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The Kids Are Alright: Lawrence and Tyler
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Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Which brings me to Tyler and Lawrence, two of my sharper baseball scribes. Recently, both of them were independently assigned an AL MVP piece to determine which AL player was worthy of the award (the assignment was before the Award was announced). Both of the lad are pretty well versed in rudimentary statistical analysis. They have worked the way up from OPS+ to Win Shares/VORP type stuff, although we have not hit any extensive defensive analysis. Both are excellent ballplayers themselves, so don't get the impression they are nerdy types.
On the day, the assignment was due, I asked Tyler first who was the AL MVP. "Justin Morneau," was his confident reply.
"When did you start doing drugs, Tyler?" I asked. "Are you out of your mind? Have I wasted the last two years of my life with you?" At this point, Tyler lost his look of confidence, but looked at me like I was about to start another one of my Socratic debates.
"He just looked at RBIs! Those are team dependent." Lawrence shouted through his laughter.
"Settle down, Lawrence," I interrupted. "I've heard people throw at you in games, plus it wasn't that long ago you thought Garret Anderson was one of the league's top players." I then looked at Tyler and grumbled something about lazy, shiftless teenagers taking shortcuts.
"I didn't just look at RBIs," Tyler stammered. "I looked OPS, HRs, and Isolated Power. Morneau was better than Jeter. Plus, Morneau had 309 plate appearances with runners on base, and Jeter had 327. Morneau drove in more runs with less chances. You tell us to account for the chances all the time." Suddenly, Lawrence looked as if he was going to pee his pants. His desperately had something to say, but didn't want to shout out in class.
"Okay, Lawrence, speak," I said.
"He got that from BP [Baseball Prospectus]," Lawrence spat. "However, he didn't account for runners in scoring position. It's easier to drive in guys if they are in scoring position, especially if they are on third base. Morneau had 257 plate appearances with RISP; Jeter 234."
"Breathe, Lawrence, it will be okay, " I said, feeling a little bit of pride mixed with a twinge of dread because I knew I had never instructed them to go this route. The lads were exploring on their own. Sure, one of them had his toe caught in a rabbit trap, but he'd be okay. These guys were not even teenagers yet; toes grow back at that age. Lawrence wasn't done yet, however.
"Look, Juneball, Jeter had an OPS over 1.00 with runners in scoring position. Morneau was around .975."
"Jeter is one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball," Tyler retorted. The only guy on the planet that lets more balls through the infield is you, Lawrence."
"Boys, boys," I interrupted. "Let's not get nasty. You both hit like girls. Tyler, yes, Jeter isn't a good shortstop, but a shortstop has more inherent defensive value than a first baseman. Remember what inherent means? Good. Look, I can see how you picked Morneau over Jeter; I haven't taught you defense. But forget about Jeter for a moment though. Why did you pick Morneau to begin with? He isn't even the best player on the team. How did you overlook Joe Mauer?" Embarrassed silence ensued. Finally, a squeaky voice muttered,
"Mauer wasn't on the ESPN.com MVP tracker. I didn't bother looking him up."
"Next time don't rely on ESPN to do your heavy lifting, " I said, wondering how many MVP voters did the same thing as Tyler.
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The Kids Are Alright: Lawrence and Tyler
Through a series of life choices, I find myself teaching journalism classes all day to a collection of students comprised mostly of middle class kids as I near the age of forty.. Once upon a time, I left the field of journalism as the idealism of education seemed to outshine the hollowness of being a rock critic. Empowering the poor seemed like a good idea at the time, but after fifteen years in the inner city, the poor were still poor. Idealism turned to cynicism of the system, and rather than becoming a burned out English teacher, I jumped at the chance to teach kids how the media should work instead of how it does work.
I used to launch little satellites with the goal of orbiting the word with purpose, now I release little commandos who will one day storm the media headquarters across the land. Sure, most of them will end up slaughtered in the lobby, but there is no such thing as a bloodless revolution. I steer the brighter ones away from the impending carnage, but not everyone can be bright. I'm sure in the end, the media conglomerates will prevail, but the sports department will be ours.
I used to launch little satellites with the goal of orbiting the word with purpose, now I release little commandos who will one day storm the media headquarters across the land. Sure, most of them will end up slaughtered in the lobby, but there is no such thing as a bloodless revolution. I steer the brighter ones away from the impending carnage, but not everyone can be bright. I'm sure in the end, the media conglomerates will prevail, but the sports department will be ours.
Which brings me to Tyler and Lawrence, two of my sharper baseball scribes. Recently, both of them were independently assigned an AL MVP piece to determine which AL player was worthy of the award (the assignment was before the Award was announced). Both of the lad are pretty well versed in rudimentary statistical analysis. They have worked the way up from OPS+ to Win Shares/VORP type stuff, although we have not hit any extensive defensive analysis. Both are excellent ballplayers themselves, so don't get the impression they are nerdy types.
On the day, the assignment was due, I asked Tyler first who was the AL MVP. "Justin Morneau," was his confident reply.
"When did you start doing drugs, Tyler?" I asked. "Are you out of your mind? Have I wasted the last two years of my life with you?" At this point, Tyler lost his look of confidence, but looked at me like I was about to start another one of my Socratic debates.
"He just looked at RBIs! Those are team dependent." Lawrence shouted through his laughter.
"Settle down, Lawrence," I interrupted. "I've heard people throw at you in games, plus it wasn't that long ago you thought Garret Anderson was one of the league's top players." I then looked at Tyler and grumbled something about lazy, shiftless teenagers taking shortcuts.
"I didn't just look at RBIs," Tyler stammered. "I looked OPS, HRs, and Isolated Power. Morneau was better than Jeter. Plus, Morneau had 309 plate appearances with runners on base, and Jeter had 327. Morneau drove in more runs with less chances. You tell us to account for the chances all the time." Suddenly, Lawrence looked as if he was going to pee his pants. His desperately had something to say, but didn't want to shout out in class.
"Okay, Lawrence, speak," I said.
"He got that from BP [Baseball Prospectus]," Lawrence spat. "However, he didn't account for runners in scoring position. It's easier to drive in guys if they are in scoring position, especially if they are on third base. Morneau had 257 plate appearances with RISP; Jeter 234."
"Breathe, Lawrence, it will be okay, " I said, feeling a little bit of pride mixed with a twinge of dread because I knew I had never instructed them to go this route. The lads were exploring on their own. Sure, one of them had his toe caught in a rabbit trap, but he'd be okay. These guys were not even teenagers yet; toes grow back at that age. Lawrence wasn't done yet, however.
"Look, Juneball, Jeter had an OPS over 1.00 with runners in scoring position. Morneau was around .975."
"Jeter is one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball," Tyler retorted. The only guy on the planet that lets more balls through the infield is you, Lawrence."
"Boys, boys," I interrupted. "Let's not get nasty. You both hit like girls. Tyler, yes, Jeter isn't a good shortstop, but a shortstop has more inherent defensive value than a first baseman. Remember what inherent means? Good. Look, I can see how you picked Morneau over Jeter; I haven't taught you defense. But forget about Jeter for a moment though. Why did you pick Morneau to begin with? He isn't even the best player on the team. How did you overlook Joe Mauer?" Embarrassed silence ensued. Finally, a squeaky voice muttered,
"Mauer wasn't on the ESPN.com MVP tracker. I didn't bother looking him up."
"Next time don't rely on ESPN to do your heavy lifting, " I said, wondering how many MVP voters did the same thing as Tyler.
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