From: kbos@carina.unm.edu (Kurt "Some Guy" Bose)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball
Subject: Re: Sheffield is NL MVP
Date: 30 Sep 92 20:06:23 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

In article <1992Sep30.144756.1661@island.COM> fester@island.COM (Mike Fester) writes:
>In article <1992Sep27.171110.20018@panix.com> spira@panix.com (Greg "Sarcasm Is A Way Of Life" Spira) writes:
>>
>
>>Oh, about 100 years of baseball teams who increase their run production
>>more by gaining 5 points of OBP than by gaining 5 points of SLG.  
>
>For confirmation, see this year's Detroit and Baltimore teams.
>
>>But I guess 100 years of baseball isn't more important than your
>>preconceived ideas.
>
>(through Sept 21)
>Baltimore .342 OBP, .402 SLG, 651 runs
>Detroit   .336 OBP, .407 SLG, 724 runs
>
>Who exactly has "preconceived" ideas here? (though I will admit, technically
>you are correct; it wasn't 5 points of OBP, it was 6)
>
See, if it weren't for that extra point...

Seriously, the person with preconceived ideas is Johnny Oates, for making his
lineup so wacky.  I know two or three people who LIVE to harp on Oates' lineup
selection; I'll let them pontificate...

>>That's good.  If the GMs actually picked Caminiti, I might want Pendleton.
>>But seeing that these are the same group of GMs that pursued Storm Davis
>>because of his W-L record and include at least one GM that traded Ken Hill
>>for Andres Galaragga, it assures me that my pick of Caminiti (for 1992) 
>>would be right.
>
>Not to mention that at least one GM awarded a mutli-year, multi-million $$
>contract to a 28 year-old, injury-prone catcher with a career OPS of ~.670
>(Daulton). Or picked up a 29 year-old journeyman pitcher and decided to hand 
>him the ball every 4th or 5th game (Stewart). Yep, really stupid, those GMs.

And another one signed the Straw to a long term deal; another one continues to
pay Tony Pena good money; let's not forget the signings of Matt Young, Richard
Dotson, and Eddie (4th in TAG) Murray at the expense of Magadan.  Then, of 
course, you've got the Glenn Davis deal, Either of the Henderson trades, the
free agent signings of Bill Stein and Duffy Dyer, the Wayne Garland deal...

Hey, the bad news is, a lot of GMs rely on hype, the triple crown stats, and
the glamour of one good year to make decisions.  Slowly they're coming
around, but by and large, there's still a lot of silliness going on.  The use of
sabermetrics is a tool, an important one that is only now beginning to get 
respect.  Sabermetrics says that Caminiti is having a better offensive season
than Pendleton due to park factors.  If the GMs still choose Pendleton, that
just shows they aren't looking at that tool.  Lots of folks here do, pure and
simple.  And they just may be right.  When TBTB let one of us _be_ a GM, then
we'll pick Caminiti.

(Why am I going off on a tangent?  Simple.  I got turned down for the Durham
GM job this week.  :(  Details by mail...)

-- 
Kurt Bose (as in Daisy, not Rose) * kbos@carina.unm.edu * Make..oh, you know.---
-"The fatal tendency of mankind to leave off thinking about a thing when it is--
--no longer doubtful is the cause of half their errors.  The cause of the other-
---half can be attributed to playing Jose Offerman at short." - John Stuart Mill