Us, and them
And after all were only ordinary men.
Me, and you.
... it's not what we would choose to do.
Forward he cried from the rear
And the front rank died.
And the general sat and the lines on the map
Moved from side to side
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=== Seen On the Net ===
Us
If weaker bats need those big bats in the lineup, and we don't have the big bats, and we don't GET the big bats, why would 2011 be significantly better?
Them
Sorry, but no. There is no evidence...read this very slowly and a second time for emphasis...*ZERO EVIDENCE*...that there's any such thing as "line-up protection other than for the absolute best of hitters (Edgar Martinez, Albert Pujols types...not Jason Bay types).
Us
*blinks* Every time I think you're becoming less [rude], you manage to surprise me.
It has nothing to do with hitting in front of a big bat, Matt. It has to do with folding under the pressure of knowing that the guys behind you will not be able to drive you in, or the current guys on base, so it all falls to you....
cue pressing and failing. Rinse and repeat.
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I did read it slowly, and a second time for emphasis, and when I was done I still hated the "There Is Zero Evidence" convention.
We see this a lot less in the Seattle blog-o-sphere than we used to, but every time we run into it, it still feels like flipping your skateboard over the rail and landing on your head. Without a helmet.
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Before SSI explains its rejection of this "No Evidence Exists" convention,let us hasten to add that we're not rejecting any individual who participates at SSI/MC.
This convention is a lot more popular elsewhere. It occurs only rarely at SSI, because each poster who frequents SSI has a pretty decent awareness of the fact that none of us get the Professor cap here.
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We remember a couple of years ago, we offhandedly referred to Adrian Beltre's BABIP having been low, or high, or something, the past year.
Some pokey named SABRJohn, or something like that (this was a different guy than SABRMatt), without so much as a how-do-you-do, jumped in with insults and sneering, joyfully intoning the "no evidence exists" mantra.
BABIP was invented for pitchers. No evidence whatsoever exists that a batter's BABIP has any persistence or predictive value whatsoever. If you were a bit more saber-literate, you'd know that.
Um, we sez, Adrian Beltre has (had) 4,000 AB's with a very consistent BABIP, John. Did your comprehensive review of the literature not extend to Beltre's own BABIP?
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Nowadays, of course, BABIP (or H%) for offensive players is more commonly accepted, so we imagine that SABRJohn concedes that "evidence exists" -- in other words, he is aware of evidence. :- )
"No Evidence Exists" brings 100% heat, and 0% light, to a discussion. It's a small phrase, but pregnant with hostility and lack of respect. Let's see if we can't reduce the SSI incidence of "No Evidence Exists" from "rare" to "nonoccurring."
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=== Intermission ===
There are some baseball realities, in sabermetrics, that may never be measured accurately.
How many pitches should a pitcher throw if he is left-handed, 24 years old, has a sinker-slider arsenal, is 6'3", didn't play Little League, is of German descent, uses a 2-seam grip, and one time threw 147 pitches in high school?
There's just no way to isolate the variables and come to a scientific conclusion that holds any water.
..................
The question here is: when a ballclub gets off to a good start in April, and a couple of 100-RBI guys are winning games for you, how does that affect other hitters in the lineup?
There are just too many moving parts to measure. We're never going to prove it either way, I don't think.
I personally intuit, that it matters a whale of a lot, whether your team is doing well. I'll bet that 27, or more, GM's agree with me. But in any case, the question is not "solved."
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