Now obviously we both feel passionately about the debate, and I'll be the first to admit I probably got carried away in my arguments. The reason I got carried away is not because Mr. Gross relied on sabermetrics to prove his point. Quite the contrary. I got carried away because Mr. Gross is (evidently) one of these people who believes sabermetrics is/should be, Baseball Law.
I've recently accepted that Sabermetrics is now reality in terms of extrapolating information, analyzing whether or not players and teams are good in all areas, but also Sabermetrics opens up new ways to appreciate the game for long time baseball fans like myself. I actually enjoy many of the metrics that Sabermetrics has brought us over the years. I also have enjoyed Bill James work over the years and as a result I feel I have a better understanding of the game than I ever did before. My appreciation stops short of accepting Sabermetrics as Baseball Law however, and I tend to view it as more of a useful guide to appreciating the game, rather than Baseball Dogma.
That being said, there is also a smug quality to Sabermetrics. There's an elitist, arrogant, "I know more than you do because" quality to Sabermetrics and Sabermatricians, that's become detrimental to it's own cause. Many of the Sabermatricians I encounter act as if they feel the need to beat people over the head with how Sabermetrics is the ONLY way to appreciate the game, and if Sabermetrics can't definitively prove something about baseball is correct, it HAS to be incorrect in their eyes.
Which leads me to Leonard Edward Phunt. I am truly convinced that if you were to attach a scouting report/baseball stat sheet, that showed a high WAR score, or a high OPS to someone named "Leonard Edward Phunt", Sabermatricians would probably argue with you tooth and nail that Leonard Edward Phunt is a truly great player that deserves recognition and that you're a moron for not agreeing with them.
Never mind that if they actually saw Leonard Edward Phunt play they would realize "L.E. Phunt" has a much more descriptive quality to the player than any Sabermetrics would...
I CAN SEE WITH MY EYES HOW GOOD EVERY SINGLE PLAYER IS AND IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ME THEN YOU'RE WRONG AND AN IDIOT!!!
ReplyDeleteGod forbid people use objective analysis to prove points
You wanna talk about "smug arrogance" read your post and lay off the wine
Also, do you think still Buehrle will win 19 and Peavy will win 18?
I'm a die hard White Sox and Mr. Gross is absolutely right. They're willing to pay three million for one month but not one million for an entire awesome year for Thome? Yeah how's this rotating DH worked out for them?
Not only was it a dumb move but the Sox refuse to admit their worse- which is even worse.
You can enjoy sports all you want and nobody will stop you. But if you want to objectively evaluate the past and future performance of athletes, you must use statistics. The more accurate, the better. You appear to still have the mind set of a 70 year old broadcaster or a very amateurish sabermetrician
ReplyDeletegameofinches.blogspot.com
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ReplyDelete@Sexy Rexy: The 19 wins for Buehrle and 18 for Freddy Garcia were my uncle's prediction for the White Sox this year, NOT mine. Again I pointed out that the pitching has let the White Sox down more than Thome's absence from the White Sox lineup. If you disagree with that, go right ahead and disagree with it. Just don't expect me to demand silly "apologies" from Kenny Williams for it. That would be the epitome of "smug".
ReplyDelete@ Both of you : Again, reading comprehension is a skill. I wrote that I appreciate statistics and Sabermetrics, and that Sabermetrics and Bill James' work has significantly added to my enjoyment of the game. How does that make me have the "mind set of a 70 year old broadcaster"?
Thanks for stopping by though gentlemen. Appreciate the banter and rancor...