SB Nation User Blog: Yadi2Second

All-Star Vote 2009

Yadi2Second — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:01:05 -0000

All-Star Vote 2009

Albert Pujols, Cardinals, 5,397,734
(4) Skip Schumaker, Cardinals, 1,191,954
(6) Khalil Greene, Cardinals, 819,412
(9) Rick Ankiel, Cardinals, 1,632,113
(11) Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals, 1,427,898
(17) Chris Duncan, Cardinals, 886,223
Yadier Molina, Cardinals, 2,641,467
Ryan Franklin, Charlie Manuel's pick

(Rank) in position. No comment.

Homecoming King. The highway, the fans in red, the stats [read here] ... and El Hombre taking a...

Yadi2Second — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:59:08 -0000

Homecoming King. The highway, the fans in red, the stats [read here] ... and El Hombre taking a pitch with men on base.

TLR coaching for NL

Yadi2Second — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:02:18 -0000

TLR coaching for NL

Manuel, Torre, and TLR vs. Maddon, Hillman, Wakamatsu.
The brain waves are hurting my intellect already.

OMP charted

Yadi2Second — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:06:14 -0000

OMP charted

Jeremy Greenhouse combines data from Hit Tracker with Pitch f/x and charts, among other things, our very own VEB metric: OMP.

Coined by Toddius:
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2009/5/15/876066/out-fielders#15746667
Acronym by BVHeck:
http://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2009/5/15/876832/story-title#15765924

Albert at Home in St Louis - NYT

Yadi2Second — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:20:09 -0000

Albert at Home in St Louis - NYT

A primer on why Pujols does not play in New York, and how to start luring him there.

Seems to have stolen all VEB's best links. (Taking everything that's not nailed down!)

eta: Billed elsewhere as "Cardinals Fear the Pujols Doomsday Clock".

Phillies snubbed by Fox; Rays don't know any better

Yadi2Second — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:32:33 -0000

Phillies snubbed by Fox; Rays don't know any better

"As far as each player being announced, it should be," Rollins said. "You worked this hard all year long and you're the last two teams left. I thought it was kind of cheap those guys didn't get the chance to get recognized. It took 25 players to get here, and each one of them should have been recognized. Bottom line."

The Phillies are trying to do something about it, saying that Fox Television asked baseball to forgo the tradition. The Phillies, who are set to open Game 3 of this World Series at home on Saturday night, have asked their union to petition Major League Baseball on their behalf.

Someone would be kicked to death by Clydesdales if they pulled that here.

Do the Cards Have What the Cubs Lacked?

Yadi2Second — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:29:58 -0000

My first Fan Post! Hopefully not as incoherent as usual. I stopped by The Hardball Times to see what they said about the Cubs knock-out. Or knock-off. I've been digging through post-Cubs stories, not to rub it in as much as to figure out what _not_ to do when you're a loaded franchise out of the NL Central. Think of it as a failure analysis.

It struck me that Tim Dierkes echoed what the BBTN crew said: the Cubs don't have anyone that scares the cleats off opposing pitchers. So goes the article:

The offense does not have a scary monster that teams go out of their way to avoid, like an Albert Pujols or a Manny Ramirez.

I don't think they're saying that's all a team needs, but it's like this, well, "impact player" is a key component to post-season success, something to put them over the top. Agree? Disagree? Is that all the baby bears need? Or are the problems just too deep? (It's worth noting that the same outlets mention that the Cardinals' standing pat through the trade deadline as one reason we didn't contend.)

My gut instinct is that the sheer hunger of our Cards squad is the edge when all things are equal. As the NL Central starts to change from a two-team joke to a four (or even five) team rumble, and more owners consider opening up their pockets, we've gotta stock up for leaner times. Personally I don't think that impact player needs to be an overpriced star; witness David Eckstein. (Well, exorbitantly overpriced.)

It's hardly a convincing argument, though, since "hunger" and "spark plugs" and "leadership" can't be measured in numbers. Team concept is pretty nebulous, especially with a closed-doors clubhouse like the Cards'. Vets have time and again have contributed off the field, including some of the guys on the DL — that has to help a young team. Reputation can affect what the other team does, too, i.e. the teams who didn't dare run on Ankiel under any circumstance.

At the same time I'm not sure it's fair to use the 2008 Cubs as a cautionary tale of what happens when an otherwise talented team doesn't have that mix of cohesiveness and hunger. Maybe it was something else like: being out-scouted, or being streaky, or simply not having to deal with adversity (24-22 in one-run games vs LAD's 31-21), or helping knock out the Mets. More data is needed, or at least more seasoned opinions. What do you think? Talent and money being equal, can one player complete the equation? And if so, do the Cardinals have the edge in that category, or do we need to go get it?