Elktonnick

Tony Mazz just said that Youklis "stinks" right now. Guess he is another one who isn't drinking the sabermetrics KoolAid. He also pointed out that Red Sox run production is misleading because they beat-up really bad pitching but really suck against good pitching.

Youk is a parody for what is wrong with this team and FO.

Life isn't fair. The beauty of baseball is that it is representative of a slower non technological era. The obsession with making the game and the officiating perfect would ruin the pace and soul of the game. It is a slippery slope. Why not make the whole game technological, photo electric cells on the plate, computer chips in the balls. pressure sesnitive bases, standardized playing fields, artifical turf, climate controlled stadia so that every thing is uniform and objective and no variation.

More people will remember that game than they would have had the umpire not blown the call. Technology is fine but only in proportion. Baseball doesn't need expanded replays especially when calling balls and strikes.

All of this is nonsense. The beauty of baseball is that it is not perfect. BV is off the reservation with this whole computer aided balls and strikes. You might as well do away the home plate and put a wicket with stumps and bales. And each pitchers gets six pitches and the batter can choose to run or not, now hey that would be a novel game!

Again with the misquote and distortion that isn't what I said. What I said was "showcase" not shop there is a difference. Showcase means playing someone to increase their trade value. Now I understand why you prefer statistics you have trouble with language (that's was snarky and I apologize in advance)

They didn't showcase him they dumped him because of his bad attitude. Like I said I love the sabermetric crowd especially for its faiure to accept responsibilty for the debacle that is this team but more than willing to claim credit when things go well. I live in a data driven world but I also recognize it's limitations. I have participated in advanced game theory modeling to play out real world scenarios for years. The problem with the sabermetric crowd is it all about the past to predict the future but the inherent margins of error make their models highly variable. In the final analysis they barely more accurate than the ouja board when predicting team success.

Yes everyone may use "advanced" metrics but few over emphasize it the way the Red Sox do. The down side is the Red Sox devalue the human element which results in teams which aren't equal to the sum its parts. (I suggest you bone up on game theory) The over reliance on sabermtrics has also led to the Red Sox being hamstrung by these ridiculous contracts which have led to the current disaster. As far as advanced sabermtrics being the cause of the 04 and 07 victories that is horse s***. It was a combination of Dave Robert's stolen base, a bloody sock, Mike Lowell Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Of these Bill James can only be cited for advising the Red Sox to sign Ortiz while that is not insignificant it isn't the single reason for the titles. If Youk does turn it around, it won't be in Boston. Your overly deterministic approach is why the Red Sox are more likely to finish out of the playoffs yet again despite one of the highest payrolls in baseball. I get the biggest kick out of the sabermetric crowd always willing to claim credit when there are successes but never willing to admit their failures such as the long list of dismal signings that has crippled this team from getting the right talent to win. Youklis is just the latest example of refusing to let go of a diminishing asset in the misguided notion that somehow that asset will increase in value. Investor who do that in the stock market go broke. Besides when was the last time a championship team showcased a player in the hope his trade value would increase? They don't! But losers do!

Because while they are a uesful tool, they obscure the real issues afffecting performance and results. The Red Sox are a prime example. Their over devotion and worship at the shrine of sabermtrics has led to the disaster that is the 2012 team. I have James's book and several others and am quite familar with all the sabermetric tools. I just think in the end baseball teams win or lose because of factors that over devoltion to stats obscure. Youk previous stats are meaningless because he is not the player he was. Watching him play every day tells me that.

It is convenient that one keeps changing a formula to match empirical results. That means a formala is not predictive but rather reactive. I can always come up with a formula the explains past results. It is quite another to come up with a formula that predicts future results. "A commonly held belief about pythagorean expectation is that its function is to predict wins and losses given the runs scored/runs allowed data. This is not true: it is merely a statement of a relationship, and it’s very important not to forget that. " If BTW you are suggesting that the Red Sox are better than their record that is more a philosophical than empirical discussion.

You are right in that interview she did walk back the part of Youk being traded. I never heard that interview but did hear her elsewhere before she " clarified" the article. But she did say there were issues between Youk and other players whom she refused to name. The implication is that someone should be traded. She did reiterate her statement that he is a detriment. So what are we left with. He is a detriment but shouldn't be traded. Sounds mutually exclusive given the current situation. My post wasn't totally inaccurate. She just walked back the implication that in October Youk should be dumped then. Not that it matters now but I maintained then and maintain now that it was foolish not to move Youk during the offseason. I think though Youk will be moved very soon. I think there are still issues between Youk and his teammates unless those team mates are Paplebon, Scuturo or Lowrie . I think Youk's behavior tonight illustrates some of the issues and why he continues to be a problem. Other can hear the D& C interview and draw their own conclusions

Now that I can agree with. Showcasing him tonight really helped his trade value.

They are all trying to hit 5 run homers

A-Gon has been having trouble with down and away. I was surprised he didn't come back with another.

As Yogi said 90% of this game is half mental

Agreed. Best at bat A-Gon has had in a while.

2nd and 3rd 1 out can A-Gon do it?