU STARTED IT! EVERY ONE OF YOU!
Even though no one here had ever done that before and you all seemed to enjoy the humor on this site.
You just decided out of the blue that you would pick on me!
I didn't do anything!
All of you started picking on me!
JUST BECAUSE I AM AN OBNOXIOUS RUDE NARCISSIST!
It's NOT FAIR!
HA! I knew it!
ReplyDeletePeople piling on with personal attacks in the guise of opposing personal attacks. The usual toxic psychotic bullshit, always from the same sources.
Not only personal attacks, but threats--"I'll use your posts in an article," etc., etc.--this from someone who has no doubt never published anything outside the confines of his own anonymity on blogs.
ReplyDeleteThis reflexive-attacker "anon" says that "nobody is objecting to statistics," immediately after posts from KD and John M. objecting to JUST THAT. So in addition to the character deformity of a compulsive attack dog, he suffers from either glaucoma or a reading-comprehension disorder.
Anyway--you can see where the main source of the problem is--this particular sociopathic piece of shit, who never posts about baseball--who posts only to ply his deranged vendettas and hatreds, who lies about the repeated objections to stats that have been voiced by others on this blog--by HIMSELF, with his epithet "King Statbaby."
It's clear as day now what the source of this sickness and malice is--this jerk with a mind corroded by bile and hatred, who posts not once, but THREE TIMES to initiate vicious personal attacks in the guise of opposing personal attacks.
It was clear that John M. and I were having a civil exchange and that all the acrimony had subsided before KD belched his little portion of personal vomit and then this slavering jackal returned to the scene to blow things up again.
Pretty sickening, right?
Now, Rufus--you've been wanting evidence of who initiates this shit--now you've got it. Direct your concerns about blog abuse to rotted specimens of humanity like KD and this raging sociopath "anon."
By the way, Psychotic "Anon"--the objections to sabremetrics on this blog have been serious and venemous--NOT light-hearted.
ReplyDeleteAnd do you think a shrieking mongrel like you is a source of humor on this blog? You're a source of toxic muck so thick that I'm surprised you can get out of bed in the morning without drowning in it.
Now listen, tough guy--post your personal information--you're so BIG on taunting OTHERS about anonymity, right, asshole? Just prove that you're a man of conviction on this point and not a crouching little coward. Post it. And I promise that I will be only too happy to have you suffer the consequences of your revelation. Put up or shut up, ya' yelping little cur.
Encore une fois gros crapaud de chatte:
ReplyDeleteIndiquez exactement où vous avez été insulté ici "premier".
Vous ne pouvez pas. Par conséquent, vous êtes un menteur.
Par conséquent, mangez de la merde et mourez.
Still waiting, tough-guy Psycho Anon. You revile anonymity--publish you name and address so I can come shove your teeth down your throat. But don't worry. A friend of mine is a world-renowned hacker. He will access this site, get your IP address, and we'll know who you are soon enough. And then you will regret the blighted day you were born. Just wait, asshole. Your nightmare is only beginning. Book it, Psycho. Your days of spewing toxic shit all over this blog are numbered.
ReplyDeleteWell, Rufus--just look at the posts of Psycho anon above.
ReplyDeleteIf that's not enough evidence for you, then I can't help you.
Good luck with your remedial French and English lessons!
God--you'd think people would be sending me bouquets. I exposed HC66, one of the main featured posters on this blog, as a dishonest incompetent. I PROVED it, with extensive citations. And instead of gratitude, I am showered with the usual spray of vitirol from the same two snarling losers.
ReplyDeleteAs the saying goes: No good deed goes unpunished.
Suck on it, losers!
Encore une fois gros crapaud de chatte:
ReplyDeleteIndiquez exactement où vous avez été insulté ici "premier".
Vous ne pouvez pas. Par conséquent, vous êtes un menteur.
Par conséquent, mangez de la merde et mourez.
Hey Frenchie--go wipe your ass with your beret.
ReplyDeleteAnd learn the language you're trying to write in to impress people, or you might risk making an ass of yourself--again and again and again, every time you paste that ungrammatical, dumbass drivel--which I THINK is supposed to be in French, but really sounds more like Pig Latin--and how appropriate for you, Rufus T. Frenchie!
Now allow me this time, Frenchie, to pile on the comic effect:
Encore une fois gros crapaud de chatte:
Indiquez exactement où vous avez été insulté ici "premier".
Vous ne pouvez pas. Par conséquent, vous êtes un menteur.
Par conséquent, mangez de la merde et mourez.
Encore une fois gros crapaud de chatte:
ReplyDeleteIndiquez exactement où vous avez été insulté ici "premier".
Vous ne pouvez pas. Par conséquent, vous êtes un menteur.
Par conséquent, mangez de la merde et mourez.
I shouldn't have said anything but telling duque who should be allowed to post was just too much for me to let slide. I enjoy the posts of HC66 and I suspect we all do. They are replete with historic references coupled with keen insight. This is a man who watched a lot of ball and can "put it all together" with flair and a sense of humor. And I love duque's blog for what it is, not what it could devolve into.
ReplyDeletePlus, I did say "please" in making my requests. how could that be an attack?
KD, you did not do anything wrong, nor did Rufus, and certainly not HoraceClark. We are dealing with a true sociopath here, one who shits all over beloved members of this blog, then tells us we should "thank him."
ReplyDeleteI have honestly never seen an un-moderated blog succeed. At some point, you need people to delete posts by antisocial elements. He is making physical threats against forum members now, so that's something else to look at.
HE IS DELUSIONAL.
Best bet is to ignore him and leave him to his angry posts and chronic masturbation and self-castration fantasies.
He's just upset that he's been evicted.
ReplyDeleteIt's really complicating his life right now:
https://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2018/05/michael_rotondo_update_a_911_call_a_messy_bedroom_and_what_he_wants_in_a_new_pla.html
He'll be busy packing for the next couple of days.
The raging psychopath "Anon"--who NEVER posts on this blog except to hurl his diseased bile at me--advises people to "ignore" me after INITITATING an attack of not one but FOUR unprovoked, unhinged, deranged spews of invective. FOUR of them--when no one else was doing anything close to that.
ReplyDeleteThis sick fuck is going to get his day of reckoning after my friend gets his IP address and address--and that will be happening within a week.
Better start running the Wayback Machine and try to get unborn, Sick Fuck Anon, because you are heading for some very serious trouble.
KD---you damaged piece of shit.
ReplyDeleteYou claim to speak for the blog--everyone here, and especially the leadership of the blog.
But do you see them engaging in your incessant petty sniping and whining?
Has duque EVER posted a headlong philistine assault on sabremetrics of the type you regularly spew here? Has he EVER attempted to dictate the content comments at all, aside from having mildly--and properly--encouraged civility?
The answer is NO. You and your psychotic tag-team partners in personal abuse are the MAIN--sorry, the ONLY--real problems on this blog. Your asinine addiction to personal acrimony is making a hash of this blog.
You want to emulate duque? Then learn how to write and develop a sense of humor--because your posts are radically deficient in both. Most of all, stop staining the comments sections with your roiling personal bitterness. That would be a great way to emulate duque as well.
Understood, you warped little moron?
Your "friend" who is the world class hacker-- is that like the out-of-town "girlfriend" that no one has ever met?
ReplyDeleteAnd, KD, you incorrigible dunce, my post about HC66 was not about whether or not he's a nice guy or whether his other posts are worthy or worthless. It was about showing that his statistical claims about Stanton were 100 percent false, a point that John M. acknowledged in his civil response--civil in contrast to your deranged babble. So, as usual, you miss the point and charge off on a tangent of irrelevancy and distortion. Why? Two reasons: You're a malicious little cipher, and you are STUPID--irremediably, deeply stupid.
ReplyDeleteClear enough now?
Encore une fois gros crapaud de chatte:
ReplyDeleteIndiquez exactement où vous avez été insulté ici "premier".
Vous ne pouvez pas. Par conséquent, vous êtes un menteur.
Par conséquent, mangez de la merde et mourez.
Suck on it, Frenchie. ANd here's a compassionate, constructive suggestion for you, my little helpless blog bitch, who posts like Pavlov's dog every time I post:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.babbel.com/learn-french-online/65391-beginner's-courses/176972-french-course-for-beginners-1
Oh by the way, Frenchie--have you learned which teams are in the National League and which are in the American League yet? LOL! You were hopelessly confused about this a few weeks ago. . .
No wait--thanks to super-evolved hacking technologies borrowed from imprisoned aliens at Area 61, now we have an absolutely positive identification of my little blog slave, AKA Psycho Boy:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.gettyimages.com/pictures/jeffrey-dahmer-1150574#suspected-serial-killer-jeffrey-l-dahmer-enters-the-courtroom-of-a-picture-id51955467
Oh--and still waiting for you to publish my collected Internet writings, Psycho Boy. Please alert us when that occurs so I can personally come and shove your sorry, shriveled face even farther up your ass.
ReplyDeleteWhen is the publication date, Psycho Boy? DO TELL!
No wait--it seems that Psycho Boy is NOT the ghost of Jeffrey Dahmer. After further clairvoyant investigation, we have summoned an image of Psycho Boy as he reads one of my comments, just before he rushes to the keyboard in a sweat of desperation to make an ass of himself YET AGAIN as my little obsessive bitch slave:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.minddisorders.com/Br-Del/Brief-psychotic-disorder.html
Sane anon says:
ReplyDeleteWe are dealing with a true sociopath here, one who shits all over beloved members of this blog, then tells us we should "thank him."
I have honestly never seen an un-moderated blog succeed. At some point, you need people to delete posts by antisocial elements. He is making physical threats against forum members now, so that's something else to look at.
HE IS DELUSIONAL.
Best bet is to ignore him and leave him to his angry posts and chronic masturbation and self-castration fantasies.
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