SB Nation User Blog: tabler84

Is Our Fans Learning?

tabler84 — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:11:40 -0000

I can't take credit for the concept of this post; it comes from the mind of one of the site's leaders, who thought it might be humorous / cathartic / massochistic / instructive. So here's what I've done: I've waded through miles of Cleveland.com comments in search of the most representative of Cleveland Sports Fan Idiocy. Given the usual high quality and astute commenting, you'd think I'd be searching for needles in large, sprawling haystacks, but NO: It was actually rather easy to find stupid comments. I've compiled some of my favorite, along with a quick take on why they're included. Have fun, grab the popcorn, and prepare to break the nearest bottle and stab yourself with it.

From maxx46:

False hope with every victory. Blow a kiss to Lee too. He's gone come September.

My take: This just might be the dumbest of all the comments I've read. It implies that we'll hold Lee through this trading deadline, even though we're deteremined to trade him now, and... waive him in September? Trade him the moment the season ends? This is awesome.

From whaticee:

Talent evaluators of the draft have been way off for many years. Look it up. The last good pick was Victor Martinez. Sadly those bad draft picks are now in the majors. From an all star at every poistion to no all stars at any position

My take: I did look it up, douchebag. Victor was signed as an amateur free agent in 1996. But I admire your confidence in the face of facts; clearly we have no stars at any position at all.

From dawginutah, regarding Jensen Lewis getting yanked after walking the first two batters of the ninth with a 7-run lead:

It sounds like the poor guy is on Wedgie's sh!t list. That means he will be treated like Brandon Phillips & others Wedge disliked or didn't respect. So add Lewis to the long list of players who will one day excell elsewhere cause this sounds like just the beginning of that kind of treatment for Jensen. And who's to say Wedge wasn't at fault for pitching him more than one inning? Even tho' it wasn't a close situation why not bring in Wood for the ninth?

My take: Wow.

From dogdale:

Garko

does anyone realize he's on pace (actually a tad ahead) to match last ears RBI total? 90 in 495 / 30 in 159.

Why doesn't he play everyday? his numbers scream that with consistent starts he excels. Oh I guess we don't want him driving in too many runs....

My take: Until dogdale pointed it out, I didn't realize that management was trying to prevent the team from scoring runs. I was under the impression that being third in the AL in runs scored was a sign that the lineup has been productive. Clearly the ills of this season would have been remedied by more Ryan Garko!

From LariSpitler, following the DeRosa trade:

I ask why we start trading away players 1 month plus before trading deadline. This is how negotiations work, the closer you get to the deadline the more desperate teams are to get their players. . .We on the other hand trade them a month earlier. Time for Shapiro and Wedge to go.

My take: I included this one because there are literally dozens of commenters who think it's obvious that waiting until the deadline trumps trading now. One even called for Shapiro to die (that comment was thankfully removed).

From tdawg69, following the DeRosa trade:

Unbelievable! The only reason they would do this so early is to save $$ on his salary....

RP Mujica 2.95 ERA
SP Sabathia 3.55 ERA 78K's
RP Julian Tavarez 3.65ERA

My take: Yes, saving one month of DeRosa's salary was the only reason to trade him. Sharp analysis. I also like my buddy 69's list of Mujica (the obviously dominant bullpen force whom we just refused to keep because of his big contract), Sabathia (the guy who was begging us to offer him a discount contract just so he could sign here for life), and Tavarez (WTFBBQ?!) This is roughly like saying, "It's worth paying more in cap-and-trade because BOAT, SAUCER, McRIB SANDWICH AM I RIGHT?

From bbcoach:

Well how long are the Dolan's going to wait to tell Shapiro to get rid of Wedge, Willis and Shelton. Hopefully soon. The pitchers are not pitching and are not in the game. The hitters have no clue but to try going for the fences all the time (how about hitting to the opposite field, it is called situational hitting) and when you make a minor league lineup out what do you expect against real major leaguers.

My take: Please tell me the "bb" in your name stands for "basketball."

From indians75959:

NOT SOWERS,HE HAS BEEN A STIFF AND ALWAYS WILL BE.PLEASE LARRY DOLAN, GIVE THIS 59 YEAR OLD GUY A CHANCE TO PITCH IN SOWERS PLACE? PLEASE, I CAN DO THE SAME IF NOT BETTER AND SAVE YOU A TON OF MONEY, ISN'T THAT WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT WITH YOU?

My take: Gotta love the all-caps approach. Sowers has been a letdown, but some fans on cleveland.com have accused Wedge and Shapiro of "lying" to fans when Sowers pitches, because they just know that sending Sowers out there is an effort to lose.

From fauxnuze:

Has the trend of when we have high expectatiouns = horrible team and low expectations = winners struck anyone yet? Whats up with that? High expectation cause WEDGE to CHOKE. Slow starts, choking down the stretch or worse (Boston)...I can imagine Wedges pregame comments. Hey guys, we HAVE to win THIS GAME! Someone has to hit a grand slam...whatever one says to totally freak someone. Dude is a minor league manager. That's all and thats it. He's prpoved it again and again

My take: I love the idea of Wedge running around frantically in the clubhouse shouting, "Someone has to hit a grandslam! Who's it going to be? Grady, GRAND SLAM! Start us off!"

From aebleone:

Hey, remember Ed Mujica who couldnt get anyone out for the Tribe? Well, he's pitched 32 innings for the Padres and has a 2.23 ERA and 30K's to only 9 BB's. Add him to the list of players such as Brandon Phillips,Jeremy Guthrie, and Ryan Ludwick that Wedge wasn't able to turn into Major League ballplayers but other teams have made into superstars! A couple more players on the Tribe's current roster heading that way include Josh Barfield and Trevor Crowe.

My take: Ed Mujica is a superstar! So is Guthrie! And Ludwick! And it's pretty easy to project that Barfield and Crowe will become superstars once the shackles of Wedge are removed.

From HardPanther:

The bullpen is absolute junk!
This is what Paul Dolan spent $81 mill on instead of keeping Millwood, CC and Bob Howry, back then.
Joe Smith was part of a Mets Bullpen that blew their division lead 2 years in a row. Why did Shapiro think that Smith would do any better here?

My take: The Indians have a magical hill of money that they just refuse to mine for studs such as Bob Howry.

Conclusions: Any time a team struggles, fans will be unhappy. That's fine. But the comments above are not exactly outliers in a sea of reasonable reaction. There is a deep, fundamental misunderstanding of how money works in this game. Jay and others have worked hard to elucidate the options that a team like Cleveland has when it comes to free agency, player retention, etc. And yet there remains a huge mountain to climb to help the average fan have even a basic understanding.

I'm not Eric Wedge fan, but clearly fans are ascribing every problem with this team... Eh, what's the point? He's going to have to be fired, whether it's entirely fair or not.

Finally, there is absolutely no appreciation for Choo, Shoppach, or even the strong seasons turned in for several years by Peralta. The fans are palpably angry at the team and management. READ THIS DOLAN

Reviewing TNT's Review, and Other Assorted Musings

tabler84 — Fri, 29 May 2009 10:51:11 -0000

In order to get ready for game six, it's instructive to look at game five.

If you want to blast the Cavs for giving up big leads, they deserve equal credit for building big leads.

No Cavs fan wants to see a large lead erode, but that is the nature of pro basketball. Ebbs and flows are part of the game, and the Magic are a team that can stack massive piles of points together in a short time span. Turns out, the Cavs can do so as well.

We outscored Orlando 32-10 in the first 8 minutes. They outscored us by 30 (!) in the next 22 minutes. And we outscored them by 18 the rest of the way. If you want to whine about losing the lead, give this team the credit it deserves for going on significant runs of their own.

I love Barkley, but I have no idea what he was talking about.

The gameplan in the fourth quarter, according to Barkley, was to give it to LeBron at the top of the key and have him just improvise. That's easy to assume if you're only paying cursory attention, but there was one significant change -- nay, one significant adjustment at work here -- many of the possessions began with LeBron catching the ball with his back to the basket. For those of us who have been thirsting for such a scenario, we finally got it. And it paid off.

It's true that the offense moves much less and works more slowly in such a scenario, but three points about that: 1) It allows LeBron to back down smaller guards and get easier shots. 2) It obviously frees up other guards for wide open shots, which is hardly a problem. 3) I'm reasonably convinced it allows LeBron to rest. Seriously. He's not getting minutes off now, and he's understandably whipped. When he catches the ball at the top of the key or on the block, it's a moment to catch his breath. On one play, he caught the ball at the top of the circle, waited 13 seconds, and drained a jumper. Good result, bad possession, right? It's not ideal, granted, but if LeBron decides he's going to take a jumper, why not hold it, collect a breath, and shoot when he's settled? Guy needs to manufacture some kind of breather, and this offense doesn't seem to be nearly as grinding as Barkley makes it out to be.

The TNT gang is also wrong about the need to foul Dwight Howard more often.

Kenny Smith and Reggie Miller went on and on about the need to hammer Howard every time he catches the ball. They are apparently unaware of the whole "six fouls and you're out" thing. It's new, of course.

Really, Z and Varejao both fouled out, and Andy has had 2 fouls in the first quarter in the past three games. If we adopt their plan, we'd lose our two best big men by the third quarter. The other option would be to play the weaker big men more often. I'd suggest getting Joe Smith more minutes, but he's so svelte that I'm not sure he could hammer Howard hard enough to stop him.

(Note: I'm not suggesting that we not foul Howard at all; I'm suggesting the the D against him has been appropriate the past several games).

As others have said: Varejao's flops aren't selling.

Andy played a nice game, but the days of multiple charges are seemingly over. And I can't blame the refs. I love Andy's hustle, but if I were a fan of an opposing team, he would drive me nuts. Can't cry wolf that often. But I think he gets this, and is adjusting.

Joe Smith should see a few more minutes.

Is he in the doghouse or something?

Facts Vs. Reality

tabler84 — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:36:52 -0000

Let's get real about some things. Moreover, let's talk about actual facts, instead of inventing them. Facts do not oppose reality if we're thinking clearly.

First, there are some awesome Magic fans contributing here; they're courteous, passionate, and observant. It's cool to see, and if the Magic finish us off, we'll wish them well.

Second, there are rude, ignorant Magic fans polluting these boards. Sadly, some Cleveland fans have jumped on board with their "arguments." So the next time someone says something like the following, you'll know how to respond.

"The Magic just have more weapons than the Cavs and we saw it in game four."

Game four was one of the biggest outliers we could have possibly seen, for two main reasons: 3-point shooting and Rafer Alston. Game four did not demonstrate that the Magic is a better team; it demonstrated that occasionally a monkey can write Shakespeare.

Start with Alston. You probably know that he's not an all-star. But did you know that, in the past decade, he's one of the five worst shooters in the league with several hundred starts?

That's right. He's one of the *worst shooters in all of basketball.* He's not a "streak shooter," as some have said. Unless you count the streaks of paint he chips off the front and back iron. Not only that, but he's unsavvy enough on offense to take one shot every three minutes -- a hefty ratio for a dreadful shooter.

Fun fact: One of the closest statistical comparisons to Alston comes in the form of former Cav Larry Hughes. Cavs fans, did anyone think of Larry Hughes as a weapon? A streak shooter? An outside threat?

Alston's numbers:

Career: 38.6% FG, 35.4% 3P, 72.9% FT
2009 Playoffs, pre-Cavs: 38.6% FG, 33.3% 3P, 66.7% FT
This series: 44.6% FG, 43.4% 3P, 100% FT

This is THE GUY you want taking a ton of shots. Luckily, he's obliging. Sadly for us, he's caught the streak of his life. This does not mean the Magic have better weapons.

"The Cavs' defense is obviously over-rated. Just look at this series!"

We've already discussed the outlier that is Alston. Now let's talk about Dwight Howard's free throws, which have gotten a lot of attention.

Season: 59.4%
Series vs. Boston: 54.3%
Series vs. Cleveland: 71.5%

For a guy averaging 10 free throws per game, that's a dramatic improvement. But would it have really made a difference?

Probably. In game three, which was a two-possession game inside the last two minutes, Howard would have connected on 3 fewer points if he simply matched his season average. In game four - and we all know how tight that was - he would have scored 2 fewer.

Now, how about Rashard Lewis, hottest shooter alive?

Season FG: 43.9%
Series FG: 55.5%
Season 3P: 39.7%
Series 3P: 57.8%

After game one it was clear we had to make adjustments. Did they work?

Game 2: 6-15 FGs
Game 3: 5-8 FGs
Game 4: 5-9 FGs

We smothered Lewis in game two with excellent rotational defense. Then something extraordinary happened: Take a look at his field goal attempts in games three and four.

Do you know the last time this season that Lewis played at least 40 minutes in a game and attempted fewer than 10 shots? Never. It did not happen.

Do you know the last time this season that Lewis attempted fewer than 10 shots in a "full" game? March 15th.

If you want to say that Mike Brown didn't make adjustments, I will have a hard time believing you.

Trade Cliff Lee?

tabler84 — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:35:55 -0000

Trade Cliff Lee?

We sometimes over-state the impact bad sportswriting has on fans. But this is a perfect example of a piece that can only make people dumber.

There are so many things wrong with it, starting with the asinine headline. I'm serious: I don't think anyone at the PD sports department gives a damn about content, quality, or accuracy. It's about driving traffic. Jesus.

Edited: The full piece is now linked, but the PD Tribe section has a condensed version with the headline, Will the Cleveland Indians "pull a CC" and trade Cliff Lee at midseason?

The spectators in many of the priciest seats disappeared, too. Some of the tickets were unsold, and...

tabler84 — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 13:16:22 -0000

The spectators in many of the priciest seats disappeared, too. Some of the tickets were unsold, and other spectators with tickets closest to the infield spent time inside the three areas serving them free food, leaving empty blue seats.

"We saw that. I don't think I've ever seen that at Yankee Stadium," said Jensen Lewis.

Mystique = empty seats and sterile atmosphere.

Wading, once again, into the Cleveland.com swamp

tabler84 — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 13:13:35 -0000

Wading, once again, into the Cleveland.com swamp

Why do I do this? Should I visit a therapist?

Bud Shaw Hasn't Read the Annual.

tabler84 — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:14:42 -0000

Bud Shaw Hasn't Read the Annual.

"Only Hafner knows how his shoulder felt this time a year ago," Shaw writes. Actually, only Hafner and the readers of the Annual know he felt frustrated by a shoulder that could produce a prodigious bomb and then shut down entirely days later.

Jay, send Bud a copy! I'm curious to know how many Cleveland writers will check it out and learn from Jay's work. Also, that headline in Shaw's story is absurd.

I missed the game thread with Hafner's first appearance yesterday, boo. I think I would have felt very nervous for the Deranged Penguin (is that the name, Adam?).

Why Are Some Fans So Angry?

tabler84 — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 10:55:06 -0000

Why Are Some Fans So Angry?

This is not a demand for Hey Jaysie, or Hey Jay-Z, though either would be sweet. In fact, I think Hoynes is at his relative best here. But just read the questions he selects; you'd think we have a baseball team that is paid in scratch-off tickets and Bazooka Joe.

Jean wants to know why it's "so hard" to take on additional payroll, as if it's anything more than Econ 101. Tom wants to know why the Sabathia trade should be viewed with anything other than scorn. Marty wants to know if the Dolans are just "using fans to make money." (Hey Marty: Of course they are! It's called capitalism!)

So honestly, why are fans so angry? Do you guys know any fans who talk like this? They seem to be more than just uninformed; they're furious. (And just for laughs, please read the Joe Beimel question. So, so awesome).

Fact or Fiction: Garko's Second Half Story

tabler84 — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:50:40 -0000

I found myself scratching my head at this exchange (watch the video) between a reporter -- not Paul Hoynes -- and Ryan Garko:

Reporter: "When you look back at last year, do you see any big difference adjustment (sic) that you made post-All Star break versus before?"

Garko: "Yeah, yeah. I went home at the All-Star break and kind of watched a lot of film, and I just saw a couple -- mechanically I had too much movement, a little bit of a push. I kind of just worked myself out of it, did everything I could to get rid of that. And I really worked hard on it this offseason, so hopefully it'll just go away."

I am not a scout, but even still, I'm not sure what the heck he's talking about. But the bigger problem, I thought, was that this reporter has swallowed the idea that Garko came out and busted loose after the All-Star break. He figured it out! It makes for an easy story.

Readers of LGT and the Annual know that this simply isn't true. However, I recall reading comments around here that Garko went nuts over the last two weeks against junk pitching (wish I could find a link to those comments, but that's the idea I've gotten). So I spent this morning digging through the numbers to figure out what was fact and what was fiction. My apologies if this has all been done before in detail.

CLAIM: Ryan Garko figured things out at the All-Star break and came out a different player.

VERDICT: Fiction. Garko posted a .715 OPS in July after the break, His OPS rose to .770 in August but his SLG remained right at .400. And for the first two weeks of September, Garko posted on OPS of .601 in 32 at bats without a single extra base hit (he seems to go long stretches without driving the ball a lick).

So, from the first game back after the break until mid-September, Garko posted an OPS of .697.

Then, in his final 12 games, Garko slugged .878, posted an OBP of .533, and raised his season OPS 59 points. (!)

CLAIM: Ryan Garko feasted on September call-ups and junk pitchers down the stretch.

VERDICT: Fiction, and this surprised me. Starters over the final 12 included Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Danks, Mark Buerhle, Justin Verlander, Francisco Liriano, The Cobra, Dontrelle Willis, Brian Bannister, and Robinson Tejeda. Only Tejeda has not been a major league regular.

Those starters compiled a combined ERA of 4.30 with a combined WHIP of 1.33. That's hardly bottom-of-the-barrel stuff. Garko was mashing against a strong group of starters (though some were certainly having down years), and several teams were in the playoff hunt.

CLAIM: Ryan Garko worked all throughout the second half to get rid of that "little push," and he finally did so in mid-September. Now it's championship time!

VERDICT: Who the heck knows. I have to doubt it. But at least his hot stretch run came against legit opponents, and regardless, he's not likely to have long to get into the groove in 2009.

Maybe the best Cleveland.com comment ever.

tabler84 — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:00:35 -0000

Maybe the best Cleveland.com comment ever.

First of all, this is all sounding redundant. The article sucks and the commenters suck. But this is really outstanding, I promise.

First, I love that Hoynes states as fact that Grady's batting average is "failing." Perhaps he meant to write, "falling." Um, let's hope. It's still silly.

Second, this piece smacks of a writer who is just now coming around to the idea that batting average is, in fact, overrated.

Third, just read the first comment. I mean, to equate someone saying, "Batting average is overrated," with someone saying, "Wins are overrated," well... Well done. Well done, indeed.