Posnanski Hits Another Homer

Just incredible.

over 1 year ago JoshNY 35 comments 4 recs |

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that was great, brilliant piece

all HOF voters should be required to read it.

Hey, wait! I'm having one of those things. You know? A headache with pictures?

by KeithsMoustache on Jan 6, 2011 5:53 PM EST reply actions

But Posnanski has to be in the running for best baseball writer of all-time. There’s really no objective way to determine that but he’s surely the all-around best of my baseball reading years. Literally everything he writes is, at worst, above average and most of the time it’s truly great.

by James Kannengieser on Jan 6, 2011 6:10 PM EST reply actions

Writing above replacement level is still a few years away from being accurate enough, I'm afraid

John Olerud, Hall of Famer. Got a nice ring to it.

by squid92 on Jan 6, 2011 7:19 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Joe P is in Pujols territory

Just on gut feeling.

by FrancoTAU on Jan 6, 2011 11:54 PM EST up reply actions

Yep

He has a real tendency to consistently not suck, which is pretty rare in the sportswriting field nowadays.

It's a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit...aaaaaand, it’s about time. -- Play-by-Play Announcer, The Simpsons.

by MookieTheCat on Jan 6, 2011 8:33 PM EST up reply actions

Uh

Man. Of all time? I like Poz, but he makes a lot of gaffe’s. He’s easily the best mainstream writer, currently, but I could name 15 other non-mainstream guys I would take over him right now.

Skip Schumaker is a scapegoat

by vivaelpujols on Jan 7, 2011 11:11 AM EST up reply actions

15? Wow.

I should clarify — I mean mainstream writer. And best all-around mainstream writer, one who tackles all aspects of the game (stories, saber, history, etc.).

I might put a few non-mainstream writers above him as far as consistent entertainment/intelligence, but all of them are team specific bloggers. And they generally excel in one area, be it humor, saber or whatever. Poz is pretty well rounded.

by James Kannengieser on Jan 7, 2011 5:18 PM EST up reply actions

15 was hyperbole maybe

I think Poz’ biggest weakness is that he often makes a lot of those infuriating logical arguments that most mainstream writers do. Look at his post on the Mariners for a glaring example, but it seems that in every post he writes there is at least one statement that I both categorically disagree with and feel that it’s based on faulty logic.

He’s a great writer, but I don’t get the sense that he really “get’s it” a lot of the time. Not that he doesn’t understand saber stats – I could care less about that – but that he doesn’t really have a scientific mind. I think that’s incredibly important in a writer.

Guys who I would put ahead of Poz overall, based on a combination of writing quality and critical thinking/understanding: Jeff Sullivan, Dan Moore, Sam Page, Studes, Colin Wyers, David Gassko, Sky Kalkmen.

Skip Schumaker is a scapegoat

by vivaelpujols on Jan 7, 2011 7:44 PM EST up reply actions

He can be pretty sentimental

And I tend to hate that, while the world in general tends to really love it. So for a guy who straddles the line between what appeals to people who like Tuesdays with Morrie and what appeals to me, he’s pretty darn good.

by SuperT on Jan 9, 2011 1:43 PM EST up reply actions

Fantastic

by deadspy3 on Jan 6, 2011 6:35 PM EST reply actions

BilSim

This is a nice response to the “Sports Guy’s” remark that if you haven’t been voted in after three years, you should go away.

Image credit for Jerrysaurus goes to astromets

by hotspur on Jan 6, 2011 6:40 PM EST reply actions

I assume

he made an exception for Jim Rice, ridiculous Boston fanboy that he is.

by JoshNY on Jan 6, 2011 11:42 PM EST up reply actions

Seriously

This is amazing.

What's that about?

by Brian. on Jan 6, 2011 7:10 PM EST reply actions

Warren Spahn:

A compiler if I ever saw one!

Save Jenrry Mejia!

by Ogre39666 on Jan 6, 2011 7:13 PM EST reply actions

Have you guys all read Soul of Baseball?

If not, I would immediately buy a copy. Just a beautiful book. The Machine was fantastic too, as I am sure you would expect.

"There’s talent in these here waters. Alderson just has to clear up the algae around the edges." - RJ Anderson / Fangraphs

by Dandy Salderson on Jan 6, 2011 8:22 PM EST reply actions

To make it real easy...

Soul of Baseball

The Machine

On the Soul of Baseball page it says: Price For Both: $19.04. Quite a deal.

Seriously, if you love you some Posnanski, they are both amazing books.

"There’s talent in these here waters. Alderson just has to clear up the algae around the edges." - RJ Anderson / Fangraphs

by Dandy Salderson on Jan 6, 2011 8:51 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks

I just bought the two.

It's a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit...aaaaaand, it’s about time. -- Play-by-Play Announcer, The Simpsons.

by MookieTheCat on Jan 6, 2011 8:54 PM EST up reply actions

Nice!

Not that I get a commission or anything, but with so much garbage to sift through these days, it is good to see quality work enjoyed. If you are deciding where to start, Soul of Baseball tugs on the heart strings a bit more while Machine sticks a bit closer to baseball and the personalities on the ’75 Reds team. Both are right up there with Moneyball and The Natural on my personal favorite sports books list.

"There’s talent in these here waters. Alderson just has to clear up the algae around the edges." - RJ Anderson / Fangraphs

by Dandy Salderson on Jan 6, 2011 9:18 PM EST up reply actions

Sweet

I’m reading Nice Guys Finish Last again (I read it when I was 12 or something). I forgot how much I liked it.

It's a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit...aaaaaand, it’s about time. -- Play-by-Play Announcer, The Simpsons.

by MookieTheCat on Jan 6, 2011 9:39 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks for the recommendations

I’ll be sure to pick them up. Just started Liars Poker at the recommendation of many around here. Gotta say, this site certainly has motivated me to read more.

Hey, wait! I'm having one of those things. You know? A headache with pictures?

by KeithsMoustache on Jan 6, 2011 9:59 PM EST up reply actions

Everyone understands that this is a joke, right?

It's a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit...aaaaaand, it’s about time. -- Play-by-Play Announcer, The Simpsons.

by MookieTheCat on Jan 6, 2011 8:31 PM EST reply actions

you mean they're not making a Willie Mays Hall of Fame?

awww, build my hopes up just to crush them! It’s clearly tongue in cheek, but it does have an excellent underlying point.

Hey, wait! I'm having one of those things. You know? A headache with pictures?

by KeithsMoustache on Jan 6, 2011 9:57 PM EST up reply actions

It fooled me the first time

Only on the second did I get the joke. My sarcasm detector is seriously F’ed.

It's a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit...aaaaaand, it’s about time. -- Play-by-Play Announcer, The Simpsons.

by MookieTheCat on Jan 6, 2011 11:23 PM EST up reply actions

it gets rusty when there aren't gamethreads to keep your sarcasm detection algorithms sharp

Hey, wait! I'm having one of those things. You know? A headache with pictures?

by KeithsMoustache on Jan 7, 2011 10:05 AM EST up reply actions

Heh

It took me a while to recognize it as satire – probably at Steve Carlton or Johnny Bench. I think the way that it starts out reading like he could be completely serious and gradually starts to get ridiculous is just so great. I didn’t want to say so right by the link, though, so people could figure it out for themselves.

by JoshNY on Jan 6, 2011 11:46 PM EST up reply actions

I thought Seaver was going to be able to sneak into the new Hall of Fame.

by FrancoTAU on Jan 6, 2011 11:56 PM EST up reply actions

Joe Posnanski is an idiot

Why the hell did he not put in R.A. Dickey

Gas prices today are a lot like a pitcher's ERA. Anything under 3 is amazing, under 4 is pretty good and anything 5 and up is something you want to avoid.

by Bobby Baseball on Jan 7, 2011 8:41 AM EST reply actions

RA Dickey isn't done playing yet. D'oh.

Of course when he gets into the Hall it will be by a vote % of 137%.

John Franco (shoulda been) HOF 2011

by JoeBighead on Jan 7, 2011 9:06 AM EST up reply actions

I love Pos

but this piece annoyed me a little bit. It’s kind of a giant strawman, making it seem like anyone who wants a smaller hall of fame is all “OMGZ ONLY WILLIE MAAYYYZZZ”

There’s a middle ground between a huge hall and the “Willie Mays Hall,” and it’s one which, in many ways, Joe Pos himself has argued for in the past. He wants Jack Morris in the Hall of Fame less than just about anyone, and I’m sure he’s not pleased that Maz and Rizzuto and Travis Jackson and a bunch of other guys are in.

I know he’s getting at all the people who are saying “Blyleven doesn’t ‘feel’ like a Hall of Famer” and that’s fine. But the fact is that there are a lot of guys out there who shouldn’t be hall of famers, and unfortunately a few of them are.

2009 Did Not Happen

by cjmulrain on Jan 7, 2011 1:33 PM EST reply actions

How is this for range?

The latest

"There’s talent in these here waters. Alderson just has to clear up the algae around the edges." - RJ Anderson / Fangraphs

by Dandy Salderson on Jan 7, 2011 2:24 PM EST reply actions

Damn

He morphed into Dave Barry for that one. The guy does have great range. This is a fun read as well, despite my hate of theme parks that don’t feature rollercoasters.

It's a triumph of number crunching over the human spirit...aaaaaand, it’s about time. -- Play-by-Play Announcer, The Simpsons.

by MookieTheCat on Jan 7, 2011 4:05 PM EST up reply actions