venting at the sport i love
I am angry at baseball.
I hate being angry at baseball.
HOWEVER.
As Suzie has already so eloquently commented, the Sox are willing to drop $51.1 mil just to get the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka, a terrifying precedent that will only result in an additionally ridiculous sum if the man is actually signed by the team. As I have also already screamed after whipping out my calculator because I cannot do smart math on my own (or any math for that matter), the 51 mil alone is roughly 25 times more than I will make in my entire chosen career if, and only if, I worked until I was 80. That is absolutely unacceptable, considering that he will continue to get more than that once he signs, and then will work for no more than 15 years (and more than likely less), at a rate considerably higher than I will ever, ever hope to make in probably even 10 years combined. Beyond the fact that I am bitter about sports salaries and also my own salary, this really is a dangerous and definitive precedent that could have an impressive impact on the way deals are made, and additionally, on the continually widening gap between the "haves" and "have nots" of baseball. Although there is the argument to be made that money doesn't always win titles, and I do abide by this argument a lot of the time, how long will there really be Royals fans and Pirates fans and Marlins fans if there's no hope of ever signing any big name or even being up to the competition? This is an open ended question that has yet to be answered.
Second. Girardi, formerly of the Marlins, was voted NL Manager of the Year. Yes, he kept them sort of in contention all season with a team full of rookies and no-namers, but he also is the first MoY ever with a losing record. And frankly, I just feel like that's wrong. Even though his win would positively perpetuate my argument about how no-namers and teams with little money can and should still be able to win. So maybe I should be less angry about this. (A big congrats to Jim Leyland, though, who was obviously the heir to the AL MoY throne this year. The Tigers still should have won the WS.)
Third. GMs want to re-consider the instant replay. This is not football and for good reason (sorry Emily). Do not make me sit through extra umpire-questioning. The umpires, sure, they get it wrong sometimes, but their stats are actually very good: 94.91% of ball-strike calls are correct, according to some computer system they use in the ballparks, which means there are approximately 7.64 missed calls per game. No, that is not a perfect figure. But you know, it's close. The imperfection of the game is part of the charm of it - the spirit of coach/ump arguments or examples of them "protecting their players", the spirit of the fans boo-ing or cheering a close call, the fact that, like nothing else in life, the sport is not perfect. It just makes it that much closer and relatable to all the rest of us who are not making 51.1 million dollars just to be in negotiations for a real salary. Bud Selig, for once I agree with you on something.
Finally. So there's still some good in baseball, since my boy Biggio won the second annual "Heart and Hustle" Award, which is voted on by 3200 of the living 5000 (approximate) former MLB players for the one player out of the combined candidates of each team who best demonstrates playing the game the right way, with heart, hustle, and success (hence the name of the award, obviously. Baseball isn't exactly the most creative of sports). Oh Biggio, I love you so. And so do former players, apparently. Way to be an awesome guy.
I hate being angry at baseball.
HOWEVER.
As Suzie has already so eloquently commented, the Sox are willing to drop $51.1 mil just to get the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka, a terrifying precedent that will only result in an additionally ridiculous sum if the man is actually signed by the team. As I have also already screamed after whipping out my calculator because I cannot do smart math on my own (or any math for that matter), the 51 mil alone is roughly 25 times more than I will make in my entire chosen career if, and only if, I worked until I was 80. That is absolutely unacceptable, considering that he will continue to get more than that once he signs, and then will work for no more than 15 years (and more than likely less), at a rate considerably higher than I will ever, ever hope to make in probably even 10 years combined. Beyond the fact that I am bitter about sports salaries and also my own salary, this really is a dangerous and definitive precedent that could have an impressive impact on the way deals are made, and additionally, on the continually widening gap between the "haves" and "have nots" of baseball. Although there is the argument to be made that money doesn't always win titles, and I do abide by this argument a lot of the time, how long will there really be Royals fans and Pirates fans and Marlins fans if there's no hope of ever signing any big name or even being up to the competition? This is an open ended question that has yet to be answered.
Second. Girardi, formerly of the Marlins, was voted NL Manager of the Year. Yes, he kept them sort of in contention all season with a team full of rookies and no-namers, but he also is the first MoY ever with a losing record. And frankly, I just feel like that's wrong. Even though his win would positively perpetuate my argument about how no-namers and teams with little money can and should still be able to win. So maybe I should be less angry about this. (A big congrats to Jim Leyland, though, who was obviously the heir to the AL MoY throne this year. The Tigers still should have won the WS.)
Third. GMs want to re-consider the instant replay. This is not football and for good reason (sorry Emily). Do not make me sit through extra umpire-questioning. The umpires, sure, they get it wrong sometimes, but their stats are actually very good: 94.91% of ball-strike calls are correct, according to some computer system they use in the ballparks, which means there are approximately 7.64 missed calls per game. No, that is not a perfect figure. But you know, it's close. The imperfection of the game is part of the charm of it - the spirit of coach/ump arguments or examples of them "protecting their players", the spirit of the fans boo-ing or cheering a close call, the fact that, like nothing else in life, the sport is not perfect. It just makes it that much closer and relatable to all the rest of us who are not making 51.1 million dollars just to be in negotiations for a real salary. Bud Selig, for once I agree with you on something.
Finally. So there's still some good in baseball, since my boy Biggio won the second annual "Heart and Hustle" Award, which is voted on by 3200 of the living 5000 (approximate) former MLB players for the one player out of the combined candidates of each team who best demonstrates playing the game the right way, with heart, hustle, and success (hence the name of the award, obviously. Baseball isn't exactly the most creative of sports). Oh Biggio, I love you so. And so do former players, apparently. Way to be an awesome guy.
posted by Amy at 10:20 PM
2 Comments:
But that 7.64 missed calls is per team, per game, right (roughly around 250-300 pitches thrown per game)? Though, what I really think influence the game are the missed calls other than balls/strikes (a wrong safe/out call is a much bigger influence on the game than a missed ball/strike - and is a direct cause for an extra out or even scored run). Overall, I think missed umpire calls are a significant factor in games.
So, obviously, I think replay would be a good thing for the game. Definitely in moderation (max one per game per team, or something to that effect), but it would be beneficial for umps to be able to correct their important mistakes. And, personally, I think it should only be on non-ball/strike calls - it'd be way too nitty gritty to watch a single pitch over again to judge whether it's a strike or not. I agree with you, that'd be quite boring.
You're completely right about Matazususdhfdi-whatever. Sox fans constantly complain that George buys his victories - but are we really that far behind him? This can only be bad for baseball. I don't it like one bit :( well, except for the fact that the Sox will possibly have the WBC MVP...
... but on a whole, no.
Can we get a stat on how many fired managers have won MotY?
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