Letters to the Editor
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Phil
I read that article in the Journal. OF COURSE people who work in baseball are going to say that steroids don't help hitters that much. Don't believe everything you read. As a person who has played a lot of baseball, and watched many guys evolve from pre-pubescent to high schoolers to juice heads, steroids have a huge impact on a hitter. I've seen many guys get far worse because they can't maintain the batspeed because they are freaks. I've seen other guys, once slap hitters, jacking bombs left and right. Don't believe saberman.
In response to the continuation of the story: maybe I ran out of mojo, maybe I was taking a cue from David Chase.
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A few replies
jcnighs I can see an argument for Ortiz being an all-star, but are his offensive numbers really so much better that you can completely throw Youkilis defensive play out the window?
Absolutely. Best defensive first baseman in the league? As we used to say in the newspaper biz, that's a big HK. Who cares.
Wesley_Powell and mattmccain See replies by others!
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Ken Griffey Jr....
...who "Mikes Pace" wants to marry.
We get it. You like him. I don't need a weekly reminder.
And yes, Youklis is getting robbed but if anyone's to blame, its the Red Sox management who from the get-go have implored fans to "Vote Ortiz", going so far as to exclude him from the ballot (yes, I'm aware each team only gets one nominee). Its the only way Papi gets into the game in NL years, so I guess its the way it has to be.
Youk still might get in on the players/coaches ballot, and to RS management's credit, they are pushing hard for that option.
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Kevin Youkilis
Is from Cincinnati. Did you get that?
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Yes, and as you've mentioned many times before...
...many people of note are from the greater Ohio area. Except that everyone leaves because, well, its friggin' Ohio.
What does this have to do with the price of tea in China?
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wesley_powell, you are hereby banned from citing baseball stats
You wrote: "Griffey ... Is not having a great year. His RBIs plus runs scored minus homers extended out to seasons end is less that 162, or less than one per game. The real power hitters having great years easily pass 200, sometimes getting up to 250 and beyond."
So by your reasoning, Jeff Bagwell's 2000 season (152 Rs, 132 RBIs, 47 HRs = "real power" score of 237--yet an OPS+ of 152) is far better than anything Barry Bonds ever did, including his 2001 season where his "real power" score was 193 but his OPS+ was 262?
And better than anything Willie Mays and Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols ever did?
And better than all but three of Ted Williams' seasons?
And better than all but two of Joe DiMaggio's seasons?
Hank Aaron exceed 200 only three times, with his highest being 210. Yet I think he and Barry Bonds, by all definitions but yours, would be considered "real power hitters."
Sorry to say, but your stat is silly and useless.
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LA, St. Louis...what's the difference
I just fired my researcher. So it's Steve Sax and LA. And if you never saw Herr/Sax throw into right field you missed one hell of a good time. The point is, BJ needs some time taking infield and more plate discipline before he's All Star caliber.
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I would respectfully submit...
...that all stats are "silly and useless". And its one of only things I HATE about baseball. That and pitchers having to bat... oops, now I've done it...
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Stacked AL OFs
I know the AL OF is absurdly packed (Sizemore is MVP caliber and can't find a starting spot, which says enough about that)...but still, what about Sheffield? I know he's a dick and all, but results are results. Torii Hunter is also having a great year.
But really, yet another quip about Cabrera's supposed battle of the bulge? Yawn, there's something I haven't read 10,000 times this season already. I happened to see him today against the White Sox, he doesn't look "fat" any more than, say, Jim Thome does, but whatever, get your shots in. Where I come from, they call that "country strong", and no one holds those of such builds to be lazy or out of shape. On the other hand, recycling the same tired joke for 10,000th time in a 2-month span.... Besides, he comes from great genes, his mom was on the Venezuelan national softball team for years. Somehow I think she can convince him to mix in a few salads if it becomes truly necessary. He isn't going to the Hall based on triples or SBs.
The rest was pretty good. Salud!
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Here's a tissue, Mikes
Wipe up and put it back in your pants already.
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Over-Dunn
I couldn't resist the bad sports pun in the subject line. Neither can MLB.com, they are like junkies for bad puns....
Adam Dunn is a HORRIBLE LEFT FIELDER period. I don't care what kind of power hitter people think he is. I about fell out of my chair at the notion he was the NL player of the week. He got lucky facing some AL pitchers last week and for once didn't strike out doing so. He can't hit for his life in clutch situations, he looks like he's pulling a train running the pads and talk about bad fielding! His real talent in Left field is making sure he's no where near the ball when it lands out there so he doesn't look like he is committing errors. He is completely afraid of going any where near the wall, and in Cincinnati, he plays the wall like its the Green Monster and its anything but. I hope the Reds (who I am forced to watch out of loyalty) do trade his "Big Donkey" ass to some jerk water AL market where he can DH for a year before its apparent to the world he can't hit a sac fly to save his job.
Griffey is Griffey, not going there, but Josh Hamilton and poor banged up Ryan Freel are both twice the outfielders either Griffey or Dunn are and Hamilton can hit for power and avg. Freel looks like he is playing hockey out there, but he CONSISTENTLY makes the most amazing plays and was awarded the opening day slot in CF this season for doing so. If only he didn't get knocked senseless on a play that the RF de jour should have bagged off on.
So is the all star game all about offense, or are we really educated fans voting on the best player, regardless of name recognition or slugging percentage? I don't think the argument can be made that we have arrived at the promise land of why this time.... it should really count.