pahster (08-16-2013)
My god, Paul Daugherty sounds like he's standing in his treehouse with a bb gun, defending his work for the middle school newspaper. Nyah nyah boo boo.
There is no such thing as a pitching prospect.
Always Red (08-13-2013),Billy Hamilton's Legs (08-13-2013),HeatherC1212 (08-13-2013),Larkin Fan (08-13-2013),pahster (08-16-2013),RedFanAlways1966 (08-13-2013),Tom Servo (08-13-2013),westofyou (08-13-2013)
Hitting that scores runs at any time is important. Noting where the runners were when they scored and assigning value makes an assumption that there is a skill involved. That is the point that needs proven, and I do not think it will be done. It is the old "clutch" question, and I think that has been clearly proven a myth some time ago.
So, testing your statement, the Reds are a "winning team," yet I think they have poor numbers in this area. Explain.
"Rounding 3rd and heading for home, good night everybody"
"Rounding 3rd and heading for home, good night everybody"
I've said it before, but I have no idea why they pay that man to write about a sport he doesn't seem to particularly enjoy.
I can't believe I just read that Doc drivel. And I'm not even talking about the Votto rip piece. I'm talking about his horrible analysis of the Breaking Bad premiere.
Always Red (08-13-2013)
Last edited by Always Red; 08-13-2013 at 12:24 PM.
sorry we're boring
Billy Hamilton's Legs (08-13-2013)
Ive been bothered more and more, especially now that ludwick is back. By BP not batting 2nd. And bruce 4th.
I think surrounding Votto by those two guys would help him out tremendously. Which in turn helps the team. I think votto would see more pitches And have more RBI opportunities.
Brandon has only driven himself in 15 times this year.
Even Daugherty must see that in the other 74 cases at least some of the credit (actually quite a bit of the credit) belongs to:
1.) The player that got on base in the first place
2.) Any player that advanced the runner
3.) Any player that avoided an out (extended the inning)
Without the players doing their job in front of him Brandon would only have 15 RBIs. One of the reasons Brandon has so many RBIs is because Joey is very good at doing all of those three things.
RBIs are not worthless, I don't think anyone believes that. They are, however, a very poor way to assess a player.
Agreed, but Daugherty's strange, immature, black/white way of thinking boils down to either RBIs are the most important stat in assessing a player, or they are entirely worthless all together. I know a lot of what he's doing is getting people upset in order to generate clicks on his articles, but I think he honestly does see things in this extreme, no gray area type of way. You'd think someone who gets paid to write (and therefore think) would display thinking that was a little more nuanced than that.
The sad part about this is that he places the win last night on Brandon's shoulders alone, completely ignoring the brilliant performance by Latos and the best 9th inning of Chapman's career.
It truly amazes me people get paid money for articles like this.
I always thought baseball was a team sport. I want to thank Doc for correcting that false perception.
Shortening a swing up and putting the ball in play, leading to more runs driven in, definitely is a skill. Having the bat control to get the ball in the air or going opposite field definitely is a skill.
Of course, we know Joey Votto possess those skills. That's not to in any way, shape or form say that Votto doesn't have it or isn't doing it. But I disagree strongly that knocking in base runners isn't a skill. Maybe not directly, but there are certainly things that lead directly to driving runners in.
I think Votto's RBI% is mostly a product of fluctuation, though I'm not convinced his approach at the plate hasn't changed. I get the impression watching him that he's so hellbent this year on shortening up, he's not driving the ball nearly as often and he's had more 'weak' contact than usual.
I will say one interesting thing is that his GB:FB rate is 1.60 this season. His previous career high mark in that department was 1.44. So he's definitely hitting more grounders and fewer fly balls.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
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