Aaaaaaaaaand We're back.

I haven't posted in a while for good reason (crippling laziness). I'll probably post more now during the NFL and (soon) NBA seasons. However, I read this article by Mr. Paul Hoynes this morning and couldn't resist.

In pitching, the only thing that really matters is wins: Paul Hoynes' Rant of the Week

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The most important statistic in baseball is a win.  It determines which teams reach the postseason and which teams go home. It is not an acronym for a math quiz. It's the stat that makes baseball go.

Team wins are important, yes. Agreed. 100%. Also, sick jab at those tricky equation-filled stats that only nerds/dweebs use like OBP, bro.

Why is the pitcher the only player charged with a win or a loss on the stat sheet?

Because the stat sheet is stupid. If you look at the advanced stats (read : nerd shit), you can look at things like WARP which are much better at attributing wins to players (MUCH MUCH MUCH BETTER). But yeah, technically pitchers are the only people who get a win or a loss.




I would imagine it has to do with him being the most important player on the field.


The pitcher is very important, yes. After all, he has an amount of influence on whether you're going to win or lose. But he's not the only reason why a team would win or lose (see : run support, defensive play, a decent amount of luck, etc.).

Last year, Zack Greinke of the fourth-place Kansas City Royals won the American League Cy Young award with 16 victories. In the National League, Tim Lincecum of the third-place San Francisco Giants won it with 15 victories.

It's a shame that they pitched their asses off, enough to show that they were the two best pitchers in the league in spite of the fact that their teams didn't score a lot of runs in the games that they pitched. Coincidentally, 3 of the 5 finalists in the NL Cy Young race last year won 15 or fewer games.

The value of the win has been devalued by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America who favor statistics meant to remove all influences on the pitcher except himself.

This is a bad thing? Removing all the outside influences on a win like the skill of the defense behind him, run support, and the like shows how good a pitcher really is.

This year, the case study will be Felix Hernandez, Seattle's fine right-hander.

And arguably one of the best pitchers in baseball and a well deserving candidate for the Cy Young.

He leads the AL in innings pitched and strikeouts. He has everything going for him except for one thing -- he has won only 11 games headed into Saturday's start against the Angels. 

More accurately, the team he's pitched for has only won 11 wins that have been accredited to him.


Hernandez might get four more starts after Saturday. If he wins out, he could finish with 16 victories. Does that mean he should get the award over CC Sabathia, who goes for his 20th victory Monday for the first-place Yankees? 

If he maintains how good he's pitched, yes. It should be between King Felix or Cliff Lee, in my opinion. After all, Cliff Lee has managed to pitch 192 innings and only walked 15 people (even more impressive when you think that two have been intentional). So yeah, there are two guys more deserving than CC. Not to say that CC isn't good, he is. But these guys are pitching on another level this year. It's not their fault that their teams suck when they pitch.


The time to give Hernandez the Cy Young award was last year when he went 19-5 with a 2.49 ERA, but he finished second to Greinke. He had the stats, including the most important one, to make a far more compelling case than this year.

Greinke was far and away the best pitcher in the AL last year (not only do I think he should've won the Cy, I think he should've been the MVP, but that's a different story). Felix had a great year last year, yes, but was it better than Greinke? No. Similarly, CC Sabathia has had a great year this year, but I'd be willing to bet that if you put Felix Hernandez on the Yankees with that lineup behind him, he'd finish with upwards of 20 wins as well.

Wins, like you said at the beginning of the article, are a team stat. If Randy Wells pitches 5 innings and gives up 7 runs, but the Cubs score 8 in those 5 innings, he gets a win. Meanwhile, if Zach Greinke pitches a complete game giving up 1 run while his Royals teammates are unable to score a run, he gets a loss. Does that mean that Randy Wells is a better pitcher? Afterall, he won! Wins are dumb.

Quick hits

via Adam Jacobi of SBnation -- Carlos Silva struck out more people today than he did in all of 2009. What a hoss.

It's like, a conspiracy, man...

Stew Winkle, bleacher reporter, says "I'm on to your scheme, swarmy NBA refs".

Let’s talk hypothetically for a moment.

Lets!

If you were an NBA official and wanted to make sure the Orlando Magic won last night, what would be some things you might try to do?

Slash the tires on the Celtics team bus.

A few quickly come to mind.

Get the Celtics into early foul trouble.

Or that.

In particular, get the Celtics big men into early foul trouble.

Surely the Celtics big men had nothing to do with getting into foul troubles. They are gentlemen. They've never fouled in their lives. They visit sick children in the hospital and gently pet small animals.

If the big men are in foul trouble, they can’t be physical with Dwight Howard.

They can, assuming they keep it to a reasonably clean level of physicality.

Also, with Rajon Rondo being the catalyst for the Celtics offense, and Boston having no real back-up, the officials would want to get him in foul trouble as well.

Nate Robinson might suck, but he's a better backup than most. Additionally, I think that Celtics fans often underscore how good their team is. They have three first ballot hall- of-famers that, while old, can still produce at extremely high levels. But yeah, with Rondo out, the Celtics bah-low.

Now, how would you accomplish this?

I think you already laid this out.

It isn’t as if the officials can just make an Orlando player take the ball to the hoop against one of these players. No, what you would do is call ticky-tack, non-shooting, off-the-ball fouls. It can get teams in the penalty quickly. It can get the players you want to focus on in foul trouble quickly. A perfect combination.

Wait for it.

Unfortunately, if you are a Celtics fan, what I just described was not a hypothetical, but it was the nightmare of what happened in last night’s Orlando Magic Game Five win.

Waiiiiiiiiit for it!

Last night’s game will take its place right along side Lakers-Kings Game Six from 2002 as exhibits A and B in the Tim Donaghy-taught class of How NBA Officials Impact a Game.

There it is! The inevitable recollection of the 2002 WCF! Look, I agree, something weird happened that may have been a conspiracy then, but do you REALLY think that the Magic/Celtics series thus far is comparable?

Think I am crazy?

Well, I mean...you said it.

Think this is just sour grapes?

First, if you watched with a neutral eye and are being honest, I find no way that you can dismiss the obvious impact the officials had on the game last night.

"OW-AHH BELOVED CELTICS, WHOM WE DID NAWT CARE ABOUT UNTIL 3 YEAHS AGO, AH BEING SCREWED BY THESE JEW REFS"

But second, I have actually brought facts to support what I am writing.

Yippee.

For the game, Boston was called for 30 fouls to just 24 for the Magic.

Surely a conspiracy favoring the Magic.

Okay, not a major discrepancy.

Oh.

But, Boston was called for 22 non-shooting fouls, to just 14 for Orlando.

Six fouls, no major discrepancy here. But eight, just wait a goddamn minute, I think something is up!

And far more important, is when those calls were made and on whom.

In the first eight minutes of the game, Kevin Garnett was called for two non-shooting fouls, Rajon Rondo two, and Kendrick Perkins one.

I don't recall either Rondo's or Garnetts fouls, but I will admit that the foul on Kendrick Perkins was eh. Whatever. Ok, three of your starters got into foul trouble in the first quarter. This is the first time this has ever happened ever.

At the 4:26 mark of the quarter, the Celtics were already in the penalty, Garnett was on the bench, and Rondo remained on the floor but could not be as aggressive because of his two fouls.

For shame, he can no longer rake men across the arms trying to knock the ball loose.

By the end of the quarter, Glen Davis, who came in for Garnett, had two non-shooting fouls called on him. For the quarter, Boston was called for eight fouls, all non-shooting.

Again, these things happen.

On to the second quarter, with both Davis and Garnett on the bench in foul trouble, the officials went to work on the other big men of the Celtics.

Picture the scene...Dark, underground, smokey war room, David Stern at a large circular desk surrounded by various oil barons and heads of state. He picks up his red telephone, calls into Amway arena, and...well, you know the outcome. (SPOILER: it ends with a Magic series victory!)

It would not take long.

Within the first five minutes of the second quarter, Rasheed Wallace was called for three fouls, two of which were non-shooting. Mike Breen said repeatedly last night that the officials were calling a tight game.

Rasheed Wallace, the guy who lead the team during the regular season in personal fouls, got into foul trouble. Well I never...

He was half-right.

Alright Mike Breen. Shootin' 1 for 2!

The officials put their whistles away for long stretches last night when the Celtics had the ball, allowing the Magic to make their runs uninterrupted.

"IM TELLIN YAH THESE FACKIN RATS DONT WAHNT US TO WIN. THEY COULD BARE US WINNIN AND SHOWIN THA REST OF THA WORLD HOW TRUE CHAMPIONS CELEBRATE".

Between the end of the first quarter and middle of the second, Orlando went nearly seven minutes without one foul being called.

And?

Not coincidentally, it was during this stretch where the Magic seized control of the game, turning a two-point lead into a 12-point advantage.

It has been long noted that during runs, less fouls are called. That's always how it's been. But yeah, conspiracy and all that.

For anyone who might say the game was just being called tight, and that was the reason for all the non-shooting fouls, how can you explain Dwight Howard not picking up his second foul of the game until there were just two minutes left in the fourth quarter?

Generally, Dwight Howard gets into foul trouble while having to guard good inside scorers. When those aggressive inside scorers are on the bench due to foul trouble, Howard is left to guard Glen Davis.

Howard is one of the most aggressive and foul-prone players in the league. No chance if the game is being called fairly, and it is being called tight, he emerges with only one foul in the first 46 minutes.

It's like, man, they're out to get us. *Takes another rip off the bong*

Okay, so the officials have put the Celtics in the penalty early in quarters, got Rondo, Garnett, Davis, and Wallace in foul trouble, and kept the whistle in their pockets when the Magic were on defense.

Mission accomplished?

I'd say so.

The answer would be no, as Rush and Crawford then took things too far.

Ah hell, way to blow it guys.

Enter Kendrick Perkins.

Stage left.

The officials tagged him with three non-shooting fouls in the first half with two coming within 40 seconds of each other. By now, also, we know they also hit him with two technical fouls.

If last night was a mid-week game in February, there would be a strong argument that neither one should have been called a technical.

Officiating during mid season isn't as tight as it is during the playoffs. And for good reason. I agree.

But in the Eastern Conference Finals, under absolutely no circumstances can an official call those technical fouls on him.

Wait, you want even more lax officiating in the playoffs? What? I don't...

To be fair, the first technical was a double-tech, where both Perkins and Marcin Gortat were called for technical fouls (Gortat's was also an underserving technical).

Perkins elbowed Gortat in the midsection, Gortat knocked the ball from Perkins. Just two dudes bein' dudes. Nothin' unsportsmanlike here.

About a minute after the first call, with 36 seconds left in the half, Perkins is called for his third non-shooting foul.

Which, I'll admit, was a soft call.

He reacts. But he also, turns away, and starts to walk in the complete opposite direction from the official. He does what he should do.

He acts like an absolute child when he is called for a foul. That's what he's always done, that's probably what he'll always do. Again, technical fouls can be called for a multitude of reasons. One of them is unsportsmanlike behavior. Throwing a hissyfit, regardless of where you do it, is such behavior. Grow up. You're a professional athlete, act like it.

That does not matter. The official T’s him up anyway. The official for both calls: Ed F. Rush.

"ED FAHCKIN RUSH IS ON THA MAGIC PAYROLL!"

Here is what Bill Simmons tweeted about the calls:

I knew it. This article has the stench of Simmons all over it.

“Wow. I am ashamed to be an NBA fan. Tossing Perkins was an absolute travesty. I'm speechless. 1 of the most indefensible ref moments ever.”

I would be ashamed to be an NBA fan too if I became a Clippers fan after not being able to complain about the Celtics being bad. But anyways, enough about Bill.

“Perk's 2 techs: first one was a farce, 2nd one for WALKING AWAY from a ref after a terrible call. Donaghy just signed another book deal.”

A farce. A raucous sidesplitting good time.

Simmons was hardly the only one to voice such complaints.

Surely his legion of parroting fanboys had fresh insight on the matter.

After the game, Jeff Clark from celticsblog.com, someone who is known for almost never complaining about the officials, wrote, “I hate that the refs made themselves the story tonight.”

Jeff Clark, objective observer of events, said that.

The second half was not much better.

Better is relative. I think it was great because I absolutely hate the Celtics and their fans (because of shit like this). So does the NBA evidently. Sidenote: what is it about Boston sports fans always playing the fucking victim? Shit is annoying.

After the officials made a terrible charge call on Rondo (replays clearly showed Jameer Nelson’s feet were not set), Rondo walked to the sideline and tried to talk to the official about the call.

Charging, generally, can be called when the defender has clear position (which Nelson did). Having set feet is just like an added bonus (the difference between an A and an A+, yanno?) But whatever.

Alright, this meanders on for another 8 thousand words talking about how Joey Crawford wants the Magic to win blah blah conspiracy against the Celtics blah blah. If I can only ask one questio, Mr. Stew Winkle; WHY IN THE FUCKING WORLD WOULD THE NBA WANT THE MAGIC TO WIN? (If it were rigged) WOULDN'T THEY DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO TRY FOR A CELTICS/LAKERS FINAL? DO YOU KNOW THE KIND OF MONEY THEY WOULD STAND TO MAKE IF THE GREATEST RIVALRY IN THE SPORT WERE TO BE PLAYED OUT AGAIN? INSTEAD, YOU REALLY BELIEVE THE NBA IS PUSHING FOR A REPEAT OF LAST YEARS FINALS? REALLY?

Look, if we're going to go with a conspiracy, let's be consistent. In the game three blowout, Boston shot ten more free throws. No one outside of Perkins was in too bad of foul trouble (Perkins had 5, in no small part due to being a slow defender). So really, doesn't it seem like the refs were siding with the Celtics on this game?

I need to stop going to the Bleacher Report. It's making my nose bleed.





Oh, and by the way, Perkins 2nd technical foul was rescinded and is no longer suspended for game 6 (which only adds fuel to the fire that the NBA is rigging a Lakers/Celtics final, god I hate NBA fans).

Quick hits

Carlos Marmol has faced 103 batters this season, 49 of them have went down on strikes.

F-I-L-T-H-Y.

In which I make my inaugural fisking

No introduction needed, let's dive right in. Take it away, Rick!

A brand new day for Hawks

I woke up Monday morning and felt ... good. You know? Just good.

Someone got lucky Sunday night!

I'm not Mr. Hockey or Mr. Blackhawk or even a distant cousin, but I know heart and talent when I see it. I know what a champion looks like.

"I don't know anything about this sport, but I do know that David Eckstein would fit right in."

And I know that this champion is representing Chicago, a city that isn't exactly in danger of sinking under the weight of its trophy case.

This team does play in the city of Chicago, yes. Also, I can't really think of one particular city that has a stranglehold on all of the big 4 sports as far as championships go. Chicago is doing alright in that regard.

He goes on to yammer about character and grit and all things intangible that brought the Blackhawks to the finals, and then this:

And the Hawks are going to the finals because of you -- all of you. That can't be overstated.

That's right. You, overweight middle aged man in the stands. You are an important reason for the Blackhawks playoff success. How, I have no idea. But damn it, you deserve your name engraved on the cup just as much as any of those players.

This is everyone's team,

Shares of it are publicly traded on the floor of the NYSE!

not just the team of those fans who stood by the club through dribs of thick and miles of thin over the years.

Oh, another one of these articles. The ones where a sportswriter gives a shit reason for now, all of the sudden, caring about a team.

Membership does not require having had the misfortune of following this franchise during its darker days. You needn't have sat inside the old Chicago Stadium to understand what's going on.

You should, however, have a working idea of how the game of hockey itself is played. That's what I think a majority of old fans complain about.

Ask any Blackhawk what the United Center is like during a playoff game, and they won't tell you about the ice or the lighting or the scoreboard or the Ice Crew girls. OK, maybe the Ice Crew girls.

Heh, hot chicks in skimpy outfits.

But they'll mostly tell you about how loud the joint gets, especially after a Hawks goal. They'll tell you about the people in the seats, and they won't discriminate based on years of patronage.

I'm guessing, aside from all that PR bullshit that hockey players do because they're seemingly so personable, they couldn't care less about the people in the stands. The whole idea that athletes 'do it for the fans' is dumb.

Not long after the Hawks had dismissed the Sharks from the Western Conference finals Sunday, a guy on Facebook complained about fans who had jumped on the team's bandwagon. I'm sure he wasn't alone. You know the deal: The newcomers don't know hockey. They weren't there when things were tough. They're just into it because it's the popular thing to do.

So you are fully aware of the arguments that old fans of the team have set forth. Cool, saves me some time...

The insiders would like to keep the outsiders out. It's the old us-vs.-them thing.

...I guess not. Look. No one is trying to keep this as an exclusive club. What they're trying to do is prevent it from becoming Wrigley field v.2.0, where the game is second to the party in the stands. If you are truly a fan of the game now that the Hawks are doing well, fine, great, welcome to Blackhawks fandom. But the fact that my dad and brother, two lifelong Hawks fans, can't get tickets to see games anymore because yuppies who don't know the first thing about the game buy season tickets merely because "it's the thing to do" is one of the big complaints.

As the Hawks get ready for the finals, there's no them, only us.

Rick Morrissey plays backup goalie for the Blackhawks.

You might be somewhat new to these Hawks and to this sport. There's no need to apologize for your late arrival. Enjoy this.

And maybe, if you choose to stick with it, learn what icing is.

This particular version of the Hawks is unlike anything that came before it. It's as if a team sprung up in two years' time due to weird science or spontaneous generation or something.

It's almost as if this team was bad for a certain number of years and able to garner solid draft early draft picks and get lucky on some late round picks and some trades/free agent signings turned in their favor. You know, magic n' shit.

There are fans out there who would like you to know they survived the Eric Daze era. Good for them. But it doesn't take that to embrace this.

No, but it helps. It feels great that the team whom you've invested so much time in rooting for is finally doing good.

You newer fans can appreciate this team on its own merits. And you have. Now you can reel off the names Burish, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, Niemi, Brouwer and Eager when, not too long ago, you might not have known more than two names on the roster -- Kane and Toews.

You can give the names of players on the team. You are a fan.

You might know that Hawks general manager Stan Bowman was born in Montreal and that role player Bryan Bickell was born in Bowmanville, Canada.

Imagine how eerie it would be if Bickell's last name were "Montreal"

You know that Dale Tallon, who was forced out as GM last summer, is a beloved figure among the players, having drafted or signed most of them.

You now know for certain that teeth are, like, so overrated.

You now know what an embolism feels like after reading the last few sentences.

Do you look silly wearing a $300 Jonathan Toews jersey because you're 50 years old? Yes, you do. But that's all right. You look just as silly as the lifelong Hawks fan who wears a $300 Toews jersey.

Jerseys on grown men do look silly, yes. But what does this have to do with anything?

Whether you're new to following this team or not, you're reacting with the same childlike wonder. Here's the thing: You're not all that different. It's hard to act like you've been here before when you haven't.

Nothing? Got it. Oh, and Chicago made the finals in '92, so a lot of old fans can act like they've been there before.

We Chicagoans like to think of ourselves as a little tougher than people from other cities.

Every person from every city ever thinks this.

Maybe it's because the weather here has such wild mood swings. We soldier on, never mind the 30 mph wind turning us into ice sculptures.

No other city has weather!

So we see something familiar in these Hawks.

They also have weather! They also have an inflated sense of self worth due to the city in which they live!

Oh, the Hawks are wildly talented, too, and maybe that's where the comparison ends. But you can pretend, can't you?

Oh yeah. The team just happens to be really good at playing hockey. You aren't. But you matter all the same.

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This blog will be, for the most part, about sports and the men/women who report them. Mainly, it is an outlet for my boredom as a college student with nothing better to do. More often than not, my comments aren't going to be as funny as I think they are.

Oh, and yes, in case you were wondering, I do live with my parents. Just not in their basement.