Monday, July 09, 2007
"Professionals"
This weekend on EEI, one of the hosts said it's looking like the Red Sox will be going into the playoffs as the fourth seed. I thought, Hmmm, I know we're pretty close to the best record in the league, but I haven't looked at the full standings in a few days--maybe the Angels, Tigers, and Indians all passed us during our mini-slump. But, I thought, even if they did, it couldn't be by much.
So I checked it just now. Best record in the AL. Best record in baseball. The team with the best record still gets the top seed, right? Or has the rule changed to "team with most radio hosts covering them who don't know what they're talking about" gets the lowest seed?
Something else I heard on that station, involving two hosts talking about the All-Star Game:
Host 1: But shouldn't the leagues try to get the best players in there?
Host 2: No, because the game means nothing.
Host 1 (rightfully mocking the current policy): Yeah, but "this one counts."
Host 2 (in all-knowing voice) No it doesn't.
Uh, hello? We all know how stupid it is that the winner of what's supposed to be an exhibition gets home field advantage in the World Series, but that's the way it is right now! Again, I didn't miss a rule change, did I?
Another thing I'm hearing a lot lately is people calling for Manny to hit ahead of Ortiz. Whenever it's suggested, no one ever notes how this is how it used to be. In fact, I've even heard people debate whether Ortiz would be as good as he's been these last few years were he not hitting ahead of Manny--without mentioning that he used to hit behind him.
In '03, he wasn't hitting 3rd or 4th, as Nomar was in the 3 spot, with Manny 4. So he was always behind Manny then, and he hit 31 homers, with his avg., OBP, and slugging comparable to his '06 numbers. In '04, he mainly hit 3rd, ahead of Manny, but they were flip-flopped in August. His average did drop after the move, but his OBP went up. He stayed in the cleanup spot in 2005, until mid-May, when the two switched spots again, to where they still are two years later. His numbers improved after that switch, but of course they're going to be better with a hitter like Manny behind him. I wouldn't say without Manny there he's "just another hitter," though. But I'm less concerned with that than I am with the fact that nobody at least mentions that Ortiz has spent plenty of time hitting behind Manny.
So I checked it just now. Best record in the AL. Best record in baseball. The team with the best record still gets the top seed, right? Or has the rule changed to "team with most radio hosts covering them who don't know what they're talking about" gets the lowest seed?
Something else I heard on that station, involving two hosts talking about the All-Star Game:
Host 1: But shouldn't the leagues try to get the best players in there?
Host 2: No, because the game means nothing.
Host 1 (rightfully mocking the current policy): Yeah, but "this one counts."
Host 2 (in all-knowing voice) No it doesn't.
Uh, hello? We all know how stupid it is that the winner of what's supposed to be an exhibition gets home field advantage in the World Series, but that's the way it is right now! Again, I didn't miss a rule change, did I?
Another thing I'm hearing a lot lately is people calling for Manny to hit ahead of Ortiz. Whenever it's suggested, no one ever notes how this is how it used to be. In fact, I've even heard people debate whether Ortiz would be as good as he's been these last few years were he not hitting ahead of Manny--without mentioning that he used to hit behind him.
In '03, he wasn't hitting 3rd or 4th, as Nomar was in the 3 spot, with Manny 4. So he was always behind Manny then, and he hit 31 homers, with his avg., OBP, and slugging comparable to his '06 numbers. In '04, he mainly hit 3rd, ahead of Manny, but they were flip-flopped in August. His average did drop after the move, but his OBP went up. He stayed in the cleanup spot in 2005, until mid-May, when the two switched spots again, to where they still are two years later. His numbers improved after that switch, but of course they're going to be better with a hitter like Manny behind him. I wouldn't say without Manny there he's "just another hitter," though. But I'm less concerned with that than I am with the fact that nobody at least mentions that Ortiz has spent plenty of time hitting behind Manny.
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