SB Nation User Blog: wgarrett

This Just In...

wgarrett — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:44:39 -0000

Jon Heyman of SI is telling Mike Francessa on WFAN that he's hearing Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson could be gone within a week and Jerry Manuel could replace him. This is only a rumor at this point. He said the Mets' higher-ups met and were discussing the situation. He hasn't heard anything about Howard Johnson's job status. He does think it could be as soon as this weekend.

There's something happenin' here.... what it is ain't exactly clear.

Pitching: A Sparse Opinion

wgarrett — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 13:17:52 -0000

One person's sparse opinion on pitching.

A reason for the lack of pitching in the majors, be it a big or small reason (though I do think it is a big reason), is the current environment the major league baseball is played in. Many of the parks in existence are more conducive to offense. Also, the strike zone, though it was revised and the umpires were advised to call it differently, favors the hitters. Offense sells, one would assume, as the huge attendance numbers continue. As long as major league baseball continues to cater to the hitters, you will have pitchers reaching the magical 100-pitch limit too quickly, therefore causing them to pitch fewer innings, and teams will continue to have trouble finding good, or even decent, pitching.

What has to happen, I think, if it hasn't happened already, since there are no other changes in the works to help out the pitchers, is that the fans and media (if not anyone in the MLB) have to adjust how they look at a pitcher's numbers. For example, an ERA of 4.00 is probably pretty good in this day and age, where back about 15 years ago it would be considered rather high. I think the environment that pitchers work in today keeps them from achieving things like complete games, shutouts, no-hitters/perfect games, because it is easier for hitters to get on base via a hit or walk. Perhaps a pitcher with an ERA under 4.50 is actually above-average nowadays.

I, for one, would like to see a change, just enough to help the pitchers out a little bit. Maybe they could raise the mound a bit, or give them a larger strike zone to work with. If it hasn't been done yet, I would like to see a chart showing the scores of every major league game played in the last 30 years per year. If I could make a guess, I would say there are fewer low-scoring games now. I like offense but I don't like too much offense. What used to make a high-scoring game fun was the fact that it didn't happen regularly-- it's rarity is what made them enjoyable. So I think I enjoy low-scoring games now-- they just seem so rare.

What Makes A Player A "True ______"?

wgarrett — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 13:52:24 -0000

What, to a sports fan, makes a player a "true (enter the name of your favorite sports team here)"? For example, what makes a player a "true Yankee"? Doubts about his Yankee-ness have been laid at the feet of one Alex Rodriguez, otherwise known as "K-Rod" (for his penchant for not coming through in "clutch" situations) and "E-Rod" (for his penchant for making lots of errors). Some say that because he doesn't come through in "clutch" situations, A-Rod is not a "true Yankee". Derek Jeter, because he has come through in these situations, and for being part of four World Series champions, is a "true Yankee". I used the Yankees as an example here but this got me wondering if this type of discussion goes on with fans of other sports teams. Are there debates on what makes a player a "true Royal" or a "true Lion"?

Heilman: The Question

wgarrett — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 01:01:11 -0000

Should Aaron Heilman be a starter or a reliever? Read these stat lines and decide:

Starting: 25 starts, 133.2 IP, 144 Hits, 22 HRs, 106 Ks, 66 BB, 5 W, 13 L, 5.93 ERA

Reliever: 88 G, 118.1 IP, 109 Hits, 6 HRs, 114 Ks, 43 BB, 3 W, 3 L, 3.20 ERA

(Stats as of 07-17-2006)

Please give your answer and an explanation why. Thanks.

Who Is The All-Star Game For?

wgarrett — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 19:18:02 -0000

In one of his "Baseball Abstracts", Bill James writes about Robin Yount and his answer to a question posed by a beat-writer, "Who do you think should vote for the All-Star teams?". Robin's answer was: "I don't know-- I'm not sure who the game is for." Whenever I see anything involving the All-Star game, pertaining to who should be voted for and who should do the voting, I always ask the question "Who is the game for?" Who, exactly, is the game honoring? Is the game for the best players of the current year? Is it to honor the players from the previous year? Is it to honor the great players that are still around? Is it to honor your favorite players? Is it all of these and more??

When you cast your All-Star votes, what criteria do you use? After reading the diary "Your Mets Need Your Vote!", I decided to change my comment for that into a separate diary. Thanks for any and all comments.