Not News

As of 3:49 PM, EST, ESPN.com’s front page includes the headline “Lions’ top pick Johnson unsigned.”

Other stories in the world of sports today include “Carl Pavano still injured”, “New York Knicks remain way over the salary cap”, and “Tom Brady maintains vice-like grip on the Patriots’ starting QB job”.

This Is Really Late, But Whatever

On 7/21, Matt DeSalvo is in the first inning of his spot-start for the Yankees. Yankees’ play-by-play man Michael Kay explains why DeSalvo was chosen to pitch over other bums prospects in AAA. Paraphrased:

“Matt DeSalvo is pitching today because he throws strikes. Talking to Joe Torre before the game, he said that the big thing DeSalvo has going for him is his ability to throw strikes.”

A quick look at DeSalvo’s major league statistics reveals just how crazy that statement is. In 27.2 IP, DeSalvo has allowed 18 BB and struck out 10. His BB/9 is 5.86, and his K/9 is 3.2.

Okay, but 27 innings is a small sample. Special K should follow his own advice and look at a larger set of data.

In 508 minor league IP, DeSalvo has walked 254. That’s a BB/9 of 4.5.

I don’t know who is more at fault: Kay for stating as fact something so obviously wrong, or Torre for even suggesting this is true in the first place. Even more amazing is that Kay has seen each and every one of DeSalvo’s starts this year, and it has been painfully obvious in each one that DeSalvo can’t find the plate with any sort of regularity. Kay should have at least expressed doubt about Torre’s assessment, but then again, the Yankees are the ones writing Kay’s paycheck every two weeks.

I mean, really, do these guys even look at the numbers in front of them?

A State of Perplexion

Tony La Russa on why Kip Wells still has a job:

“It’s not like we have somebody waiting in the wings that we want to put in the rotation.”

*Flails arms hysterically* But . . . . . gaaah!

I Don’t Believe What I Just Saw

Today, the Cubs traded for Jason Kendall.

Here comes the Cubs’ offense!

Ah, Sample Size – We Meet Again

Once upon a time, I was a serious NBA fan. It’s true. While my dedication to the league as a whole as waned (and my interest in the Knicks has inexplicably remained strong), I still find myself reading a fair number of NBA columns.

Which brings me to this brief roundup of the NBA’s Vegas Summer League. Author Brian Windhorst writes:

The reason [Daniel] Gibson can be so effective is not just his outside-shooting prowess, but his developing inside game. He is honing an effective floater and has shown he can get into the lane and draw fouls. And in fact, the free throw line is where Gibson may be most deadly, based on his 89 percent shooting there in the postseason.

The last sentence caught my eye, because in general it’s a bad idea to draw conclusions about a player from a his/her postseason statistics. This is, of course, because of the issue of small sample size.

So, I looked up Gibson’s career free-throw shooting percentage (FT%), because I strongly suspected that Mr. Windhorst was jumping to conclusions way too quickly about Gibson’s free-throw shooting ability. My suspicions were confirmed:

• 2006-2007 Playoffs: 38/43, 88.372%
• 2006-2007 Season: 28/39, 71.8%
• 2005-2006 Season (college): 69/95, 72.6%

While it is certainly possible that Gibson will improve his FT% (he’s still very young), to suggest that Gibson is “most deadly” from the free-throw line after a statistically unlikely postseason performance is somewhat nuts.

Cubs’ Offense Watch: All-Star Break (7/10)

Are the Cubs the second best offense in baseball, as ESPN predicted? Are they even close?

• CHC: 396 R (20th), .327 OBP (20th), .739 OPS (18th)
• NYY: 464 R (3rd), .357 OBP (2nd), .793 OPS (3rd)

It is the All-Star Break, and the Cubs’ offense still sucks. Like it did in April, May, and June. This really wasn’t that hard to predict, ESPN.

My Sister Makes Her Blog Debut

So I’m watching the Twins-Yankees game on this glorious 4th of July, and my sister walks into the room. She hates baseball, so this in itself is a remarkable feat. Michael Cuddyer is batting. Therefore, YES puts his name up on the screen, along with his BA, HR, and RBI.

She looks at his name. “I would have pronounced it Cudd-yer” she says.

Pause.

“If you replaced the ‘y’ with an ‘l’, his last name would be ‘Cuddler’. That would be cute.”

Another pause. She leaves the room.

I look forward to more of these moments when my girlfriend and I reunite at school in August.

If Only They Sat Right Next To Each Other On The Bench Every Single Day…

…then maybe Yankees’ pitching coach Ron Guidry and manager Joe Torre could communicate better. Wait, what’s that, they do? They do sit right next to each other on the bench every single day? Okay, well, then please help me explain this.

After yesterday’s (6/30) game against the A’s:

Ron Guidry said he will talk with Proctor today to see if he’s OK physically.

“Maybe they’re just dead tired,” the pitching coach said. “We abused them in the first month and a half of the season. They were in there almost every day.”

Then, during today’s (7/1) game:

Scott Proctor pitching for New York

The score, mind you, was 11-5 Oakland when he was brought in. And also, the Yankees just brought up Edwar Ramirez, who was having a ridiculous season in AAA, to see what he can offer.

I can’t believe how dysfunctional and ineptly-run the Yankees are. Unbelievable.