The Unwritten Book is Finally Written!
An in-depth analysis of: The sacrifice bunt, batter/pitcher matchups, the intentional base on balls, optimizing a batting lineup, hot and cold streaks, clutch performance, platooning strategies, and much more. Read Excerpts & Customer Reviews
I understand any list cannot be perfect, but is there any reason why Eric included Lincecum, while he ignored Wainwright, Verlander, and F-Hernandez? If you think latters are to be lncluded in future list not the current list, then what makes Lincecum different? Considering age and games played, I think Lincecum should be excluded, too if he wants any consistency.
When you consider how fans view players with high peak value but relatively low career value, I think you have to draw the line between 2 different situations.
1. Player A had great peak for X years, and he suddenly retired. (injured, lost interest in sports, etc.)
2. Player B had great peak for X years, and he continued playing. He struggled for next couple years without any significant reasons (ex. massive injury), and he retired.
I think fans' view of A and B would be vastly different. In A case, fans think "A might've achieved much more than this if not for injury(or other significant factor)", and they consider A's peak more important. However in B case, they think they saw everything of B. And they probably remember B's bad times as much as B's good times. That's why they don't consider B's peak value as important as A's.
Hockey, football, and basketball have many As than baseball. Baseball has a lot of Bs. That's the biggest difference I guess. (Baseball version of player A would be Sandy Koufax, and as far as I know, he is considered as one of the very best pitchers of all time by many fans.)
Funny thing is, about poor defensive play of certain superstars, fans get the message when their OFFENSIVE game declines.
If Jeter's offensive production was good enough like past years, I really doubt fans would complain about his defense.
Same thing can applied to Junior's case.
I understand any list cannot be perfect, but is there any reason why Eric included Lincecum, while he ignored Wainwright, Verlander, and F-Hernandez? If you think latters are to be lncluded in future list not the current list, then what makes Lincecum different? Considering age and games played, I think Lincecum should be excluded, too if he wants any consistency.
Roy Halladay's Bobby Orr career (kamiyu) —
When you consider how fans view players with high peak value but relatively low career value, I think you have to draw the line between 2 different situations. 1. Player A had great peak for X years, and he suddenly retired. (injured, lost interest in sports, etc.) 2. Player B had great peak for X years, and he continued playing. He struggled for next couple years without any significant reasons (ex. massive injury), and he retired. I think fans' view of A and B would be vastly different. In A case, fans think "A might've achieved much more than this if not for injury(or other significant factor)", and they consider A's peak more important. However in B case, they think they saw everything of B. And they probably remember B's bad times as much as B's good times. That's why they don't consider B's peak value as important as A's. Hockey, football, and basketball have many As than baseball. Baseball has a lot of Bs. That's the biggest difference I guess. (Baseball version of player A would be Sandy Koufax, and as far as I know, he is considered as one of the very best pitchers of all time by many fans.)
With or Without You (kamiyu) —
Funny thing is, about poor defensive play of certain superstars, fans get the message when their OFFENSIVE game declines. If Jeter's offensive production was good enough like past years, I really doubt fans would complain about his defense. Same thing can applied to Junior's case.
Official Post-Season Strategy Thread (kamiyu) —
#91: I agree. Also, don't forget the defense. Especially, Jhonny Peralta is a HORRIBLE defensive SS and he proved it once again tonight.