EVIL~! alkeiper

Meanwhile, the A's have extended their division lead to 4 games. They are 31-15 since the All Star Break. Analysts are forever criticizing the A's because they aren't built to win in the postseason, whatever that means. Well they kick shit in August and September, so why don't other teams copy what the A's do until the postseason? And the AL East is now the closest divisional race in baseball.

Probably. Their big silver anniversery special is next week I believe.

Its hard to pinpoint when that happened. He did steal 11 bases in 1926, but who knows how many of those were wild pitches and passed balls. 1925 is as accurate a cutoff point as any, for obvious reasons. Of course. But its worth noting as many would assume Gehrig always batted after Ruth. And the difference between Gehrig and Muesel is significant.

Yes. Ryan Howard was old for a prospect coming into the season. 24 year olds at AA aren't too impressive. But he dominated AA, and performed well at AAA when called up. He's hit more HRs than anyone in organized baseball this season. He's probably major league ready, but as a first baseman, he'll only pinch hit and spell Jim Thome from time to time. He's a top trade candidate, and the Phillies should trade him while his stock is high. His upside is a David Ortiz-type. As for Gavin Floyd, he was one of AA's top pitchers, and one of the youngest. His pitching performance is more impressive when you remember he's just 21. He probably could've used more work at AAA, but he's one of baseball's top 10 pitching prospects. He had no wildness in his rehab starts, but its impossible to say for certain until he gets some major league innings under his belt. I'm wary that all the sanguine stuff written lately in the press about him is just an attempt to build his confidence. But that's just an opinion. I really hope he succeeds.

Clemente is well out of bounds of the time frame. Munson is borderline on the time. If he's within bounds, he's in. Ditto for Darryl Kile, who should've made the list in his own right.

It matters no matter how high your batting average is. Of course, your batting average pushes your OBP higher, so OBP doesn't ignore the effects of batting average by any stretch. Ichiro is the best leadoff hitter in baseball this season.

That strike out did in fact happen, but in the 7th inning. In the movie it was moved to the end of the game for dramatic effect. To this day, Yankee scholars (Yes, there is such a thing, shut up) have no idea what Babe was thinking. That's correct. You can read the full PBP of the game at Retrosheet. As for Ruth, I think his rationale was that he was trying to get into scoring position, and the steal would catch the Cardinals off guard. Keep in mind Bob Muesel was at the bat, and not Gehrig (he was on deck).

I think the war in Iraq, attacking a country unrelated to the war on terrorism, is an unforgiveable sin. On top of that, John Ashcroft threatens my porn addiction. So for those reasons, I'm voting for John Kerry. He's not an especially inspiring candidate, but Bush is a BAD president.

Bill James wrote something I highly agree with. With ESPN and sports reported, the idea was to bring the fan inside the game. The opposite has happened. Instead of opening the lives of athletes for all to see, athletes and the media have grown increasingly distrustful of each other, and it has served to isolate the athlete from the fan.

Looking at the schedule, with an A's victory and Angels loss, the AL East would become the closest divisional race in the American league.

In order to qualify for the ERA title, you simply need to meet the innings pitched requirement, which is 1 IP per game (162 IP over a season). At this point, a pitcher needs 131 IP to qualify.

How so? He's contending and within reach of breaking the single season hits record... Because he draws few walks which limits his OBP, and he doesn't hit for power. This is less true this season than in previous seasons. Since he's 2nd in the AL in OBP, he's more valuable this season. I honestly didn't know he was that high in OBP before I looked it up. But a player with the hitting skills of Vlad Guerrero or Gary Sheffield is more valuable.

Alot of interesting players will get cups of coffee this September. This thread is to help keep track of some of them. The players up (so far) that interest me... SP Gavin Floyd (Phillies) 1B Ryan Howard (Phillies) SP/RP Rick Ankiel (Cardinals) 1B Andres Galarraga (Angels) C Dioner Navarro (Yankees) 1B Casey Kotchman (Angels) RP Felix Heredia (Yankees) Yeah, Heredia doesn't fit the profile. I just want to see if Joe Torre has the balls to let him pitch.

ESPN has a feedback link. Why not try writing them and telling them there is too much Kobe coverage? Couldn't hurt.

Of the 50 NL pitchers who have qualified for the ERA title, Johnson is 47th in Run Support. Only Brad Penny, Odalis Perez, and Ben Sheets get less runs to work with.

You can't assume what a player would have done in a different era, of course. What you can measure is their relative value at the time. For example, Ozzie contributed this many runs when the average team scored this many, and so on. In other words, how many runs did it take to win a game in each era? It measures plays, not attempts. Fielding percentage makes no allowance for plays that get by you to your left or right. Ozzie covered more ground than most shortstops, but fielding percentage doesn't pick that up. Range factor does. Vizquel was as good a hitter. But Ozzie was a far superior fielder. And to support his HOF case, Vizquel needs to be superior at the bat. Its also worth noting that Ozzie had nearly twice as many stolen bases, at a far superior success rate. That contributes to his offensive value. At the plate, yes. But his argument rests on fielding. And he needs something more substantial than fielding percentage to build his argument. In raw stats, Ozzie made 1,000 more putouts, and over 2,500 more assists. That's over 3,500 more outs with the glove. I don't need to tell you, that's alot of ground to make up.

Given the case, We'll never know what really happened. All I know is I could live my life peacefully if I never heard about this story ever again.

Ichiro is overrated slightly as an offensive player. He's good, he'll be on my MVP ballot, but he's not top 3. He is FUN to watch however. For now, its Johnson. But if I were building a team, I'd take Ichiro, because he sells merchandise, plays every day, and is more likely to play well 4-5 years from now.

And what's your solution? Don't be so quick to pick up mediocre free agents. Middle relievers such as Steve Karsay cost draft picks which kills the minor leagues, for performance which really doesn't help the team. . I'm pretty sure no one expected THIS to happen when they signed him. Multi-year contracts tend to attract the better players. They like the security. This is where the Moneyball principle can help all teams. Karsay was a good pitcher, and should have been an effective reliever. The problem is there are a ton of pitchers out there capable of pitching as well as Karsay did. There's no reason to pay a middle reliever a boatload of cash. Second, multi-year contracts do attract better players. And if you pick up a star (Gary Sheffield for example), than they are well worth the money. But when you pick up role players like Rondell White and Sterling Hitchcock via free agency and surrender draft picks, you hurt your club.

He's 37 years old. I highly doubt he's got much left in the tank. Even at this point, he's not a HOFer. He looks better than ever, still plays a great short, and doesn't rely on power. Pesky hitters like him can stay a while longer. He's batting .310, doesn't look like he's got nothing left in the tank. If Ozzie Smith is in the hall, I don't see why Vizquel shouldn't be. Vizquel, heck, with 2 more solid years would have more runs, hits, right now has a better average, on base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. He should win a Gold Glove this year, and possibly two more in the next 2 years. If it does happen, he's got my vote. I just find it odd that Ozzie gets all this acclaim because of his charisma and some flips. Vizquel even has the best fielding percentage for a shortstop in the history of the game for a minimum of 1000 games, he has over 2000 games played there. He has more doubles, triples, and even has better postseason numbers in close to the same amount of games. Well, that's my case. Ok. Time for me to pick this apart. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who was a huge Ozzie Smith fan, although I think I keep his performance in perspective. Let's start with the defense. Many compare Vizquel as on par with Ozzie. He's not. Ozzie Smith was a truly exceptional fielder. You quote fielding percentage. That's not a good stat to compare across eras, because they have steadily risen over time. Recent players will almost always have better fielding percentages. The league average fielding percentage for a SS was .968 in Ozzie's time, compared to a .972 percentage in Vizquel's time. In perspective, Ozzie's is one point better. But fielding percentage only measure how often you did not screw up. Look at Range Factor. Range factor measures the plays a player made per game. 5.03 for Ozzie, and 4.45 for Vizquel. That is a large discrepancy. I have yet to see a reliable fielding metric that places Vizquel in Ozzie Smith's league. Ozzie is noticed for the backflips, but the fact is he made a TON of plays at shortstop. Nothing got by him. Hitting. The reasoning is that Vizquel is almost as good with the glove, but much better with the bat. That is not true. Vizquel hit in a hitters' era and a hitters' park. Smith played in a balanced era and a pitchers' park. OPS+ adjusts OPS for park and era. Smith beats Vizquel with the bat, 87 to 83. Smith hit 262/337/328 when the league average was 261/328/390. Vizquel hit 273/340/356 when the league average was 270/340/424. So Vizquel's edge with the bat is merely an illusion of the big hitting 90s. Vizquel's HOF argument entirely consists of this imaginary link with Ozzie Smith. If it weren't for Ozzie, Vizquel would have no argument whatsoever for the Hall. Ozzie wins in GGs, 13 to 9. Ozzie made 15 All-Star squads, compared to just three for Vizquel. Vizquel has NEVER finished top ten in MVP voting. Vizquel's hitting well this year, but his last three OBPs were .323, .341, and .321. There is every indication that this season is just an outlier. I might be wrong, but Vizquel needs to have a hell of a good few years to earn HOF consideration.

And what's your solution? Don't be so quick to pick up mediocre free agents. Middle relievers such as Steve Karsay cost draft picks which kills the minor leagues, for performance which really doesn't help the team. Pour more money into scouting and development. Be wary of multi-year contracts. If Derek Jeter were on any other team, his contract would be the worst in baseball. It might cost you short term dominance, but it means less dependancy on Tanyon Sturtze.

Well, the reason the Yankees have a problem in the first place is because of the Anglesault "win at all costs" attitude, instead of building depth for long term health.

I don't understand the Yankee fans falling back on the curse. What if the curse doesn't strike until the World Series? He's 37 years old. I highly doubt he's got much left in the tank. Even at this point, he's not a HOFer. Referring to Vazquez. I'll trade you guys "proven winner" Eric Milton and take Vazquez off your hands.

Game four of the 2002 ALDS was sweeter. It was the day mystique and aura got shoved on its ass, and kicked in the crotch.

I detect a hint of sarcasm in Sault's words.