So if Jeter rebounded, why can’t Young?

Because he's not as good?

Never in a million years would I have guessed it was Elmo who was the child molester and Mr. Noodle was the normal guy.

Everyone can bounce back, Young included. But the odds can't favour anyone that age bouncing back, regardless of their pedigree and regardless of cherry-picked counter-examples.

The advanced stats community always stresses that one-year samples can’t be indicative of a player’s true talent level or future, but a giant portion of that same community is dismissing Young as a player who’s done based on his 2012.

Sure, I don't see everything that's written, but is a "giant portion" of the saber community saying that he cannot post better offensive stats in 2013 than 2012? Dave Cameron wrote a fangraphs' piece specifically arguing that Young is likely to rebound offensively. To me, the question is whether Michael Young's defense is good enough to be a full time starter at 3d base.

Wait, is that Mr. Noodle, or Mr. Noodle's brother, Mr. Noodle? I always thought this guy was the brother.

Greg, why do we know this?

Bad week for modal verbs in headlines; this one should be "could" :)

Which is in fact what I said in the initial Young-trade thread: sure, he could hit .300 next year; he hit above league-average in 2012, dismal as it was for him otherwise.

I am not a member of the advanced stats community, but some relatively unadvanced stats, combined with the ever-popular just looking at the guy, give me some cause for worry. For the past four seasons, since he had a really solid year in 2009, his HR%, K%, W%, and ISO have gone down steadily. That's just another way of saying that he's putting the ball in play more. His power is way down, hence the pitchers are challenging him more; and though he's responded by putting the bat on the ball more often (he's always been able to hit for contact), his offensive value has dropped steadily. Hence his BA fluctuates as one might expect, because it's so dependent on BABIP. He often looks pretty futile at the plate, just observationally; his singles tend more and more to be of the go-where-it's-pitched variety, and his doubles are grounders down the line rather than shots into the gap. That's why I'm not sanguine about his actual value rebounding: not just because 2012 was bad, but because 2011 and 2010 weren't as good as they looked, and the trend is downward.

It's interesting, having written that paragraph, to imagine its audiences. For 99% of the people here, that's elementary-school analysis of the most bloody obvious variety. To a lot of people beyond BBTF, I've just engaged in a hefty helping of SCHLORP and THUNDERCORK :-D

Even Michael Young 2012 is about the same offensively that the Phillies got from Placido Polanco the last two years.

Because he's not as good?

I was thinking that, along with not having access to Jeter's special stash of magic pills. If there is one guy on the planet who should be suspected of being a PEDer, it should be Jeter. This is a guy who takes intelligent precautions with his personal life, that makes you think if he's cheating, he is cagey enough to not leave any evidence.

So if there is no evidence of him cheating, he must be cheating.

Wait, is that Mr. Noodle, or Mr. Noodle's brother, Mr. Noodle? I always thought this guy was the brother.

That's Mr. Noodle's brother. Mr. Noodle is played by Bill Irwin.

You're all welcome.

They say there's no bad one year deals.

Michael Young for $6MM is a decent deal if he is a league average 3B. The trick is for him to be average this year.

The other other Mr. Noodle.

a hefty helping of SCHLORP and THUNDERCORK

New handle?

So if there is no evidence of him cheating, he must be cheating.

Oh, Jesus.

Oh, Jesus.

I'm following the writers eventual logic to it's inevitable conclusion. (which is everyone cheated, except those we deemed beforehand as non-cheaters, although of course Jeter is on that short list as non-cheaters, and they keep trying to put Petitte back on that list)

I'm following the writers eventual logic to it's inevitable conclusion.

That doesn't make my response any less apt.

In this Holiday season, your response is always apt.

But seriously, Jeter is a Hall of Fame talent. Michael Young, not so much.

Happy Festivus!

That's Mr. Noodle's brother. Mr. Noodle is played by Bill Irwin.

That's what I thought. Of course, it's a bit moot, since Mr. Noodle's brother (the guy in the picture) died a few years ago. And my kids have moved past Sesame Street so I'm no longer up to date.

It was really weird seeing the guy in Jurassic Park 3, though.

Never in a million years would I have guessed it was Elmo who was the child molester and Mr. Noodle was the normal guy.

Michael Jeter, the actor who played Mr. Noodle, was gay however. Not there is anything wrong with that.

Toast always makes stale bread taste better...