Amazingly, this comes from Mr. G’s Facebook page, via Josh R.:
<3 Miles.
Miles Davis apparently terrified by Kenny G
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Baseball Show with Matt Cerrone
I have that same Home Run Apple bank that’s over Cerrone’s shoulder. It’s all filled up with change but I haven’t gotten to TD Bank in a while, so now there’s a pile of change around it too.
The thrilling conclusion
Although the analysis is complicated, the lessons it teaches us are straightforward. Streaky seasons undoubtedly exist, but it appears that there is no such thing as a streaky or unstreaky player. Rather, the truth seems to be that all players are streaky players. Being human, they have their ups and downs, and they are inherently streakier than random chance would dictate. They are not dice, and they are not random number generators. If Murray Chass ever read Fangraphs, I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear that. But, again, there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that a player who is especially streaky in one season will continue to be so in the next.
– Seth Samuels, Fangraphs.com.
The conclusion of Seth’s research I’ve mentioned here several times. Read the whole thing because the analysis is interesting and the scatterplot is money.
Beardy guys preview Jets-Steelers
It’s a playoff beard, I swear:
Granderson doing baseball stuff in New Zealand
Sweet. Baseball is awesome and more people need to know about it, so more people will play it and the level of play worldwide will improve. Also, and tangentially, I’ve long held that New Zealand is clearly Australia’s Canada.
Every famous person ever to appear in new Beastie Boys short film
Including Will Arnett.
If park factor is so important, why don’t they put it on the scoreboard?
Citi Field is a damn joke.
OK, Jeff Francoeur, I don’t want to come off as mean-spirited here or anything so please, don’t take this the wrong way. But here’s the thing, bro: You’re a terrible hitter.
Not terrible by regular human being standards. You’re definitely a better hitter than I am; I could never drive a 95-mph fastball 370 feet, something you’ve accomplished on numerous occasions. But by Major League standards, and the standards generally set for Major League corner outfielders, you’re just straight-up bad, dude.
Like, awful. Out of 26 qualifying right fielders in 2010, your wRC+ — probably the best offensive stat we have, even if it’s not on the scoreboard — was dead last. And by a lot. Actually, if we tally up all the stats from 2006 when you came into the league, you’re still at the very bottom of the list. Way below Kosuke Fukudome, way below Randy Winn, way below the pathetic shell of Shawn Green that the Mets trotted out in 2006 and 2007. You are baseball’s worst-hitting right fielder, by far.
That stat, I should add, is adjusted for the park in which you play your home games. Your struggles had nothing to do with Citi Field, and everything to do with you. You swing too much, and every pitcher in the league knows it. You’re doing it wrong, sir.
You can blame your struggles on any exterior source you want. And indeed, the Mets’ home park appears to be a difficult one in which to succeed offensively. But if the stadium’s dimensions were the source of your offensive inadequacy, why, I wonder, were nearly all of your teammates much better than you at hitting?
You can say anything you want about Citi Field, but — and again, I’m not trying to be mean because I understand you’re a really nice guy — you are the joke.
Honestly. At this site and many others, we laugh at your expense because you’re so bad at hitting and so good at somehow staying in the Major Leagues. Start thinking of factors you can blame in Kansas City — I don’t know, too much barbecue, maybe — because you’ll almost certainly need to explain why you don’t hit in 2011 either.
Awesome thing to happen within a million years
Within the next million years, the star Betelgeuse is expected to explode into a supernova, which will keep the Earth lit up day and night for weeks. Or rather it will light up the sky 640 years later when light from the explosion reaches us. So here’s hoping it already happened like 600 years ago, because it’d be sweet to see that while I’m still alive. Via Eno Sarris.
Which Major Leaguer would you box?
Over at Big League Stew, ‘Duk asks a very important question: If you could box a Major Leaguer, who would it be? I’d probably pick Cole Hamels, because for a variety of reasons I feel like I might actually have a shot.
Mark Sanchez still awesome
Mark Sanchez felt comfortable messing with Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan before he was even drafted, because Mark Sanchez is just that cool. Dude’s got a wiseass streak a mile wide. Fun fact: He also pantsed Brian Schottenheimer at training camp this year. I’ve seen footage. It deemed unfit for online posting because you got a brief glimpse of, ahh, Brian’s Schottenheimer. Link via Rob V.
Tedquarters 