Despite the lead shrinking to five games and numerous cautions from those involved, Dan writes about what may have been a playoff preview. Pretty standard stuff. Surprising for the lack of handwringing regarding the shrinking lead and poor play.
One huge mistake, though:
They rank third in the American League in hitting and pitching.
No, Dan. They are fifth in hitting (OBP is the best measure of hitting, not BA) and fifth in RA (or fourth in ERA).
sounds like a tailor-made campaign for the daughter to go out and fill the airwaves with lectures on how, yes, BA really is the best measure of offensive production. Kind of like how John Edwards' wife (husband?) is doing all the heavy lifting while he (she?) coifs his (her?) hair.
ReplyDeleteYeah. Right.
ReplyDeleteSince non-hits improve one's OBP, it is a measure of offensive production, not hitting.
Similarly, since it includes factors outside of the control of the pitcher -- unearned runs -- RA is a measure of the defense.
But the column should have indicated the measure and the point in time at which the Sawx as third was noted.
OB,
ReplyDeleteHitting is going up to the plate and not making outs. OBP is a much better indicator of hitting prowess than straight BA. Further, why didn't he offer their offensive rank instead their rank for only an element of their offensive production?
RA is better because than ERA because earned runs hide runs that are the pitchers fault, but just wouldn't have been scored in some alternate universe. Also, any runs allowed statistic also measures defense.
Having told us about a potential playoff preview for the Red Sox, will Shank watch the Patriots-Bucs preseason scrimmage and other such preseason games and similarly enlighten us on the coming Patriots-Colts and Patriots-Chargers playoff rematches set for this coming January?
ReplyDeleteBTW, here's a possible NFL preseason Shankism - The preseason may or may not mean a whole lot, but it was telling that the defending Superbowl champions, who have more incentive than others to prove they're not a one-hit wonder like the Impossible Dream, looked as flat as they looked against a Cowboys team that has been one-and-done in the playoffs this decade.