... I mean, he is the best right fielder to EVER play the game. At least that's what TB thinks. Last night after Bruce made a running catch in RF, TB said, "I don't think I've ever seen a right fielder play the position as good as Jay Bruce." Chris Welsh, TB's partner for the night, replied, "In a Reds uniform?" TB said, "No, in the league." Here we go again!
Now I'm not really sure if TB meant the NL or all of MLB, but either way, I think this comment is a late April Fool's joke. I'm not bashing Jay Bruce, I think he is a good player, but to label him as "the best ever" is pretty ridiculous and completely unsubstantiated ... not to mention statistically incorrect. TB, here is a lesson for you - Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) is a stat that puts a run value on a player's defense. Basically, it looks at how many runs a player saved or gave up through his fielding. The UZR of an average MLB player is 0 and a positive UZR is good while a negative UZR isn't good. Bruce's UZR is currently ... wait for it, wait for it ... -4.3 (courtesy of FanGraphs). Bruce's UZR ranks him ninth out of the ten qualified right fielders in the NL this year. In all of MLB, Bruce is 19th out of the 21 MLB qualified right fielders. Wowsa, he is the best!
Looking at the NL, Andre Either's UZR is 7.3 points higher than Bruce's, and Ethier also has more assists from right field and hasn't committed an error yet this season. Throw in the AL, and you have Swisher, Drew, Hunter and Markakis all with better UZRs and none of these guys have committed an error yet this season. Hunter and Markakis also have more assists than Bruce, while Swisher is tied with him. How can Bruce be the "best ever" if he isn't even the best in the game right now? TB, you so crazy.
The Cubbies are on WGN tonight at the same time the Reds are on, so I won't be listing to TB. I'm sure I'll be missing some doozies ... like how Johnny Gomes is a better right fielder than Ryan Braun, or how Aroldis Chapman is the best closer in baseball (his first career save last night shows this).
Good luck tonight TB! The Reds better win ... falling another game back would mean there is "absolutely now way the Reds will make the playoffs."
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Who is Ted Freese and when did he join the Cardinals?
It didn't take long for TB to mess something up today. In the bottom of the 1st, Matt Holliday is up to bat. TB says, "Matt Holliday is on his way to the All-Star game. In fact, he was voted in to start the game." Sure, Holliday could start as the DH, but unless Matt Holliday's name is really Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp or Lance Berkman, he was not voted into the starting NL All-Star lineup. TB is off to a good start, I think tonight is going to be a goodie!
While discussing the Reds 1st inning woes, TB says, "There are only three clubs that have allowed more first inning runs than the Reds, and all of them have absolutely no chance of making the playoffs. They are the Royals, Cubs and Astros." How about the 1969 Mets? In mid-August, they were 9 1/2 games back and ended up winning the division by 8 games. Or how about them 2007 Phillies? On Sept. 12, they were 7 games back and ended up winning the division. You could also look at the 2007 Rockies who went 20-8 in September to snatch the Wild Card only to lose to Boston in the World Series. Do I think that the Royals, Astros or my beloved Cubbies are going to make the playoffs this year? No, but until they are all statistically eliminated, I have better sense than to say they have "absolutely no chance." However, I will say this with a ton of confidence: TB, there is absolutely no chance of me ever liking you.
In the bottom of the 7th TB says, "Ted Freese has a nice looking stroke hitting the ball the other way." Come on Jim, his name is David, not Ted. Geesh.
My favorite part of tonight's broadcast was TB taking half of an inning to discuss facts about Brownburg, IN. He said, "We're down 8-1, give me some facts about Brownsburg. We're all going to be smarter after this." I do have to give him some props for giving Jay Cutler a shout out for being from Santa Claus, IN, but other than this, I'm not really sure what to say.
Gotta run. Turbo and Wes are exhausted from listening to another one of TB's broadcasts.
While discussing the Reds 1st inning woes, TB says, "There are only three clubs that have allowed more first inning runs than the Reds, and all of them have absolutely no chance of making the playoffs. They are the Royals, Cubs and Astros." How about the 1969 Mets? In mid-August, they were 9 1/2 games back and ended up winning the division by 8 games. Or how about them 2007 Phillies? On Sept. 12, they were 7 games back and ended up winning the division. You could also look at the 2007 Rockies who went 20-8 in September to snatch the Wild Card only to lose to Boston in the World Series. Do I think that the Royals, Astros or my beloved Cubbies are going to make the playoffs this year? No, but until they are all statistically eliminated, I have better sense than to say they have "absolutely no chance." However, I will say this with a ton of confidence: TB, there is absolutely no chance of me ever liking you.
In the bottom of the 7th TB says, "Ted Freese has a nice looking stroke hitting the ball the other way." Come on Jim, his name is David, not Ted. Geesh.
My favorite part of tonight's broadcast was TB taking half of an inning to discuss facts about Brownburg, IN. He said, "We're down 8-1, give me some facts about Brownsburg. We're all going to be smarter after this." I do have to give him some props for giving Jay Cutler a shout out for being from Santa Claus, IN, but other than this, I'm not really sure what to say.
Gotta run. Turbo and Wes are exhausted from listening to another one of TB's broadcasts.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Congrats to Starlin Castro, The Cubs' Perennial All-Star!
Congrats Starlin. You're a first ballot hall-of-famer now!
The Cards are taking on the Reds over the next few days. I think it's difficult to talk about this series without mentioning what happened last August. TB started today's broadcast by talking about the brawl, so I'll put in my thoughts as well. When most people see the video of the brawl, http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10842801&topic_id=11493214, they see Johnny Cueto pushed up against the screen and kicking his legs aggressively. When TB watches the video, he must see something else. At the beginning of today's Cards v. Reds game, TB said, "Cueto brushed his cleats against Carpenter's back." Brushed, really? Is that why Carpenter had cuts and bruises all over his neck and back? Let me guess, Cueto also "brushed" his cleats against Jason LaRue's head giving him a career-ending concussion. At least MLB saw that Cueto was out of control because if TB would have been in charge of the consequences, I'm sure Carpenter would have gotten the 7 game suspension for getting in the way of Cueto's metal cleats. Ridic.
To the game....
In the top of the 5th, TB starts talking about Drew Stubbs running on Cards catcher Yadier Molina. He says, "Even with Molina behind the plate, if running is one of your team' s major assets, shouldn't you do it even with him behind the plate?" Before I get into the details of this, TB said "Team's major asset," he did not say "an asset of Drew Stubbs," indicating that the Reds are a good running team. The Reds have stolen 54 bases and have gotten caught 27 times. Looking at the NL, this puts the Reds behind the Astros, Dodgers, Brewers, Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Padres, Pirates, Rockies and Diamondbacks. When you add the AL, they are behind the Red Sox, Royals, Angels, Yankees, Mariners, Rays, Rangers and Blue Jays. They are 11 out of 16 in the NL and 19 of 30 in all of MLB in stolen bases ... how is this an "asset of the Reds?" Oh wait, I forgot ... the Reds are great in every aspect of the game! My bad TB. The Reds have the best running game in the history of MLB.
In the bottom of the 5th, TB mentions the five NL players up for the All-Star Final Vote. When he gets to Victorino, he questions him being there saying, "Is Victorino really having that good of a year?" TB, how about I answer your question with a question. Should Victorino be an All-Star if he is batting 38 points higher than Jay Bruce, has scored 6 more runs than Bruce, has an equal amount of hits as Bruce (in 43 less plate appearances), has hit 8 more triples than Bruce, struck out 49 times less than Bruce and has a higher OBP, Slugging percentage and OPS than Bruce? Let's not forget Victorino's 3.3 wins above replacement to Bruce's .2 (stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com). Victorino also plays an incredible center field. A few posts ago, Zeke suggested that I use UZR (ultimate zone rating) when ranking defensive players. This one's for you Zeke ... Victorino's UZR is currently at 8.0 ... Well above the MLB average. On the other hand, you have Bruce at -4.3 ... a bit below the MLB average. No disrespect to the month May that Bruce had, but I think the question that TB should really be asking is, "Is Jay Bruce really having more of an all-star year than Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates?" My opinion (not that anyone is asking) is no way in he**! Jay Bruce is battling teammate Drew Stubbs to be the strikeout king of the NL (Stubbs is currently winning), and Andrew McCutchen is whooping Bruce in every offensive category except homers and RBIs (and he is just a few behind in each of those). Let's also not forget McCutchen's 4.9 WAR (only behind Bautista and Reyes) and his UZR rating of 8.3 puts him forth among all outfielders in MLB ... Bruce is currently in 53rd place.
After questioning Victorino's place in the Final Vote, TB goes on about Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum making the All-Star Team saying, "Neither one of them have the stats this year." My only question is this ... When did TB start caring about stats? All season long he's been making blind statements and not paying attention to stats. I know TB is high on Mike Leake and he really wants him to be an all-star, but I'd only choose Leake over Cain or Lincecum if I needed a few new shirts from Macy's.
Time to sign off for the night. Happy Birthday, America.
The Cards are taking on the Reds over the next few days. I think it's difficult to talk about this series without mentioning what happened last August. TB started today's broadcast by talking about the brawl, so I'll put in my thoughts as well. When most people see the video of the brawl, http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=10842801&topic_id=11493214, they see Johnny Cueto pushed up against the screen and kicking his legs aggressively. When TB watches the video, he must see something else. At the beginning of today's Cards v. Reds game, TB said, "Cueto brushed his cleats against Carpenter's back." Brushed, really? Is that why Carpenter had cuts and bruises all over his neck and back? Let me guess, Cueto also "brushed" his cleats against Jason LaRue's head giving him a career-ending concussion. At least MLB saw that Cueto was out of control because if TB would have been in charge of the consequences, I'm sure Carpenter would have gotten the 7 game suspension for getting in the way of Cueto's metal cleats. Ridic.
To the game....
In the top of the 5th, TB starts talking about Drew Stubbs running on Cards catcher Yadier Molina. He says, "Even with Molina behind the plate, if running is one of your team' s major assets, shouldn't you do it even with him behind the plate?" Before I get into the details of this, TB said "Team's major asset," he did not say "an asset of Drew Stubbs," indicating that the Reds are a good running team. The Reds have stolen 54 bases and have gotten caught 27 times. Looking at the NL, this puts the Reds behind the Astros, Dodgers, Brewers, Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Padres, Pirates, Rockies and Diamondbacks. When you add the AL, they are behind the Red Sox, Royals, Angels, Yankees, Mariners, Rays, Rangers and Blue Jays. They are 11 out of 16 in the NL and 19 of 30 in all of MLB in stolen bases ... how is this an "asset of the Reds?" Oh wait, I forgot ... the Reds are great in every aspect of the game! My bad TB. The Reds have the best running game in the history of MLB.
In the bottom of the 5th, TB mentions the five NL players up for the All-Star Final Vote. When he gets to Victorino, he questions him being there saying, "Is Victorino really having that good of a year?" TB, how about I answer your question with a question. Should Victorino be an All-Star if he is batting 38 points higher than Jay Bruce, has scored 6 more runs than Bruce, has an equal amount of hits as Bruce (in 43 less plate appearances), has hit 8 more triples than Bruce, struck out 49 times less than Bruce and has a higher OBP, Slugging percentage and OPS than Bruce? Let's not forget Victorino's 3.3 wins above replacement to Bruce's .2 (stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com). Victorino also plays an incredible center field. A few posts ago, Zeke suggested that I use UZR (ultimate zone rating) when ranking defensive players. This one's for you Zeke ... Victorino's UZR is currently at 8.0 ... Well above the MLB average. On the other hand, you have Bruce at -4.3 ... a bit below the MLB average. No disrespect to the month May that Bruce had, but I think the question that TB should really be asking is, "Is Jay Bruce really having more of an all-star year than Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates?" My opinion (not that anyone is asking) is no way in he**! Jay Bruce is battling teammate Drew Stubbs to be the strikeout king of the NL (Stubbs is currently winning), and Andrew McCutchen is whooping Bruce in every offensive category except homers and RBIs (and he is just a few behind in each of those). Let's also not forget McCutchen's 4.9 WAR (only behind Bautista and Reyes) and his UZR rating of 8.3 puts him forth among all outfielders in MLB ... Bruce is currently in 53rd place.
After questioning Victorino's place in the Final Vote, TB goes on about Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum making the All-Star Team saying, "Neither one of them have the stats this year." My only question is this ... When did TB start caring about stats? All season long he's been making blind statements and not paying attention to stats. I know TB is high on Mike Leake and he really wants him to be an all-star, but I'd only choose Leake over Cain or Lincecum if I needed a few new shirts from Macy's.
Time to sign off for the night. Happy Birthday, America.
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