Playing the game the right way?
Maybe its just because I've read more baseball articles this year than ever before, but it seems like the compliment "(they/he/she) plays the game the right way" is being over used at an all time high. I was sent over the top by reading Andre Dawson's baseball reference page last night where the sponsor basically claims that Andre should be in the Hall because he played the game the right way.
The comment is used to explain the unlikely season of the Twins and Angels all the time as well as to compliment inferior players like David Eckstein who are 'scrappy' or 'play with heart'.
Teams whose success is often explained because they "play the game the right way: Twins, Angels, Rays, and sometimes White Sox.
Real reasons these teams are successful: Pitching. They rank 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th in the AL in runs allowed. They also rank 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th in the AL in run differential. In case you were wondering, the Angels are 6th. The Angels are touted as the playoff favorites and they have a worse team than the one that got crushed by Josh Beckett and co. in the ALDS last year.
Examples given on how these teams play the right way:
1. They are aggressive on the bases.
Translation, they run into outs. Tampa and TLAAOA are 1-2 in the AL in stolen bases, but Boston is 3rd and Boston steals with a much higher success rate.
2. They bunt and play small ball.
Translation, they waste outs. TLAAOA are 9th in the AL in R/G, and they are 11th in OBP. They somehow have score more runs than the less out-liberal Rays and the powerless Jays who are both better teams.
Notice, you never hear of pitchers playing the game the right way. That's because it's easier for people who don't know how to read statistics to explain pitchers success: the best pitchers usually have the best ERAs and the best W-L records, although there are exceptions in both cases.
You know what? You can have a team of David Eckstiens and Darrin Erstads, and I'll take a whole buch of guys who play the game the wrong way:
Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, JD Drew, Jhonny Peralta, Milton Bradley, ARod, Dan Uggla, etc.
The comment is used to explain the unlikely season of the Twins and Angels all the time as well as to compliment inferior players like David Eckstein who are 'scrappy' or 'play with heart'.
Teams whose success is often explained because they "play the game the right way: Twins, Angels, Rays, and sometimes White Sox.
Real reasons these teams are successful: Pitching. They rank 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th in the AL in runs allowed. They also rank 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th in the AL in run differential. In case you were wondering, the Angels are 6th. The Angels are touted as the playoff favorites and they have a worse team than the one that got crushed by Josh Beckett and co. in the ALDS last year.
Examples given on how these teams play the right way:
1. They are aggressive on the bases.
Translation, they run into outs. Tampa and TLAAOA are 1-2 in the AL in stolen bases, but Boston is 3rd and Boston steals with a much higher success rate.
2. They bunt and play small ball.
Translation, they waste outs. TLAAOA are 9th in the AL in R/G, and they are 11th in OBP. They somehow have score more runs than the less out-liberal Rays and the powerless Jays who are both better teams.
Notice, you never hear of pitchers playing the game the right way. That's because it's easier for people who don't know how to read statistics to explain pitchers success: the best pitchers usually have the best ERAs and the best W-L records, although there are exceptions in both cases.
You know what? You can have a team of David Eckstiens and Darrin Erstads, and I'll take a whole buch of guys who play the game the wrong way:
Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, JD Drew, Jhonny Peralta, Milton Bradley, ARod, Dan Uggla, etc.
Labels: Eckstein, Playing the game the right way, small ball, TLAAOA
posted by Andrew Manning at
2:24 PM
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