cubfan33
10-15-2002, 10:40 PM
We have a World Series now. We've been through ten months of watching, analyzing, and pouring over the statistical equivalent of tea leaves (some leaves more accurate than others) only to come up with a pairing that very very very few would have expected and would be worth a pretty penny at the sportsbook for those very very very few that did. We have perhaps the best player in the major leagues in Barry Bonds and several of the most unlikely - David Eckstein, Benito Santiago, and most of the Angels bullpen. Call it the Wild Card World Series, Pythagoras' Revenge, or just another Fall Classic, there's no reason we shouldn't expect it to be a barnburner. Giants vs. Angels.
All we have now is a few days to wait with very little to say.
Especially for the guy who talks about injuries. Two of the best training staffs in baseball have done their share in getting these teams here and a by-product of that health, as well as reasonable pitching usage, is nothing significant in the way of injury news. We have no Scott Rolen with a shoulder injury we all saw. We have no Andy Benes or Woody Williams pitching their hearts out on fumes and duct tape. We have no Matt Morris, pitching, almost literally, his heart out and coming up just short. We have no evil owner like Carl Pohlad, for trying to kill his team, or George Steinbrenner, for trying to kill the other twenty-nine. We have two great managers who were also solid players and have rapidly progressed to the top of their fields. We have coaches who really know how to coach, from pitching coaches Bud Black and Dave Righetti, to guys like Joe Maddon and Ron Wotus running the benches and truly contributing.
We're left, days after a great playoff, months after a threatened strike, and a year after a truly great World Series, with what it should be.
It's just baseball, pure and simple.
Pure.
Some administrative stuff and things that might interest you:
If you're not reading Kevin Goldstein's Prospect Report, you're missing out. I mean, really.
I mourned in this space when Joe Sheehan left his daily posting at Baseball Prospectus behind, but like many great things, he's back. Joe is setting up an off-season column, expected to run regularly during the off-season, that will share his unique and immensely well-written take on baseball over a time we're all craving things baseball. No, it's not free, but I think it's reasonably priced and in this case, I put my money where my mouth is. You can check it out free this week by sending an email to "sheehan_newsletter@pacbell.net" ... and tell him UTK sent you.
There won't be a UTK tomorrow, but I will be back Thursday with my World Series preview.
If there's anyone that will be AT the games in either Anaheim or San Francisco, please let me know. I have a proposition for you.
For those of you that have ordered a UTK Collection on CD, it's been delayed. Trust me in saying that you'll be glad I waited. There's something that is very likely to be added to each copy that will make you smile - I just have to work out the details. More on this soon. Remember you can still order yours by sending $10 to cubfan33@comcast.net via PayPal. If you don't like or won't use PayPal, contact me.
And because you've waited patiently, I'm going to announce TWO things tonight. One, next year's UTK will continue to be free. Yes, we'd love donations to help defray the cost, but you'll have the opportunity to help with part two ... which is the UTK Injury Database. The database will be an ongoing project to collect and analyze injury data to assess its impact on baseball performance. The database will be compiled and updated by a team of volunteers and will be available by subscription only. The cost hasn't been determined yet, but the more people that use the UTK/ID, the less the per user cost will be. Everyone will get a chance to see it in use before I ask you to cough up your hard earned money, so look for this in January.
I'll see you all back here Thursday, right?
All we have now is a few days to wait with very little to say.
Especially for the guy who talks about injuries. Two of the best training staffs in baseball have done their share in getting these teams here and a by-product of that health, as well as reasonable pitching usage, is nothing significant in the way of injury news. We have no Scott Rolen with a shoulder injury we all saw. We have no Andy Benes or Woody Williams pitching their hearts out on fumes and duct tape. We have no Matt Morris, pitching, almost literally, his heart out and coming up just short. We have no evil owner like Carl Pohlad, for trying to kill his team, or George Steinbrenner, for trying to kill the other twenty-nine. We have two great managers who were also solid players and have rapidly progressed to the top of their fields. We have coaches who really know how to coach, from pitching coaches Bud Black and Dave Righetti, to guys like Joe Maddon and Ron Wotus running the benches and truly contributing.
We're left, days after a great playoff, months after a threatened strike, and a year after a truly great World Series, with what it should be.
It's just baseball, pure and simple.
Pure.
Some administrative stuff and things that might interest you:
If you're not reading Kevin Goldstein's Prospect Report, you're missing out. I mean, really.
I mourned in this space when Joe Sheehan left his daily posting at Baseball Prospectus behind, but like many great things, he's back. Joe is setting up an off-season column, expected to run regularly during the off-season, that will share his unique and immensely well-written take on baseball over a time we're all craving things baseball. No, it's not free, but I think it's reasonably priced and in this case, I put my money where my mouth is. You can check it out free this week by sending an email to "sheehan_newsletter@pacbell.net" ... and tell him UTK sent you.
There won't be a UTK tomorrow, but I will be back Thursday with my World Series preview.
If there's anyone that will be AT the games in either Anaheim or San Francisco, please let me know. I have a proposition for you.
For those of you that have ordered a UTK Collection on CD, it's been delayed. Trust me in saying that you'll be glad I waited. There's something that is very likely to be added to each copy that will make you smile - I just have to work out the details. More on this soon. Remember you can still order yours by sending $10 to cubfan33@comcast.net via PayPal. If you don't like or won't use PayPal, contact me.
And because you've waited patiently, I'm going to announce TWO things tonight. One, next year's UTK will continue to be free. Yes, we'd love donations to help defray the cost, but you'll have the opportunity to help with part two ... which is the UTK Injury Database. The database will be an ongoing project to collect and analyze injury data to assess its impact on baseball performance. The database will be compiled and updated by a team of volunteers and will be available by subscription only. The cost hasn't been determined yet, but the more people that use the UTK/ID, the less the per user cost will be. Everyone will get a chance to see it in use before I ask you to cough up your hard earned money, so look for this in January.
I'll see you all back here Thursday, right?