Sports Talk
Baseball Needs a New Stat
Friday, April 6th, 2007Yeah, I know – baseball has more stats than any other sport, and I’m suggesting a new one. But the fact is, one of the current stats just isn’t measuring what it’s supposed to measure (at least not in all cases) and rather than looking at a meaningless number, I’d like to see it fixed.
The stat I’m referring to is Earned Run Average (ERA), defined as the average number of earned runs a pitcher gives up per nine innings. For a starting pitcher, this stat is fine. If someone pitches six innings and gives up two earned runs, we can safely assume he gives up roughly three runs per nine inning game (especially if he does this consistently throughout the year). My problem involves using the ERA for relief pitchers.
Take last night’s Yankee game for example. In the fifth inning, Andy Pettitte gave up two infield singles and suffered an error by the first baseman, Doug Mientkiewicz, making it first and third with nobody out. Joe Torre lifted Pettitte for reliever, Scott Proctor. The score at the time was 4-2 in favor of the Yankees.
The runner on first immediately stole second, making it second and third. Proctor struck out the first batter he faced, then gave up a sacrifice fly (bringing a run home and advancing the runner on second to third), and then threw a wild pitch to bring a second run home. Score: 4-4. Then, Derek Jeter made another error, but the runner was caught stealing to end the inning.
At the end of this mess, Pettitte gets charged the two runs (although only one earned run due to the Mientkiewicz error) and Proctor is charged with no runs at all. Now, Pettitte deserves the two runs, because he put the runners on base, so the runs that scored are a result of his actions. No complaints there. But to charge Proctor with no runs is to assume that his job is merely to avoid making the problem worse. That’s not the case. Proctor’s job in this situation is to shut down the Devil Rays and maintain the Yankee lead, much like Pettitte would have been asked to do if they let him keep pitching. So, to call Proctor’s performance “perfect” (i.e., no runs allowed) after giving up the lead strikes me as a mis-statement of what relief pitching is all about.
Relief pitchers are frequently brought into tight spots. The good ones get out of the jams without giving up any runs. The mediocre ones let a few runs in, and then stop the bleeding. The really bad ones start giving up runs of their own, but that’s another topic for another day. My point is this: baseball’s current stats judge the good relief pitchers and the mediocre relief pitchers as the same: no runs allowed. ERA = 0.00.
I suggest a new statistic called Earned Runs While Pitching (ERWP), to be defined as the average number of earned runs scored by the opposing team while a given pitcher is on the mound for nine innings. In the above situation, therefore, Pettitte would accrue one run toward his ERA in the fifth inning, but zero runs toward his ERWP (since no one scored while he was on the mound). Proctor would accrue zero runs toward his ERA, but two runs toward his ERWP.
If Pettitte and Proctor continue to have outings like they did last night all season long, Pettitte’s ERA would rank him (deservedly) as a fairly mediocre pitcher, and Proctor’s ERA would rank him tied for the best pitcher ever (ERA = 0.00). ERWP, on the other hand, would show Pettitte as better than average, and Proctor as having let the team down.
One could argue about which stat is most appropriate at what time (roughly: ERA for starting pitchers, ERWP for relievers), but at least we’d have both to consider.
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Some Pictures are Worth 2,000 Words
Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007
If you don’t know who these people are, you probably look at this picture and think, “Boy and his Mom Playing Baseball on a Spring Day.”
If you do know who they are, you think, “Remembering Cory Lidle: Father and Husband.”
It’s hard to imagine a single picture that can convey as much joy and sadness at the same time…
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2007 Superbowl Ads
Tuesday, February 6th, 2007For those who dis the commercials in public, but then really want to watch them over & over again in private, here’s a site that contains all the 2007 Superbowl Ads. Go ahead, I won’t tell a soul. I promise…
And as long as I’m here, I might as well run through my own personal awards show:
Funniest Spot goes to the short clip of Oprah & Dave sitting on the couch together. Subtle, but hilarious.
Most Clever goes to the Chevrolet ad, for mixing together all the songs with the Chevy products in them. Although, I gotta admit – the first song I would have thought of if they asked me would have been American Pie (“drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry…”). You think maybe they left it out to avoid mentioning levees post-Katrina? Billy Joel’s got a Chevrolet mention too (Captain Jack: “You got your tapedeck, and your brand new Chevrolet”). Probably too obscure for most people, though…
Most Disturbing was a tie: the naked guys washing cars and the comeover beard dude. Shudder…
Categories: Primetime TV, Sports Talk | 8 Comments »
The World Champion of All Sports?
Wednesday, January 17th, 2007
Every once in a while, I read something on the web that reminds me to check Google’s Zeitgeist page. Particularly in January, when they produce their End of Year Zeitgeist, the data provides a real, grassroots view of popular culture around the world. Since Google has become so ubiquitous, the number of Google searches for a given item has become a strong barometer of how much people are talking about a given person or event – a kind of a “water-cooler index,” if you will.
Take, for example, the graph above. The (baseball) World Series is relatively popular in the United States in the fall. The (American football) Superbowl is more popular than the World Series, and more globally watched, for a short period of time in the winter. Hence, the green line has a higher peak than the red line. In an Olympic year, the Olympics generate more buzz than the Superbowl and the World Series put together, given their natural relevance to multiple countries around the world, which explains the still higher peak of the yellow line.
Then there’s the (soccer) World Cup. I’ve always heard that it was the most popular sporting event in the world, but HOLY RIOTING CROWDS, BATMAN!, look at the size of that blue line! That’s four times the interest of the Olympics, six times the interest of the Superbowl, and almost twenty times the interest of the World Series!
Ya learn something new every day…
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The Mustang’s Big Game…
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006A few weeks back, reported that the Marlboro Mustangs (of Marlboro High School in Marlboro, NJ), had been outscored by their opponents 364-27 with one (Thansgiving) game to play.
Well, I’m happy to report that the Mustangs had a big game on Turkey Day, beating their season average points-per-game with a mighty 6, and holding Manalapan to (just) below their opponents’ average points-per-game with a scant 43.
The 43-6 loss brings the 0-10-0 season to a merciful close with the total points scored standing at 447-47.
Look at the bright side: they probably get the first pick in the draft, and they are extremely well positioned for the “Most Improved” award in 2007…
<sigh>
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A quick check on High School Football…
Monday, November 6th, 2006In writing the last post, I pulled up my High School’s football schedule, just to remind myself how many games were in a high-school schedule.
The Marlboro Mustangs weren’t exactly a football powerhouse when I was in school, but even so, I was surprised to discover that this year (with one game left to play), they are 0-8, and have been outscored by their opponents 364-27.
The most they’ve scored in a single game is 7. By contrast, the least their opponents have scored is 35, when they lost the opening game of the season in a sqeaker: 35-6. Also of note is the game against Toms River North, who defeated Marlboro by a score of 67-0.
The only word that comes to mind is “Wow…”
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The Best Football Game Ever
Monday, November 6th, 2006As a member/alumnus of marching bands since 1983, I’ve been to a lot of football games. In fact, having just attended my fourth game in three weeks, I started adding it up: 36 high school games, 40 college games, 1 high school homecoming game (the year after I graduated), 15 college homecoming games since graduation, and 3 NFL games (including 2 in the last 3 weeks). That makes 95 football games that I’ve seen live. And this coming from a diehard baseball fan.
At any rate, given my rather extensive experience with live football, it should carry some amount of weight when I say that the Penn vs. Princeton game on 11/4/06 was the single most exciting football game I’ve ever seen. For those who missed it, here’s a recap:
Some Context: The game was at Princeton, but was during their Fall Break (a 3-4 day weekend in the middle of the Fall Semester that most students use as an opportunity to go home and visit family, friends, etc.). So there weren’t a lot of Princeton fans at the game. For Penn students, on the other hand, the game fell during an activity known as The Line, in which students participate in a 24 hour ritual that culminates in them being able to purchase season tickets for the upcoming Men’s Basketball season. Since “The Line” included a trip to the Princeton football game this year, there were several hundred Penn students at the game (in addition to the “normal” crowd that bought tickets on their own). The point is: lots of very excited Penn students were at the game.
The First 3.5 Quarters: Ho hum. The Penn placekicker actually made a field goal, which is exciting only in the sense that he doesn’t do that very often (Penn lost the previous two games in overtime, principally because the other team was able to kick a field goal in overtime, and Penn couldn’t reciprocate from, well, anywhere on the field).
The Fourth Quarter: OK, here’s where it gets really good. With roughly six minutes left in the game, Penn is down by 7 points, 24-17, and has the ball deep in their own territory. They complete a couple of long passes and make it to around mid-field. Excitement is building in the (let’s just call it “well lubricated”) crowd, as the potential to save the game becomes evident. On a running play around mid-field, Princeton makes an open-field tackle, strips the ball, and recovers the fumble. Dejection sets in amongst the crowd. But, alas, hope is not lost. Princeton goes 3 & out, and punts with roughly two minutes left to play. Penn once again has the ball deep in their own territory. The band plays some inspirational college fight songs. The team begins to move the ball. The crowd re-engages. With 49 seconds left in the game, Penn completes a long pass down to the Princeton 5-yard line. The crowd goes nuts! But wait! They’re supposed to stop the clock while they move the first down markers and they haven’t! By the time Penn lines up at scrimmage, the clock reads ~20 seconds! The players protest. The ref blows a whistle and has the time added back to the clock. The crowd goes nuts again! On the next play, Penn runs the ball into the endzone. Touchdown! Now for the extra point. Remember, as I discussed earlier, this is no foregone conclusion. But, in this case, luck prevails, and the kick is straight & long. Tie game! 24-24! Penn’s third overtime in three weeks. The crowd, well, you know…
Overtime, Part 1: For those who don’t know, college football has some very strange overtime rules. Rather than playing another 15 minutes, or playing until someone scores (“sudden death”), each team gets the ball at the opposing team’s 35 yard line. If one team scores more than the other, they win. If they both fail to score, or they both score the same number of points (e.g., two field goals), then the two teams each get another shot. This continues until both teams have had equal opportunities from the 35, and someone has more points.
In this case, Penn got the first shot. Now, remember, Penn is sorely lacking in the kicking department, so a game of field goals is a distinct disadvantage. Starting from the 35-yard line, Penn makes a first down (to near the 20), but fails to make another one. On fourth down, still around the 20-yard line, the field goal unit comes out. The crowd is excited, but cautious. The center snaps the ball to the holder, who bobbles it, and can’t get it down in time for the kick! He picks it up and starts running, tries several laterals, but in the end, Penn doesn’t score. Dejection once again sets in among the crowd.
Now, it’s Princeton’s turn. From the 35, they also get a first down, and eventually work their way to a fourth down situation. Their field goal unit takes their place. If he puts in this (fairly short) field goal, Penn would lose their third straight overtime game, in precisely the same fashion (botched field goal vs. good field goal). The crowd is screaming “Block that kick! Block that kick!” The snap is good, the center holds, and OH MY GOD, THEY ACTUALLY BLOCKED THE KICK! WE’RE STILL IN THIS! HOLY S(%&^(T!!!.
Overtime, Part 2: This time, Princeton starts with the ball, again at the 35-yard line. The first play results in a 10-yard penalty against Princeton, putting them back to the 45. The second play is a passing play, but Penn sacks the quarterback, putting them past mid-field. The Penn crowd, still celebrating from the near-death experience of the blocked field goal, is in an alcohol/football induced frenzy. Princeton’s next play is a long pass, caught on the Penn 2-yard line.
You could hear a pin drop.
So, first and goal from the two. Princeton tries three hand-offs up the middle, trying to jump over the defense for the touchdown, and fails three times. By the third time, the Penn crowd is screaming again. On fourth down, they decide to go for the touchdown, rather than kick a field goal. More screaming from the crowd. The ball is snapped, the hand-off is made, the runner jumps….and is hit by the defense at the line of scrimmage! No touchdown! The crowd screams! But wait – he landed on his feet after the collision and isn’t down yet! He laterals to someone in the backfield (maybe the quarterback? I don’t remember…), who runs around the entire pile, and scores easily. Now the (few) Princeton fans are celebrating, while the Penn crowd shouts obscenities at the referees for not whistling the play dead after the first hit. The refs ignore the fans, the Princeton kicker adds the extra point, and the score is Princeton 31, Penn 24.
Penn has one more shot, but the crowd is somewhere between fuming and gathering their stuff up to board the bus back to Philadelphia. Penn has the ball at the 35-yard line again. The first play from scrimmage is a 35-yard pass into the corner of the endzone, which the Penn receiver catches in full stride. Touchdown, Penn! OH MY GOD, WE’RE STILL IN THIS! HOLY S(%&^(T!!!.
Time once again for the extra point. The center snaps the ball, but this one hardly makes it to the holder on a fly. He doesn’t even have time to try and place the ball. So, once again, he’s up and running, this time to WIN the game, trying laterals when he runs out of room. Eventually, someone winds up with the ball and breaks around the sideline, headed for the endzone. The crowd, inexplicably, seems to be screaming and holding it’s breath at the same time. The Princeton defense approaches and knocks the guy out of bounds at the 2-yard line. In a last, desperate attempt, the Penn player fumbles the ball forward, hoping one of his teammates will recover it in the endzone, but it too, goes out of bounds just before the goal line.
Game over. Final score: Princeton 31, Penn 30.
It was Penn’s third overtime loss in three games, an NCAA record. ESPN’s SportsCenter listed the end of the game as #1 on its “Top 10 Plays of the Day,” quite an accomplishment for an Ivy League game.
As a band member and fan, I can’t imagine it getting any more exciting than that (except, possibly, for my team actually winning the game). Maybe if I watch another 95 games…
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A Really Bad Week for the Yankees
Thursday, October 12th, 2006First, there was the embarrasing meltdown against the Detroit Tigers that took the Yankees’ baseball season from successful to disasterous in the space of 72 hours. Then, the media circus about whether or not Joe Torre would remain as Yankee manager and whether or not All-Star and former MVP, Alex Rodriguez, would remain the Yankee third baseman. Finally, everything seemed to settle down so that New Yorkers could look in on the Mets, who swept their first round playoff series despite several key injuries. Then, this: Cory Lidle, a recently acquired pitcher from the Philadelphia Phillies, crashed his private plane into an Upper East Side apartment building.
First, the city went through an eerie deja vu experience, watching pictures and video that came way too close to the memories of September 11, 2001. The various federal agencies deemed it an accident almost immediately, but took precautionary measures – scrambling fighter jets over several major U.S. cities. A couple of hours later, relief. It was just an accident. Then, a different kind of horror – we all know the guy who was killed. He was a Yankee. A recent acquisition, so not a beloved sports hero to be sure, but a Yankee nonetheless. Just a month ago, he told a New York Times reporter about how safe his plane was:
“The whole plane has a parachute on it,” Lidle said. “Ninety-nine percent of pilots that go up never have engine failure, and the 1 percent that do usually land it. But if you’re up in the air and something goes wrong, you pull that parachute, and the whole plane goes down slowly.”
Obviously, whatever went wrong here didn’t allow him enough time to deploy the chute.
I’m sure the Boys in the Bronx are looking forward to a quiet, unexciting winter. They certainly seem to deserve it…
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California vs. Stanford – “The Play”
Saturday, September 9th, 2006| I’ve seen the very end of this clip dozens of times (when California runs back a kick-off into the endzone using about ten laterals and a rather unfortunate Stanford trombone player), but this is the extended clip. It shows Stanford marching down the field to go ahead before the fateful kickoff with eight seconds left. Their quarterback was a kid named John Elway. I wonder what ever happened to him… | |
Categories: Sports Talk, The World Wide Weird | 1 Comment »
There’s no Harassing in Baseball…
Tuesday, April 25th, 2006Keith Hernandez, New York Mets broadcaster, upon spotting 33-year old Kelly Calabrese (the San Diego Padres’ full-time massage therapist) in the San Diego dugout:
I won’t say that women belong in the kitchen, but they don’t belong in the dugout.
Ouch.
Later, during the same game:
You know I am only teasing. I love you gals out there — always have.
Ouch again.
He was reprimanded by his employer, SportsNet New York, and apologized on the air during the following game.
For the record, I think what Hernandez said was unbelievably tone deaf, and he deserves the slap on the wrist he got. But the reaction itself is not all that surprising. The article doesn’t mention if Ms. Calabrese is the first woman with a regular spot in a major league dugout, or if she’s the only one in such a role right now. Having watched baseball for a very long time (although not as long as Keith Hernandez), I’m pretty confident in saying that if she’s not the only one, she’s a member of a very, very small group.
So yes – a surprised reaction is not entirely out of bounds. And once a broadcaster is surprised like that, what comes out of his mouth next is more than likely going to get him in some kind of trouble. But my sympathy ends as soon as he uses the phrase “belong in the kitchen” followed by a veiled sexual reference.
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