--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDG00001 Date: 09/11/96 From: SCOTT ZOLNOSKI Time: 01:50am \/To: JAMES DUNLOP (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Hmmm -=> Quoting James Dunlop to Scott Zolnoski <=- JD> Boggs was coming off a very bad year (for him) and there was a lot of JD> doubt about him. The Red Sox made no effort to re-sign him. Martinez JD> and Wetteland were acquired in trades, although with Wetteland JD> especially due to economics. Cecil, pardon the pun, is going to be a JD> big bust in the Bronx. Vastly overrated player. I understand that some doubted Boggs, but I know that if *I* was running a team, I would've made a run at him! One subpar year does not mean a career is over; just ask Bret Saberhagen, who used to have a habit of alternating good and bad years. Unfortunately, now he just seems to be injured EVERY year! I agree about Cecil, though. What I don't understand is the Yanks supposedly got him to supply power against lefties, but his vs. lefty numbers have been dropping for the past few seasons, to pretty unimpressive levels. But, as I've said before, I'm not a big fan of the Reggie Jackson-type power hitter, the kind who strike out 125 times to get 40 HR. I'd much rather build a team around Lance Johnson type players; it's like the old adage says: Speed never goes into a slump! Or maybe it's just that I'm a die-hard KC Royals fan, and they don't have any power! :) ... The ice cap's melting, we're makin' lemonade! - The Rainmakers --- Blue Wave v2.12 [NR] * Origin: Noah's Kitchen, Portland, Or. 503-977-3934 (1:105/37) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDG00002 Date: 09/11/96 From: HARRY COLEMAN Time: 04:50pm \/To: DICK BARMANN (Read 2 times) Subj: Atlanta Braves Hello Dick, hows things in Atlanta these days, haven't seen much in the news here about baseball since the football season has started, this is football country, and this time of year that is about all you hear, except a little about the Texas Rangers! I hope if you have time, you could kind of clue me in on what is going on with the Braves! Have a nice day in the Atlanta Metro area, and of course Covington, and about two hundred eighty miles SE of there in Savannah! I would love to be walking on the beach with sand in my, shoes with the smell of the salt air filling my nostrils, holding hands with a beautiful young oriental lady! That would be kind of nice, but dreams can't last forever, we must come back to reality! Good Luck Braves! Go Braves, Go, Go, Go, Go Braves! RA RA RA! The Atlanta Braves, 1996 World Champions, two years in a row, not bad! I just can't wait till the series begins! The Atlanta Braves, 1997 World Champions or maybe 1998, 1999, and the year 2000! That would really be nice! Six years in a row may be only a dream, but dreams do sometimes come true, they are capable with a little luck and a few prayers it is very possible! God Bless and keep you till we meet again! Count Nameloc! --- PCBoard (R) v15.22/M 5 * Origin: Beggar's Forum IV (405) 787-2540 (1:147/58) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDG00003 Date: 09/11/96 From: GREG CALIRI Time: 09:18pm \/To: JEFF BALL (Read 2 times) Subj: Re: Atlanta Braves -JB> Thirty-something years ago, the Dodgers had very good -JB> pitching, but -JB> a rather impotent offense. The late Don Drysdale had -JB> gone to the -JB> hospital for some reason which I no longer recall. A -JB> teammate came -JB> by to visit, and told him that Sandy Koufax had -JB> pitched a no-hitter -JB> that day. -JB> -JB> Big D quipped, "Did he win?" Not so funny -- many have lost no-hitters on walks and errors. Thirty something odd years ago, the Dodgers were in the World Series and Walter Alston had to juggle his starting lineup because Sandy Koufax had a clause in his contract that he would not have to pitch on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement, most solemn of Jewish holydays). Drysdale had an awful outing, to which some wiseguy said to Alston, "I bet you wish Drysdale was Jewish, too." --- * Origin: Computer Castle / 20 Lines / Newton, NH / 603-382-0338 (1:324/127) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDG00004 Date: 09/11/96 From: PAUL SEPPALA Time: 02:46pm \/To: ALL (Read 2 times) Subj: Why Have The Indians Slipped/BBW In the Sept 11 BBW (Albert Belle cover), an insert box in Deron Snyder's column seems to blame Cleveland's pitching for it's fall-off this year. The box shows comparisons of the Indains hitting (categories are BA, SLG, OBP, RPG, SB) this year and last which are virtually unchanged. The text accompanying the box states that their pitching shows the greatest difference. Well, sort of. I'd like to look at the Indians' relative performance vs league averages but I don't have this data. So I'm comparing the Indians to their 3 closest rivals. In 1995 the Indians led the AL in SLG, OBP and Runs. Their SLG was .479 which was .029 better than the average of the next three clubs. The OBP was .361, beating the "next-3" average of .356 by .005. The 95 Indians scored 840 runs vs the next-3 average of 796. In 96 the Indians are 4th in SLG and Runs. Their OBP of .367 leads the next 3 by .003. So while they clearly had the best offensive club in 95, they are in a 3 or 4 team pack at the top in 96. In pitching in 95, the Indians had a team ERA of 3.83 vs the next 3 average of 4.40. They also lead in team ERA in 96 with 4.35 versus the next 3 of 4.55. So it looks to me that while they've fallen off in both pitching and hitting, their pitching is still the league's best while their hitting is among the league's best. No real cause for concern for Indians fans (hey, you can't expect to dominate every year!) but too much blame is being laid at the pitchers' feet. Paul * 1st 2.00 * --- PCBoard (R) v15.3/25 * Origin: (1:250/636) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDH00000 Date: 09/12/96 From: ED GRINNELL Time: 05:28pm \/To: DAVID LENTZ (Read 2 times) Subj: trades DL> In the case of exotic statistics, you simply mean refer to those DL> statistics which do not support one on your conclusions. No, I don't. Runs created is a recent statistic (more recent than saves) and I don't refer to it as exotic. I refer to the recent attempts at fielding evaluation as exotic because they try to do something without taking into account factors that bias them toward certain fields/pitching staffs. --- TrekEd 1.00 * Origin: Support Pete Rose and Nolan Ryan for the HOF (1:170/1701) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDH00001 Date: 09/11/96 From: JAMES DUNLOP Time: 08:42pm \/To: ED GRINNELL (Read 2 times) Subj: trades In a message of to James Dunlop (1:3641/1.206), you wrote: JD> Baerga's changed, not that the stats are "invalid" because it showed EG> Baerga's numbers have been consistently above Alomar's despite the fact EG> that he's never displayed the same kind of *range* as Alomar. Let's take a look at the numbers after the season, alright? Two things I'm looking for: did Baerga's numbers go down this season (while with the Indians), and what happened to Alomar's numbers changing ballparks? JD> Baerga was at one (sustained) point a better player than Roberto Alomar. EG> Baerga has only shown that he was better than Alomar on paper. He's ever EG> done it on the field. At no point has he EVER been better than Alomar. One small correction, I meant in the field (I've never felt he was a better offensive player, very close at times, though). I disagree with you on the latter point. --- The-Box Edit 1.10- PC * Origin: Dunlop Radial Point. Durham, NC. (1:3641/1.206) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDH00002 Date: 09/11/96 From: JAMES DUNLOP Time: 08:45pm \/To: ALAN HESS (Read 2 times) Subj: As I See It In a message of to all (), you wrote: AH> You know, with all the MVP talk, I never hear Rafael Palmeiro mentioned as AH> a candidate. He's got 35 homers and 130 rbi. Alex Rodriguez has had a AH> better season average-wise, to be sure, and homers are about even, but the AH> Mariners seem to be fading right now. Also, Palmeiro's defensive skills AH> are never mentioned - he's as underrated as Ripken in that regard. dh* Somehow, I don't think the fourth best first baseman in the American League should be an MVP candidate. Thomas, McGwire and Vaughn are all clearly better than Palmeiro. This says something about those three, since Palmeiro is one heck of a player. --- The-Box Edit 1.10- PC * Origin: Dunlop Radial Point. Durham, NC. (1:3641/1.206) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDH00003 Date: 09/12/96 From: MARK YODER Time: 07:56pm \/To: GREG CALIRI (Read 2 times) Subj: Atlanta Braves While threatening to strike, Greg Caliri said to JEFF BALL: -JB>> Thirty-something years ago, the Dodgers had very good pitching, -JB>> but a rather impotent offense. The late Don Drysdale had gone -JB>> to the hospital for some reason which I no longer recall. A -JB>> teammate came by to visit, and told him that Sandy Koufax had -JB>> pitched a no-hitter that day. GC> Not so funny -- many have lost no-hitters on walks and errors. Huh? How do you lose no-hitters on walks and errors? ...unless you're referring to the way in which you have to change your pitching strategy if you have runners on base as opposed to not... -= .\\ark =- ... A conclusion is where you got tired of thinking. --- GoldED/2 2.50+ 1547US3 * Origin: 1908 - When tickets were cheap, and the Cubs were Champs (1:3634/22) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDI00000 Date: 09/13/96 From: ED GRINNELL Time: 05:40pm \/To: JAMES DUNLOP (Read 2 times) Subj: As I See It The Braves traded James Dunlop to the Pirates for saying: JD> Somehow, I don't think the fourth best first baseman in the American JD> League should be an MVP candidate. Thomas, McGwire and Vaughn are all JD> clearly better than Palmeiro. This says something about those three, JD> since Palmeiro is one heck of a player. I'd give you Thomas and McGwire but there's nothing in Vaughn's performance that makes him clearly better (unless you want to ignore the fact that he's no where near the defensive player and he's doing a lot better at home while Palmeiro is doing better on the road). --- TrekEd 1.00 * Origin: Striking a blow to purists (1:170/1701) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 234 BASEBALL Ref: DDI00001 Date: 09/13/96 From: ED GRINNELL Time: 05:41pm \/To: JAMES DUNLOP (Read 2 times) Subj: trades The Braves traded James Dunlop to the Pirates for saying: JD> Let's take a look at the numbers after the season, alright? Two things JD> I'm looking for: did Baerga's numbers go down this season (while with JD> the Indians), and what happened to Alomar's numbers changing ballparks? So far, Alomar's numbers are an all-time high for him, despite the fact that he's got quite a few errors. JD> One small correction, I meant in the field (I've never felt he was a JD> better offensive player, very close at times, though). I disagree with JD> you on the latter point. I never took your argument to be anything other than the field and I stand by what I said. He's never been better "on the field" except "on paper", i.e. Zone Rating and DER. I can't ignore what I see when I watch both and I think that it's more than curious that the Puerto Rican managers don't think twice about moving Baerga to third when they play on the same team. Knowing how passionate those fans can be (a few of them, my relatives), they wouldn't stand for NOT having the best team being put forward and if it meant moving Alomar to third, they'd be for it. --- TrekEd 1.00 * Origin: Striking a blow to purists (1:170/1701)