SB Nation User Blog: dtpollitt

Jeter wins Gold Glove, &#(#&^$*@!!

dtpollitt — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:42:13 -0000

Jeter wins Gold Glove, &#(#&^$*@!!

AL Gold Gloves announced. Apparently Jeter had a positive UZR/150 this year, but if I may, that's because his range sucks so much he cleanly plays every ball he gets to.

Also, Mauer is a stud, and that outfield looks like one hellva impressive defensive collection.

Dan

Gomez to drink your Brew, Hardy to eat your Twinkie

dtpollitt — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:36:30 -0000

Gomez to drink your Brew, Hardy to eat your Twinkie

Brewers get Gomez, JJ goes to the new Target Field. I like this trade for us, because JJ is better offensively, plays more positions, and well, frankly, is just damn better than Gomez. Now JJ is out of the NL Central, albeit, he had a rough 2009. Go Twins.

Dan

Think Milton Bradley is just playing board games to pass the time now?

dtpollitt — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:45:52 -0000

Think Milton Bradley is just playing board games to pass the time now?

Battleship - friendships, SUUUNK!
Crossfire - greatest commercial ever http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCwn1NTK-50
Monopoly - plays until he passes GO, collects $200, quits
My Little Pony Game - you can see him playing this, no?
Downfall - lolz

Rick Reilly makes random Cubs diss

dtpollitt — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:16:37 -0000

Rick Reilly makes random Cubs diss

I usually enjoy the man's entertainment journalism, but the last reason on this list is silly. Sorry if we're too loyal, Rick.

Dan

When was the last clean W.S. winner?

dtpollitt — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:39:07 -0000

When was the last clean W.S. winner?

White Sox blog giving a team-by-team breakdown of World Series winners and their team's juicer. Interesting.

Dan

Hi, I'm Dan, and I spend too much time on BCB.

dtpollitt — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 19:04:34 -0000

Hi, I'm Dan, and I spend too much time on BCB.

...and with this post, I have hit 10,000 posts on SBN in the nearly 4 years I've been here. Here are my steps to long-term BCB health:

Step 1 - Walk away from the computer.

Step 2 - Punch something constructive (and non-breakable) when dealing with blown saves, throwing the ball into the stands with two outs, back spasms, etc. Stay away from water coolers.

Step 3 - Drink 6-23 beers. May also substitute Jamo.

Step 4 - Walk MVP, Madison Vic (Mackey) Pollitt, my 3 year old beagle.

Step 5 - Find somebody to poke on Facebook.

Step 6 - Reload BCB

What are your steps to long-term BCB health?

Dan

Separated at birth - Derrek Lee & Paul Konerko: Who would you rather have on your team?

dtpollitt — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:50:30 -0000

Hi SSS, I'm Dan, a Cubs fan and regular on BCB. Here's a copy of the post I put up yesterday, and thought your site should get a chance to respond, too...

My roommate, a die-hard White Sox fan, and I were discussing the value of Derrek Lee & Paul Konerko. Both of us agreed that our respective first baseman is the better choice. I'll let Bleed Cubbie Blue make the decision. I'll be posting this to South Side Sox, too, but need to wait a day to activate my membership. I'll be certain to link to the results.

Without further ado, I'll present the facts as straightforward as possible. All statistics found below can be found using Baseball-Reference, FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus, Cot's Baseball Contracts, and Fantasy Pitch FX, and is current as of 08/05/09.

Both players are 33 years of age, and entered MLB in 1997, and have played nearly the exact same number of games (1632 & 1652). Derrek will turn 34 a few months before Paul.

Both players are right-handed hitters and fielders; they are approximately of the same stature: 6'3-5 & 205 lbs.

Derrek has been healthy throughout his career, with a broken wrist a few years ago, but this year has been bothered by back problems. Paul has been even healthier, with only one short DL stint in his career.

Lee has made nearly $58M in his career; Paul, $66M. Both are signed through 2010.

Paul has been selected to the all-star game three times, Lee, twice; Lee has three Gold Gloves, Konerko has zero. Lee was third in MVP voting in 2005, Konerko was sixth that same year; Lee has a Silver Slugger award, Konerko has a ALCS MVP trophy.

Both players have a world series ring; Lee in 2003, Konerko in 2005.

Lee has a career OPS+ of 123; Konerko, 116, but Paul has slightly more HR (318 vs. 280) and RBI (1026 vs. 900). Lee steals a lot more bases (100 vs. 7) and strikes out a lot more (1345 vs. 956). Lee's wOBA is exactly .010 points higher than that of Konerko's, but the former's BaBIP is .040 points higher than the latter's. Paul hits fly balls over 50% of the time; Lee, however, hits the ground ball nearly as much. Paul hits into more GIDP than all but 6 of his peers; Derrek is 29th on this same active list. Paul is about to crack the all-time top 100 HR hitters list; Derrek is 148th on this same career list.

In the playoffs, both have appeared in 5 series, with the Cub in 103 PAs vs. Sox 79 PAs. Lee's power seems to escape him in the playoffs (dropping .188 in the post-season), whereas Konerko's is raised by .002 points, and is .167 better than Lee's overall.

As for fielding, the two's percentage could not be closer - .995 for Paul, .994 for Derrek. Derrek's UZR/150 is -0.2, Paul's is -1.0. Derrek has nearly 600 more putouts at 1B. Derrek's range and errors above average are better than Paul's.

Lee's career WARP is significantly higher than Konerko's: 48.2 vs. 28.9. Finally, WAR for the two: 28.3 (Lee) vs. 17.4 (Konerko). FanGraph's converted WAR into dollars values Lee's performance as over $35M higher than Konerko's.

A few of my thoughts:

I do not know of two professional ball players that could be more similar, and from the same city to boot! In fact, BR has their "Most Similar" as being each other. These two guys hit for power, play good (if not sometimes over-valued defense, at least in Lee's case) defense, have won World Series, and are proven leaders on their respective teams.

For those BCBers that cried out last year about Lee's GIDP-ing, it could be worse. Lee doesn't hit into double plays nearly as much as Pauly. Derrek fails to hit for much power, or to drive in runs, during the playoffs. Konerko's performance during the post-season is as solid as his regular season performance. Lee seems to really benefit from his speed; his stolen bases total is much higher, his BaBIP is significantly higher (.40!), and he hits for more doubles and scores more runs. Lee's speed also seems advantageous to his fielding, where he performs better defensively and covers more ground, while making fewer errors in more put outs. Konerko is the typical power hitter; he hits the majority of his balls in the air, and is well situated in the 4 or 5 spot in any lineup.

If I must choose, I select Lee. Statistics show (although by tiny margins in some cases) that Lee is a more valuable player (WARP, WAR, UZR, OPS+, wOBA, BaBIP all show this). Qualitatively, I think both players are leaders, represent their team well, and are excellent baseball players. I wouldn't have a problem with Konerko.

Dan

PS - My roommate Chad will read this, and he sucks. You can tell him this, too. Go Cubs.

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2009/8/5/979010/separated-at-birth-derrek-lee-paul

Poll

Who would you rather have on your team?

Derrek Lee

30 votes

Paul Konerko

75 votes

105 votes | Poll has closed

Separated at birth - Derrek Lee & Paul Konerko: Who would you rather have on your team?

dtpollitt — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:07:39 -0000

Both players are 33 years of age, and entered MLB in 1997, and have played nearly the exact same number of games (1632 & 1652). Derrek will turn 34 a few months before Paul.

Both players are right-handed hitters and fielders; they are approximately of the same stature: 6'3-5 & 205 lbs.

Lee has made nearly $58M in his career; Paul, $66M. Both are signed through 2010.

Both players have a world series ring; Lee in 2003, Konerko in 2005.

A few of my thoughts:

Dan

PS - My roommate Chad will read this, and he sucks. You can tell him this, too. Go Cubs.

Poll

Who would you rather have on your team?

Derrek Lee

307 votes

Paul Konerko

49 votes

356 votes | Poll has closed

OT: Only in Kansas do football players get bit by zebras

dtpollitt — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:15:09 -0000

OT: Only in Kansas do football players get bit by zebras

Sooooooo, lemme get this straight: A guy playing for the Gorillas (?!) at Pittsburg State (?!) gets bit by a zebra (?!).

I did not know there are gorillas, a Pittsburg, or zebras in Kansas. But what the hell do I know, I just live here.

Words cannot describe this story. Rock Chalk Zebra.

Dan

I never knew Charlie Manuel was such an interesting fellow

dtpollitt — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:59:18 -0000

I never knew Charlie Manuel was such an interesting fellow

Damn good article in the June 22 issue of Sports Illustrated about the skipper of the Phillies. Sounds like a fun guy to get a beer with, walk the outfield and learn a few tips, or just watch him fight Ted Williams.

Dan