cryptique

...which introduces subjectivity to the statistics, making them decidedly imperfect.

You misunderstood what I said, but that's pretty typical for you. You never provided a response to my central point about fielding -- because there's no way your pet statistics can possibly accommodate the scenario I described. Because they're inadequate. Because baseball defies your attempt to crunch it down to a page full of numbers. Because it's a living, breathing, human endeavor, and all the formulas and numbers you throw at it can't rob it of its nature, no matter how hard people like you might try. You don't particularly want to hear anything that challenges your firmly entrenched p

I'm ignorant of torture methods, but I know they're a bad idea. I'm ignorant of what really happens in Barry Manilow fan club meetings, but I can safely say that I would not enjoy one. I'm ignorant of what auto-erotic asphyxiation feels like, but I know it's not for me. I'm ignorant of why you think yours is a compelling argument, but I can say with all confidence that it's not. I profess ignorance of sabermetrics, but it's not comprehensive ignorance. I know enough about it to know that I'm not interested in learning more. I'm familiar with what the stats are, for the most part, and e

You're horrified that I don't drink the same Kool-Aid you do about statistics? Correct. And I don't care how much they've "advanced," they're still inadequate. Really? It's a place. It's not the only place. And it's an incomplete record. There's three kinds of lies... I haven't been talking about Rice for a few posts now. Keep up. No, it's an excellent point. People like you look down on people like me, because we have the temerity to enjoy a sport without immersing ourselves in a bunch of numbers we don't care about. You like to call people like me "ignorant" because we pref

Pretty much, yes.

No, chances are, his fielding stats will look worse than they should, because he would have gotten to balls that others wouldn't have, and dropped a few of them, causing errors (by subjective decision of a human agent) that would have been clear-cut base hits in front of other fielders. Sorry, but statistics cannot quantify that objectively, no matter how hard they try. Incorrect. I have a problem with statistics (or, more accurately, those who revere them) because they falsely assume that statistics can tell the whole story, when they cannot possibly do so. They may be fine for you, but

I'm deliberately ignorant of all these preposterous statistics because I think they're misguided. I let myself know just enough about them that I can steer clear of them. Kind of like religion. Or a cult. What the members of the Cult of Sabermetrics don't understand is that no matter how hard they try to do so, they will never be able to objectively quantify everything that happens on the field. My previous center-field example (which you ignored) demonstrates what I mean by this. If the Cult really believe they have a way to measure a fielder's value, sorry, but they don't -- because inevit

Nice try, twobobs. I remain unmoved. It's pretty funny how worked up you get about this, though. Double plays? Seriously?

Maybe if, like I did for a while, someone thinks the lyric is "Williams and Zinger." It was a relief to discover the actual lyric, because I had no idea what the fuck "Williams and Zinger" might have meant.

At some point later today, I hope to work "For the sake of fuck, Omar" into a conversation.

I thought it was from what people called them when they were backing Dylan. Wait ... this is about Wilco?

Used to be my favorite. Lately I've been avoiding beverages that list "brominated vegetable oil" among their ingredients. Not for any specific reason -- it just grosses me out. I can get past "glycerol ester of wood rosin" in my soft drinks somehow, but not brominated vegetable oil.

More than zero, which is the number I'm up against here. Twobobs says he's bothered by my argument. I'm bothered by people who think they can look at a bunch of numbers and feel qualified to pronounce judgment on a player's career. With the sabermetrics craze, such people practically grow on trees these days. I have no problem with sabermetrics -- in the front office. If you're a GM, a manager, or someone else involved in scouting talent or assessing the players on your roster, have at it -- it's a useful tool. But it's not the only tool. In the hands of fans, it's misapplied more of

Pretty much, yeah. I'm merely countering your bullshit argument. You think you can judge a player solely because you saw some numbers on a page somewhere. I'm saying that's a crock of shit, and that you never saw him play (which inevitably becomes a point about your age), so you really aren't in a position to make assessments about the man. Your reverence for statistics makes you think you know something that you don't. Sorry, but you weren't there. Don't you think it's possible that people who place all their faith in statistics get mistaken impressions of players all the time? I watc

This, from someone who was one year old when Rice played his last game. Sorry, don't mean to play the age card, but you never saw Rice play, and the numbers alone don't tell the story of his career.

Not to mention James Cotton. And there were likely a few other notable names in those bands. Wow.

Raise your hand if you predicted that the Arizona Cardinals would host the NFC Championship game this year. No one? Heck of a choke job by the Giants. Can't say I'm crying any tears for them.

Been a fan for a while. Good to hear that he can still play at 95. This is beyond awesome.

Quite a first half by the Cardinals.

"was"

Like you and Tim Tebow?

I've always loved the opening to Led Zeppelin's "The Rover."

Weird ... I was going to suggest Joseph Priestley, and then I opened up Salon.com and they posted a review of a book about him today. I first heard of Priestley via James Burke's fantastic television series "Connections."

I'm embarrassed to admit that the first song I thought of after seeing this post was the one by The Police, not Lennon.