Random Baseball Observations

[digitalmonkey 929]

I love Ozzie Guillen!

[SBriand 4]

Verlander? What about Fister. Jesus, what a great pickup.7-0 in his last 8 outings with a .65 ERA. Like 54 K's and 3 or 4 walks. Verlander and Fister are combined 14-0 with a 1.61 ERA since Aug 16th. I can't remember the last time we had a one two punch like this.

[digitalmonkey 929]

Verlander? What about Fister. Jesus, what a great pickup.7-0 in his last 8 outings with a .65 ERA. Like 54 K's and 3 or 4 walks. Verlander and Fister are combined 14-0 with a 1.61 ERA since Aug 16th. I can't remember the last time we had a one two punch like this.

You really like Fister, huh?LOL

[Dread Aidan 8]

I'm rooting for Boston/Tampa and Atlanta/St. Louis to end up tied, so we can have a one-game playoff for both.

[wsox8 10]

http://deadspin.com/5844664/an-mlb-umpire-...hone-call-video

[SuitedAces21 2,722]

I'm rooting for Boston/Tampa and Atlanta/St. Louis to end up tied, so we can have a one-game playoff for both.

that is clearly the max enjoyment for non those town fans. i just hope boston doesnt make it. they dont deserve it and i hate them and their stupid town.

[Dread Aidan 8]

i just hope boston doesnt make it. they dont deserve it and i hate them and their stupid town.

I feel the same way about Tony LaRussa.Jose Reyes coming out of the game after getting a hit to try to win the batting title is the gayest gay that ever gayed. I hope Braun goes 3 for 4. Or Matt Kemp goes 12 for 12.Speaking of Matt Kemp...My award picks with no research whatsoever:NL MVP - Matt KempAL MVP - Jacoby EllsburyNL Cy - Clayton KershawAL Cy - Justin VerlanderMy award picks after a little bit of research:NL MVP - still Matt KempAL MVP - Jacoby Ellsbury or Jose Bautista (Ellsbury seems to pass Bautista when you factor in fielding, but how reliable are those metrics? FanGraphs has Ellsbury as a comfortable leader in WAR. Just about every hitting metric favors Bautista.) NL Cy - Roy HalladayAL Cy - Justin Verlander (but CC is a lot closer than I thought)

[SuitedAces21 2,722]

yeah i heard about the jose reyes thing earlier. then i read the article about how ted williams was batting exactly .400 on the final day of the season and demanded to play because if he couldnt do it for every game possible then he didnt deserve it. it also described him as taking BP after the game, spraying line drives everywhere and screaming, "I'M TED WILLIAMS, THE BEST FUCKIN HITTER EVER." i think thats pretty awesome. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6996357/...-magical-seasonbut jose and his manager should be ashamed. the only race i really would love to see a thorough sabremetric breakdown on is the roy halladay v. clayton kershaw fight. doc halladay's war is well above clayton's but when i look at their xfips they are basicall even. i'd like to see a variable by variable breakdown of that one. perhaps it is the HR/9 and BB/9 where roy is well above. i dont know enough about these things yet. i want to, i just havent had the time to learn the formulas.

[Dread Aidan 8]

I don't know either really, but one area where Kershaw is much better than Doc is BABIP (.269 vs .298), which suggests that he's been a little bit luckier. And since everything else is so close, it seems that if this one thing was equal, Doc would've been even better.I'd love to see a matchup of Doc vs. Greinke in the playoffs.

[timwakefield 68]

Yankees with a 5-0 lead in the 2nd, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Now if they can just hold on, and if we can just win, they we can avoid the dreaded single-game-playoff with Tampa Bay tomorrow which would be almost impossible to watch because I just know we aren't gonna win it. LET'S JUST SKIP IT THEN K?Sox-O's at 1-1 now. I like our chances a lot better today than I do if we have to play tomorrow.

i just hope boston doesnt make it. they dont deserve it

Whichever team wins more games does, by definition, deserve it.

[Dread Aidan 8]

Sox-O's at 1-1 now.

Did you type this right after Reimold crossed home, but before Hardy followed him? Or is ESPN lying to me that Hardy hit a 2-run home run?

[timwakefield 68]

Did you type this right after Reimold crossed home, but before Hardy followed him? Or is ESPN lying to me that Hardy hit a 2-run home run?

Misclick. First I typed 1-0, then Hardy hit a (stupid!) 2-run-hr and I edited it to 1-2, but apparently by accident wrote 1-1. Freudian typo I guess.EDIT: Wow that is some real bullshit from Reyes. What makes it even more poignantly-weak-shit is that today is also exactly the 70th anniversary of Ted Williams saying, "Fuck yeah I'm playing today, and I'm playing both games too!" and then going 6 for 8. I've heard that Billy Crystal story (in the espn article) before too - pretty unreal.

[mrdannyg 274]

http://deadspin.com/5844664/an-mlb-umpire-...hone-call-video

The only part about the article that gets me is that the author is surprised the umps don't lose track of the count more often. THey don't because there is a giant lighted board above and in front of them usually showing the count. The only reason for the delaylast night was the scoreboard was showing the count wrong.

Jose Reyes coming out of the game after getting a hit to try to win the batting title is the gayest gay that ever gayed. I hope Braun goes 3 for 4. Or Matt Kemp goes 12 for 12.Speaking of Matt Kemp...My award picks with no research whatsoever:NL MVP - Matt KempAL MVP - Jacoby EllsburyNL Cy - Clayton KershawAL Cy - Justin VerlanderMy award picks after a little bit of research:NL MVP - still Matt KempAL MVP - Jacoby Ellsbury or Jose Bautista (Ellsbury seems to pass Bautista when you factor in fielding, but how reliable are those metrics? FanGraphs has Ellsbury as a comfortable leader in WAR. Just about every hitting metric favors Bautista.) NL Cy - Roy HalladayAL Cy - Justin Verlander (but CC is a lot closer than I thought)

That is really such a load of crap by Reyes.I'd love to see CC make it very close on the Cy voting. Stupid stats like wins do have a place, and that clinches it for Verlander, but it would be hilarious to see voters go all-in on FIP and stuff and people's heads asplode.I do think you have to give the award to Bautista, but Ellsbury has been so fantastic that he has been close enough to as valuable, while contending, that I'll give it to him. That is ridiculously non-scientific. More realistically, I think he has separated himself from Pedroia and A-Gon enough to avoid too much votesplitting.I do think the defence metrics suck. For one, they don't consider Bautista's flexibility, which is pretty useful. Being able to play IF and OF helps a team, and that isn't measured. Baseball Prospectus is coming up with some new metrics designed to measure how valuable a guy with a good arm is (not being run on, etc) which should help Bautista's cause. He has average to below range, but his arm makes him at least average, if not slightly plus. Same goes for his play at 3B.

[timwakefield 68]

SOX TAKE THE LEAD! RAYS STILL DOWN 5 6!!

[SuitedAces21 2,722]

Whichever team wins more games does, by definition, deserve it.

i just hate all the boston sports teams.

[brvheart 1,752]

I feel the same way about Tony LaRussa.Jose Reyes coming out of the game after getting a hit to try to win the batting title is the gayest gay that ever gayed. I hope Braun goes 3 for 4. Or Matt Kemp goes 12 for 12.Speaking of Matt Kemp...My award picks with no research whatsoever:NL MVP - Matt KempAL MVP - Jacoby EllsburyNL Cy - Clayton KershawAL Cy - Justin VerlanderMy award picks after a little bit of research:NL MVP - still Matt KempAL MVP - Jacoby Ellsbury or Jose Bautista (Ellsbury seems to pass Bautista when you factor in fielding, but how reliable are those metrics? FanGraphs has Ellsbury as a comfortable leader in WAR. Just about every hitting metric favors Bautista.) NL Cy - Roy HalladayAL Cy - Justin Verlander (but CC is a lot closer than I thought)

I agree with most of this.

[brvheart 1,752]

i just hate all the boston sports teams.

I agree with most of this also. (I have no problem with the Bruins)

[brvheart 1,752]

yeah i heard about the jose reyes thing earlier. then i read the article about how ted williams was batting exactly .400 on the final day of the season and demanded to play because if he couldnt do it for every game possible then he didnt deserve it. it also described him as taking BP after the game, spraying line drives everywhere and screaming, "I'M TED WILLIAMS, THE BEST FUCKIN HITTER EVER." i think thats pretty awesome. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6996357/...-magical-season

Did you watch the video? I kind-of hate people that hold stupid grudges. He doesn't tip his cap to the crowd at 42 years ago because of something that happened in his rookie/2nd year? Seriously, Ted? Grow up. People are stupid and always will be. You have to ****ing let the water roll off your back.I have a friend who still hates his 7th grade basketball coach. I'm pretty sure he would take a swing at him if they ran into each other. It's ridiculous.

[SuitedAces21 2,722]

i didnt watch the video. but that doesnt surprise me. to be the best sometimes you need to be a bit of a dick. think michael jordan.

[timwakefield 68]

Did you watch the video? I kind-of hate people that hold stupid grudges. He doesn't tip his cap to the crowd at 42 years ago because of something that happened in his rookie/2nd year? Seriously, Ted? Grow up. People are stupid and always will be. You have to ****ing let the water roll off your back.I have a friend who still hates his 7th grade basketball coach. I'm pretty sure he would take a swing at him if they ran into each other. It's ridiculous.

Ted Williams was one of the most stubborn men who ever lived. That's part of what made him able to become one of the greatest hitters ever (if not THE stand-alone greatest). That video also just barely touched on the issue of the love/hate relationship he had with fans over most of his career. Linked below is one of the greatest sports articles I've ever read, and it has achieved a sort of legendary status as being such. It is about Williams' final game, and his final at-bat, and it's beautifully written. It doesn't necessarily answer all the questions about why he refused to tip his cap or give him a pass on it, but it's still extremely relevant, since the entire article focuses on his final game, and that final at-bat. "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu," by John Updike, 1960

Understand that we were a crowd of rational people. We knew that a home run cannot be produced at will; the right pitch must be perfectly met and luck must ride with the ball. Three innings before, we had seen a brave effort fail. The air was soggy; the season was exhausted. Nevertheless, there will always lurk, around a corner in a pocket of our knowledge of the odds, an indefensible hope, and this was one of the times, which you now and then find in sports, when a density of expectation hangs in the air and plucks an event out of the future.

[timwakefield 68]

Unless the Phillies score in the 9th or the Cardinals blow a 7-0 lead, it looks like the Braves and Cards will be playing each other tomorrow.EDIT: Well, the Phillies scored in the 9th. On to the bottom of the 9th, tied! Stupid rain in stupid Baltimore still holding up the Sox. NOT LIKE THAT'S MAKING ME ANXIOUS OR ANYTHING FUSADKJFASDJ.

[timwakefield 68]

And the Yankees seriously just gave up 6 runs in the 8th to turn a 7-run-lead into a 1-run-lead, and it's still raining in Baltimore. Come on Yankees, the one time I'm ever rooting for you!God forbid they bring Mo in to save it [/sarcasm]. 2 MORE OUTS PLEEEEEZ.

[timwakefield 68]

You're fucking kidding me. This is looking baaaaaaaaaaad for us right now.

[brvheart 1,752]

Is the Yankee game on TV? I can't find it. I'm on dish network.

[timwakefield 68]

Is the Yankee game on TV? I can't find it. I'm on dish network.

I'm in NYC, so it's on here. I thought ESPN2 was gonna broadcast it, but apparently not. Sox-O's has restarted too, and is on ESPN.And Philly-Atlanta are in the friggin 13th, with Atlanta needing a win to force a playoff with St. Louis.