This Week in Baseball 8/25 - 8/31

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I'm obviously not an unbiased voice here, but I really don't understand what there is to dislike or hate about this incarnation of the Cubs. Outside of Zambrano's feisty approach (which he's tempered this season) and Soriano's boneheaded admiration of homers and balls hit off the wall, you've got a team of guys who go out there and do their job with very little glitz. I can totally empathize with those who disliked the Cubs of the Baker regime. Those clubs played fundamentally awful baseball and worried more about passing the buck than shoring up those fundamental shortcomings. I know it's probably not easy to just flip the switch on your feelings on a team from season-to-season, but I think it'd be tough to root against this team. They're just a lot of fun to watch.

[naiwf 0]

As a New York sports fan (Giants/Mets/Rangers/Knicks) I can't in good conscience root for a team from Philly (Phillies/Flyers/Eagles/76ers), or Chicago (Bears/Bulls/Cubs -> NL East days), and I cannot root for the Braves, Celtics, Steelers, Redskins or Cowboys under any circumstances. It's kind of funny that the primary Boston teams that everyone hates in this area are OK by me since we share a mutual digust of both the Yankees and Jets.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

Eight reasons to hate the Cubs:

 

1) perception of fans as fair-weather fratboy douchebags and trixies who don't follow the game (counterpoint: the Wrigley crowd responds to the game at hand as well as any, like getting dead-quiet for new Cub killer Jeremy Hermida, all being done at the one place [or two, maybe the Fens] that doesn't use ribbonboards and jumbovisions to instruct spectators to MAKE SUM NOIZE!!!!)

 

2) They're a high-spending club who are seen as trying to buy their way to a championship (counterpoint: wouldn't be where they are without in-house comparative cheapies like Theriot, Fontenot, Marmol, Samardzija, and Soto; or salvages like Edmonds and Reed Johnson)

 

3) Their douchebag fans are everywhere, not just half of Chicagoland, and/because nationally televised local coverage thrusts the Cubs on an unwilling nation (cp: they've scaled back WGN coverage way too much, down to about 70 when they should be airing at least 135)

 

4) Everyone is so fucking tired of hearing about 100 years and the curse and Bartman and black cats and all things Ron Santo and enough already the Red Sox did it first and did it on the east coast so they did it better now just go away stupid Cubs (cp: there is no counterpoint)

 

5) Alfonso Soriano is a ridiculously shitty fielder with a stupid hop and admires his home runs (cp: the roster of the Milwaukee Brewers)

 

6) You are a fan of the Brewers or White Sox, ergo, your sports fandom is 50% defined by hating the Cubs (cp: not exactly the cool kids' lunch table over there, huh.)

 

7) Tendency to run up the score sometimes (cp: no such thing in a clockless sport)

 

8) What happens after this? (cp: big party, everyone's invited; the Sox parade will look like a family reunion in comparison.)

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

I'm heading to Lakewood, NJ for a game today, the Lakewood Blueclaws against the Hagerstown Suns. The Phillies/Cubs series could not come at a better time, as my 2 1/2 hour commute will coincide with the radio broadcast.

 

This series has me nervous though, as the Cubs are easily the class of the National League. If the Phillies manage a split, I will be happy. Next month shows 12 games against the Nationals and Braves.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

So I've never been one to believe in the "myth" of clutch. I think that it's ridiculous to suggest that players have an ability to turn it on when the stakes are higher.

 

Anyways, I've recently heard complaints again that A-Rod is not clutch. I went and checked some numbers on him and found results that were so absurd that I had to share them.

 

- This year only A-Rod only has 2 RBI in the 8th and 9th innings. Put another way, A-Rod averages an RBI about every 5 plate appearances in innings 1-7. He averages one RBI per 93 plate appearances in the 8th and 9th.

 

- In 372 plate appearances defined as "low" or "medium" leverage, A-Rod has 4 GIDPs. In 108 hi-lev situations he has 9 GIDPs.

 

- He has an OPS of .282 with the bases loaded.

 

- Finally, fangraphs.com has a statistic called clutch that measures the difference in performance from normal to pressure situations. Rodriguez is dead last in all of MLB this year.

 

I'm not sure what any of this means, especially in light of him being the best clutch player in 2007. I doubt it has any predictive value. Small sample sizes abound, but one has to wonder how someone this great can be so utterly abysmal in any situationthat is remotely tough.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

- In 372 plate appearances defined as "low" or "medium" leverage, A-Rod has 4 GIDPs. In 108 hi-lev situations he has 9 GIDPs.

 

Isn't a GIDP opportunity more likely to be a high leverage situation in the first place though?

 

It's worth noting that the league batting drops substantially after the seventh inning as well. The AL OPS is .745. That figure drops to .708 in the eighth inning, and .668 in the ninth. I would expect ANY batter to drop off, given that in a close game they are facing the opposition's best relievers.

 

Rodriguez has had 18 hits that put his team in the lead this season. When Ortiz nearly won the MVP in 2005, he had 24 of them.

[devo 0]

http://www.metsblog.com/2008/08/28/watch-p...n-fan/#comments

 

Even Phillies fans would gladly throw themselves over railings for the chance to meet Mike Pelfrey.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

So has anyone even noticed that the Cleveland Indians have won 10 games in a row? BPro basically gives them no shot to make the playoffs, but if if you squint hard enough you could maybe see them making some noise down the stretch.

[Brett Favre 0]

I was watching Sportscenter the other day and saw their record was like 63-67. Grady Sizemore is the league MVP easy.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

I was watching Sportscenter the other day and saw their record was like 63-67. Grady Sizemore is the league MVP easy.

 

 

I wouldn't say easy. Quentin, Youkilis, Mauer, Morneau, Hamilton, Pedroia, A-Rod and Cliff Lee can all make a compelling case for MVP. This is as wide open a race as I can remember.

 

In horrific news for Boston fans, Josh Beckett is going to see Dr. James Andrews tomorrow about his ulnar nerve (Tommy John alert!). He's been complaining of numbness and tingling and has been scratched from three consecutive starts. Oy vey.

[Brett Favre 0]

I don't know man. What offensive support does Sizemore have comparable to the support those players you mentioned have?

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

Who cares? The Indians suck. Empty numbers. Carlos Quentin is doing it in a more important environment. He's the MVP.

[Brett Favre 0]

It's not the most important environment award. If you lead the team the Indians have, like you said they suck, to a .500 record, you should definitely be the MVP.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

I think Hamilton and Mauer/Morneau has a solid shot as well. Sizemore isn't getting it.

[Brett Favre 0]

Hamilton might not even be the most valuable player on his team. You can make a case for Mauer, but he has Morneau on his team as well. Who does Sizemore have? Ben Francisco? Andy Marte? Kelly Shoppach? What the hell is that? He has no protection.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

It's not the most important environment award. If you lead the team the Indians have, like you said they suck, to a .500 record, you should definitely be the MVP.

They're bad with or without him. I want contributors to success. Winners.

[Brett Favre 0]

They aren't bad with him. .500 ain't bad. And they already have an award for winners. It's the World Series trophy.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

I'm more impressed with what Carlos Quentin has done than what Grady Sizemore has done. I don't know how many ways I'm supposed to say that Quentin has had more significant and valuable contributions than Sizemore.

[Brett Favre 0]

How is Quentin's contributions to his team more valuable than Sizemore's? I'd really like to hear this. Is his hitting better because he has better hitters around him who help lead the team to a winning record? I don't get what you're saying. An MVP is a player award. Not a team award. Just cause Quentin is in a better lineup doesn't make his contributions better than Sizemore's.

[Guest WhackingCockDick]

I understand it's a player award. I just happen to be one of those dumb people, like sportswriters, who is more enamored with the contributions of a player on a dominant team than one putting up numbers on a go-nowhere team. Whatever, Aramis Ramirez just hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th. Fuckin' awesome.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Not that it matters but Sizemore isn't even ranked #1 for CFs this season so far, according to sportsline.com. That honor goes to Josh Hamilton. And he's doing it with just as much protection, I think, as Sizemore, and with a similar record as Cleveland.

[Brett Favre 0]

Who is Sizemore's protection? Martinez and Hafner have been hurt most of the year. Not to mention that Texas gets to face Oakland and Seattle like 100 times each. The Central division is way tougher.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

My best friend's got fifth row seats at the Cubs game tonight. I was only able to keep tabs on this inning online, so I ran outside and called him as soon as Aramis hit the slam just so I could share part of that moment. I left for a meeting at 10 figuring this one was in the bag the way Hamels was pitching. Such a fun team to watch. //fan gushing

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Why are you so hard up for Sizemore? Just admit there are plenty of good candidates out there, not just him.

[Brett Favre 0]

Nice rebuttal. So back to those hitters around Sizemore? You want to say Ben Francisco compares to Ian Kinsler and Milton Bradley?

[jimmy no nose 0]

No way Sizemore wins the MVP. If you're on a team that's not in playoff contention your numbers have to stand out well above the candidates from other teams and his don't. In fact they're not quite as good in most categories.

 

Sizemore .269/.382/.525(.907 OPS) 31 HR 83 RBI

Quentin .292/.389/.582(.979 OPS) 36 HR 100 RBI

Hamilton .298/.362/.538(.900 OPS) 29 HR 116 RBI

Rodriguez .307/.395/.581(.976 OPS) 28 HR 79 RBI

Youklis .316/.386/.563(.950 OPS) 24 HR 91 RBI

 

Aside from the batting average Sizemore's numbers certainly fall in line with the rest of the group, but he doesn't stand out about them in any category which would be necessary for him to have a legit shot. In the 6 categories I used to compare out of the 5 guys he ranks 5th in average, 3rd in OBP, 5th in slugging, 4th in OPS, 2nd in HR, and 4th in RBI. And this is ignoring Milton Bradley who's managed to lead the league in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, and of course OPS.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Protection? Are you guys serious? Protection is a myth.

 

Quentin is a shitty leftfielder who hits a bunch of homers in a bandbox. Same with Hamilton. I'd have them in my top 5, but they aren't doing more to help their team win than Grady Sizemore or Kevin Youkilis.

 

Besides, if you're trying to find the Most Valuable Indian it's Cliff Lee... and it's not particularly close.

[Brett Favre 0]

Please don't run out RBIs. Sizemore is the leadoff hitter.

 

All those guys have people who pick up the slack and give them pitches to hit. Youkilis has Ortiz, had Drew, had Manny, and has Jason Bay. Hamilton as Kinsler and Bradley. Quentin has Dye, Swisher, and Thome. Rodriguez has Abreu, Giambi, and now Nady. I think that helps a bit. Those numbers do matter because the team is hovering around .500 and is getting back into the playoff race. Considering the rest of the lineup is crap, that's impressive.

 

I wouldn't give the MVP to a pitcher. He doesn't play enough.

[Guest Smues]

Each team that has lost so far today scored 2 runs.

 

Just thought I'd mention that...for no reason.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Ok for starters, you can't say that Sizemore is playing against tougher opponents than Hamilton, then point to bad production from people on the Indians when they have to play the same tough opposition whereas Bradley and co. enjoys the "easier" schedule. And since when is Anaheim an easy opponent?

 

For the record, Ben Francisco and Kenny Lofton are putting up decent numbers. Stop whining about Francisco.