EVIL~! alkeiper

Thanks for the feedback guys. Another theory that struck me about shooting percentage. Three point attempts are up. I think we can agree that distance from the basket correlates with shooting percentage. The further away you are from the basket, the lower the league shooting percentage becomes. My theory is that not only are more three point attempts occuring, but the average shot is taken further from the basket than it was 15-20 years ago. This would have the predicted adverse effect on shooting percentages.

So, in your world, teams can show up to games whenever they damn well please? We've been over this. The Yankees were able to accomodate the Devil Rays, MLB has found nothing wrong at this point, so its a dead issue. Have an issue with Bud Selig? Ask your beloved Mr. Steinbrenner not to vote for him the next time his contract comes up for renewal. He did, so apparently George likes whatever job Bud seems to do.

It's because at some level, we expected Mitch Williams to blow the game. Between game four and game six, he single-handedly gave the Blue Jays the World Series on a platter. It wasn't just Carter's HR. He also managed to blow a 14-9 lead. One correction to your account. There was ONE out.

Let us assumed the game is not played. Obviously it would not matter unless the Yankees were either a half game ahead or a half game back at the end of the season. If the Yankees were a half game back, they probably would not make up the game, as MLB goes to head-to-head matchups to determine the division champions in that situation, and the Yankees need to win five of six from the Sox to get the edge there. And if they were to win five of six, they probably would win the division outright. So the only way this game is necessary is if the Yankees are exactly a half game ahead at the end of the season.

It's worth noting that Aubrey Huff was unable to join the team, so the Devil Rays are without their best hitter.

It's easier to get lodging back home than find accomodations on the road. http://www.sptimes.com/2004/09/06/Rays/Ray..._delays_i.shtml

I doubt they would play that game unless a playoff berth were at stake. There is a precident with the 2000 AL West.

Better yet, don't. Bruiser is right, take this to the Yankee bitching thread, and leave it out of this one.

Ok. Explain how that works. MLB did not make a formal request to the Devil Rays to change their travel arrangements, and a legitimate weather concern caused them to reschedule the game. If they were told to make separate arrangements, that's one thing. But they were not.

It depends. The story has been that they were urged to leave Tampa early, but the stories I've read have all been from the NY papers. Who knows what the lodging situation in New York was? It is not easy to find adequate lodging in NYC for 50-75 people on a few hours notice, on a Holiday weekend. And when possible, MLB will ALWAYS take the option of playing the game at some point. There has only been one forfeit in the last 25 years.

Out of curiosity, what is the big rush to find out keepers? We're not even through the season yet.

WHIP is fine. I've been considering other stats, but its usually better to stick with traditional stats that everyone understands.

Here are my suggestions for stats. First off, cut out the separate stats for doubles, triples, and the like. I'd make it OBP, R, RBI, HR, SB. This has the added benefit of making steals more valuable. With pitching, I would also use the standard five categories. The White Sux strategy problem would simply be resolved by not using stats that reward not using pitchers. Use wins, saves, strikeouts, ERA, and something else. If possible, use a rate stat.

Absolutely. Too bad the games will be on 10pm on the East Coast. Pedro vs. Hudson should be good though.

A full slate of games today. ESPN has Tampa Bay @ New York at 3, and Boston @ Oakland at 10, while ESPN2 is showing Montreal @ Chicago at 4.

Hmm. The schedule shows me up against the Rebels, but the Playoff brackets have me scheduled against the mysterious El Kabong.

Runs created is dependant on plate appearances, not at bats. Players who draw walks are certainly credited with Runs Created. Yes. The ability to hit in the clutch does not exist. There is no special skill that allows a player to add extra hitting ability just because it is a "clutch" situation. But clutch hits themselves do exist, and players deserve credit for them. To put it another way, we can measure clutch hitting in the past, but we can predict clutch hitting in the future.

It doesn't matter if it inconviences the Devil Rays at all. This whole thing is their damn fault. Now they've thrown the Yankees themselves off schedule, eliminated half of the rest time. The Yankees are being punished for something they didn't do. And I wouldn't be so sure about that gate al. Alot of people don't have the flexibility for, don't care to, or don't even know about the time change. What was once a 50,000 plus gate could now be a 40, 000 game. Hell, I found out about the damn thing at 11 something. If I was going to these games I'd be fast asleep by now, and probably wouldn't find out until I got the damn place. A lot of people are being screwed because one team couldn't be bothered. The rest time would normally be about a half hour. The game time was one, and now it's three. Fans who show up will simply be told the game will start two hours later. Seriously, two hours. Its not like it was changed from a day game to a night game.

It was the ultimate Hollywood ending. The injured star sucks it up to make just one at bat, and wins the game for the home team. The Dodgers were down a run, with two outs, and one on. If Gibson fails, the Dodgers lose the game. Not only that, but he was facing the best reliever in baseball. And the at bat was epic. Gibson and Eckersley battled for about 10-12 pitches, lasting almost 10 minutes. And finally Gibson popped the damn thing. If the importance is overrated, the moment is not.

I'm probably going to take the best overall player from the other leagues who did not win. In the interest of fairness, it will not be me. If I don't win a league, I will not participate.

New York/Brooklyn, and I think they're brown.

Which makes fundamentals a subjective evaluation. Since people are naturally nostalgic, of course the preference leans towards the old players. But there ARE portions of fundamentals we can measure, because they show up in the stat sheet. Namely turnovers. Players with bad fundamentals would tend to make more turnovers. They have not. I know there are issues that fail to show up in the stat sheet. But when challenging the conventional wisdom, we need something more concrete than subjective arguments. Especially since none of us have really studied game films from 20 years ago. Of course we have classic NBA games, but those are the BEST games from that era. They had bad games too, but those will not see the light of day.

Curse of the Red Sox indeed. However, the account is inaccurate. Henderson's shot gave the Sox the lead, but they were on the road, so it did not win the game. The Angels scored in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings, where Don Baylor scored in the 11th off Henderson's sacrifice fly. It's also worth noting the Angels were up by three runs going into the ninth. Don Baylor's HR off Mike Witt closed the gap. Make no mistake though, without Henderson's HR, the Sox don't make the World Series.

I've been reading up on the situation (albeit from NY's point of view). The Tigers left the area I believe on Saturday, so the games weren't going to happen on Sunday. Apparently MLB asked the Devil Rays to leave early, but they did not. The only reason given so far was the inability to secure lodging. I suppose more will come out of it. The doubleheader was scheduled for 1pm, and it was a straight doubleheader. The break between games remains unchanged. The Devil Rays will leave Tampa at 9am tomorrow, and if they don't make it for some reason, then the Yankees would seek a forfeit.

And Italy lost. Spain failed to medal. Lithuania failed to medal. What are their excuses?