tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413758965958565043.post5101512145972596375..comments2023-11-05T03:05:02.330-06:00Comments on The Henry Wiggen Blog: Base running and pitching from two perspectives: Sam Mellinger misreads the numbers and Sean Forman says small ball makes only a small differenceJohn Lofflinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15278336968891726815noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413758965958565043.post-7950100921662488182011-07-05T18:28:08.996-05:002011-07-05T18:28:08.996-05:00Well, Mellinger is wrong and is showing why the St...Well, Mellinger is wrong and is showing why the Star shouldn't be read for all it's ignorant, homerism glory. ERA is just as meaningless a stat as wins. Greinke's xFIP is 2.15 and that takes out factors like MIL's defense rolling with below-average fielders in left, at third, short, second, and first. Greinke can't be held responsible for an awful team behind him. So while I would agree choosing wins to illustrate why Mellinger is wrong - which he is - the author still underlines his point that The Star only writes what is positive for the sake of the fragile KC-fan psyche. <br /><br />I would also say that posting on someone else's blog under the title "anonymous", while you may or may not know what you're talking about, would just mean that we don't have to care.scobes15http://www.homeoftherant.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413758965958565043.post-11250108346668727842011-07-01T22:48:21.779-05:002011-07-01T22:48:21.779-05:00I like to let the reader have the last word, but a...I like to let the reader have the last word, but a brief comment doesn't seem out of order. I do agree with you about wins. I am probably wrong there. But, then, what are we left with to understand the value of a pitcher, or a pitching staff? ERA tells us something, as do wins. But, as Mellinger points out, ERA is probably misleading in the case of Greinke for several reasons, including the smaller sample size this year. I'm of the opinion -- and it is an opinion -- that some pitchers find a way to win. OK, I'll complicate this some by saying Greinke isn't one of them. But, my lord, take a look at the rest of the starting staff Mellinger is somehow touting! You cannot be arguing that record, no matter what the group ERA is anything but horrendous.John Lofflinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15278336968891726815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413758965958565043.post-43150508490291395012011-07-01T17:31:26.546-05:002011-07-01T17:31:26.546-05:00While I agree that Mellinger is no Posnanski when ...While I agree that Mellinger is no Posnanski when it comes to sabermetrics, using Wins isn't statistical proof of anything. Pos has written about this extensively, and again, it's pretty well acknowledged by baseball people that Wins are a misleading, ultimately worthless, statistic because they don't measure how much a pitcher actually contributed to the team's win.<br />This article outlines why the Win is a terrible statistic, and here's JoPos on his hatred of Wins.<br /><br />http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/34468<br />http://joeposnanski.si.com/2010/10/31/talkin-baseball-stats/<br />http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/2011/05/jo-jo-circus.html<br /><br />For you to say that Mellinger "misread" the statistics based on your own selection and analysis of an overrated, archaic, nonsensical statistic is, well, misreading the statistics. Heck, it was Zack Greinke's Cy Young year that finally marked the end of the Win as sportswriters' chief criteria for pitching quality (he had the least Wins of any Cy Young winner ever, the next year's AL winner Felix Hernandez also had few wins for a Cy Young winner).<br />Basically, baseball people have finally figured out that pitcher Wins are largely subject to overall team quality than pitcher performance. So, again, citing Wins means nothing, which means that you basically took a cheap shot at Sam Mellinger citing dubious evidence, proving in your own arguement that you really don't have any idea what you're talking about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com