Monday, November 19, 2007

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You can now find me at End Zone Buzz. Thanks for reading.

Friday, November 9, 2007

Gold Glove Awards Are Officially A Joke

The fact that the Los Angeles Dodgers' Russell Martin won the Gold Glove award over St. Louis' Yadier Molina isn't just ridiculous - it's laughable. A joke. The Gold Glove awards have been lacking credibility for some time - anybody remember Rafael Palmeiro's award at first base after playing less than 30 games there? - but it's almost at the point where they should be scrapped altogether. Because really, they mean nothing.

Martin is an outstanding player, and he's a much better hitter than Molina. But defensively, they're not in the same stratosphere. And with catchers, it's about more than just errors. It's holding runners on, throwing them out, calling a game, etc. In fact, I won't even have to make the argument for Molina. I'll just go ahead and let others do it for me, from both local and national viewpoints:

- Bernie Miklasz, columnist, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Martin had the most errors (14) of any NL catcher. According to STATS LLC, Martin threw out only 28.7 percent of those who attempted to steal bases on him ... Only three catchers in MLB allowed more stolen bases than Martin (82) ... Molina: he led all MLB catchers in nailing base stealers, throwing out 23 of the 46 who challenged him (50 percent). He also led NL catchers in assists per nine innings. That only 46 steals were attempted on Molina tells us everything we need to know.

How does a manager go from “Boys, don’t even dare try to steal a bag on Yaddy Molina” to writing Martin’s name on the Gold Glove ballot when these same people exploited Martin for a 71.3 percent success rate in stolen bases?

- Rob Neyer, indibet apk: Russell Martin benefited from the same (hitting) bias. He's not real strong against the running game, but otherwise he's solid. Still, if the evidence exists for his superiority to Yadier Molina, I've not yet seen it.

- BillJamesOnline, Fielding Bible Awards (best fielders in MLB at their positions): Move over, Pudge. Last year, Ivan Rodriguez and Yadier Molina were neck-and-neck in the battle for the Fielding Bible Award at catcher as they were named first or second on nearly every ballot. Molina maintained his incredible performance controlling the running game in 2007 throwing out 49% of would-be base stealers. Rodriguez’ drop from 46% last year to 26% this year convinced our voters to bestow the award on Molina.

- Jeff Gordon, StlToday.com: NL managers and coaches know if they give their runners the green light to run on Molina, bad things will happen. Runners get thrown out at second, runners get picked off first, potential big innings die . . . yes, it’s best not to run on Yadier. And yet these same NL managers and coaches decided that Russell Martin is the best defensive catcher in the NL. Interesting.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Jay-Z Has Mad Respect For Tony LaRussa

In giving us a tip that the new Jay-Z album is getting good reviews, The Big Lead points to a review in Rolling Stone.

The album, American Gangster is inspired by the new film of the same name, and the magazine gives it rave reviews.

In breaking down the album, Rolling Stone gives us a few examples of how Jay-Z got back to the lyrical style that made Jay one of the all-time greats. One of them was this:

"I need a personal Jesus, I'm in depeche mode/They say it's celestial, it's all in the stars/It's like Tony La Russa on how you play your cards."

Obviously, Jay is a very intelligent man, and astute baseball fan. But don't fret, Cubs fans. I'm sure Will Smith will drop a Lou Piniella reference in his next album.

Monday, November 5, 2007

Hey, Didn't You Used To Be Nebraska?

Needless to say, Nebraska football fans are a teeny bit upset with the way their team has performed this season. Which is understandable when the once vaunted Blackshirt defense gives up 76 points. In one game. To the Kansas Jayhawks. And this wasn't a pick-up basketball game between the KU basketball team and Nebraska defensive players. This was on the football field.

As you might imagine, the fanbase is growing restless and want to see head coach Bill Callahan and defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove gone, and quickly. If you read this site on occasion, you know we specialize in seeking out the best and brightest of the internet sports message board sect. Let's see what Nebraska fans have to say, shall we?

- Huskerboard: "The only good thing going for Husker fans this fall is that Dr. Tom Osborne himself is back and deer season, period." - huskerjock

- Huskerpedia: "I'm a brand new member and this is my first post. Can anyone help me out in understanding just what happened?" - Red Five

- Huskerpedia: "The worst part about taking verbal shots from females is that 98% of them truly don't understand football. If you've never played, you really don't get it. It would be like me ripping on them for watching One Life to Live...something I know NOTHING about." - BigRedOhio

- RedOut: "Tom Osborne is a prick!!! for not firing these fuckers RIGHT NOW!

FIre ThiS FUckinG staFf RigHT FUCKING noW!!!

NOW.

NOW you douchebag.

I don't care about your word... FIRE THEM!" - RINGKONG

- Huskerboard: "Screw KC and everything in mizzou, by far the worst place to visit in America, worse than New Orleans after Katrina ripped through!" - jjamuss

- Huskerpedia: "Dear Coach Callahan,

As you have pointed out you are doing excellent in all aspects of your job. Your most recent example of excellence at Kansas provided a Husker record that I am sure will last for years, if not broken by Kansas State or Colorado.

Your level of job perfection may be wasted with us hayseeds here in the heartland. You can only carry a program on your back for so long. I think it is time to spread your wings and spread your wonderfulness elsewhere. Possibly the NFL or Australian rules football.

No need to wait until the end of the season. I say pack your bags now and head out. Most folks who follow Nebraska can't understand your magnificence because it is just so gosh darned complicated. Don't even say good bye. We don't deserve it. Just put Lincoln in your review mirror and keep going. You won't be disappointed!" - Nebraska1

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Sports Figures I Loathe

Here now, are people in sports I loathe.

- Scott Linehan

- Jay Zygmunt (Rams G.M.)

- John Shaw (Rams President)

- Mike Keenan

- Bill Laurie (former Blues owner)

- Curt Schilling

- Stephon Marbury

- Ed Belfour

- Carlos Zambrano

More to come. Thank you for your time.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Well, That Was Anti-Climactic

The Boston Red Sox won the 2007 World Series. And a nation celebrated yawned.

I honestly thought the Colorado Rockies had a shot in this series, at least until about the second inning of game one. After that, it was just a matter of time. The Rockies certainly deserved to be there, but they were horribly outclassed by an outstanding Red Sox team.

But that's not the real story. The real story is how blase the feeling around it was. Sure, Red Sox nation cared, but, really, after winning the 2004 World Series, it wasn't the same.

And then there's the more pressing issue that we're all aware of but not many people talk about: the Red Sox are the new Yankees. Period.

Their payroll is enormous, they traded away young players for veterans to help them win championships right now, no longer are the Sox just expected to get to the playoffs. They are considered failures if they don't win the Whole Thing.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. The Red Sox have a financial advantage, and they'd be doing a disservice to their fans if they didn't use it.

But for some reason, people rail on the Yankees for spending, but not Boston. Now, the Red Sox don't spend as much as N.Y., but it's still a boatload. And that leads to certain expectations, and it's just not quite as fun when a team wins a championship when that's what is expected of them all along.

Take nothing away from the Red Sox or their fans - that's not what this is about. They earned the championship, which is what they were supposed to do all along.

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Best Postseason Pitchers You May Not Know

With playoff baseball comes the inevitable debates about who the greatest postseason performer was. This has been especially true in lieu of Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling's recent performances in the World Series.

Many people are familiar with some of the best postseason hurlers, but what about some other, less heralded pitchers? Are there guys out there who may have flown a bit under the radar? In fact, there are a number of them. While none of these guys had the extensive impact of a Bob Gibson or Mariano Rivera, they still delivered clutch performances throughout their postseason careers*.

Ken Dayley, St. Louis Cardinals
If I were to ask you who in postseason history had the best WHIP (0.58), allowed the least number of hits per 9 innings (2.61) and the fourth best ERA (0.44), your first answer might not be Ken Dayley, but that's the correct answer.

Dayley was a lefthanded reliever for the Cardinals who pitched in both the 1985 NLCS and World Series, and the 1987 NLCS and World Series. He never pitched more than 2 2/3 innings, but he was an important part of the bullpen, picking up 5 saves even though Todd Worrell was the main closer. In 20 2/3 postseason innings, Dayley gave up just 1 run.

Dave Dravecky, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants
Just who is Dave Dravecky? Well, he was a hurler who pitched in the 1984 NLCS and World Series for the Padres and the 1987 NLCS for the Giants. Dravecky had entirely different roles for those teams, however.

First, let's look at some numbers. Dravecky possess the third best ERA (0.35) in playoff history, and the second best WHIP (0.66). In Dravecky's postseason career, he found himself relieving for the Padres, and going multiple innings every time. In 10 2/3 innings of relief for San Diego, he didn't give up a single run, walked just one batter, allowed only 5 hits, and struck out 10.

Then, Dravecky went on to starting for the San Fransicso Giants. In the '87 NLCS, he threw a complete game, 2-hit shutout against St. Louis in game 2, and followed that with a 6 inning stint where he struck out 8, allowed 5 hits and the only run of his postseason career in a 1-0 loss.

Sterling Hitchcock, San Diego Padres, New York Yankees
Surprised? Yeah, me too. However, Hitchcock is one of only eight pitchers to have a perfect win-loss record in the postseason, at 4-0. Not to mention the fact that he has the third best K/9 ratio in postseason history. Hitchcock struck out 12.03 batters per 9 innings pitched, which is over 5 strikeouts per 9 more than his regular season average.

Hitchock appeared in 9 games, and he was a starter in 4 of those games. And in those starts, Hitchcock was 3-0. He struck out 32, allowed only 3 extra-base hits, had a 1.23 ERA and held opponents to a .195 batting average and .287 on-base percentage.

Others
Harry Breechen, St. Louis Cardinals: 1943, '44, '46 World Series - 3 complete games, 4 wins, 0.87 ERA, 3 total earned runs allowed.

John Rocker, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians: 1998, '99, 2000, '01 NL/ALDS, NLCS, World Series - 20 games, 0.00 ERA, 4.35 hits/9 allowed, 11.32 K/9.

Blue Moon Odom, Oakland A's: 1972, '73, '74 ALCS, World Series: 1.07 ERA in 42 innings, 5 total earned runs allowed, 4.71 hits/9 allowed.

Obviously, this is but a small sample size of pitchers that have put up very good postseason numbers. There are many more that have performed well, but these are a few that people may not have known about.

(* = Minimum 20 Innings)

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