iamshack

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:07 PM) So what is your exact grading scale? That is certainly difficult to articulate...and I do not blame you for not being able to do so.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:04 PM) Um, all discussion here is based on subjective expectations. I'd like to think most of it is based on objective facts...

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:01 PM) Correction: It is everyone's thread. Grades are as subjective as it gets and everyone is entitled to their opinions. Well, ss2k seemed to take an ownership over the grade scale...and that's fine...I was merely seeking to understand his logic. The thread did exactly what we hoped it would on an offday, which was to create some discussion...

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:00 PM) You also have to take into account the park factor. Peavy has been dynamite this year. And pre-injury he was one of the best pitchers in the game. People forget that. He's finally 2 years removed and we are seeing the benefits of him having a normal off-season. I don't know if he'll keep it up, but the stuff is great and I think (that said, I was one of the few people backing Peavy this off-season) he'll be one of the better pitchers in baseball all year. That said, you never know what could happen. Yeah, and the League factor...my guess is he was negatively affected by some of the PED users then though...so my guess is it balances out fairly closely. I think Jake ends up around 3.5-3.75 era with 190 k's or so and a WHIP in the 1.20 range...which would be outstanding as far as I'm concerned...

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:52 PM) I dont do those things. I live in a high rise in Chicago and 90% of the places I go on a weekly basis do not allow dogs, including my apartment, which is where I reside. If I had a different lifestyle where space was not an issue a dog may be a consideration, but when you live in an apartment (even if its large for your city) its not an outdoor environment for a dog, which is something that they really need. Conversely my cats are absolutely fine staying indoors all day. Which is why you are a perfect cat owner...

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:50 PM) This would assume I'd want an animal with me in any of those situations. Yeah, because he might make it difficult to deal with all the other, umm, animals....

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:42 PM) Careful, Badger. Here is where all the dog freaks will make fun of cats for no reason, even though my two cats are the coolest pets I've ever had. I'd never seriously disparage anyone for owning a cat...on the other hand, let me know when you start taking your cat hiking with you in the Redwoods, or along the beach on the ocean...or camping with you in the mountains...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:38 PM) A lot of my neighbors still walk their dogs even though they have decent-sized fenced yards. Absolutely...just like you, your dogs have a sense of curiosity...I've read it as being referred to as their "seeking" sense...they want to go out and see what else is outside of those fences...

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:36 PM) I also don't have the same expectations for him, post shoulder surgery. Dunn has no such limitations. And that's fair...I don't have a problem with giving Jake an A...I guess I don't think a grading scale should be based on your subjective expectations... Dunn is coming off the worst season in modern professional baseball history...yet your expectations were exactly what he is doing now....and therefore he gets a C... But hey, it's your thread.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:35 PM) I didn't mean to put the K/9 in there. The rest are dead on. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/peavyja01.shtml He has certainly been outstanding, I wouldn't argue that, but his numbers are trending upwards quickly...To say he is a better pitcher now than he was in San Diego...I'd have a really difficult time believing that...He had 3 seasons in SD that I would consider him to be better than this year.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:32 PM) Nah, I just think some people are over dramatic with the way they talk about owning an animal. Obviously living in an apartment ups the commitment time much more, but either I was given the greatest dogs in the most ideal situation, or owning a dog in the suburbs really isn't a challenge at all. The potty training and obedience is really the hardest part, and that only takes the first couple months. Then you have 10-14 years of a great family member. I will say this though, our family has always owned golden retrievers or labs, so I'd imagine that a lot of other breeds can be much harder to control/teach/cooperate, but then I guess you only have yourself to blame for that. When I live on my own at some point, I've always toyed with the idea of getting a different kind of large dog breed, but then I think of how easy and friendly and smart goldens are, and I think maybe I don't want to risk it with a trouble breed. Oh for the love of Pete...

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:32 PM) You really are a piece of work. You know who has numbers even more sustainable than Adam Dunn? Brent Morel. He gets an A+ Thanks DA, I'll take that as a compliment As for sustainable vs. unsustainable, I think you've misunderstood my point.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:30 PM) he is also in the top five of the Cy Young race, and has a career best WHIP, is .25 ERA better than even his SD numbers, along with a career bests in K/9, BB/9, and K/BB. Plus a close to career best in HR/9 You sure about those numbers? He put up several seasons in SD with higher k/9 than this season. He also had 4 seasons there with an ERA under 2.86....

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 02:26 PM) Dachshunds scare me for some reason. They seem like the "gnaw off your ankles" type dog. Maybe it's because I knew an evil one when I was younger, who knows. And no, we only have the 1 dog, although every household in my family owns a large dog, so they all get to play together at our lake house or cottage or my backyard. My dog is kind of snooty though when it comes to dogs she doesn't know, which is probably a good thing. She just ignores them completely and walk away. Whenever I do happen to take her on a walk, other dogs bark at her, and she doesn't even turn her head, just keeps her head high and shakes her butt, it's pretty funny to see. That's probably because you don't really introduce her to many other dogs.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:15 PM) None of these grades mean anything and you're the one arguing about them the most. What the W-L at the end of the season is at is the only grade that matters. Just because Dunn's numbers are more "sustainable" doesn't mean jack. At the end of the season, assuming no injuries, you know Konerko will have better numbers than Dunn. I think the vast majority of posters would take my position over yours...but because I am vigorously debating that position, that makes me somehow wrong...

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:11 PM) And in your unknown scale it would be seemingly impossible for bench and low ceiling players to earn anything but a low grade. Then again, I had a decent amount of A's, and two of them were from star players. Makes that argument kind of weak, don't you think? No...it actually makes you an inconsistent grader... Not sure why Jake would get an A but Adam a C...I mean the last few years have really skewed Jake's career totals...He's nowhere near his numbers from 2004...

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:21 PM) Yeah if I had a yard or an acre I would let the dog out to run and thats it, unfortunately I have to get all my s*** on, poop bags, go down the elevator, and walk to tiny patches of half-earth (my dog pees and poops in the street). Kind of back to your previous point...I had to leave my plush condo on the Strip because of the dog...I've now bought an SUV to replace my little sports car and a house to replace my plush condo...and I spend hours and hours a week cleaning the house and picking up dog poop. But I am also very happy to have done all that...it is well-worth it.

QUOTE (JoeCoolMan24 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:18 PM) We do, like a half acre or something. And when we are at our lake house or cottage, she doesn't wear a leash or chain. I assume the "walk your dog 5 times a day" business is for apartment dwellers or something. Yes, having a big yard and others to play with can certainly replace the need to walk them.

QUOTE (KyYlE23 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:12 PM) Joe, clearly you don't see the difference in doing the minimum to make your pet happy and doing the maximum. It has nothing to do with pets being needy, it has everything to do with having a healthy and happy pet. Your family very obviously does the minimum. So be it. In his defense, you can reach a certain point where if you have multiple dogs, you can let them take care of these tasks in your stead. Let them wear eachother out in the yard instead of walking it around the block 3 times a day. However, I think everyone knows my stance on the rest of your point...

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 01:10 PM) I assume obedience classes would help with her biting us/gnawing at us? She developed this the past few weeks. Loves biting at us or our clothing. Stern no's and a toy in her mouth don't always work. She'll even lunge at our faces - which is kind of funny, but ridiculous. I know it's all being playful (I think), but she will not close her mouth sometimes. Yeah, work on that lunging and stop it asap...even if you realize she is being playful, all it takes is for her to do it to one kid and the parents will be screaming bloody murder. She is probably teething and thus the biting and gnawing...my first GD did that a lot...I had marks all over my hands and arms for weeks...that can also be cured with more exercise... I am hesitant to bring up the dog park solution again here, but that is one area where the park can really help...let her go run and bite on other dogs instead of you guys...

Joe, just curious...what kind of yard do you guys have? Is it big? How many dogs do you guys have?

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 12:58 PM) What does unsustainable or sustainable have to do with the grade for the first 1/3 of the season? And just because something appears to be more sustainable, doesn't necessarily mean it will be sustained. Because unfortunately ss2k's grades for the 1/3 of the season don't mean anything....but what Dunn and Konerko do over the course of the entire season actually does... I'm assuming the only purpose of actually placing grades on players after 1/3 of the season is to somehow assess what we have here going forward? And if that is indeed the case, sustainable vs. unsustainable would certainly be relevant topics to the discussion.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 12:54 PM) Clearly if Dunn is having an A season, Konerko's is off the charts ungradable. Yet you are trying to find flaws with Paulie. The unsustainable argument is irrelative as he was able to sustain it for the grading period. Hah...fine, in the official SS2k 1/3 of the year grading period, PK gets an A and Dunn gets a C.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 12:54 PM) Clearly if Dunn is having an A season, Konerko's is off the charts ungradable. His BA, OPB, and OPS numbers are absolutely phenomenal. And also unsustainable for him. That being said, despite all that, his run production isn't on pace to really be outside of his usual norms. The one area where you do see an effect of that incredible slash line is in runs scored.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 4, 2012 -> 12:48 PM) If his average were back towards .270, and his strikeouts weren't on pace to demolish the all-time record, I could go with more A material. The Longoria stuff is just a silly side bar and argumentative. I'm just trying to get a feel for your grading scale...I've made the argument that it is almost impossible, minus cherry-picking a player who is producing at an unsustainable rate, to earn an A in your grading scale, if you are an elite player. I think that is a legitimate flaw in your scale. You haven't really addressed that.