I may not know baseball as much as you guys do. But is this a sport where stats are really that important in predicting how well a team will do in the long run? For example, saying that the Yankees have one of the best defenses in the AL because of some percentages posted on a diamond, which I'm sure was compiled intelligently from a reliable source, isn't necessarily translating into wins, the one stat that matters the most. If that stat doesn't fit the fancy, then throw in whatever stat has the Yankees near the top and it still wouldn't matter. They're playing un-inspired baseball right now. But I can only base that thru my own observations. So, as hard as it is (for me) to argue against numbers/percentages of this season or past seasons, it doesn't really change the fact that the team is sucking a fat one as of late. Sometimes you gotta look beyond the numbers and see the plays on the field to know that this team really isn't very good right now.
Correct - they are playing stupid baseball. Or have you not seen Swisher? Continue deceiving yourself and enjoy your descent into mediocrity.
:rofl2:2 weeks ago the Yankees were playing great baseball,and the Sox were struggling. Where was your bold prognostication then? Get it in while you can,i guess
You're wrong. Not about the information (though honestly I don't know, since I didn't go look it up) but you're wrong that I don't believe you. I've never accused you of lying, and I wouldn't start now. I've told you privately that I respect you as a poster and I don't have any problem with you. Our only real disagreement is on the matter of intangibles. You give little weight to the effect of a poor mentality or poor coaching, whereas I put a lot of emphasis on both. Truthfully, all stats are 50% garbage. I know statjeff will have a heart attack if he reads that, but I firmly believe it. Stats can lie. Take Nick Swisher for example. Did you know his OPS is currently fifty-eight points higher than his career number? He's at .869 right now, which is a pretty damned good number, especially for a guy who is supposed to be hitting 6 or 7 in your lineup. That's pretty great right? Except his OPS with RISP drops to .751. With runners on 1st and 2nd? .388 Not so pretty a picture anymore, huh? But if I only told you that his OPS this year was .869 you'd have to say "Damn, Alio, maybe my eyes are deceiving me when Swish comes up with runners on!" No, I just gave you the stats that made my point; in this case that Swisher is hitting better than his career numbers this year. (By the same token, I could tell you the guys is an absolute POS because he can't hit with RISP, which isn't entirely true either.) What Swisher's offensive statistics tell you right now is that he's a very good hitter, and is valuable in the lower half of the lineup. However, don't count on him to drive in runs at an equal proportion to his overall OPS. I trust my eyes when they tell me that this team is gutless and has a loser mentality that starts from management. I don't need any stats to tell me that. As you said, there's only one that matters, and we aren't raising that number much lately.
Um, 2 weeks ago today the Sox were starting a 5 game winning streak including 3 from the Yankees and coming off a stretch where they won 6 of 10 and 4 the last 6. They haven't lost more than 3 in a row all year. I'm not really sure when this mythical time is that they were "struggling". They did start 2-6 so I guess maybe then, but they then went on an 11 game winning streak so that didn't last for too long.
I was saying how Girardi should get his ass tossed out. Not because Gardner WAS safe, but in hopes that it would makes these assholes play.
You gotta think small at first my friend. It starts with a hit, then a run, then a win, then a game, then a series.
No disrespect to Cashman, but does he remind anyone else of that weird fuck they picked up in Bangkok as a suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder?
