7/21/2004 03:04:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|At the all-star break, many of the online baseball columnists for major sports websites selected Scott Rolen as their first half MVP. This is, in a word, ridiculous. Sure, Rolen is having a very good year. Most of these columnists point to Rolen's high RBI total as evidence that he is valuable. Yes, Rolen is on pace for 150 RBIs, which is a large number, but not unusually large. In the previous eight seasons, four players have accumulated 150 or more RBIs. Of those four, only two won the MVP (Sammy Sosa in 1998, in what only be termed as a ridiculous result, considering how much superior Mark McGwire's numbers were, and Juan Gonzalez in the same year). Typically, two criteria are used to determine who the MVP is. First, the player usually has to play for a team that makes the playoffs or nearly makes the playoffs (the "reason" that Sosa won in 1998). Second, the player must put up big numbers. In addition, it does not help to have a little media savvy as well (in my opinion, the real reason Sosa won). If you accept that the San Francisco Giants are a contending team, which of course, they are, then one should look at the numbers. And when you look at any other number besides RBI, Barry Bonds is not only having a better season than Scott Rolen, he is having possibly the best season in the history of baseball. For starters, Bonds is hitting .369 - Rolen .335, a significant difference, to be sure, but not compared to other differences. Bonds has an on-base percentage of .624, more than 200 points higher than Rolen's .412. Think about it. Bonds gets on base more than 50% more often than Rolen! Bonds' slugging percentage is .786, compared to Rolen's .600. OPS? Well, Bonds is almost 400 points ahead (1.410 to 1.012). Lop 400 points off Bonds' OPS and you have Scott Rolen. Lop 400 points off of Rolen's OPS and you have... Tike Redman. Another way to look at this is to use another statistic called Runs Created Per 27 Outs. This statistic approximates how many runs a team would score if they had nine players exactly like Bonds (or whoever). Bonds RC27 is 20.89. Rolen's RC27 is 8.98. Normally 9 runs a game is a lot. But if you are getting beat 21-9, it's not so many. That's right. A team of nine Bondses would score more than twice as many runs as a team of Rolens. Who would you rather have. Some have argued that because Bonds has been intentionally walked so many times, his OBP is inflated and it tends to skew his overall numbers. Fine. Pretend that his 77 intentional walks never happened. Don't prorate any of those plate appearances. He still has a slugging percentage of .786, but now his OBP is merely .516. His OPS is 1.302, still almost 300 points higher. He still has more homeruns than Rolen. (Oh by the way, if you did prorate the 77 at bats, he'd have 33 home runs. And he'd have a helluva lot more RBIs because I doubt that he's been intentionally walked with no one on base.) By the end of the season, Barry will likely have single-season records in OBP, walks (each by plenty), OPS, and he might slug .800, which has only been done three previous times (Ruth twice and Bonds). Oh, and he already has broken his own single season record for intentional walks by 8 and has 36 more intentional walks than any other team in the league. |W|P|10904428812110126|W|P|Barry Bonds for MVP|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com7/21/2004 11:30:00 AM|W|P|SBG|W|P|So, do you think that the numbers of American troops dying in Iraq is increasing or decreasing? I think you'll be surprised to hear that more troops have died in July than died in June. Or than July is already the fourth deadliest month for American troops since the "Mission Accomplished" speech. Or that more troops are dying per day since the "handover" of "sovereignty" to the "Iraqi government" then died in the period of occupation after the end of combation operations. Bet you didn't know all that. Why? Because the So-Called Liberal Media isn't reporting it. Here's a site that's keeping track. |W|P|109042780215931755|W|P|Iraqi Death Toll|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com7/20/2004 04:53:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

Studying for the bar sucks. It is boring and tedious. I want this over now. Peter Gammons' Poll of Players Who "Play the Right Way"

Peter Gammons is a well-known baseball writer and talking head on ESPN. He writes for ESPN.COM as well. Gammons' column today talks about players who "play the right way." Interestingly, most of the players on this list are "scrappy" white guys. I think this smacks of racism. Read the list. See if you see a lot of non-white players. Didn't think so.

|W|P|109035573936250256|W|P|Studying for the Bar Sucks|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com7/19/2004 09:03:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

For some time I have been threatening to write a white paper, or more accurately, a manifesto on the NFL. This is an ongoing project. I intend to develop the NFL Manifesto over the course of time. I will include a link to this under Ongoing Projects. I'll also try to let people know when I have updated it.

THE NFL NEEDS A WEIGHT LIMIT ON ITS PLAYERS

Over the years, the average weight of players has steadily increased. This is not a good thing. I propose that players be limited to a maximum weight. Personally, I would love to see a maximum weight of 250 pounds. I would settle for a maximum weight of 275 pounds. A NFL with players who weighed no more than 275 pounds would be much more exciting. There would be fewer injuries, a larger premium on speed and more offensive opportunities. Imagine Brett Favre, at 230 pounds, never having to face a sack from some 350 pound behemouth. Imagine if linebackers were no bigger than Favre. How exciting would that be!|W|P|109028917386863892|W|P|NFL Manifesto|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com10/21/2004 01:06:00 AM|W|P|

Andrew|W|P|I think a simplification of the rules would help the game immensely. Intentional grounding with the "between the tackles" and the "new" pass interference rules along with other things are just getting out of hand. A hardcore sports fan like me even finds it difficult to come to a ruling sometimes.1/03/2005 04:20:00 PM|W|P|

Anonymous|W|P|I think the idea of simplifying the rules is a good call, but the weight limit would put an immense amount on pressure and the abuse to their bodies would get much worse then it is now (ie supplements for weight loss and such). I agree with 7 that the tackle box rules should be taken out. Why should the qb get to through it away outside the pocket. Whats so special about that area? This would lead to more sacks and interceptions, which are much more exciting then passes thrown to the sidelines

www.twinsjunkie.com7/19/2004 07:12:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|

I am going to create a library of blogs that I read and enjoy. Today I have added the "Illustrated Daily Scribble." I found this site tonight when reading some of my other links. The author creates daily cartoons on a legal pad and uploads them along with commentary. His site is very political (with the proper slant ;) ), and the cartoons are very clever. Drop on by and check it out. You will be amused (or scandalized).

|W|P|109028261968672446|W|P|Blog of the Day|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com7/17/2004 10:00:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|I'd like to create a weblog that is interesting to a number of people. I think that it is easier said than done. Part of what I would like to do is have a blog that is different from others... funny, thought-provoking, and not tied to one topic. I'd love to write a baseball blog, but there are a number of good blogs out there already. Aaron Gleeman, the author of Aaron's Baseball Blog is phenomenal. He's already my first source for baseball analysis. I can't devote the time and energy to write a blog like his, I'll just tell you to go read his stuff every day. I do. I might comment on his work from time to time. I've corresponded with Aaron via e-mail a few times. The kid is a hard worker. I'd love to write a political weblog, but political blogs are best when they are shared by many people. If I generate a following, perhaps that will happen. For right now, I'll talk about about some of my views. (Bush must GO!) Life - I'd like to write about that, too. I just graduated from law school, and I am taking the bar in 10 days. You may be asking what I am doing blogging when I should be studying. Well, this is my last great effort at procrastination before my academic career is over. (Technically, it already is over.) Oh yeah, I just got engaged about 10 days ago or so. Thanks. She is wonderful. So, this is my introduction. I intend to keep up with this. If you happen to read this blog, leave a comment. Thanks! |W|P|109012026820460452|W|P|Goals of My Blog|W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com7/17/2004 07:47:00 PM|W|P|SBG|W|P|So it begins. |W|P|109011167593095338|W|P||W|P|sbg@stickandballguy.com