Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez takes game to the next level by becoming top run producer

Sometimes I think Massive Dynamic invented The RBI Machine...just to screw around with the world..

This season, only Todd Helton (23.16 percent) has knocked in a higher percentage of the runners on base during his plate appearances than Ramirez (22.61 percent).

“Tremendous,” Ramirez said of his work with Tony Perez. “We’ve talked about [hitting] with runners on base, trying to hit the ball up the middle. Every day in batting practice we keep talking about it. He’s helped me a lot.”

Ramirez could not ask for a better resource. A renowned RBI man during his Hall of Fame career, Perez, in every season from 1967-71, ranked among the NL’s top five in percentage of runners driven in, according to Baseball Prospectus.

“That was my job,” Perez said. “That was what the team expected of me and I wanted to do it. Any which way, a ground ball, anything, if I knocked in a run I was satisfied even if I made an out.

“You can’t swing hard all the time. You have to play the small game, get your hits and drive in runs that way. The pitcher and the catcher aren’t always going to give you a pitch to hit home runs. You have to adjust and make the appropriate swing. That’s what [Ramirez] is doing now. ... He has more experience, has matured. He now sees and can realize what he needs to do.”

Hyde: Bonifacio often confounding, but he can be electrifying

Or as Robothal told Bic-quick Harold Reynolds the other day...“HE CAN’T HIT!...HE CAN’T HIT!”

(BTW...Rosenthal has been a saber-godsend on the MLBobfeller network)

Like it or not, Bonifacio is the exact kind of player this franchise has to mold from clay to succeed. He’s young at 24. He’s cheap at the major league minimum. He’s raw, obviously, and a liability at third base, though that’s the most irrelevant part of the conversation moving ahead. He’s a second baseman.

“Tremendous skills there,” said Washington General Manager Mike Rizzo, who signed Bonifacio out of the Dominican Republic while in Arizona, traded for him with Washington and then watched him shipped to the Marlins this offseason before becoming the GM.

Rizzo says what all baseball people do. “If Emilio can get a .360 on-base percentage, he’d be a terror.”

OK, if you can leap tall buildings, you’d be Superman. But let’s note a couple of numbers. Bonifacio’s on-base percentage is an awful .297. But through May, his on-base percentage was .291; in June it was .319.

Through May, he struck out nearly once every four at-bats (24.4 percent). In June, it was about once every 5.5 at-bats (18.6 percent). Yes, that’s still bad for a speed guy. But still.

“The numbers are moving in the right direction,” Gonzalez said.

Miami Herald: County approves new Marlins baseball stadium financing

At 1:10 a.m. Wednesday, Miami-Dade County commissioners cast the final vote on a set of last-minute changes that cleared the way for the sale of more than $300 million in bonds to pay for construction of a new baseball stadium in Little Havana.

Barring any new surprises, the early morning vote sets the stage for construction of the park, and ends the decade-long quest to build a professional baseball stadium in Miami.

The bond sale agreement is set to be signed at 1 p.m., and Florida Marlins officials said work would begin on site Wednesday, as well.

Gonzalez: Can the Florida Marlins win with Emilio Bonifacio?

If you anagramp-up Bonifacio..."Can Boo If I” spits out.

To Bonifacio...for all the buzz about Gaby Sanchez moving from first to third at Triple-A New Orleans, it’s looking less and less likely Bonifacio is going anywhere. Are the overall numbers still disappointing? Yes. Even aftera 1-for-3 performance with a triple and sacrifice fly that knocked in the deciding run in the eighth, Bonifacio’s OPS remains .601. His on-base percentage (.298) has been south of .300 since May 22. He’s been error-prone at third, a position he hadn’t played before this spring.

Yet for all that, I thought manager Fredi Gonzalez had a telling quote about him afterthe game: “ Boni, even through all the stuff he’s been going through, at the beginning of the year and hitting .900 and people expecting him to hit .970, he comes every day to work and he’s getting better. He’s got a nice little hitting streak going. He’s hitting a little over .300 from the right side...He’s doing fine. He’s one of those guys you characterize as a winner because he’ll find something to do during the course of a game to help you win a ballgame.”

Can’t really disagree with Gonzalez here. We haven’t seen many games from Bonifacio like he had that first week, but for all his shortcomings—and he has his share—he does seem to do at least one thing a game that makes you say, ‘Ok, let’s keep him in there a little longer and see what he can do.’ If nothing else, I’m impressed by the fact he’s shown no signs of being a “me” player.

Fish Tank:  Video: Marlins fan vs. Yankees fan in a brawl for the ages

Wondering about all that ruckus in the stands during Sunday’s game? We’ve got the answer. One intrepid fan shot the following video, which involves a Yankees fan and Marlins fan going at it, WWE-style, in what some are calling ‘The Citizen Kane of Fan Fight Videos.’ A title well-earned, we say:

Fish Tank:  MLB denies Yankees protest

The Yankees protest of the Marlins 6-5 victory Sunday was denied Tuesday by major league baseball.

President Larry Beinfest informed Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez of the decision just before Gonzalez received a fax from the league office.

Gonzalez was relieved, even though he believed it wasn’t a “protestable type” incident.

“What’s the old (saying), thousand pound gorilla,” Gonzalez said. “I had about two of them.

“It’s embarrassing, big time embarrassing. You got 25 players on the team and six coaches and staff members, 50,000 people in the stands and two million viewers. It’s not easy. It’s embarrassing. And then to get the game protested and you got an off day, it’s a tough couple of days.”

Miami Herald: Agent sees big bucks ahead for (Josh) Johnson

Don’t think the New York Yankees weren’t watching Josh Johnson with great interest Saturday. Not the befuddled Yankees hitters, who squeezed out a run during the seven innings Johnson was on the hill—but the big boys upstairs, the Hank Steinbrenners and Brian Cashmans.

They know unless the Marlins lock up Johnson before his arbitration years expire after the 2011 season, he probably won’t be around to make the Opening Day start for the Marlins when their new ballpark opens in 2012. He’ll be gone, either through free agency or via a trade as the Marlins look to recoup value for him.

Think the Marlins would offer Johnson a five-year deal totaling $82.5 million, the one Saturday’s loser, A.J. Burnett, struck with the Yankees over the winter? Or a seven-year deal worth $161 million, the contract Sunday’s starter, C.C. Sabathia, signed before the season?

Johnson’s agent, Matt Sosnick, thinks that is what it will take to keep Johnson.

“The way that I think Josh needs to be valued is somewhere between Burnett’s contract and Sabathia’s contract, and probably closer to Sabathia’s,” Sosnick said Saturday. “Josh is that guy in two years.”

MLB: Yanks protest game over lineup snafu

This is messier than the time someone put Ross Moschitto’s name in the starting lineup!

For now, the Marlins are claiming a 6-5 victory over the Yankees on Sunday afternoon at Land Shark Stadium. Whether the score is upheld ultimately will be determined by Major League Baseball.

The Yankees have protested the game due to confusion created by a Marlins’ double-switch in the top of the eighth inning.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Marlins pinch-hit outfielder Alejandro De Aza for pitcher Renyel Pinto, who was batting ninth. When the inning ended, Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez made a double-switch. Reliever Leo Nunez entered the game, and Chris Coghlan remained in left field.

Nunez threw one pitch to Derek Jeter, a called strike. At that point, Yankees manager Joe Girardi brought to the attention of home plate umpire Tim Timmons that Coghlan was supposed to be out of the game, with De Aza in left field.

...Crew chief Jeff Kellogg told MLB.com after the game that the umpires are filing an incident report to Major League Baseball. He didn’t elaborate on anything specific.

“We’re going to file an incident report, and all that,” Kellogg said. “The protest is over the pitcher should have been removed from the game, or the pitch should not have counted. That’s the protest. Either or. One or the other should have happened.

“It goes to the league, and they will review everything. They will make a determination after that.”

Florida Marlins’ Wes Helms: No place in Hall of Fame for drug users

And this means you...(THERE’S TOO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM!)

Wes Helms, a steady but unspectacular performer during 11 major-league seasons, doesn’t envision himself landing in baseball’s Hall of Fame. But neither does he want to see those who used performance-enhancing drugs get in, either.

‘The Hall of Fame is baseball, and if you let guys like that in the Hall of Fame, it makes our kids think that `if they did it, I should.’ ‘’ he said.

Helms said the Hall of Fame ban should apply only when there is ‘’100 percent proof’’ that a player used steroids.

‘’It’s sad,’’ Helms said Wednesday, one day after a newspaper report that Sammy Sosa tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug in 2003. ``It’s one of those things where you can’t judge until you know it’s true. But these guys who have come out and said they did it or have been caught and admitted it, yeah. Everybody makes mistakes. But when it comes to an award like the Hall of Fame, you’ve got to count them out.’’

Ivan Rodriguez set to break catching record against old team

Half the career of Ivan Rodriguez.

That’s all Texas Rangers starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hoping for.

If all goes as planned after tonight’s start against the Rangers, half the career of the Houston catcher would be more than 1,100 games caught.

Rodriguez tied Carlton Fisk for most games caught with 2,226 on Tuesday night. He’s in line to break the record tonight.

Rodriguez will get to do it against the club for whom he played for 12 seasons and started what is sure to be a Hall of Fame career.

Sun-Sentinel Blogs: Fredi Gonzalez unloads on media over Ramirez HBP

Approached again and asked if the team has to defend him in that situation, Ramirez cemented his point in Spanish, saying: “You know, incredible. There’s going to come a point where I’m not going to feel protected. I’m going to be scared to hit a home run because I know I’m going to get hit.”

Ramirez added the team was “obligated” to retaliate. Hayhurst also hit Jeremy Hermida two innings earlier.

Informed about Ramirez’s comments, Gonzalez initially said, “I don’t want to get into that to be honest with you.”

A few minutes later, after Gonzalez met privately with Ramirez, he emerged on a rampage. He asked to listen to Ramirez’s taped comments. Before they could be cued up, Gonzalez threw out two reporters from the clubhouse, accusing them of trying to stir stuff up.

The remaining two South Florida media representatives in the clubhouse were asked to leave as well.

Miami Herald: Marlins-Braves rumors

The Marlins rejected Atlanta’s offer of outfielder Jeff Francoeur for Cody Ross before the Braves acquired Pittsburgh’s Nate McLouth. . . . The Marlins have received inquiries about Jeremy Hermida, but the offers haven’t been enticing.

• Gaby Sanchez (.318) is playing third base for at least a week at Triple A (he’s in the middle of that stretch) in case the Marlins decide to replace Emilio Bonifacio. . . . The Marlins said they will open up as many as 60,000 seats for games in next weekend’s Yankees series (22,000 more than usual). Most of the lower bowl is sold out, and the cheapest seats (usually $12) are $25 (in advance) or $30 (game day).

Ray McNulty: No regrets, no complaints from Proctor

My guess is, Joe Torre feels a little guilty.

Why else would he blame Scott Proctor’s season-ending elbow injury on Proctor, a former Martin County High pitcher and current Jensen Beach resident who did nothing but take the ball every time Torre summoned him from the bullpen?

Why else would he say, “There’s playing hurt, and there’s playing stupid,” insinuating that Proctor did the latter by answering Torre’s call even when his arm didn’t feel especially good?

Why else would he do anything but thank and praise Proctor for the tenacity and team-first attitude the gritty relief pitcher brought to Torre’s clubhouse, first with the New York Yankees, then with the Los Angeles Dodgers?

“I’m not going there,” Proctor was saying the other day, during a break in his rehab regimen after undergoing elbow reconstruction surgery last month. “I’m not getting into it with a man of his stature. I’m just thankful for the opportunity he gave me.”

Besides, Proctor added, Torre is entitled to his opinion.

But Torre’s stated opinion doesn’t make sense. And Torre, in my past dealings with him, has always come across as a very sensible man, a trait that has helped him become a terrific manager and a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame.

NBC Sports/Pouliot: Five managers on the hot seat

5. Bud Black (Padres) - Truly a pleasant surprise, San Diego is just four games under .500 despite possessing what looked like baseball’s weakest collection of talent at the beginning of the year. Only the Nationals and Orioles have worse run differentials than the Padres, who have scored 221 runs and given up 271. That Black has coaxed the team to a 26-30 record is quite an achievement. Still, Black is managing a team that is expected to eventually have a new owner in Jeff Moorad. CEO Sandy Alderson is gone, and it seems likely that more changes will come after the year. Black will likely survive the season, but if the Padres opt to go in a different direction at GM over the winter, then they may bring in a new manager as well.

Others - Fredi Gonzalez has my vote for baseball’s worst manager, but the Marlins won’t want to have to pay two managers at once again. … Jerry Manuel’s Mets are playing better lately, so he should be safe unless his mouth gets him in trouble. … A’s manager Bob Geren has plenty of support from good friend Billy Beane and can’t be blamed for assembling baseball’s most injury-prone team.

Marlins notebook: Giants may be interested in trade for Dan Uggla

To get Uggla, the Giants almost certainly would have to give up one of their young starters, either lefty Jonathan Sanchez or perhaps more reluctantly right-hander Matt Cain. During the Winter Meetings, a Sanchez for Jorge Cantu rumor made the rounds.

Sanchez won’t be arbitration eligible until after 2010. Cain in March 2007 signed a modest contract that calls for salaries of $2.65 million this season, $4.25 million in 2010 and a $6.25 million option for 2011 that could vest at $6.7 million.

AP: Knee injury KOs Iwamura for season

CLEVELAND—Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his left knee.

Iwamura was injured trying to turn a double play in the eighth inning Sunday against the Florida Marlins and was carted off the field.

He will have surgery after the swelling goes down, according to Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.

Nolasco demoted after Rays stomp Marlins

Nolasco. I know...you said it already.

Teammates were stunned to learn of Nolasco demotion. He was the club’s Opening Day starter after a brilliant 2008 season.

“We have to get him fixed,” manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “That’s not the Ricky Nolasco we saw last year. Before it gets any worse, let’s try to get him better. This guy is a tremendous competitor and I know he’ll get it straightened out.”

Nolasco now has allowed eight runs in back-to-back starts, neither of which reached the four-inning mark, sending his ERA to a dizzying 9.07. He has given up a National League high 66 hits in 43 2/3 innings.

Opponents are batting .344 (66 for 192) off him and can boast six homers over his last 17 2/3 innings. Dioner Navarro and Carlos Pena accounted for the last two during the six-run Rays’ second.

“I sat there and talked to him for about an inning after he came out,” Gonzalez said. “We threw some stuff back and forth. He says she feels great. I said, “Is the ball going where you want it to go? He said, ‘Sometimes.’ That’s not what you want to hear.” You want to hear, ‘Yeah, it’s going there.’

MLB.com: Marlins’ Gload tosses scoreless frame

With the Rays enjoying a commanding 14-run lead in the ninth inning of a game they won, 15-2, the Marlins handed the ball to reserve Ross Gload, a first baseman who is a primary pinch-hitter. Gload threw a scoreless ninth inning, logging 16 pitches, with six strikes.

The Marlins’ bullpen has been taxed heavily this week, largely because of a doubleheader on Wednesday against the D-backs.
...
Gload, a left-handed thrower, got off to a rough start, walking the first two batters he faced—Gabe Gross and Akinori Iwamura. But he worked out of it by getting Dioner Navarro to bounce into a 5-4-3 double play. Tampa Bay pitcher Dale Thayer grounded back to Gload to end the inning.

Torre and Proctor

Here’s a post on http://www.fackyouk.blogpsot.com detailing Joe Torre’s history of abusing relief pitchers. The post comes in light Torre’s recent comments in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Proctor’s recent TJ surgery is a result of Proctor’s insistence upon pitching at less than 100%

Proctor was/is a gamer, and I’m sure he and others on this list took the ball when they probably shouldn’t have. But part of the manager’s job is to utilize his team’s considerable medical resources to protect the even more considerable investment his organization has made in its players. To use or abuse a possibly injured pitcher is bad enough, to claim that an injured pitcher’s surgery is his own fault for taking the ball is adding insult to injury. If Torre knew Proctor was that bad off, as his own quotes imply, then it’s borderline unconscionable that Torre would continue to use him so much. I think Quantrill, Karsay, Sturtze, and others would agree.

Another Installment to the Marlins-Brewers Fan

The plot thickens as a Marlin fan ‘outclasses’ a Brew Crew fan concerning a first career home run ball (albeit according to a Marlins beat writer).

Good to see Marlins fans know how to hand over an important home run ball without embarrassing themselves, unlike Brewers fans.

Xavier Paul met with the fans who caught the ball, had a pleasant conversation, and was asked only to autographed a bat and a ball.

This is a far cry from the demands and conduct of Nick Yohanek, the greedy fan in Milwaukee who caught Chris Coghlan’s first home run and came with a list before criticizing Coghlan and the Marlins after his demands became public.

Milwaukee. Your rebuttal?

Palm Beach Post: Home runs, Pfister haunt Marlins

True story: At least two pairs of Marlins players are sharing a room in Milwaukee because of their fear of ghosts. The Pfister Hotel is famous for its ghost stories and paranormal activity. And stories of other baseball players’ ghostly encounters there have made there way around clubhouses.

When he was with the Dodgers, Seattle slugger Adrian Beltre once slept with a bat for protection after he said he had a brush with a ghost in his room at the Pfister.

Note to Adrian: A bat won’t hurt ghosts.

MLB.com: Proctor has season-ending surgery

Tuesday marked the official end of Scott Proctor’s bid to pitch for his hometown team in 2009.

The right-hander, who signed as a free agent with the Marlins in the offseason, underwent Tommy John ligament replacement surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon in his throwing elbow, ending his season before it started.

“It’s a loss for us and for him, too, to miss the season,” Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “I’ve never seen anybody work so hard to try to get through the season without having that surgery. He just couldn’t do it.

“His last side [session] was painful. He threw two pitches, and he was screaming.”
...
The Jensen Beach, Fla., resident pitched one inning in Spring Training before the injury put him on the shelf… The 32-year-old Proctor missed much of last season with elbow tendinitis.

ESPN: Neyer: Pulling the plug on Bonifacio

Have you hugged your Emilio today, Harold?

Anyway, do you realize how far Bonifacio has fallen? (I didn’t, until I checked.)

As you might recall, in the Marlins’ first game this season, Bonifacio hit a home run, collected three singles and stole three bases. He was, for a day, the toast of the National League. In his first seven games, he batted .485 and radio hosts were asking me if this guy was for real (you might easily imagine my answer).

Bonifacio’s line since those first seven games: .165/.224/.176.

Bonifacio’s season line: .250/.295/.306—practically dead even with his career line (which now encompasses 345 plate appearances in the majors).

Honestly, when you enter a season with a player like Bonifacio in your lineup, you’re just throwing games away. The Marlins are not generally a stupid franchise. So exactly how and why does something like this happen?

TV star Regis Philbin survives scary moment at Marlins game

Regis Philbin may be the world’s most famous (and unlikely) Marlins supporter, but the legendary TV talk-show host didn’t mince words when it came to his pregame encounter with Hanley Ramirez.

“He tried to kill me!” Philbin barked to a phalanx of reporters following a second-inning turn on the Marlins’ telecast. “That’s a quote! Put it in the papers!”

Actually, Ramirez made the mistake of firing a baseball at Philbin from about 100 feet away after the entertainer cut into a session of long-toss between the Marlins’ franchise shortstop and third baseman Emilio Bonifacio.

Maybe Hanley was confused, seeing as both Bonifacio and Philbin are about the same diminutive size and were wearing No. 1 Marlins jerseys and fielder’s gloves.

Maybe Hanley saw the way Philbin reached home plate from the top of the pitcher’s mound with his ceremonial first pitch and thought the sprightly 77-year-old could handle the challenge.

Whatever the case, the Marlins’ 3-2 walk-off win in 14 innings over the Reds on a long Monday night at Dolphin Stadium was nearly overshadowed by a disastrous injury to the man who has logged more TV time than anyone in history.

The Rays have Dick Vitale, the Marlins’ have Regis Philbin?

Stoda: Love on the rocks between Ramirez, Marlins?

But if anyone - my hand is raised - was prepared to view Ramirez as the face of the Florida franchise, it now should be regarded as premature consideration.

Ramirez himself, for example, isn’t making that assumption.

“I don’t think of it that way,” Ramirez said at his locker in the Marlins clubhouse before Tuesday night’s 7-0 loss to Cincinnati. “It’s a business. I’m happy my family is set for a long time. It’s not going to change how I play baseball.”

He wasn’t surly, sullen or abrupt.

But he wasn’t gleeful, either.

...But any sense of real affection seems to be lacking, and from management’s side as well.

“A face of a franchise is developed, not anointed,” said Marlins President David Samson. “It’s not a title easily given; it’s earned.

“Hanley is recognizing his value as a leader, but not every franchise has to have a face.”

or a place to store wobbly Levitator Lifts for that matter.

Florida Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez is prepared to return full time - Baseball - MiamiHerald.com

“It pinches each time I swing..”

That is not good.

After going four games without Hanley Ramirez in the lineup, the Marlins look like they will be getting him back full-time beginning Saturday—pain included.

Ramirez, who couldn’t take more than 10 swings off a tee Thursday because of the pain in his right wrist, got two at-bats in Friday’s 8-6 loss to the Cubs after entering the game in the seventh.

He walked in his first plate appearance, then batted with the tying run on base and two outs in the ninth. But he missed an 0-2 pitch from former Marlins closer Kevin Gregg and flew out to center field to end the game.

‘’It pinches each time I swing, but I’ve got to go with it,’’ said Ramirez, who was unable to persuade manager Fredi Gonzalez before the game to get back into the starting lineup.

``I feel it every time I grab the bat. But I can swing. The swelling is a little bit better. But I’ve got to take it. I want to be out there.’’

MLB.com: [Cody] Ross pitches in for Florida ‘pen

He threw strikes, had the support of the crowd and did something no one else in the Marlins’ bullpen was able to do this weekend—keep the Phillies scoreless in the ninth inning.

Cody Ross—yes, the Marlins outfielder—provided some relief for the overused bullpen on Sunday, tossing a scoreless inning in Florida’s 13-2 loss to Philadelphia at Dolphin Stadium.

Chants of “Cody! Cody! Cody!” surfaced from those remaining of the 17,177 that witnessed the Phillies completing a three-game sweep.
...
He worked quickly, and he threw strikes—12 of his 19 pitches were over the plate. A couple of times, he found himself looking at the scoreboard to read his velocity. Ross topped out at 84 mph, which happened to be faster than Phillies veteran lefty Jamie Moyer, who was around 82 and occasionally 83 mph.

AP: Pirates complete three-game sweep of Marlins

PITTSBURGH—Adam LaRoche can’t explain why he’s gone from being the majors’ worst hitter in April to one of its best. All he wants to do is keep hitting like he’s not supposed to during a month he and the Pittsburgh Pirates once dreaded.

LaRoche had four hits and little brother Andy drove in a pair of runs, leading the surprising Pirates to a 7-4 victory over the Florida Marlins on Wednesday and a three-game sweep of the team with baseball’s best record.

The Pirates played with confidence during a 6-3 homestand and, Maholm said, are enthused about not coming to the park “seven games under at this point” as they were in recent seasons.

And what can Adam LaRoche say about his excellent April?

He went 4-for-5 with three doubles to raise his average to .304, which is .125 higher than his .179 career average in April coming into this season. According to Stats LLC, the only NL hitters since 1900 with worse career averages in April were Dal Maxvill (.174) and Clete Boyer (.175).

“That’s behind me now,” said Adam LaRoche, who appears to be staying on breaking pitches much better than he once did. “If I could answer that, I would have faced it four years ago. I have no idea what it is, but I’m not complaining.”

Adam LaRoche doubled in a run during the first against Ricky Nolasco (1-2) and then singled ahead of Andy LaRoche’s sacrifice fly during a two-run third that made it 3-0. The LaRoche brothers also doubled in the fifth to produce another run.

I can explain it. Its called free agency.

Harold Reynolds Presents: Emilio’s Impact

‘sloooooof’...as impactful as a wayward calorie landing on a Jon Brower Minnoch ice cream float.

Huge impact so far on the Florida Marlins hitting at the top of the order. His speed has transformed that team that was long ball or nothing. He’s changed the dynamic - even if he doesn’t get a hit or goes into a slump by bunting, moving the pitcher off the mound, little things like that have changed the offense.  And the biggest benefit is when he’s on first base. You hit a gapper, this guy is going to score.

Paul Lebowitz: PECOTA SCHMECOTA

SCHMECOTA? Jeez...Nate has some hardcore acronymical work ahead.

Joe at Statistician Magician points out my (so far) accurate assessment of the Florida Marlins (the last two losses not withstanding) in the following:

Marlins not this good?:  Obviously, they are not going to win eleven of every twelve games.  The Paul Lebowitz of New York predicted the Marlins to take the division with 88 wins.  A prediction that looks pretty good at this point.  I simply chose to predict them to win 81 games.  Stayed on the safe side.  PECOTA however, had them at 68 wins, not looking good almighty automator.

I had the Marlins at 90 wins, for the record.

Before anything else, I’ve reached some pretty lofty status as I’ve become “The Paul Lebowitz of New York”. That’s up there with The Batman of Gotham City; The Superman of Metropolis; The Donald of Trump; and the Übermensch of Nietzsche.

I honestly do not know how to calculate: A) PECOTA; B) The Pygmalion Win Theorem; or C) Win Shares. Nor do I care. How many numbers do we have to sift through to realize that these facts and figures (some of which had not only the Marlins going 68-94 this year and the Padres winning the pennant last season) aren’t any more accurate than the judgment of those who take statistics and other factors into account.

How hard is it to have a formula, plug said formula into a computer and come out with the same predictions as everyone else who’s using the same formula is coming out with? There’s no analysis; no knowledge from actually knowing anything about the game or about people; it’s numbers crunching and it’s boring. What’s worse, it’s no more accurate than listening to someone who has an idea of what they’re talking about and isn’t just blowing smoke out of their asses like Joe Morgan; or babbling endlessly about the veracity of numbers as the hard core stat-geeks do.