Comments on: Mark Teixeira is not a god

By: I hate having to defend Mark Teixeira, but… | umpbump.com

I hate having to defend Mark Teixeira, but… | umpbump.com — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:10:52 +0000

[...] really hate defending Teixeira (again) because everything I read about him makes me think that he wouldn’t be my ideal wingman. But [...]

REPORT COMMENT

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:42:31 +0000

“Maybe Bradley thought that was sustainable. But anybody who thinks a .500 average with runners in scoring position is sustainable should have his head examined.”

I believe there is plenty of evidence that Bradley does, in fact, need his head examined.

REPORT COMMENT

By: dteberle

dteberle — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:17:22 +0000

And Nick, you’re right. Didn’t mean to crash the party. If you were a Dodger fan and NOT excited at the prospect of Kershaw, then you probably do need to get your arteries checked.

REPORT COMMENT

By: dteberle

dteberle — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:35:55 +0000

I mean it in the sense that pitching has way too many variables and therefore, it’s nearly impossible to predict that any young pitcher is going to succeed, individually speaking. If you took the top 20 pitching prospects in baseball, chances are that a couple of them go on to have nice careers. Maybe one of them becomes an All-Star. But the vast majority of them is not going to win 50 games, either due to injury or ineffectiveness. And not even the best scouts or most brilliant stat heads can figure out who those are going to be beyond simple guessing. Pitching is such a violent and unnatural motion that most arms just can’t handle it or can’t repeat it.

REPORT COMMENT

By: Zvee Geffen

Zvee Geffen — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:29:37 +0000

But it seems like the acronym has perhaps lost its original meaning—thus I’m a little surprised/confused about what you guys mean. Do you mean “there is no such thing as a pitching prospect” because big league hitters know how to hit breaking balls and make adjustments and because pitchers are fragile, or do you mean it in the sense that Nate Silver talks about it, as in, “there are no pitching prospects, only pitchers”—that a good pitcher who is 20 years old is a good pitcher, period, and not a prospect? It sounds like you mean it in the former (and newer) sense.

REPORT COMMENT

By: Paul Moro

Paul Moro — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:23:41 +0000

Well, I definitely see what you are saying, and I agree, but I guess my counterpoint would be that there’s no reason not to be excited about these prospects when they do come up, and that there’s no reason why we shouldn’t enjoy what games they do win before the inevitable arm injury. I mean, Kershaw’s curveball really is a thing of beauty:

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200805252772678

REPORT COMMENT

By: dteberle

dteberle — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:41:12 +0000

Depends on how literally you’re going to take it. Yes, some pitching prospects do pan out. But really, how many of them actually even win 50 games over their career?

Mark Prior, Kurt Ainsworth, Juan Cruz, Ryan Anderson, Nick Neugebauer, Jon Rauch, Dennis Tankersley and Carlos Hernandez were the top arms a few years ago. Hasn’t exactly worked out for them. The only guy among this crop who has succeeded up to expectations is Josh Beckett.

No matter how good Kershaw appears to be, the odds are simply against him to win 50 games in his career.

REPORT COMMENT

By: Zvee Geffen

Zvee Geffen — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:39:22 +0000

Let’s first be clear on what that means.

REPORT COMMENT

By: Paul Moro

Paul Moro — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:15:12 +0000

Do you really believe that, Paul?

REPORT COMMENT

By: dteberle

dteberle — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:53:54 +0000

TINSTAAPP

REPORT COMMENT