Last night's Yankees-Orioles game got me thinking about the idea of the Closer Mentality and the Closer Role. I absolutely believe in the Closer Mentality. I consider myself a statistically inclined baseball fan. I understand that research shows that closer is just a word. A good reliever makes a good closer and whatnot. However, I don't believe the Closer Mentality is a myth. The idea that some people perform better or worse in specific situations makes perfect sense to me. Human Psychology, ...
I have had the honor of watching the Detroit Tigers play 23 innings in about the last 24 hours. Wait, honor is the wrong word. What is the opposite of honor? The Tigers are brutal. I know their record is much, much, much better than the Twins' record, but they are brutal. They have 3 great starting pitchers: Verlander, Fister and Scherzer (who can be pretty hit or miss). They have three great hitters: Cabrera, Fielder, and Jackson. They have one player who is regularly in the lineup that ...
I'm sitting here watching Samuel Deduno regress before my very eyes. In a way, it is sad because it would be fun for a 29 year old journeyman pitcher to suddenly harness the talent that he obviously has and become a dominant starter. The reality is that this rarely happens and while Deduno's results were good in his first couple months, the underlying stats did not support his success. He still walks way too many batters and doesn't strike enough batters out to mask it. He is starting to give ...
Yesterday, I posited that I believe that Joe Mauer is great. I stand by this, but I can see why some are frustrated with Mauer. Buster Posey, on the other hand, is seemingly working on wrapping up his first MVP award. Posey hits home runs, catches regularly and seems to be that emotional leader that many fans get behind. In his two healthy seasons, the Giants have won a World Series and are now serious contenders to win another one. So, my question is this - is Buster Posey everything fans ...
My Father-in-Law sent me a text yesterday afternoon. Here is what it said: "I see iron man Mauer has missed five straight. Most overpaid player in the game. Have a great weekend." The "have a great weekend" part was much appreciated, but the rest of the text just made me shake my head. I want to address each part of this text, as I think these are common sentiments expressed by Twins fans. 1. Iron Man quip. Mauer plays ...
Updated 09-16-2012 at 02:47 PM by Brad Swanson
So, Denard Span just hit a walk-off single to win a pretty exciting game. Walk-offs are always fun, but I am very over the "beat the crap out of the game-winning hitter celebration." First off, Span has had concussion issues and just had a shoulder problem. Seems like hitting him on the head and tugging at his body isn't the smart move. Second, it is played out. The water jug/pie-in-face thing is played out too. Is this the real reason Drew Butera is on the team? Does he have the ...
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