If I told you that in 2012 Carlos Marmol's final stats were like they are below, what would you say?
44 IP, 31 H, 29 BB, 60 K, 3 HR, 2.66 ERA, 3.25 FIP
You'd say I was full of shit because that wasn't his final line, but that's what Carlos Marmol did after returning from his phantom injury in May. I realize that this is nothing more than selective endpoints, but I also realize that something was completely off with Marmol when the season began. Prior to his DL stint, he had thrown 11.1 innings, allowed 9 hits, walked 16 and struckout 12. He allowed 10 runs, 8 of which were earned.
The baseball season doesn't begin after a DL stint so those appearances matter. Overall, Marmol posted a 3.42 ERA, 3.98 FIP, .2 fWAR and .3 rWAR.
Below was Marmol's projection entering the season:
Marmol ended up walking only 1 fewer than 46 despite throwing only 55.1 innings. The projection for him was about 1.3 WAR and he failed to come close to that.
Marmol has always been a wild card in my opinion. He's had a couple really good years, but even in those years he walked a lot of batters. He was never as good as he was at his best and he's probably better than he was this year though probably not by a whole lot.
2010 was a great season for Marmol despite walking the world. He struckout batters at a near record breaking percentage and was unhittable when he threw strikes. With the exception of that year though, Marmol has been your run of the mill late inning reliever over the last 4 years.
On a good team, Marmol wouldn't be the closer, but good the Cubs are not. Marmol's contract wasn't a bad one at the time it was signed and nor was it a good one. What should have given us all pause is that Jim Hendry's record on signing relievers was ridiculously poor. It's difficult to imagine a GM signing as many poor relievers as Hendry did. Not surprisingly, the Cubs got little in return.
If I recall, the Cubs paid Marmol about what we'd have expected him to be worth, but he hasn't really come close to doing that. After his dominating 2010 season he took a huge step back last year and in some ways (FIP, fWAR) another step back this year. His ERA did improve to about the same as 2009. I don't know what to expect from Marmol entering next season, but I'd guess it's more of the same that we've seen over the last 4 years. At times he'll look dominating, but mostly he'll just be a decent and perhaps above average reliever.
The Cubs will have a hard time trading Marmol because he's due nearly $10 million in 2013. The Cubs also don't exactly have anyone who can replace Marmol. No, Rafael Dolis should never see that role again. Ever.
Marmol is a great example of your average good reliever. He's had 3 really good years and 3 not so good years. Relievers are unpredictable because they throw so few innings per season and Marmol has been no different. There was never a reason to think he would be different.
Comments
http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/article/i_will_no_longer_be_contributing_to_this_blog_good_luck/
It just needed to be reposted here.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
I missed it. Was this a falling out or what?
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
I’ll repost what I wrote last night attempting to explain what happened.
Dave Cameron wrote a silly article (what, Fangraphs wrote another silly article?)
MGL called him out
Dave defended himself
MGL called him names
Dave showed he’s more classy than MGL could ever be
People call MGL out
MGL says same shit
People call MGL out
MGL apologizes
MGL basically takes back apology later on
Someone calls him out
MGL bans that person
MGL writes something else
A couple people have questions
MGL upset they didn’t read every word 32 times
MGL begrudgingly answers questions
More questions
MGL’s pussy hurts
MGL quits
You’re call caught up.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
That’s a pretty hilarious summary.
joshQuote Reply
Commenter from mgl’s Jeter thread
(dying laughing). I could get behind this.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
So Jeter broke his leg or something?
joshQuote Reply
Colin managed to sum up one of the main reasons why I stopped reading fangraphs a while back
BerseliusQuote Reply
I pretty much spent the entire weekend entertaining a 2-year-old. I saw some of the game last night, but that’s about it.
joshQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Yeah, I read maybe one fangraph article a week, if the title catches my eye, but I can’t remember the last time they wrote something I thought was that insightful. It’s more just the sheer quantity they are throwing out there. And the used to do those WPA graphs everyday. I was looking at those for awhile, but not anymore. If they still do them, they’re now buried in bullshit.
joshQuote Reply
mb21 wrote:
I really think you should make this an OV article. (dying laughing)
MishQuote Reply
I actually don’t even visit Fangraphs all that much anymore. Or at least not nearly as much as I once did. I prefer the stats layout on BRef though I know others disagree. Just a personal preference for me. I also like their method of WAR better, especially for pitchers. I very much dislike using defense independent metrics to calculate WAR. The one complaint that I have about rWAR for pitchers is that it doesn’t calculate the defense behind the pitcher but rather uses the team defense and then assigns that value based on the percentage of innings pitched. It seems it wouldn’t be very hard to calculate what the defense did in terms of runs saved behind each pitcher so why not use that? Despite that, I still prefer using what actually happened than what “should” have happened.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Mish:
But that’s of far greater quality than the rest of our work so if we posted that the expectations for future posts here would be way too high.
mb21Quote Reply
@ josh:
It’s hilarious because it’s actually what happened. All I know is that when I decide to leave the blogging world behind, I’m going out in much the same way. Just a post title about me leaving and wishing you all good luck with no content. That will be the last you’ll hear from me. I just wish I thought of it before MGL did.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Here’s my plan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTOKJTRHMdw
joshQuote Reply
Does anybody know of a way to search google by excluding a certain site? Bleacher Report is killing my ability to search for shit I might actually want to know because of their dumbass fucking headlines and bullshit layout. I don’t ever want to see another article by them when I search google. Can this be done?
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
We’re decades from that technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ir_mKso_qc
GBTSQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Reminds me of this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd8yEh5obEo
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
(dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
It seems like when I just searched Google for baseball related stuff, Bleacher Report was in the search results. When I added -bleacherreport to my search query, those results went away.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Fuck yeah. That works. Thank you so much. I’d plus 50 your comment if I could. It’s easily the most time saving comment of the year on any website.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
No worries.
/computer nerd’d
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Yeah, or “-bleacher -report” if that doesn’t work. Even just “-bleacher” would probably help
joshQuote Reply
You guys are clogging up the tubes!! You’ll be sorry!!
GBTSQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
I will drink to that!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ josh:
Bleacher Nation would be sad.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Go here and you can do all kinds of strange and powerful things with your
Pizza Hut MILFbaseball searches:http://www.google.com/advanced_search
Suburban kidQuote Reply
GBTS wrote:
I knew we shouldn’t have gone to TGI Friday’s for our OV Corporate Retreat last night. The toilets will never recover.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
I know that, but I wanted something easier. I figured there had to be a way.
mb21Quote Reply
I am so excited. I can search for baseball shit now and not get 4000 fucking articles from Bleacher Report. This is like Christmas when I was a kid. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
Another question. I get these jury duty things all the time and I have to call in for a week to see if I need to report. I’d never gotten one before I moved to Topeka and in 10 years I’ve gotten at least 8 or 9 of them. I get them about every year. Only a couple times I’ve had to report and neither time was I selected. Anyway, I ask people around here who I know and who have lived here for a while and they never get them. Not even once. I ask the people who show up for jury duty and they’ve gotten them 4, 5, 6 or more times.
I don’t see how it can possibly be random.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Have you tried changing your identity? That worked for me.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mb21:
You want to get crazy, depending on your browser you can establish a keyword search that will automatically filter out unwanted sites. Or something. pff. It’s all bullshit anyway.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Maybe they put “+statfags” in their random search. Do you find yourself talking about $WAR or wRAA a lot with the other prospective jurors at voir dire?
GBTSQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Depending on the laws of your state, maybe you can call the whoever-is-in-charge-of-that and ask to be temporarily removed from the list or something. Or look up how they are picking people. Some places do it by voter registration and others by driver’s license.
Maybe all the people you asked who never got called are convicted felons.
joshQuote Reply
@ mb21:
If you’ve already reported once or twice I thought that excused you for a five year period. Something’s broken.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Dusty Baker —> extension
Reds rotation —> overextended
Rice CubeQuote Reply
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/15/nick-swisher-on-yankee-stadium-booing-it-hurts-sometimes-im-a-sensitive-guy/
I need to Simpson-ize Nick Swisher and have him wipe a tear off his eye like Darryl Strawberry.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ josh:
Create a bogus DMCA request and it’ll get removed from Google’s results at least temporarily. Best thing is to just block the site entirely in the Google search settings.
pinetarQuote Reply
@ pinetar:
That’s probably what I’d do if a site was bugging me to that degree.
joshQuote Reply
mb21 wrote:
In honor of BR, we should make a slideshow of the top 23 times that we tried searching for useful shit and got their site instead.
BerseliusQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
But with a Google search screen (before) and a Bleacher Report article (after), of course.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
If that’s not real, it’s an impressive amount of special effects for a home video.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
And acting.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
It looks like one of the SNL dudes…
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
The original video may or may not be acting…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9VlCqt49a8
(dying laughing) x 2 or 288
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
True, I’m not discounting that it could be fake. It’s a good job of faking a home movie, if so. Either way, it’s entertaining.
joshQuote Reply
I’m sorry things didn’t work out with your main bitch, MB
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ mb21:
FG is still the first place I go to for a player’s stats for several reasons (wRC+, FIP, pitching velocity). But if b-ref decides to enter the 21st century and replace stuff like OPS+ and ERA+, it’d make FG obsolete for me.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
b-ref’s stubbornness on some things is frustrating, since it could be the go-to stat site, instead of my second choice.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Is anyone else watching these playoff games and thinking “Wow, Wrigley is history and all, but what a shit hole compared to these new stadiums”?
/blasphemy’d
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
This year, sure. Last year I was thinking, “at least they don’t play in Tropicana Field.”
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
You’re excused for 1 year here, which is a long time for me that I don’t have to at least call to see if I’ve been selected. I just don’t buy that this shit is random. The same people keep that stupid fucking letter.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
I think that every year in every game I watch (even ones at Wrigley). (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Most of the time OPS+ works just fine for me. If I need more accuracy (writing an article or something, I’ll check out wRC+). I don’t pay any attention to ERA+, but I’d rather see the RA9 stats they have for pitchers than FIP. I can calculate FIP in my head so I couldn’t care less that they don’t have it.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
I think I have finally crossed over to the “For chrissakes, build a new damn stadium” side of the argument…
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Pretty much, yeah. It seemed more magical when I was a kid. But last time I went, I just kind of felt damp and dirty. And full of nachos, but that’s beside the point.
joshQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
(dying laughing) that’s pretty funny. I’d do that, but I’d have to install some shit to get it work right.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Welcome. I’ve been on that side since Oriole Park at Camden Yards was completed. I was 18 and that’s when I first realized that you can have an awesome ballpark with all the modern amenities.
mb21Quote Reply
@ josh:
A win for you!
SVBQuote Reply
@ mb21:
The only other park I’ve been to, really, is Old Busch and New Busch. I guess I’ve been to US Cell (which I’m not a big fan of. Seems like both times I had to really crane my neck to see home plate. Never had that problem anywhere else). I’d say New Busch is the best. We had seats behind home plate. THey didn’t look that close when I purchased them, but they felt right on top of the action. My Dad has been to a bunch, but he always says something like “I was paying more attention to the game than the stadium.”
I will say that, at least on the radio, the Diamondbacks stadium is easily the most annoying, though I didn’t notice it as much this year, so maybe they toned down some of the stupid loud sound effects.
joshQuote Reply
@ SVB:
It was all right, though watching baseball seems to, in general, result in fewer Tonka trucks to the face.
Lucky those things are plastic these days…
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
Miller Park and Target Field are two newer parks I’ve recently enjoyed. New Busch is pretty nice, as well, but it still holds the Cardinals.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mb21:
Back in the 80’s, Wrigley was widely considered one of the better parks, since so many parks were domed stadiums with artificial turf. Many of the outdoor ones sucked as well (the multi-purpose Shea Stadium). In that context, Wrigley was an oasis. Camden revolutionized the way we look at ballparks, combining the best of the old and the new.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
josh wrote:
I like Bank One Ballpark (Chase Field now?). I lived in Phoenix during its opening and attended several games. Had a blast every time. It could be in a better location, but other than that I liked it a lot.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
Exactly why I liked Wrigley at the time, but began to dislike it. There is just so much better the Cubs could do if they were to build a new ballpark.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Never been there. All I’m saying is that the music and sound effects were so loud and repetitive I could almost never listen to a full D’backs-Cubs game. I don’t even know if I tried listening to one this year, though. This was back when Ronny was still alive though. I don’t recall that in the last couple of years, so maybe they stopped doing that.
I mean, having something yell “Everybody clap your hands!” once or twice in a game at a key moment is fine, but this felt like once every 5 minutes. Extremely annoying. Maybe when you’re there and there is bear, it’s not so bad.
joshQuote Reply
I’m late to this, but AT&T Park FTW.
Also, the Oakland Coliseum is always going to be worse than Wrigley Field.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Is that because it’s in Oakland?
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
That and it literally is a piece of shit.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Oh, another thing I love about Fangraphs: they have the players stats in the game he’s currently playing in (as well as updated season stats). And, really, they just have much, much more on the front page than b-ref (BB%, SO% swinging strike%, BABIP, etc. etc.).
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I found the Nationals Park to be slightly above average. The seats feel close to the action but I wasn’t overly impressed with the food options or the overall design. Also I hated their stadium announcer, particularly the way he pronounces “Zimmerman” like he’s Rastafarian.
GBTSQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
That’s what I was going to say. “-bleacherreport” = good. “-bleacher” = me and that bleacher sales company haz a sad.
BrettQuote Reply
Also I was there with Shawn Goldman, who would not stop spouting his crackpot leftist scientist theories.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
So, it wasn’t ALL bad, then,
joshQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
So there was an actual OV-CON this year.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ josh:
If all of this shit talking will keep the fuckwads who go to the ballpark to eat $17 crab sandwiches from crossing the bay, I’m all for it. The Coliseum is a dump, but I did have the most fun I’ve ever had at a ballgame there when I hit game 3 of the ALDS this year, even moreso than when I went to game 1 back in 1984.
(And Oakland itself is easily the most interesting place in the Bay Area at the moment. So, yeah, do me a favor and keep trashing it so the dullards stay away.)
For the record, I think AT&T is overrated. Concourse and egress problems, an obscene price point, and seats that are a mile from the field. I prefer Safeco, myself.
mobile daveQuote Reply
@ mobile dave:
Did you see Brad Pitt?
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Nope. He was supposedly working the post game parking lot after both game 4 and 5, tho.
mobile daveQuote Reply
@ mobile dave:
I like that it’s cheaper to go to the A’s games and I like the baseball on the field. I’m just not a fan of the ballpark.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Holliday is a cheap shot artist.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
It was late but he was over the bag…so I only call that half-dirty, I suppose.
Also, what an effort by Scutaro to make that turn anyway. I’m glad he’s okay.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
You know, as long as these are “legal” I don’t mind them. That said, MLB could easily solve this issue if they wanted to. All they’d have to do is demand that MLB umpires call the game by the rules, which in this case would result in the trailing runner being out. It would also have the added benefit of not allowing home plate collisions. As long as they don’t call it by the rules, I don’t fault them any more than I fault all the pitchers for failing to have their toe on the rubber when they release the pitch: http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/comments/do_most_pitchers_throw_with_illegal_mechanics/
Both are against the rules and neither is called. A player would be silly to not take advantage of it as long as they’re allowed to. It’s not like the opposing team won’t take advantage so I hope the Cubs are smart enough to take runners out in this fashion and pitch from in front of the rubber.
The solution is simple though. That’s what I don’t get, but MLB cares more about steroids than they do the shit that goes on down on the field.
mb21Quote Reply
Why don’t umpires call these players out? The catcher shouldn’t be allowed to block home plate (runner safe). The runner shouldn’t be able to plow him over (runner out). The runner shouldn’t be able to intentionally disrupt fielder (runner and batter potentially out too). The pitcher should have to keep his toe on the pitching rubber or otherwise it is a balk.
The ridiculous thing is that it would be so easy to fix this that it’s clear as day MLB simply doesn’t care about breaking rules unless it’s a chemical that might enhance performance.
mb21Quote Reply
Fuck your DH!
Also, fucking Vogelsong….
Rice CubeQuote Reply
We’re going to get a rematch of the 2006 World Series. Like that year, the worst team in the playoffs will end up winning it all. The only difference is that in 2006 the Cardinals were no better than the 8th best team. This year they’re no better than the 10th best team.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Steroids are bad, yo.
GBTSQuote Reply
I was going to chip in on the Ballpark talk, but thought my comments would be better in the forum instead. I guess you can see the link on the left.
One advantage of starting a Ballpark forum topic is that it’ll be there for eternity, or at least a few weeks, depending on MB’s sense of website ambiance. (dying laughing)
SVBQuote Reply
One last comment on Google searches (perhaps).
If you don’t like the Advanced Search page that SK linked to above, you can just use the right syntax in your search. For anyone who can remember the proper formatting for embedding video links in the old Forum, I’d guess you can memorize this syntax in msecs.
SVBQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
Sounds like you got a deal. 2-for-the-price-of-one.
SVBQuote Reply
I’d say a 1.36 WHIP is pretty high for a $10 million relief pitcher.
SVBQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
The place is unquestionably a dump, and it only got worse when they built Mt. Davis and took away the view of the hills. I guess my big issue with the comparisons with AT&T is that a number of the things that the Coliseum takes flak for (the concourses, access to the stadium, and the seating bowl) aren’t a whole lot better over at AT&T. Specifically, the concourses, access to the stadium, and the wait for concessions are brutal for a stadium that’s so new.
The flak that Oakland takes generally gets a bit old, too. I guess I shouldn’t expect folks to know much about that, but you know, it’s home and all.
Unrelated: fuck you, Cards.
Edit: They also play Journey every fucking night at AT&T. So there’s that in the minus column as well.
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ mb21:
The rule should really be enforced, no doubt. I don’t have a problem faulting Holliday for playing the way he does, though. Simple human decency should keep him from endangering other players on the field whether the he can get away with it or not.
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
I actually went to many more A’s games because it was cheaper and the tailgate experience was better. AT&T is in a nicer touristy area and is just nicer overall. Different strokes for different folks 😉
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Yup, definitely. I disagree with most folks here on ballparks because factors 1, 1a, and 1b in my judgement of a ballpark is how close I am to the action. Oakland isn’t a great ballpark for that generally, though the price point means that you can get better seats relative to the ballpark.
I don’t turn down the opportunity to go to AT&T when I get the chance, tho.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Really hated seeing Vogelsong forced to lay one down with 1 out and 2 runners on. Things like that are why I’ve warmed up to the DH rule.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
I mean, I’m extremely tired of the argument that pitchers hitting forces managers to be more strategic. That kind of auto-bunting is the opposite of reasonable strategy.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
mb21 wrote:
i have heard from multiple people living in various states that once you get picked, you are more likely to be picked again. no one has any proof of this but this conversation has come up a few times and the people in the room are always divided evenly between those that have never been picked and those that have been picked several times. no in betweeen. i might just have a really weird group of friends though.
no one has concrete reasons as to why this happens but the general consensus is that if you show up to jury duty, you get put on a list of suckers that the state can count on to show up.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ Rizzo the Rat:
He should’ve doubled into the gap like Chris Carpenter did. What a plebe.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Shut me right up.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
One of you OV guys have another job as a news graphics setter-upper?
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Brian Wilson is crazy but that was really funny just now 😀
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
(dying laughing)
(dying laughing)
GBTSQuote Reply
(dying laughing) @ Theriot coming to the plate to “Money for Nothing”
uncle daveQuote Reply
Theriot: .283 wOBA, 78 wRC+
Barney: .287 wOBA, 75 wRC+
Obviously the gap in defense is big, but Barney is not much at the dish.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
But but but, what about…
That counts
SVBQuote Reply
I think the difference between my attitude towards Barney and Theriot’s hitting is that Barney doesn’t pretend to be a power hitter because he’s hit a couple of big HRs. He seems to be doing the best he can as a mediocre/bad hitter. Theriot got himself out by thinking he was better than he was.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ uncle dave:
human decency should keep athletes from endangering other athletes, but professional sports (and college for that matter) are about winning. Whether or not they should be is something that should be debated, but as a society we place too much importance on winning that we can’t reasonably expect an athlete to behave in any other way than what’s best for his team. At least I don’t think so.
One of the reasons I have no interest in the NFL, or nearly as much interest in college football, is because of how violent the game is. Not just that, but how it’s celebrated by the players, coaches, media and fans. You see a defensive back place a huge hit on a wide receiver and that player doesn’t even stop for a moment and think about how that may have felt for the other guy. Instead, he’s jumping up and down, getting chest bumps from his teammates and the fans are cheering like crazy. What makes it worse is that he could have taken the guy down in a much better way than he did, but chose not to.
mb21Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
Theriot was cocky, which isn’t really surprising since most of them are, but it was annoying. It became even more annoying because he seemed to feed off the media and fans falling in love with him right away. Barney is just much more likable. I don’t remember him making stupid ass mistakes on the bases at the rate Theriot did. Theriot wasn’t a good hitter or all that much a fielder either and he seemed to excel at doing the “little things” as poorly as anybody in the game.
mb21Quote Reply
mb21 wrote:
The difference that makes the difference.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
The Giants, understandably, did not take kindly to Holliday’s slide. Scutaro X-rays negative, hopefully the off-day helps him recover in time for the next game.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Aisley nailed it: cheap shot artist. I hope the Giants put one in his ribs.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ mb21:
I’ll concede that those two issues are separate, and I’m sure that there would be a substantial subset of fans who would applaud that play were it one of the Cubs in Holliday’s place, unfortunately. I think that particular play absolutely landed out of the bounds of ethical conduct as most MLB players would define them, and that matters.
Plus, fuck that asshole and his whole fucking team.
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ mobile dave:
I’ve never been to Oakland or SF in my life, for the record.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
But my brother lives near Oakland, so I just assumed it’s terrible.
joshQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Yeah, I agree. They should drill him twice, actually, so he knows it was no mistake. THen throw one at his face at some point.
joshQuote Reply
@ josh:
On the basepaths, that is.
joshQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
But Barney hits homers in batting practice! That means he could hit for power if he wanted to. Same for Ichiro, Wade Boggs, and dozens of other guys who hit more homers in BP than in actual games.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Did you guys see this quote from Sullivan yesterday?
I’m surprised this statement came from this source, but glad to see it.
SVBQuote Reply
Len Kasper penned a free article over at BPro about stats in the broadcast booth:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=18680
MishQuote Reply
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/10/16/joe-morgan-looks-at-matt-hollidays-slide-and-laughs/
ROFL…nice “slide” by Joe Morgan hahahahahaha.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
This was the other one linked…I think the umpire signals “out” and then tosses the guy.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
http://www.thenation.com/blog/170585/meet-lockout-lawyers-destroying-sports
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
uncle dave wrote:
That’s another reason why I’m not critical of these plays. I’m biased and I know if a Cubs player does it I’m not going to be outraged. I might even argue it was a necessary play or that the player was well within the rules to do what he did. I didn’t complain one bit when Geovany Soto took out a catcher to score a run in 2008. Years earlier I didn’t complain when Gary Matthews Jr. took out a catcher in what was probably the most vicious hit I’ve seen on a catcher in my life. I didn’t particularly care when Zambrano threw at Jim Edmonds and was only mildly annoyed that he threw at Chipper Jones.
So I try not to react any differently regardless of who does it. If I can’t be fair or even with my criticism against players for such things, the best thing for me to do is just not care.
Also, if players really wanted to put a stop to this behavior, they would. They could easily insist such plays be ruled illegal, but they don’t. They have even less interest in accomplishing that than they do a clean (PED free) game. So if the players don’t mind, why should I?
mb21Quote Reply
@ SVB:
I’m glad Soriano is getting the positive coverage he has been, but this just points out how much of a lying scumbag Sullivan has been and will be again. The fact he insisted otherwise for years despite now acknowledging his own lies is disgusting and should get him fired immediately.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
Yeah, that’s why I linked it here. Both to give Soriano extra props and to point out the hypocrisy, though I suppose I might have been too subtle in the latter. (dying laughing)
With your new Google Search skills you could probably pinpoint a number of articles from Sullivan that illustrate his duplicity. But why bother? It would be like searching to see if circles are circular.
(dying laughing)
moblie SVBQuote Reply
@ mb21:
THIS
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ moblie SVB:
MB and I catalogued Sullivan’s cruelty and mendacity for almost a season and a half at ACB.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
It should have its own wing in the OV/ACB Wall of Fame.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Jason Giambi —> interviewing for Rockies’ manager job
Steroid give-a-shit-o-meter —> broken
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ moblie SVB:
I tell you what, you find me some quotes from Sullivan about Soriano and I’ll write an article with this title: Paul Sullivan admits he is a lying scumbag
mb21Quote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
I’ve linked those articles here before from dmick89.com. I’ll find them again and put them somewhere where they can be more easily found by others.
mb21Quote Reply
The very first Paul Sullivan Has A Problem: http://www.dmick89.com/cubs/?p=839
mb21Quote Reply
Part 2: http://www.dmick89.com/cubs/?p=595
mb21Quote Reply
Fuck Paul Sullivan: http://www.dmick89.com/cubs/?p=589
MO and I took him down in a ruthless manner. (dying laughing)
mb21Quote Reply
Here are all the ones on the old (pre Bloguin) ACB: http://www.dmick89.com/cubs/?cat=8
mb21Quote Reply
Here are all the ones on Bloguin ACB: http://www.dmick89.com/cubs/joomla/index.php/32-paul-sullivan-has-a-problem
mb21Quote Reply
The ones pre-Bloguin have the original author name, but all the articles from the Bloguin ACB are written by ACB. You can probably figure out who wrote what since MO is a much better writer than I am.
mb21Quote Reply
@ mb21:
That was after we tried to engage him on the issue and got the “Hilarious, good luck with your blog” response (dying laughing)
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
That’s right. What’s kind of funny about it is how petty Sullivan is. Yeah, we attacked him harshly, but I’ve emailed with Whittenmeyer a couple times and he’s aware of how harshly we criticized him too. He was professional. I may not think much of his journalistic ability, but he out-classed Sullivan. Then again, who couldn’t?
I’ve also been a critic of Bruce Miles and while I’m sure he doesn’t like it, I’ve spoken with him too. I can at least respect Miles and Whittenmeyer because they aren’t petty fuckwads. Sullivan actually talked shit about us at the Cubs Convention (we called him racist, which was bullshit).
mb21Quote Reply
I remember WV and I talking about how many visits we’d get from the Tribune when we’d write an article about Sullivan. I never noticed a spike from the Sun-Times or Daily Herald. Sullivan is an insecure lying bag of shit.
mb21Quote Reply
mb21 wrote:
Well, he is quite small.
/Ent
Rice CubeQuote Reply
(dying laughing)
Aisle424Quote Reply
MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook for the Cubs: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/10/offseason-outlook-chicago-cubs.html
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Looks like Mike Holmgren is about to get the boot.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Cubs might have gotten a decent arm in return for Baker: http://www.bleachernation.com/2012/10/16/marcelo-carreno-might-be-one-of-the-players-traded-to-the-cubs-for-jeff-baker/
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
This was slightly more than I had expected.
21, Single-A, 3.23 ERA with 7.7 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 139 1/3 innings over the course of 27 starts.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/39805/the-nfls-political-ad
BerseliusQuote Reply
KLaw says Carreno’s future is the bullpen.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
Is he allowed to comment? I thought he worked for the Astros now. Or maybe that was the other guy.
I feel like TheoJed will give Carreno the Justin Germano test before they banish him to the bullpen anyway.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I think you’re thinking of Goldstein
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
Correct! And now I shall go without dinner.
It sounds like the Cubs got some money too along with Carreno. The original trade was for two PTBNL, so I wonder if the money negated the other PTBNL or if the Cubs can still get another warm body.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Negates it. Cubs and Tigers have both gone on record saying Carreno and cash complete the transaction. Totally down with that as compensation for Homerun Baker. Nice job by the FO.
Carne HarrisQuote Reply
the unanimous animosity (unanimosity) on OV towards sullivan is very amusing. he is terrible but i don’t know if he deserves the level of outright hatred one normally reserves for date rapists and telemarketers. maybe i just don’t think he’s that terrible because compared to phil rogers, he looks like fucking bill shakespeare. i can’t even summon the energy to properly express my distate for rogers.
for what it’s worth, i like miles. (possibly because i read one of his articles about every 2 months.)
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
It’s my understanding that he runs a telemarketing firm that caters exclusively to date rapists.
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
i’m actually kind of pissed off now just from thinking about rogers. HOW DOES THAT GUY HAVE A JOB.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
From the stuff that I have read from Sullivan, he manages to somehow turn every situation negative, and seems to embody the “Cubs suck and will forever suck no matter what” type of attitude that THoyer is trying to get rid of. It seems like we could win the World Series, and he would bitch about the Cubs choice of relief pitcher in the 6th inning of game 1, and then say “Oh yeah, and we won the World Series”
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
ah, now i get it. niche marketing. good for him.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ Carne Harris:
Thanks!
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I think the difference between Rogers and Sullivan is that Rogers is simply an idiot, whereas Sullivan is an idiot AND a troll.
BerseliusQuote Reply
Well, Alvin should be happy:
mikeakaleroyQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
I like Miles too. He’s the only one I read with regularity.
I was a little afraid I’d started a B**** session, but then I just decided it was just MB, MO, and Aisley just reliving Greatest Hits. “F’n Another Brick in the Wall was awesome dude. Yeah, but so was Wish You Were Here….”
Having said that, I might dig through some quotes this evening for MB, I mean, what else do I have to do? Watch some dumb debate?
SVBQuote Reply
(dying laughing) at the guy who posted this on fb today
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Berselius:
What always stands out to me most about Phil Rogers is his invention of trade scenarios.
Somewhere in the middle of a ridiculous column about what is wrong with the White Sox, he will invent some series of trades that he just made up while he was watching reruns of Murder She Wrote that say, “The Sox could put together a pakage of Gordon Beckham, Paul Konerko and Your Mother to get Mike Trout from the Angels.”
Then if you look somewhere like ESPN Insider you’ll see “White Sox looking to deal for Trout?”
Chet MastersonQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
incorrect. he travels forward to Oct. 21 2015. Unless they are referring to the date on which he traveled forward to arrive at his “present”. but still wrong because THAT date is oct. 26 1985.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
@ EnricoPallazzo:
We know this because the Cubs had just beaten Miami to win the World Series.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ mikeakaleroy:
They need to hire this marketing guy to sell more tickets:
Rice CubeQuote Reply
I think Miles is pretty good. Muskat is ok, but boring. The rest…the rest are shit.
On the football side, Biggs and Mully are excellent, Jensen and McClure ok.
Mercurial OutfielderQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
We should watch next summer for the substitute writers, so that when Sullivan or Wittenmeyer take some time off and some kid covers for them and does a good job, we can send props.
I assume that won’t happen before Opening Day because their is little need for baseball content.
SVBQuote Reply
@ Mercurial Outfielder:
This x 100
MishQuote Reply
I’m thinking that if Vizcaino and Carreno turn out to be serviceable Major Leaguers, then Baker and Maholm will be the 2012 Cubs MVPs.
SVBQuote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/news-and-rumors/cubs-acquire-marcelo-carreno-from-tigers.html
mb21Quote Reply