From Mike Gimbel:

A few of the comments on my article had to do with an article from a few years ago about Arod that included a comment about age-related performance. Your misunderstanding of the 34-37 ratings that I use does NOT involve quantity of output. Clearly younger players will have larger stats due to greater playing time. Older players, due to injuries, usually require greater down time. In addition, I don't find either batting average or OPS valid measuring sticks.

My RPA was developed to analyze performance on a per-plate-appearance basis. In this case only long serving players even get to have careers that extend into and past the 34-37 years of age. When I do this, when checking EVERY single player who performed during those ages, with a minimum of 300 plate appearances, I discovered that these players actually peaked at those ages on a per plate appearance basis. I needed this analysis to estimate future performance for older players, from 33 years old and older, in the next season only. As an advisor for player acquisition it is imperative to understand how age affects player performance in the very next year, as well as how this might develop over further years. These long-serving players tend to be the best players, so comparing them with the mass of players of all ages, most of whom never come close to playing at this older age, is incorrect.

I have done RPA ratings for many years. This has given me a huge database of RPA ratings. When I took all MLB players, with a minimum 300 plate appearance in each of consecutive years, and listed their RPA change between the two years, is how I discovered the pattern for each year of age. I hope this explanation is helpful.

i have had email conversations with mike more than a few times. and if all Yew Peeple notice, when talking about races i always capitalize White, Black, Asian and Native American. it is what politeness is about.

agree 100% that all this PED shtt is the owners doing their best to bring public opinion against the Union and trying to keep more and more of the profits away from teh ballplayers - their cute thingy with the RSN not counting as "income" is just one example. the owners actually HAVE gotten better lawyers and better media PR advice and have used it VERY effectively. they can't break the union but they sure can raise strong public opinion against it - the fact that it IS a union is why tickets cost so much and the players are allowed to be greedy and why they want and protect drug users and the poor owners are just helpless

there was an obvious media hatred of Uppity N-word barry lamar bonds Himself long LONG before there was any question of drug use. it is most positively racial. there are plenty of sullen surly White ballplayers (see chris carpenter) who do not get the kind of treatment barry lamar did. Black ballplayers who do not fit the stereotype of the Right Kind of Negro are treated lousy especially if they don't speak White English. i remember all the hostility eric young got on this here very liberal board when he was on BBTN - why he didn't talk like a newscaster, but like a (clever educated euphimism for ghetto n-word).

what Black ballplayer is a genuine national media STAR!!!!! ? even guys like prince fielder and matt kemp who are certainly - what was that expression - "not all the way Black" are not pimped. torii hunter when he was younger, talked too Black and curtis granderson wasn't/isn't good looking enough/a good enough player.

there really IS racism. there really IS a kind of union busting goin on - even if mike does talk up communism. and i got no idea what is happening in college sports/NFL but every time i glance seems to me that aren't real too many Black coaches even though there sure are a LOT of brothas PLAYING