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Friday, June 27, 2003
Sending out an SOSI don't know what to tell you.Last week I asked everyone to send questions for me to answer this week and I received a ton of good/bad/funny questions. I was planning on answering them today, in a really lengthy entry that I would leave up for you all to read over the weekend. Then "blogger," the service I use to post the actual content onto this website, stopped working at around noon on Wedneday and didn't start working again until 6 am yesterday. And when it finally did start working, it wouldn't let me post yesterday's entry in it's entirety, because it was "too big." I was forced to post the entry in 3 smaller parts, which was not only a huge pain in the butt, but also looked weird. Nevertheless, I didn't know of any other way to get the actual entry onto the website so you could read it, so I did it. Then, I waited and waited and, throughout the day and night yesterday, I tried to post the original, long version of the entry and each time I was given the same error message. It wasn't a particularly long entry either, so it is definitely not something "I did." And, as I tried to post my "Questions and Answers" entry for today, I received the same damn error message. Unlike yesterday's entry, this is a very long one and would probably require me to post it in like a dozen different sections. When I try to publish the several thousand word entry, the following is all that shows up on the page: "BIG POST ERROR, POST ID 105668193054857662" So, blame "blogger" for the fact that you don't have a new, very lengthy and, in my opinion, interesting entry to read today and over the weekend. Yesterday, while the service was down from 12 pm until 6 am (approximately 18 hours), they had the following message displayed: "Your service will be back up later today. Please bear with us." The message was "dated" 11 am, pacific time. Then, as I said, when the thing finally got up and working after 18 hours or so, I couldn't (and still can't) do something I have done every weekday for the last year, which is post a new entry. And let me tell you, blogger has the absolute worst "customer service" I have ever seen in my life. There is no number to call, no email address, no message board, no chat room, no nothing. Literally nothing. What they do have is a place where you can file complaints or problems for "review." Conveniently, they keep track of all the things you have filed. So, I checked my filing history and found that, back in December of last year, I filed two complaints. Here is the response that is shown: 12/12/2002: "Unreviewed" 12/15/2002: "Unreviewed" Boy, that is some service! I filed my latest complaint, which basically boils down to my blog no longer being workable for anything more than short little entries (not exactly my strong suit) and I figure my chances of getting a response are slightly less than zero. But really, what else can I do? I am truly asking (begging) for help. This is very frustrating for me and I can't see how I can continue this blog if I am forced to post each entry I make into 15 little pieces just so it will actually show up on the page. I don't want to do that and I'm sure you all don't want to read that. But what can I do? I can't get in contact with blogger, they literally ignore my complaints that I file and I don't know enough (anything) about computers to make the switch to another website or another service or whatever it is called. So, I am calling out for help. There are literally thousands of you who read this website frequently and I assume many of you either work in the computer/internet industry or at least have a lot of knowledge in the field. If you're one of those people, I need your help. What can I do so that I can continue to run this blog the way I have been running it for the past year or so? Please help me. I will try to get this thing working over the weekend and I assure you there will be a brand new, "Gleeman-length" entry for you to read first thing Monday morning, whether I have to divide it into 10 pieces or 1,000 pieces. And trust me, I'm as pissed off about it as you are. In the meantime, besides praying for the life of this blog and sending me advice/suggestions, check out my entries from earlier this week: Monday: The Adventures of Little Joe Tuesday: The Bizarro World All-Stars (Part One: The American League) Wednesday: The Bizarro World All-Stars (Part Two: The National League) Thursday: We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog entry... Or check out my Baseball Primer articles: Aaron Gleeman's BaseballPrimer.com articles Today's picks: Colorado (Jennings) +105 over Pittsburgh (Fogg) Chicago (Clement) -100 over Chicago (Wright) Arizona (Patterson) -150 over Detroit (Bernero) Cincinnati (Graves) -110 over Cleveland (Traber) Florida (Pavano) +160 over Boston (Kim) Philadelphia (Duckworth) -110 over Baltimore (Johnson) Atlanta (Ramirez) -140 over Tampa Bay (Gonzalez) Milwaukee (Kinney) +180 over Minnesota (Lohse) Total to date: + $2,065 W/L record: 154-144 (2-1 yesterday for +110. My website may be broken, but at least I am up over $2,000!) *****Comments? Questions? Email me!*****     
Thursday, June 26, 2003
We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog entry...(Because of the completely worthless "service" of blogger and their nonexistent "customer support," today's entry is a little messy. The entire blogger service was down from noon yesterday until 6 am this morning and, when I could finally post today's entry - I got up at 5 am for you people! - I got an error message telling me it was "too big." Seriously. So, what I have done in order to simply get the words onto the page somehow, is break today's "too big" entry into 3 pieces. I appologize for the strange look of it, but please keep reading to the end. Thanks and if anyone knows of a similar service to blogger that doesn't completely stink, let me know...)I had an entry for today all written. It was extraordinarily brilliant and thought-provoking and I finished it at around noon yesterday. Then I sat down and watched the Twins game, as I always do, and the Twins got a horrible performance from their starting pitcher, as they always do. So, I scrapped all previous plans for today and decided to just vent a little bit. Hope you don't mind... It is sickening to watch. Game after game, Minnesota's starting pitcher takes the mound, gives up 5 or 6 runs in 5 or 6 innings and gets yanked. And the Twins are not an offensive juggernaut by any means, so they aren't exactly built for slugfests. The Twins' starting pitching has been awful pretty much all season. Minnesota starters have a 4.86 ERA this season, which ranks 21st in the majors and 9th in the American League. The ERAs of the 5 regular starters are as follows: GS IP ERAQuite frankly, that is pathetic. Kyle Lohse has been pretty good this year and the rest of those guys have been absolutely horrible. Rick Reed, Kenny Rogers, Brad Radke and Joe Mays - the Twins' 4 "veteran starters" - have combined to make 58 starts, pitching a total of 342 innings - with a combined 5.40 ERA. As bad as Minnesota's starting pitching has been all season long and as hard as this may be to believe, it has been even worse lately. Take a look at the performances of Minnesota's 5 regular starters in June: GS IP ERAMy god that is brutal. You know, the Twins are doing some serious "June swooning" and Twins fans like myself are getting a little restless, but the fact is that the team is 9-13 in June, despite getting that extraordinary level of awfulness from their starting pitchers, and that says quite a bit for the offense and the bullpen. In fact, the Twins' 40-36 record overall this year, while very disappointing, is pretty damn good when you consider their 5 starting pitchers have a combined ERA over 5.00. Meanwhile, Johan Santana sits in the bullpen with his 2.09 ERA. I have been making this point several times a month for the last year, but now I think the evidence in my favor is getting so unbelievably overwhelming that I can no longer control myself: FREE JOHAN SANTANA! Seriously. Do it and do it right now. I am sick of all this "the Twins have veteran starters already" crap, because, quite frankly, the Twins have a bunch of guys that aren't getting the job done. The fact that they made all-star teams 5 years ago or have pitched a dozen years in the majors has no impact on their ability to get batters out right now. Joe Mays has a 5.58 ERA over his last 187 innings pitched. Sure, he had a tremendously successful (and, in my opinion, fluky) season in 2001, but if you take out that season, his career numbers look like this: IP ERA W LMays had a 5.38 ERA last year and, after giving up 5 runs in 3 innings last night, he's got a 5.77 ERA this year. Meanwhile, Johan Santana and his 2.09 ERA sit in the bullpen. Because of various injuries to Rick Reed, the Twins have been "forced" to give Santana 3 starts this year: GS W L ERA IP SO BB OAVGYou look at those numbers after looking at the bloated ERAs of the Twins' starting pitchers all season long, their completely dreadful pitching this month and the track record of Joe Mays and you tell me, with a straight face, that Johan Santana does not deserve to be in Minnesota's starting rotation right now. I mean c'mon, this is getting ridiculous. Santana got a few stints in the Twins' starting rotation last year too because of injuries. Combined, in 2002 and so far this season, here are Johan's numbers as a starting pitcher: GS IP ERA W LFREE JOHAN SANTANA! (Seriously this time)
Okay, now that I've got that off my chest... Over at BaseballGraphs.com, the 2003 Win Shares numbers are up and posted. Personally, I never really got all that excited about Win Shares, but it is certainly a good stat and anything that attempts to include defensive contributions in a player's value is worthwhile to look at. The early Win Shares leaders (through last week): American League 1) Carlos Delgado 2) Bret Boone 3) Nomar Garciaparra 4) Ichiro! 5) Alfonso Soriano National League 1) Albert Pujols 2) Barry Bonds 3) Gary Sheffield 4) Austin Kearns 5) Todd Helton The site contains a bunch of cool Win Shares-related stuff. In addition to the AL and NL rankings, it also has breakdowns by position and team, as well as defense. For example, the top 10 Twins: 1) Corey Koskie 2) A.J. Pierzynski 3) Doug Mientkiewicz 4) Kyle Lohse 5) Johan Santana 6) Jacque Jones 7) Bobby Kielty 8) Eddie Guardado 9) Torii Hunter 10) Latroy Hawkins That's not a bad list. Koskie ranks 9th overall in the AL and, in case you're wondering, Luis Rivas is 23rd on the Twins and 15th among AL second basemen (and yes, there are only 14 teams in the AL). And no, there aren't any starting pitchers besides Lohse on the list! My entry about Joe Morgan from earlier this week was apparently a big hit. It resulted in the most "traffic" in the history of this blog. Over 2,400 visitors stopped by on Tuesday to read about "The Adventures of Little Joe." I want to thank everyone out there who came here and especially all of the other websites that linked to the entry I wrote. Among them... SeattlePI.com Baseball Primer (Clutch Hits) Lee Sinins' Around the Majors Report The Sons of Sam Horn Baseball News Blog The Reds Zone The Crane Pool Forum And I am probably missing like 10 other places that mentioned the entry. It's tough tracking where everyone is coming from when there are 2,400 people to account for. But hey, I could definitely get used to it! Heck, I got 2,800 visitors during the first month of this blog's existence, so 2,400 in a day is pretty amazing to me. It also never gets old for me to see my name or this blog mentioned somewhere. I get a huge kick every time I see something I wrote linked to from another website. So, anytime you want to make my day, just mention me on your site! I'm that easy... While almost everyone really loved reading about Joe Morgan's adventures, I did get a few angry emails from people. That's perfectly fine with me, but I do want to make the point that I am not saying Joe Morgan is an idiot or a bad human being or was a bad baseball player or even a bad announcer. Just that he tends to make strange statements that aren't really all that factual and, in particular, he has been saying many weird things recently, including spouting off about someone writing a book he didn't write and denying something he had said himself, in print. My favorite "angry" email, by far, was a lengthy and very thoughtful one I got from a reader named Josh. That said, he made one statement that I find terribly amusing: "If someone where to pore over the things you've published (with full fore thought and time to reflect) I'm sure they could find a fair share of less than stellar bits."Meanwhile, that is exactly what Josh has done here. He has poured over something I have written and he has found what he feels is a "less than stellar bit." So Josh, I guess we are in the same boat, huh? I pick on what Joe Morgan says and you pick on what I say. It's kinda fun, isn't it? Oh, and I don't consider writing something, denying you wrote it when questioned about it the next day, and then scolding people for "putting words into your mouth" to be just a "less than stellar bit." But maybe that's just me. In case you missed the entry in question or you want to read it again: The Adventures of Little Joe (June 23, 2003)
Meanwhile, while I've been busy ranting about Joe Morgan and raving about the worst players in baseball for the past few days, Barry Bonds reached yet another amazing statistical milestone, stealing his 500th career base. Those 500 steals go along with his 633 career homers, of course, making him the first and only 500/500 man in baseball history. That's amazing in itself, but even better when you consider he is also the only 400/400 man in baseball history and he joined (started?) that club back in 1998. I think it is fair to say that I am basically obsessed with Barry Bonds. I write about him all the time, I refer to him as "Superman" whenever possible and I watch every single San Francisco Giants game on DirecTV that I can. Still, no matter how much you watch him or write about him, he will always do something that makes you say, "Wow, I can't believe he did that." I think creating the 500/500 club, in addition to the 400/400 club, qualifies as one of those things. In the early days of his career, Barry Bonds was a hell of a base-stealer. In his first 13 seasons (1986-1998) he stole 25+ bases 12 times, 30+ bases 9 times and 40+ bases 3 times. He had a career-high 52 steals in 1990. As he has gotten older, he has become less and less of a base-stealer. That's not to say his stolen base skills have left him, just that he runs far less often. When he does run though, he is incredibly successful. Year SB CS SB%Those numbers and that 84.6% success rate are for Barry Bonds' age 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38 seasons. In other words: "Wow, I can't believe he did that." In addition to being the lone member of the 400/400 club and the 500/500 club, Bonds is also a member of the 40/40 club. He is one of only 3 players in baseball history to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in the same season. The other two are Alex Rodriguez and Jose Canseco, who did it at 22 and 23 years old respectively. Barry Bonds did it at 31. Of the 43 times in baseball history when a player has hit 30 homers and stolen 30 bases in the same year, Barry Bonds owns 5 of them. His dad, Bobby Bonds, owns 5 of them too. That's a hell of a family. Oh, and the only other member of the 500-homer club who has even 300 stolen bases is Willie Mays, with 338 steals. Willie is Barry Bonds' Godfather.   
In a nice bit of symmetry, Bonds' 500th stolen base came in the 11th inning of the Giants game against the Dodgers on Monday night. Bonds walked (shocking, I know), stole second and then scored the game-winning run when Benito Santiago singled. The win gave the Giants sole possesion of first place in the division over the Dodgers, whom they have been fighting (and will be fighting) all season long. And, more importantly, it all came in front of Barry's dad, Bobby, who was in attendance. Bobby Bonds had an operation last year to remove a cancerous tumor from his kidney and he is currently undergoing chemotherapy for cancer in his lung. I'm sure it was very special for Barry to have his father in attendance and I am sure it was even more special for Bobby to be able to see his son do something that no other player in baseball history, including himself, has been able to do. Today's picks: Philadelphia (Wolf) -100 over Atlanta (Hampton) Detroit (Roney) +350 over Boston (Martinez) Chicago (Buehrle) +110 over Minnesota (Radke) Total to date: + $1,955 W/L record: 152-143 (3-2 yesterday for +175 and I can almost feel 2,000!) *****Comments? Questions? Email me!*****
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
The Bizarro World All-Stars (Part Two: The National League)Elaine: He's reliable. He's considerate. He's like your exact opposite. --- Elaine Benes and Jerry Seinfeld, "The Bizarro Jerry"Two weeks ago, I made my selections for the American League and National League all-star teams. Today, I present to you the exact opposite. The worst of the worst. The lousiest of the lousiest. The dumb kids in the dumb class. The guys who couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. The Bizarro World All-Stars! (Yesterday I did the The Bizarro World All-Stars (Part One: The American League) NATIONAL LEAGUE First Base:  
Wil Cordero | Montreal Expos AVG OBP SLGWhile Paul Konerko is several massive steps below the rest of the first basemen in the American League, the National League first basemen are actually pretty closely bunched together. Jim Thome isn't hitting quite like Jim Thome yet, Jeff Bagwell is looking like a shell of his old self, Ryan Klesko is doing well, but his numbers are a little "off" and he has already missed a dozen games this year. In fact, of all the National League first basemen (with 150+ at bats), only Todd Helton has a slugging percentage above .525 or an OPS (on-base % + slugging %) above .900, and he plays half his games in Coors Field (and is hitting just .268/.382/.390 on the road). Even the bottom of the NL first baseman barrel isn't so horrible. While guys like Randall Simon, Tino Martinez and Fred McGriff have been bad, they haven't been nearly as bad as the worst first baseman over in the AL (Konerko). That said, someone has to be the starting first baseman for the Bizarro National League, right? And that honor is going to Wil Cordero of the Montreal Expos. Cordero is hitting just .250/.328/.392, which is pretty bad, but amazingly bad when you consider he hit .341/.394/.495 in the month of May and he had nearly as many at bats in May as he has had the rest of the season combined. Apparently, even a great month and a lot of at bats can't keep you away from a bad season-total when you hit .208/.321/.333 in April and .170/.262/.321 in June. As has been the case in past seasons, Wil Cordero is hitting left-handed pitching pretty well. From 2000-2002, a span of 304 at bats, Cordero hit .296/.362/.487 against lefties, and he is hitting .283/.367/.434 against them this year. So, he's a valuable player to have and can fill one-half of a platoon role very nicely, but he stinks against righties. Unfortunately for the Expos, he has gotten a ton of playing time against righties this year and is hitting just .236/.309/.372 against them. The Expos apparently are trying to acquire Juan Gonzalez from the Rangers, which would presumably push Brad Wilkerson from the outfield to first base and give Wil Cordero a nice seat on the bench. Early indications are that Juan Gone is going to exercise his no-trade clause and stay in Texas though, so Cordero's job appears safe for now. Yay! Second Base:  
Alex Cora | Los Angeles Dodgers AVG OBP SLGLike in the AL, there are a lot of "good" second base candidates for the Bizarro World All-Star team. You've got Abraham Nunez and Juan Castro and Pokey Reese and Miguel Cairo and, of course, Neifi Perez. Neifi has been, as always, very bad, and so have the other guys I just listed. That said, when looking for the worst second baseman in the National League this season, one must look no further than Alex Cora. Cora came into the 2002 season as a career .220/.285/.319 hitter in just over 800 at bats - all with the Dodgers. Last season appeared to have been a tremendous breakthough for him though, as he had the first productive offensive season of his career. Cora hit .291/.371/.434 - hitting for a good batting average for the first time and adding in solid plate discipline and decent power, two things he never had before. Sadly, Cora is back to his old ways this season. He is hitting just .232/.279/.311 and, after walking 26 times in 293 plate appearances last season, has walked just 10 times in 246 plate appearances this year. Shortstop:  
Tony Womack | Arizona Diamondbacks AVG OBP SLGAt this point, Tony Womack should not only be the starting shortstop on the Bizarro World All-Star Team, he should receive some sort of Lifetime Achievement Award. For the 7th consecutive season, Tony Womack is getting full-time, everyday playing time and for the 7th consecutive season, he is an absolute nothing offensively. Womack is hitting .233/.264/.337 this year, bringing his career totals down to .272/.318/.362. Like Alex Sanchez, whom I discussed yesterday, Womack could actually be a decent leadoff hitter, if only he had learned at some point along the way that the best thing he could ever do is to actually get on base, so he could use his one good asset: his speed. And, like Sanchez, Womack continues to just hack away at the plate, despite the fact that he cannot hit and can't use his speed while sitting in the dugout. Womack is a below-average defensive shortstop, he no longer even does that well stealing bases (just 8 steals this whole year) and he has proven to be a completely worthless offensive player for the better part of the last decade. If he's not a Bizarro World All-Star, I don't know who is. (Dis)honorable mention goes to LA's shortstop and Alex Cora's double-play partner, Cesar Izturis. Izturis is hitting just .253/.291/.300 and, along with Cora, they are solidifying their place as the 2nd-worst middle-infield in baseball. Try as they might though, I just don't think the Santiago/Infante duo in Detroit is going to be caught anytime soon. Third Base: 
Fernando Tatis | Montreal Expos AVG OBP SLGOnce upon a time, Fernando Tatis looked like a superstar in the making. At the age of 24, he was St. Louis' starting third baseman and hit .298/.404/.553 in 149 games. He had everything - a strong arm at third base, great power (34 HRs) and tremendous plate discipline for someone so young (82 BBs). The next year, he was injured a lot and his performance slipped quite a bit, although he still hit a very solid .258/.379/.491 in 324 at bats. Then, the Cardinals dealt him to the Expos and he has been completely useless ever since. Tatis hit .255/.339/.359 and .228/.303/.399 in his first two injury-plagued seasons in Canada and was hitting just .194/.281/.263 this season before - shockingly - he had to go on the disabled list again. My good buddy Craig Burley of Baseball Primer and the Batter's Box had a great line about Tatis going on the DL: "[Tatis] had to go on the DL with a serious-sounding "inflammation of the chest wall". Presumably this is a complication of his preexisting condition, the missing heart."Gotta love that. A special shoutout and (dis)honorable mention goes to Brandon Larson, who was given the Reds' starting third base job at the beginning of the season, after he had a monster year at Triple-A in 2002. He hit .083/.193/.083 in his brief stint in Cincy and was sent back down to Triple-A, where, of course, he is once against murdering the ball (.330/.376/.574). Left Field:  
Pat Burrell | Philadelphia Phillies AVG OBP SLGIn all honesty, I didn't want to include Pat Burell on this team. After all, he hasn't been that bad offensively. Okay, let me rephrase that: he has been that bad, but he hasn't been Paul Konerko/Jermaine Dye/Fernando Tatis bad. Burrell is one of the best young hitters in baseball, but he has been an absolute disaster offensively this year. He is hitting .204/.310/.420 and is on pace to drive in just 63 runs. This after last season, when he hit .282/.376/.544 with 37 homers, 39 doubles and 116 RBIs. I watch a lot of Phillies games on DirecTV because I am a big Jim Thome fan and I think they are generally one of the more interesting teams in baseball. I also have heard about how brutal Philadelphia sports fans can be. But I have been shocked by how often and how loudly Pat Burrell is getting booed at home this season. Burrell is a former #1 overall draft pick and has produced since the day he got to Philadelphia in 2000. And, as I said, last year he had a monster year. Yet, after all of his good play over the last few seasons, the Philly fans were willing to completely turn on him after about 150 bad at bats. That's amazing to me, although I must admit that I live in a state where people are referred to as "Minnesota Nice." Beyond his generally bad hitting this season, I think the main reason why Burrell is getting the wrath of Phillies fans right now is that he has been especially horrendous when he has come up with runners on base. Runners On - .157/.290/.330 Bases Empty - .242/.324/.492 It is one thing to perform badly at the plate when you're up and there is no one on base to drive in. It is another thing completely to be performing badly overall and to be doing even worse when you come up in "pressure" situations. And once the ball gets rolling, it is very hard to stop. Burrell is doing poorly right now, so every at bat he has is scrutinized, particularly so when he comes up with men on base. The fact that he is struggling the most in those situations, when the fans are probably saying, "C'mon Pat, you gotta get a knock here" is why the fans have turned on him so quickly and so severely (or at least that's how my theory goes). Burrell is a very good hitter and most of his numbers are actually fairly similar to last year: (Projected 2003 numbers) Year AB HR 2B BBLast year he hit a homer every 15.8 ABs, this year it is down to every 22.2 at bats. His doubles are actually up from once every 15.0 ABs to once every 13.6 ABs. And he's also walking slightly more often. Burrell has always been a guy that strikes out a lot. In his first 3 years, he struck out 139, 162 and 153 times. So far this year though, he is making even less contact. Year PA/SOHe's striking out about 23% more often, which is pretty significant. Over the course of 650 plate appearances (about a full-season's worth), that is a difference of 35 strikeouts. That's 35 fewer balls put into play, which means 35 fewer possibilities for a hit. Which brings me to Burrell's second problem this year, which is that he isn't hitting any singles. Year AB/1BThat is huge. He is hitting singles about half as often as last year, which is why, despite good homers and doubles totals, his batting average is awful. So what's my official diagnosis for Burrell? Well, I think that his increased strikeout totals are a little alarming for someone that already struck out a ton, but the fact that he is still hitting for very good power more than makes up for that. Burrell's main problem is his .204 batting average and I think that is largely because of his lack of singles, which is something I would attribute a large part of to plain, old, dumb luck. In short, Pat Burrell is at the point that, no matter how well he does in the second-half, his season-totals aren't going to look all that pretty. That said, I think he is due for a pretty big second-half, assuming the Phillies don't do something stupid like send him to the minor leagues or something. If I were a Phillies fan, I'd cut Pat The Bat a little slack. Once some of those singles start dropping and that batting average starts rising, he'll be back to putting up huge numbers. Center Field: 
Endy Chavez | Montreal Expos AVG OBP SLGThe competition for Bizarro World National League centerfielder basically comes down to just two guys: Endy Chavez and Tsuyoshi Shinjo. They have both been horrible offensively this year, but Shinjo has been significantly worse than Chavez. That said, Chavez is an everyday player and has accumulated about 200 more plate appearances than Shinjo, which is why I give him the starting nod here. Chavez spent 36 games with Montreal last year and actually had a very productive year. He hit .296/.321/.464 and smacked 14 extra-base hits in just 125 at bats. It was good enough to earn him the starting CF job this season and, wouldn't you know it, he's been awful. Chavez is hitting just .253 and has walked 12 times in 69 games. After hitting 14 extra-base hits in 125 ABs last year, he has just 19 in 281 ABs this season. Shinjo definitely deserves a (dis)honorable mention here for his putrid .183/.225/.240 performance, but it has come in only 104 at bats and I think he's a hell of a defensive player. Right Field:  
Roger Cedeno | New York Mets AVG OBP SLGIf Tony Womack deserves some sort of a Lifetime Bizarro Achievement Award, the award he receives should be named after Roger Cedeno. Perhaps the "Roger Cedeno Award for Complete Suckiness." The RCACS, that has a nice ring to it, no? Once upon a time, like back in 1999, Roger Cedeno had a fairly complete set of skills for a leadoff hitter. He hit for an excellent batting average (.313), had good plate discipline (66 BBs, .396 OBP) and flashed tremendous speed (66 SBs at an 80% clip). Slowly but surely, the skills started vanishing. The plate discipline was the first to go, then the batting average and now, finally, the ability to steal bases. After going 194/245 (79%) on steals prior to this year, Cedeno has gone 7/13 (53%) so far this season and officially had his "green light" to run taken away from him by Mets manager Art Howe last week. In addition to deteriorating into a completely horrible offensive player, Roger Cedeno has always been a very bad defensive player, despite his excellent speed. He has perhaps the worst defensive instincts of any player in baseball. If you were to tell me that someone got hit in the head with a baseball while trying to catch a fly ball, I would first remember that Jose Canseco is retired and then immediately guess Roger Cedeno. A very (dis)honorable mention goes out Darren Bragg, who has been perhaps the worst offensive player in baseball this year. Bragg is currently batting .139/.190/.152 in limited playing time (79 ABs) with the Braves, which is good for an astoundingly awful .021 Equivalent Average. Yes, .021. Catcher: 
Michael Barrett | Montreal Expos AVG OBP SLGThe crop of horrible seasons by National League catchers is plentiful, but there is really no way I could go with anyone other than Michael Barrett. He is hitting a ridiculously bad .153/.220/.277 and his .497 OPS is the worst of any NL player with more than 125 at bats. While doing the Bizarro World All-Stars for the American League yesterday, I never imagined any team could ever come close to matching Detroit's 4 all-star representatives. But amazingly, the Montreal Expos have done it. With Barrett, Tatis, Cordero and Chavez, they match the Detroit Tigers with 4 Bizarro World All-Stars! Both teams should be extremely proud of themselves - only if they live in the bizarro world, of course. Otherwise, yuck! Pitcher:  
Glendon Rusch | Milwaukee Brewers IP ERA W LThis is nothing more than a complete guess, but Glendon Rusch had to be in the middle of one of the unluckiest seasons in major league history before the Brewers sent him to the minors last week. Take a look at the following two players: Player SO/9 BB/9 HR/9Which would you rather have? Assuming you are a believer in pitchers only being completely responsible for 3 things - strikeouts, walks and homers - then I think it is safe to say that those two pitchers are pretty damn close to equals. Mr. X has more strikeouts, but has also allowed more walks, and they both have identical home run-allowed rates. Now, look at the same two pitchers, but with different stats: Player ERA AVG OBP SLGThat is quite amazing. Two pitchers with almost identical strikeout, walk and home run rates. One has a 8.61 ERA and is allowing a .369 opponent batting average, while the other has a 2.84 ERA and is limiting opponents to a .197 batting average. By now you have probably guessed that "Mr. X" is Glendon Rusch and some of you may have figured out that "Mr. Z" is, in fact, 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito. Despite nearly identical "Defense Independent Pitching Stats" - strikeouts, walks, homers - Glendon Rusch got lit up to the tune of a 8.61 ERA and was demoted to Triple-A, while Barry Zito has a 2.84 ERA and is a likely candidate to be the AL's starting pitcher in the all-star game. How exactly does that happen? Well, I would submit that there is a lot of "luck" or "random chance" involved, but that a large part of it is defense. First of all, Oakland's defense has been among the best in all of baseball this season. They are converting "balls in play" (anything that gets hit into play and doesn't go over the fence) into outs 74.28% of the time, which is the second-best % in baseball. Meanwhile, the Brewers are converting BIPs into outs 70.22% of the time, which is 13th in the National League and 21st in all of baseball. Now, a 4% difference is significant. That means for every 100 balls in play, the A's allow 4 fewer hits to fall, which is the difference between a .250 batting average and a .290 batting average. According to my quick-and-dirty calculations, Barry Zito has allowed 313 balls in play this season and Glendon Rusch has allowed 273. If Zito got the same BIP-to-out-conversation rate (74.28%) that Oakland has had this season overall, he would have given up 80 non-homer hits in 108 innings pitched. If Rusch got the same BIP-to-out conversation rate (70.22%) that Milwaukee has had this season overall, he would have given up 81 non-homer hits in 76 innings pitched. Proj RealSo, Zito has given up 16 fewer hits than he "should have," given Oakland's overall defense. And Rusch has given up 34 more hits than he "should have," given Milwaukee's overall defense. That is a staggering difference, particularly for Rusch. I would attempt to explain Zito's 16 fewer hits by saying that it has been some luck and/or random chance and some of Oakland's outfield defense being better than their overall defense. In other words, Oakland converts BIPs into outs 74.28% of the time overall, but perhaps their outfield defense - which includes good defenders like Chris Singleton, Eric Byrnes and Terrence Long (at least in LF) - converts balls hit into the outfield into outs at a higher percentage. This would affect Zito positively, because he is one of the most fly ball-dominant pitchers in baseball. So, maybe a 6 or 8 of those 16 hits are due to some good luck or random chance on Zito's part and maybe 6-8 of them are because Chris Singleton and Eric Byrnes can really go get it in the A's outfield. What really intrigues me is Rusch giving up 34 more hits than "normal." Whereas Milwaukee's defense overall this season has given up a hit on 29.78% of balls in play, they have allowed a hit on an amazing 42.1% of the balls put in play against Rusch. Behind that number is almost certainly some bad defense, but even the worst major league defense doesn't approach allowing a hit on 42% of balls in play. In fact, of the 30 MLB teams, none are allowing a hit on even 33% of balls in play. More than anything, I think Glendon Rusch has been a victim of incredibly awful luck this season. Rusch's BIP-Hit%: Year BIPH%As you can see, his BIP-to-out conversation rate last year was perfectly normal, it was pretty high in 2001 and it was perfectly normal back in 2000. What has happened to him this season is sort of sad, because Rusch has not only been a pretty reliable innings-eater over the last few years, but he is now in the minor leagues after being a "major league pitcher" since 2000, and the Brewers are openly talking about trying to find out "what's wrong with him." To which I say, very little. The guy was striking out a good number of batters and, although he walked a lot, he also kept the ball in the ballpark at a decent rate. Yet, he's got the 8.61 ERA, he gets to take bus trips from Indianapolis to Durham and he gets the honor of being the NL's starting pitcher in the Bizarro World All-Star Game. Meanwhile, Barry Zito has a beautiful 2.82 ERA, he gets to stay in hotels and take the team charter from city to city, and he might be starting the real all-star game. I guess life just aint fair sometimes, especially when you're pitching for the Brewers. Today's picks: Milwaukee (Sheets) +130 over Chicago (Estes) Philadelphia (Padilla) +145 over Atlanta (Maddux) Florida (Redman) -100 over New York (Trachsel) Chicago (Garland) +110 over Minnesota (Mays) Kansas City (Snyder) -110 over Cleveland (Anderson) Total to date: + $1,780 W/L record: 149-141 (3-1 yesterday for +260, although one of the wins was sadly against the Twins...) *****Comments? Questions? Email me!*****
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
The Bizarro World All-Stars (Part One: The American League)Elaine: He's reliable. He's considerate. He's like your exact opposite. --- Elaine Benes and Jerry Seinfeld, "The Bizarro Jerry"Two weeks ago, I made my selections for the American League and National League all-star teams. Today, I present to you the exact opposite. The worst of the worst. The lousiest of the lousiest. The dumb kids in the dumb class. The guys who couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. The Bizarro World All-Stars! (Today I'll do the AMERICAN LEAGUE First Base:  
Paul Konerko | Chicago White Sox AVG OBP SLGPrior to his complete collapse this season, Paul Konerko had been one of the most consistent players in major league baseball. Check out his numbers during his first 4 seasons with the White Sox: Year AVG OBP SLGWhile he has completely fallen off a cliff offensively this year, this is something that started to rear it's ugly head during last season's second-half. After hitting .328/.379/.571 in the first-half, Konerko was chosen as an American League all-star. He then hit .270/.332/.402 in the second-half, including .256/.301/.384 in September. Still, as bad as that was, it is nowhere near as horrible as his "hitting" has been this season. According to Baseball Prospectus, Paul Konerko has been the worst offensive player in baseball this season. Not only is he hitting .191/.268/.275, he is doing it while playing first base, one of the most offensive positions. Baseball Prospectus has him as 12.8 runs below "replacement level" for a first baseman. He is the only player in all of baseball more than 10 runs below replacement level at their position. The strange thing about Konerko's performance this season is that his entire collapse has been against right-handed pitching, an area he was very good at last season. In fact, his hitting this season against lefties is actually slightly better than it was last year: Year AVG OBP SLGAnd now look at his numbers against righties: Year AVG OBP SLGThat is an amazing drop-off. His numbers against righties are literally half as good as they were last season. His batting average is down 51%, his on-base percentage is down 35%, his slugging percentage is down 63% and his OPS (on-base % + slugging %) is down 51%. To make matters worse, Konerko's overall hitting is actually getting worse every month. He started out with a bad April, batting just .238/.309/.381, then hit just .181/.261/.241 in May and now...well, he's been a complete disaster this month. He's hitting .118/.205/.118 in June and has officially lost his everyday job to Brian Daubach. Second Base:  
Ramon Santiago | Detroit Tigers AVG OBP SLGBrandon Phillips (.214/.245/.312) has actually been slightly worse offensively this season than Ramon Santiago, but I just couldn't choose anyone, even a guy with a .245 OBP, over someone who has driven in 5 runs in 215 plate appearances. Santiago has not driven in a single run in 43 June at bats and he has exactly 1 RBI in May and June combined (126 at bats). Santiago is on pace for 415 at bats and 11 runs batted in. How bad is that exactly? Well, he's on pace to tie the lowest RBI total for any player with 400+ at bats in the history of major baseball. Here are the all-time "leaders": # Player YEAR RBI ABMy favorite season on that list is definitely Enzo Hernandez in 1971. He had 549 at bats and drove in 12 runs, which works out to a nifty one run batted in for every 46 at bats. In other words, Enzo Hernandez drove in one run every two weeks or so. And that was his rookie season! Not only did he somehow manage, as a rookie, to be given 546 at bats while hitting like he did, he managed to play another 7 seasons in the major leagues, accumulating 2,612 horrible plate appearances. That 1971 San Diego Padres team that Enzo was on is really quite amazing. Their pitching staff had a 3.22 ERA - third in the National League - and the team went 61-100 because the offense scored 3.02 runs per game and had a team batting line of .233/.291/.332. Of the 11 Padres who had 200 or more at bats in 1971, just 5 of them had an on-base percentage above .300. And while Enzo's .295 OBP was awful, it was actually not even close to the worst on the team. Ivan Murrell (.263), Cito Gaston (.264), Don Mason (.270) and Ed Spiezio (.286) were all worse. Future ESPN personality Dave Campbell put up a .299 OBP and a .334 SLG, looking like Babe Ruth compared to the rest of this sorry bunch. Ed Spiezio's .286 OBP wasn't even the worst on the team among players whose sons would grow up to be major league players. Fred Kendall, father of current Pittsburgh catcher Jason Kendall, hit .171/.220/.207 in 111 at bats. Anyway, Ramon Santiago has started to lose playing time to Warren Morris recently, which will keep his RBI totals low, but will also hurt his chances of reaching 400 at bats and joining Enzo Hernandez in that elite club. Shortstop: 
Omar Infante | Detroit Tigers AVG OBP SLGAs bad as Ramon Santiago has been this year, his double-play partner has been even worse. Omar Infante is hitting just .212/.275/.242 and his .517 OPS is over 70 points worse than Santiago's. That said, his RBI total makes him look like Albert Pujols next to Santiago. While Santiago has been stuck on 5 RBIs since May 31st and is on pace for 11 this season, Omar Infante has driven in 2 runs this month and is on pace to drive in 17 runs this season. Think about that for a second. The Tigers middle-infield duo of Omar Infante and Ramon Santiago is on pace to total 975 plate appearances this season and drive in 27 runs. Meanwhile, Carlos Delgado drove in 28 runs in 93 April at bats. Third Base: 
Joe Crede | Chicago White Sox AVG OBP SLGThat's right folks, it's an all Tigers/White Sox infield! The AL Central should be so proud. Joe Crede put up very solid minor league numbers for several years before coming to the White Sox, and he hit .285/.311/.515 in 53 games with them last year. So far this season though, he has been a disaster. He is hitting .240 and, because he walks about 3 times a month, he has a grotesque .275 on-base percentage. He also is not hitting for any power. He's on pace to hit just 13 homers and 24 doubles in 538 at bats. He hit 12 homers in 200 at bats last year. (Dis)honorable mention goes to Damion Easley, who was looking like he owned this spot a few weeks ago, but was so bad (.187/.202/.262) that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays actually released him. Left Field:  
Carl Crawford | Tampa Bay Devil Rays AVG OBP SLGCarl Crawford is one of those "tools" guys. He is a hell of an athlete, can run as fast as anyone in baseball and looks great in a uniform. As with most tools guys though, he is deathly afraid of walking. Believe or not, despite his .291 OBP, Crawford is actually showing slightly improved plate discipline this year. He had 278 plate appearances with the Devil Rays last year and has 287 so far this year, so he's at about the same level of playing time. Last year he had a non-intentional walk once every 30.8 plate appearances. This year he has a non-IBB once every 22.3 plate appearances. That might seem insignificant, but if he can make the same type of strides in the second-half or perhaps next season, he will be coming close to an acceptable walk rate. His slightly improved plate discipline is not only showing up in his walk rate, but also the amount of pitches he is seeing. His pitches per plate appearance are up about 8% from last year, although he is still looking at a below-average number. Another improvement Crawford has made is with his baserunning. Crawford was 9/14 (64%) on stolen bases with Tampa Bay last year and 26/34 (76%) at Triple-A before they called him up. So far this year he is 17/20 (85%), which is even more impressive considering he isn't getting on base a whole lot. If it seems like I am taking it easy on Carl Crawford instead of making fun of him like I am doing with some of the other Bizarro World All-Stars, you're right, I am. He's still only 21 years old, has incredible physical ability and is actually showing signs of significant improvements in several aspects of his game. Plus, being negative for an entry blog entry isn't any fun, right? Center Field: 
Alex Sanchez | Detroit Tigers AVG OBP SLGNow, technically, Alex Sanchez probably shouldn't be eligible for this team, because he wasn't even in the American League until about a month ago. He played 43 games in the NL with the Brewers before coming over to the Tigers, where he has played in 21 games. On the other hand, Alex Sanchez has been bad enough this season that he simply needs to be recognized, so I chose to stick him on the AL squad. Sanchez wasn't completely awful with the Brewers. He hit .282/.316/.380, which is okay, but he was 8/14 (57%) on stolen bases, which is supposed to be his strong suit. Since coming to Detroit he is hitting just .250/.286/.300, although he is 14/18 (78%) on steals. Alex Sanchez is extremely fast, yet he is not a good defensive centerfielder and even his base-stealing isn't that great. He is 65/91 (71%) during his career, which is very mediocre. If he could learn to take a few walks, he could potentially be a very good leadoff man. He's got the raw skills needed - he can hit for decent batting averages and he's got blazing speed - but for whatever reason he hacks away at the plate, not realizing that the best thing he could possibly do is get on base to utilize that speed. Stolen bases are perhaps the most overrated thing in baseball right now, but to a team like the Tigers, who are struggling so tremendously on offense, normal baseball rules do not apply. They don't need to avoid making outs so they can wait for a 3-run homer, because it's just never going to arrive. A guy that could get on base and make things happen would have more value to a team that can't score runs than he does to a team like the Blue Jays or the Yankees. Unfortunately, Alex Sanchez doesn't get on base and, when he does, he's not particularly great at making things happen. In other words, he's a Detroit Tiger. Right Field:  
Jermaine Dye | Oakland A's AVG OBP SLGFrom 1999-2001, Jermaine Dye hit .299/.363/.518 for the Royals and A's. He hit 27, 33 and 26 homers and drove in 119, 118 and 106 runs. After a slow first-half of the 2001 season with the Royals, they dealt him to the A's and he hit .297/.366/.547 down the stretch. Then he fouled a ball off his leg during their playoff series with the Yankees and broke his leg. He missed the first 3 weeks of the 2002 season and, when he came back, he struggled, hitting just .241/.328/.393 in the first-half. His once Gold Glove level defense was noticably down, almost certainly as a result of the leg injury. Then Dye started to show some signs of life in the second-half. He hit .261/.338/.515 in the second-half and then .400/.429/.650 in Oakland's 5-game series with the Twins in the playoffs. Whatever strides he made in the second-half last year have completely vanished and Dye is absolutely lost at the plate so far this season. He hit .189/.262/.284 in April, missed almost all of May and is hitting .140/.241/.200 so far in June. He is hitting .158/.238/.233 overall this season and has just 6 extra-base hits in 133 at bats. With his offense at an all-time low and his defense in right field still suffering, Dye has started to lose playing time to Chris Singleton, Terrence Long and Billy McMillon, which must be pretty depressing for him. Catcher: 
Brandon Inge | Detroit Tigers AVG OBP SLGI almost thought about not including Brandon Inge on this team because he was mercifully sent down to Triple-A last week. In thinking about, I decided that he did more than enough damage in the time he was in the majors to warrant the starting catcher spot. Inge hit .150/.225/.175 in 188 plate appearances, driving his career numbers all the way down to .183/.242/.292 in 741 PAs. The amazing thing about Brandon Inge is that, somewhere along the way, he convinced people in the Detroit organization that he is actually going to become a good major league player. And, perhaps more amazingly, they convinced people in the Detroit media of the same thing. Whenever I watch a Tigers game on DirecTV MLB Extra Innings (which, admittedly, is as infrequently as possible), the announcers talk about what a bright future Inge has and they quote Alan Trammell and others from the Detroit staff singing his praises. To which I say, "HUH?!" In addition to his putrid .534 OPS in 232 career major league games, Brandon Inge was a horrible hitter in the minor leagues too. In 339 career minor league games he has a .244 batting average, a 311/119 K/BB ratio and a .417 slugging percentage. And the funny thing about all this Brandon-Inge-as-the-Tigers'-future-catcher talk is that he turned 26 years old last month. So, to recap: 1) He's 26 years old 2) He has stunk in the minors 3) He has stunk in the majors And yet, Alan Trammell thinks he's going to become the next Lance Parrish and the Tigers' TV announcers think he's going to be the next Bill Freehan. Meanwhile, I'll be shocked beyond belief if he even becomes the next Brad Ausmus. (Dis)honorable mention goes to Brandon Inge's backup in Detroit, Matt Walbeck. As bad as Inge was for the Tigers before they sent him down, he wasn't even close to as horrible as Walbeck, who the Tigers still have not sent down/released/taken out back and shot. Walbeck is hitting .105/.105/.140 in 57 plate appearances. That is earth-shatteringly bad, the type of numbers that would make Mario Mendoza blush. And it's not like Walbeck has been good before either. He is a career 234/.281/.316 hitter and, besides convincing the Tigers to waste 57 plate appearances on him this season, he had over 2,000 career plate appearances prior to this year. As far as I know, Matt Walbeck is a pretty good defensive catcher, but far from so extraordinary that it warranted teams wasting thousands of at bats on him over the years. That is one thing I will never understand - how certain players can just get branded as "major league players" and, no matter how poorly they perform, they will be given chances to make teams and waste roster spots for years and years. Meanwhile, there are literally hundreds of guys throughout organized professional baseball that would be more valuable to a team than Matt Walbeck and that has been the case for the last decade or so. Pitcher:  
Albie Lopez | Kansas City Royals IP ERA OAVGAs is the case every season, there are any number of horrible pitching performances to choose from. In the AL this year you've got Jim Parque (11.94 ERA) and Jay Powell (10.25) and Nick Bierbrodt (9.16) and Colby Lewis (8.66) and Juan Acevedo (7.71) and Rick White (6.91) and Giovanni Carrara (6.83) - the list goes on and on. But by far, the best - make that the worst - of all American League pitchers this season has been Albie Lopez. Lopez's pitching was awful. In 22 2/3 innings he gave up 41 hits and 17 walks. Of the 41 hits, 12 went for two-bases and 7 cleared the fence, giving him an opponent's slugging percentage of .692. Overall, batters hit .383/.464/.692 off him, which means everyone he faced this year essentially hit like Barry Bonds (.309/.491/.657). What's even amusing about Lopez's season is that he gave up 7 runs to the Twins in 2/3 of an inning on June 19th...and the Royals released him about an hour after the game. That's gotta be rough. It isn't often that a player does something so bad in a game that the team completely ignores any sort of courtesy and just tells the guy to get lost immediately. And how bad must Lopez's performance on the 19th have been if that was the breaking point, the time the Royals finally had enough of him, when he came into the game with a 10.23 ERA?! I'll forever be thankful for Albie Lopez's contributions to the Twins 2003 season. In 4 1/3 innings against the Twins, Albie Lopez gave up 12 runs, which is good for a nifty 24.92 ERA. Twins batters hit an even .500 off him. In an early-season game against Minnesota, Lopez was getting shelled and the Twins were blowing the Royals out and he and Twins third-base coach Al Newman got into a shouting match when Lopez took offense to Newman sending a runner home. To which Newman, obviously still in the heat of the moment, said later something like, "Why doesn't he try to pitch a little better and then he wouldn't have to worry about me sending people?" Amen Newmie, amen. Of course, the Twins hitters aren't the only ones who had their stats padded by Albie Lopez. He had a 47.25 ERA against Baltimore, 16.20 against Boston, 10.13 against Chicago and 18.00 against Toronto. I am sure I speak for all American League hitters when I say, come back soon Albie! We miss you! Finally... If you missed yesterday's entry about people putting words into Joe Morgan's mouth, click on the following: The Adventures of Little Joe Today's picks: Florida (Penny) +120 over New York (Leiter) Philadelphia (Millwood) +110 over Atlanta (Ortiz) Cincinnati (Haynes) +140 over St. Louis (Tomko) Chicago (Loaiza) -110 over Minnesota (Reed) Total to date: + $1,520 W/L record: 146-140 (1-3 yesterday for -200) *****Comments? Questions? Email me!*****
Monday, June 23, 2003
The Adventures of Little Joe"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul." ---Principal, "Billy Madison"You may remember, a couple of weeks ago, I gave Joe Morgan a very hard time because he mentioned in several places how upset he was about Billy Beane writing Moneyball. When, in fact, Billy Beane did not write Moneyball. A best-selling author named Michael Lewis did. Joe Morgan went on and on about the subject - in articles, on ESPN broadcasts, in his chat sessions - everywhere. And all of it was based on the "fact" that Billy Beane wrote a book that he didn't write. Morgan does a weekly "chat session" on ESPN.com and, in back-to-back weeks, he answered the following questions: Week One: Maria (Wimberley, TX): Joe, enjoy your work. Have you read the new book "Moneyball" about Billy Beane? What do "insiders" such as yourself think about what the book says?"It's typical if you write a book, you want to be the hero. That is apparently what Beane has done." Week Two: JB (Danville, CA): Joe - The A's offense is scuffling, Dye comes back this weekend and Tejada is starting to hit a little. If you're Billy Beane where do you look to add some pop? I'd love to see them go after a corner outfielder or even a move for Roberto Alomar (the Mets have to be looking to dump salary). Thoughts?"I wouldn't be Billy Beane first of all!! I wouldn't write the book Moneyball!" I made it perfectly clear (in this entry and this entry) that I thought Joe Morgan was, in this particular instance, acting like a complete moron. He not only had his facts wrong and he not only was upset with someone as a result of something they didn't do, but he was making a big deal of the situation, on a national stage(s), over and over again, based on his incorrect facts. It wasn't the first time Joe Morgan has said something really stupid and it won't be the last. In fact, just about every time Joe Morgan makes an appearance, whether on TV, in an article he writes or in a chat session, he says at least one thing that is really dumb. For instance, just the other day, Joe said the following about his favorite whipping boys, the Oakland A's: "Their struggles this season prove how valuable reigning AL MVP Miguel Tejada was last year."See, in Joe Morgan's world, the Oakland A's are struggling much more than last season, because last year's American League "Most Valuable Player,' Miguel Tejada, is having a poor season thus far. Now, in reality, the Oakland A's actually had a better record at the time Morgan wrote that than they had at the same time last season: Through 70 games: 2002 - 39 wins, 31 losses, .557 winning percentage (Miguel Tejada - .295/.332/.493) 2003 - 41 wins, 29 losses, .586 winning percentage (Miguel Tejada - .232/.288/.423) Ah, the wonderful world of Joe Morgan - where facts don't matter, especially when ignoring them lets you say something dumb about the Oakland A's. Okay, so we've established that Joe Morgan often says things that don't make a whole lot of sense. But now, I think Joe Morgan has officially started to lose his marbles. In addition to doing his chat sessions, Joe also writes a weekly column for ESPN.com. In last week's version, written on June 19th, he discussed the amazing start the Seattle Mariners are having and said the following: "On offense, the Mariners are getting hits in clutch situations while featuring the hit-and-run, the sacrifice bunt and the sacrifice fly. This is in contrast to the Toronto Blue Jays, who rely mainly on home runs.""This is in contrast to the Toronto Blue Jays, who rely mainly on home runs." Okay, got that memorized? Now, take a look at what Joe said in his chat session, just one day after that article appeared on ESPN.com: Stevie Ridzik (D.C.): Dig your work Joe...But one bone to pick, how can you say "the Blue Jays rely mainly on home runs." when they lead the league in BA-SLG-OBP-OPS-RUNS-RBI and are only 3rd in taters?"Listen to what I say and do not put somebody else's words in my mouth." "I'm not sure where you got that. It seems that people want to put words in my mouth." In case you forgot already, here is what Joe wrote, just a day earlier: "This is in contrast to the Toronto Blue Jays, who rely mainly on home runs."As if that weren't enough, Joe was so upset about people "putting words in his mouth" that he made a special statement at the end of his chat: "I guess once a year I have to remind people to listen to what I say and not hear what you want to hear....I never said the "Blue Jays rely on HRs." All I ask is you listen to what I say and don't put words in my mouth!"Once again, in case you forgot, here's what Joe Morgan said, just a day earlier: "This is in contrast to the Toronto Blue Jays, who rely mainly on home runs."Joe is a smart guy, so I don't know what the heck is going on with him lately. He has been saying weird stuff for years now, but lately it is getting very weird. First he goes off on weekly rants about Billy Beane and Moneyball, ripping Oakland's GM for writing a book he didn't write. Now he makes a statement in an article and then, about 24 hours later, denies he made any such statement and actually scolds people for "putting words in his mouth." Nevermind the fact that he has been putting words - no, make that an entire book - in the mouth of Billy Beane. Speaking of books, Joe Morgan is actually an author himself (although he likely denies everything he wrote)... 
Joe Morgan's Baseball For Dummies A more fitting title there has never been... Today's picks: Arizona (Webb) -130 over Houston (Villone) Pittsburgh (Suppan) +140 over Montreal (Vargas) Texas (Mounce) +200 over Oakland (Zito) Detroit (Bonderman) +230 over Boston (Wakefield) Total to date: + $1,720 W/L record: 145-137 (4-0 on Friday for +410 and inching my way back to 2,000...) *****Comments? Questions? Email me!*****
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 Official Fantasy Girl of AG.com OFGoAG.com Timeline: Heidi Klum (8/2002 - 12/2003) Jessica Alba (12/2003 - 10/2004) Elisha Cuthbert (10/2004 - 11/2006) Vacant (11/2006 - 6/2008) Keeley Hazell (6/2008 - 3/2010) Mila Kunis (3/2010 - Present) OFGoAG.com Candidates: Marisa Miller Jenna Fischer Kate Beckinsale Keeley Hazell Diora Baird Top 40 Twins Prospects of 2010: 1. Aaron Hicks, CF 2. Kyle Gibson, SP 3. Wilson Ramos, C 4. Miguel Angel Sano, SS 5. Ben Revere, CF 6. Angel Morales, CF 7. David Bromberg, SP 8. Danny Valencia, 3B 9. Matthew Bashore, SP 10. Billy Bullock, RP 11. Rene Tosoni, RF 12. Chris Parmelee, RF 13. Adrian Salcedo, SP 14. Joe Benson, CF 15. Jeff Manship, SP 16. Tyler Robertson, SP 17. Carlos Gutierrez, RP 18. B.J. Hermsen, SP 19. Anthony Slama, RP 20. Max Kepler, CF 21. Alex Burnett, RP 22. Robert Delaney, RP 23. Luke Hughes, 3B 24. Ben Tootle, RP 25. Deolis Guerra, SP 26. Shooter Hunt, SP 27. Trevor Plouffe, SS 28. Michael McCardell, SP 29. Reggie Williams, 2B 30. Estarlin De Los Santos, SS 31. Derek McCallum, 2B 32. Jose Morales, C 33. Chris Herrmann, LF 34. Bobby Lanigan, SP 35. Danny Rams, C 36. Josmil Pinto, C 37. Steven Tolleson, 2B 38. Anderson Hidalgo, 3B 39. Loek Van Mil, RP 40. Joe Testa, RP |