Swing and a Miss

OK, I understand that the game of baseball has changed since the beginning of the 20th century and it can be difficult to compare players over different eras, to a certain degree. We've gone from putting the ball in play and stealing bases to smacking home runs back to speed and getting on base to chicks digging the long ball and now to hitting for power while also striking out a lot, which Tim Kurkjian wants to point out to us.

Swinging hard ... and missing often

Players are definitely striking out much more often than their baseball ancestors of yester-year. A price they are paying for aiming over the wall on every at bat. Whether you want to blame that on SportsCenter, steroids, Mark McGwire or David Eckstein, I really do not care.

You can be mad like Timmy that current players have become numb to striking out 100+ times, or even 200+ times, every year. But before you hop on the Kurkjian bandwagon, let's understand a few things first.

• Tim likes to compare the everyday player to Joe Dimaggio, Babe Ruth, and Slut's all-time favorite baseball player, Ted Williams. Not exactly a fair comparison, but I understand the point he was trying to get across.



• As he points out, during Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak, he faced 53 different pitchers. Now a batter can face a different pitcher in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. In 1941, the year of the streak, Major League pitchers had 1,027 complete games between the 16 teams. In 2008, we had a whopping 136 complete games with 30 teams. In 1941, there were 1,331 home runs. So there were nearly as many complete games pitched than there were home runs!



• Adam Dunn is the poster child for striking out.



• The ultimate kicker is this:

It's also rising because of today's emphasis on on-base percentage, working deep counts and taking walks. Granted, Ruth and Williams were walk machines, but they are the two greatest hitters of all time, and they were way ahead of their time. Dunn is a perfect example of today's hitter. He is in his ninth season, and he has, by a healthy margin, more strikeouts than Williams and DiMaggio combined. But he also has a career on-base percentage of nearly .400 thanks to all his walks.

Yes, you heard it hear from Tim Kurkjian first - strike outs are rising because of On-Base Percentage. The dreaded OBP! So tell me Tim, how does an emphasis on having a better OBP result in more Ks?!?!?!?

And if Adam Dunn is the poster child for striking out, then why do you praise him as the perfect example of today's hitter? While Dunn strikes out more than most, he has hit at least 40 HRs each of the last five years and still is in the Top 10 or 20 in OBP each year. He gets on base which is what players are SUPPOSED to do. If Dunn's OBP was hovering around .300, then you have a better argument. But the fact his lifetime OBP is .382 and his OPS is .901, I would seriously consider having him on my team.

And just exactly how were Ruth and Williams ahead of their time? Not that Tim gives us an explanation of how they were ahead. Were the initial players who used steroids ahead of their time as well?

This article is very Kravitz-ian in that he has a valid point regarding players are striking out more than ever, but like Kravitz, he is either wacky on how he backs up his point (OBP is causing more Ks?!?) or has issues making a point (Dunn sucks because he strikes out too much, but his high OBP makes him the perfect example of today's hitter).

Tim, why don't you go back to your day job! Oh, wait...this is your day job. Aww, shit. Sucks to be you!

Its Here!!! Well, Almost.

Baseball season is finally here, at least sort of. Its Spring Training season and players are all reporting to Florida or Arizona this week to begin prepping for the real thing in April. So I thought I would take a moment to ramble on about a few things to start off the pre-season.

Nate McLouth re-signs with the Bucs

I was a big fan on Nate’s when he was with the Indianapolis Indians and have enjoyed following his progress in the Majors. Nate batted .276 with 26 HRs and 46 doubles, which was tied for first in the NL last year. I am both happy and sad that he stayed in Pittsburgh. I am happy to see him get a nice contract and will hopefully have a nice long stay in the Majors. I am sad that he is on a team that has not had a winning season since Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla were playing for the Pirates. Congrats, Nate, and I am looking forward to another great year out of you.

Adam Dunn signs a two-year contract with the Nationals

I have never really figured out why so many sports writers are so negative against Adam Dunn. Yes, I know that he strikes out quite a bit. Adam had 164 strikeouts lat year, but that was only third best on his team! However, he has hit 40 HRs each of the past four years and ranked ninth in the NL with an OBP of .386. So while he does strike out a lot, he still gets on base more than most and can clobber the ball as well. At 29 years old, he still has a several good years left in him and should be a boost to the Nationals. Although sadly like the Pirates, they will probably suck as well this year.

David Eckstein signs with the Padres

The poster child for short, white, average skill baseball players signed a one-year contract with the Padres to help give the team someone with playoff experience and a couple of World Series rings. Because that is the only reason I can see a team signing the Eck. And do not go mentioning he has a boatload of intangibles, GRIT factor or how he isn’t afraid to get dirty. If the man was 6’2” he probably would be in the minors at this point. But since he is short, white and has a couple of rings, GMs seem to have a hard on for the man.

Remember this comment from last year

If the Dodgers do make the trade and they somehow win the World Series, I will kill something.

Allow me to update it for this year:

If the Whale’s Vagina Padres win the World Series with Eckstein on the team, I WILL kill something.

Steroids

I am torn on the steroids topic at this point. I am tired of the whole discussion on the Steroids Era and whether records and statistics should be thrown out or whether the players from that era should not be voted into the Hall of Fame or whether Jose Canseco needs an apology from MLB. Yet I am not sure how I feel about Alex Rodriguez’s most recent explanation of why, how and what he took from 2001-2003. If you are going to come out and tell the truth, then tell the whole truth. His interview was full of contradictions from his first interview, suddenly there was a “cousin” involved, the stuff he took was supposedly available over-the-counter in the Dominican Republic, the two drugs he tested positive for, primobolan and testosterone, could not have come from one drug, he sad attempt at shedding a tear while looking at his teammates, the list goes on and on. I want to know more, but at the same time, I don’t care anymore.

This happened several years ago and he has not tested positive since. He won two additional MVP since the first one he won in 2003, so he is still a very good player without the PEDs. People have pointed out that his home run totals during the three years he said he took PEDs are higher compared to the years after he stopped. However, you cannot necessarily point to steroids as the main factor in the increase. A-Rod signed with Texas in 2001 and Arlington Stadium is a hitters ballpark. After the 2003 season, A-Rod was traded to the Yankees. Yankee Stadium is not suited for A-Rod to hit as many home runs. So this would have also attributed to the decrease in home runs after 2003.

Bud Selig

You’re still a fucktard!

Wrigley Field

I have had the pleasure the past couple of years to bask in sun in the bleachers of Wrigley Field. There is nothing like sitting in the bleachers with a group of great friends with a beer in one hand and a brat in the other, baking in the sun and watching a baseball game in one of the greatest stadiums around. As a Cardinals fan, I’m definitely not a Cubs fan, even though I would like to see them actually win a Series so they can go another hundred years without one. But Wrigley is one of those places where it doesn’t matter what team you are rooting for, you are there to take in the whole experience of “the friendly confines”. I am looking forward to making another trip or two this year.

Like every other fan of our national pastime, I am so looking forward to the two words we long to hear every year:

“PLAY BALL!”

Cincinnati is over-Dunn

The sportswriters of the baseball world all seem to be against Adam Dunn. The man just cannot seem to overcome his high strike out rate even though he is tied for the NL lead in home runs and is in the top 20 for OBP, SLG and OPS. Yes, the man strikes out once in every three at-bats, but he also gets on base more than he strikes out.

Paul Daugherty is the latest to trash on Dunn and his trade to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Dunn too much to afford
Defense, demeanor, salary too costly

The Reds, who are exciting only when they're not playing, traded Adam Dunn to the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday for a 23-year-old Class-A starting pitcher named Dallas Buck who, in another life, died in old Western movies. Cincinnati also will receive two players as yet unnamed. Unless the pair throw like Seaver or hit like Perez, you have to wonder what's up.

As insignificant as Dunn was to winning here, 40 homers and 100 RBI don't appear magically every March. After the club traded Ken Griffey Jr., the brass wanted to see if Dunn would emerge as a clubhouse presence. Apparently, after 11 days, the brass had seen enough.

No, you don't have to wonder. The Reds suck and have for a while. Just because the Reds have traded away Griffey and Dunn does not mean the team's atmosphere meter will suddenly swing to the winning side and the Reds will start winning.

Griffey and Dunn were high-priced players that the Reds felt they were not getting their money for and sent them away for cheaper players and open up payroll for upcoming years to sign players that might, emphasis on might, turn the Reds' fortunes around. The question should be, did anyone step up in those 11 days? I've seen the sorry state of this team and I really did not see anyone who would really fit the bill as leader.

As insignificant as Dunn was to winning here, 40 homers and 100 RBI don't appear magically every March. After the club traded Ken Griffey Jr., the brass wanted to see if Dunn would emerge as a clubhouse presence. Apparently, after 11 days, the brass had seen enough.

What is wrong with 40 HRs and 100 RBI per year? The Reds had been shopping Dunn around longer than Griffey. I'm pretty sure that even if Dunn had stepped up as the leader of the team, he would have been traded away. We all know he "clogged" the bases and Dusty Baker does not like base cloggers.

Regardless, Dunn's tax bracket didn't match his production, at least not here. He'd have wanted too much money for what he provided. Dunn was who he was: a guy who could hit a baseball 400 feet more often than almost anyone else, but couldn't produce a two-out RBI single.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Daugherty did not do his statistical homework on this one. Lets take a look at Dunn's stats for two outs and RISP:

# of singles - 1

Fuck. One fucking single. But wait...let's check the rest of his stats for shits and giggles:

AB: 37
BA: .216
OBP: .453
SLG: .730!
OPS: 1.183!!!!!!!!!!

6 HR, 20 RBI, 15 R, 13 BB!

Holy shit, dude. Do you fucking homework!

He was slow, he had a mediocre arm, he played a dangerous left field. He was a big man whose bigness could give the impression he wasn't trying. Baseball wasn't his passion. It was his job. He played it that way.

Just because he didn't ooze passion, like say, Ken Griffey, Jr., doesn't mean he wasn't trying. So Paul, are you passionate about your job or do you just work?

"Another day closer to retirement," Dunn said once a few years ago, around the batting cage before a game. That was Dunn. His teammates liked him, but he didn't lead. Laid back should be a character trait, not a career choice. Not when you're making $13 million.

This paragraph makes me want to compare Dunn to Marvin Harrison. All of his teammates like him, but he does not come off as a leader (albeit due to Peyton Manning). He is super laid back and makes a fortune, at least compared to me. Laid back is not necessarily a bad trait.

It's doubtful Arizona will keep him after this season. Dunn will be the prototypical DH in '09, when his adventures in Left Field Land won't be duplicated.

If I had the time I would mock-up a Left Field Land and I am enough of a dork to go all on it too. Stay tuned, it might just happen.

Did you really want the Reds to lock up $60 million for Adam Dunn? Did you want them to offer him arbitration and hope he'd decline it, so the club would get two draft picks? What if he accepted? (Hint: More of the same.)

Which is why he was put up on waivers in the first place.


The optimum would have been for the Reds to move Dunn before the trade deadline. Nobody wanted him. That's why Mark Teixeira was dealt, and Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez and Xavier Nady, while the Big Donkey stayed a Red.

How do you know nobody wanted him? How do you know if the Reds got offers but asked for too much in return?

Dunn's value was always seen as greater in Cincinnati than elsewhere. To be dealt to Arizona, Dunn had to clear waivers. Any other club could have claimed him and the trade would not have been made. None did. Because J.P. Ricciardi was wrong to say what he said about Dunn doesn't mean what he said was wrong.

Once again, Daugherty shows his ignorance of baseball, even though he IS a baseball writer for a newspaper.

The waiver wire works this way as I understand it:

Team A puts Player Z on waivers.

Any team can claim Player Z before the waiver deadline.

If a team claims Player Z, Team A can arrange a trade, rescind the waiver, or let the player go to the claiming team.

If more than one team claims Player Z, then the team with the weakest record has the claim on Player Z.

Just because the D-backs won the claim, if the Cardinals, Cubs or Phillies had tried to claim Player Z as well, the D-back would get the claim since they have a worse record than those above.

Bravo to the Reds to actually get a few players in return.

You could say the rest of Major League Baseball was being nice to the Reds and the Diamondbacks. Or you could suggest Dunn ain't all that.

Or I can suggest you are a fucktard extraordinaire and are enamored only by batting average, wins and ERA.

I suggest the latter. More to the point: Dunn never improved. He went through a steady stream of hitting coaches, none of whom could change his style or approach. After coach No. 3 or 4, you start to believe it was the hitter, not his coach.

Those enamored with numbers couldn't get enough of Adam Dunn. Stat freaks genuflected at the foot of Dunn's on-base percentage, while dismissing his detractors as ill-informed hacks.

You are an ill-informed hack as I have demonstrated more than once in this article alone! He gets on base, he hits HRs and he knocks runs in more than most on his team!

Forty Homers! Hundred RBI! Hundred Runs! Look at that man ... Walk! The standard argument was, and is, "How do you replace numbers like those?" We're about to find out.

Based on the current Reds roster, with more than one player. See previous comment on enamorement with hack statistics.

This is further evidence that Walt Jocketty evaluated the '08 Reds and became ill. He has, in 11 days, removed the twin heads of the patient. Griffey and Dunn are elsewhere. Will the Reds be better without them? Could they be any worse?

Well, we are about to find now, aren't we. The Reds will be able to see how their younger players work out and see if a "leader" can actually emerge. Or, they will implode and we will all get to watch the majestic fallout from it.

Time now for the clubhouse culture to undergo a sea change. Who wants to win? Who wants to prepare to win? Anyone? Elvis and his sidekick have left the building. Who wants the footlights now?

So which one was Elvis? Your team is still shitty and will continue to be shitty until your big wigs can put a respectable team on the field and you get rid of Dusty Baker.