chw42

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Apr 30, 2013 -> 12:09 AM) Game 6 is Derrick's chance to be the hero if he wants it. But he'll wait. He doesn't want to come back this round, even if it means advancing. He doesn't need to be a hero. All the Bulls need right now is a backup PG who isn't Teague.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Apr 29, 2013 -> 05:09 PM) The GS4 has 8.8gb of available space right off the bat on their 16gb model phone. I guess all of those useless gimmicks in their software takes up a ton of space. Root and uninstall the useless ones. You can disable them without root, but they will still take up space. Oh btw, Google Now is now on iOS. It's not as nice as it is on Android, but with a jailbreak tweak, you can activate it anyway you like.

So how the hell dd we reach the finals...?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2013 -> 11:11 PM) What a finish. One thing you can never do with the Bulls is question their TWTW. I'd like to see Stacey King go on NBA TV and argue about TWTW with their resident stat head or something...haha.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 11:10 PM) Yeah, except Gavin Floyd was more valuable last year than Jake Peavy because of the amount of W's he put up. Because you can't get the team W without the pitcher's W, per Hawk. Ergo, Floyd must have a higher/better will to win than Peavy. I have a feeling that guys like Hawk know what they say they believe is actually wrong, they're just too stubborn to give up on it.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 10:51 PM) Let's not embrace stupidity. Nope. It's a great slogan for marketing. It can end up having nothing to do with Hawk's stupid rant.

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Apr 27, 2013 -> 05:02 PM) 3 overtimes no free throws, thought the home team got the calls in playoffs Lopez gets a lot of calls for being clumsy.

That was one of the greatest games I've ever watched. Holy s***.

Sanchez did have a chance at 20. I'm surprised Leyland didn't try to have him do it in the 9th.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 06:19 PM) Of course, this has never worked so well for the likes of Gavin or Javy, for example. How do you know they look into those stats?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 03:43 PM) Derek Jeter's defense Or gold gloves in general.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 03:13 PM) Or in certain cases, some players use advanced stats to evaluate their performance and find out what they can do better. Examples: Zack Greinke and Glen Perkins. Advanced pitching stats like FIP can help a lot of pitchers keep their confidence and not get down on themselves too much. The idea that a stat can show you're doing something right when things aren't going well and has proven that eventually, things will probably get better can be a nice confidence boost to a pitcher with confidence issues (Greinke for instance). And just to extend on this. Over and over again, I hear guys like Hawk talk about how, as a hitter, you can't get too down on yourself. He talks about how Paul Konerko used to get all depressed during his slumps or even after a bad day at the plate. Advanced metrics can help players better understand why they are struggling and that maybe their struggles are just the result of bad luck. This was probably the case for Konerko in 2003 and 2008, when his BABIP was absurdly low and he hit in the .230s. Even if their struggles aren't due to bad luck (Mark Kotsay in 2010 for instance), just knowing that your bad batting average is not completely your fault can be a little bit more self-assuring. Baseball is a very mental game for the players, anybody who has played the game at any level will tell you that, and any sort of confidence can make a difference.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 03:34 PM) Yeah, I think most of the arguments on TV miss the main benefit of patience/plate discipline. The pundits tend to argue the value (or lack of value) of a walk, and/or the value of OBP. But the real reason patience is important is because you are better of only swinging at good pitches. If you swing at bad pitches, two things happen: (1) you tend to get out, either via K or weak contact, and (2) pitchers never throw you good pitches, because they don't need to do so. If you are patient and willing to take a walk, you force the pitcher to choose between throwing you good pitches to hit or sending to to first base (which may not be ideal for a big hitter, but it is certainly better than making an out). So through patience, a hitter is really establishing a zone for himself. A hitter is forcing a pitcher to give him something to hit. To me, the perfect case study for this is Paul Konerko. He has unquestionably lost bat speed, but has avoided steep decline by becoming a better, more disciplined hitter. He has to cheat on a fastball, but that's fine because he forces a pitcher to give him one. If you don't, he takes his base, or, if cornered, pokes one to right field. I don't want Adam Dunn to GET walks, necessarily, I want him to ACCEPT walks so that he spends more time mashing fastballs for dingers -- or if the pitcher decides to pitch around him -- standing on first for Paulie. When Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci says good hitters should expand the zone to put the ball in play, I'm just baffled. Yeah, sure, we want our best hitters to swing at bad pitches. Let's help the pitcher out. I don't know why it doesn't make intuitive sense to prefer your hitter being on first to him being out. The arguments Harold Reynolds uses for why pitcher wins are important baffles me...

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 03:28 PM) Agreed, but this is where the scouting and the attention to a particular player's psyche comes in...some guys are just naturally aggressive and thrive at hitting that way...you have to know how much you can push a guy like that to look at more pitches and when to say this just isn't helping this type of hitter. Definitely. You can't have all sabermetrics and no scouting. There's no doubt that there is a mental side of the game in baseball. But some think the mental side is too important and some think the mental side doesn't even exist and that's where most of the problems lie in the sabermetrics vs. old-school debate.

They need to make TWTW the team slogan for next year. Brooks Boyer would be stupid not to use it.

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 01:29 PM) Please God let one of these shirts have Adam Dunn on it. Adam Dunn's TWTW is The Will to Walk...back to the dugout and occasionally first base.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 02:04 PM) Yeah, but coaches and managers use advanced stats to develop players differently and to employ strategy differently...look at Oakland and Boston for instance, I have heard that organizationally, they started pounding it in to the heads of their minor leaguers to look at more pitches. That absolutely changes how players play. I don't think there's anything wrong with trying to get players to be more patient. Of course, there should be a restriction as to how much it's done. You don't want to end up with a bunch of Adam Dunn's with no power on your team. But when you look at guys like Alexei Ramirez or Dayan Viciedo, they need to learn how to be more patient and they need that to be a constant idea in their head early in their minor league careers. In fact, I'd say there are a lot more impatient players in baseball today than patient ones, which is why those who can get on base are so sought after.

QUOTE (Eminor3rd @ Apr 26, 2013 -> 02:00 PM) Players don't create advanced stats or traditional stats. Player just f***ing play and we use advanced stats to understand their performance better. Or in certain cases, some players use advanced stats to evaluate their performance and find out what they can do better. Examples: Zack Greinke and Glen Perkins. Advanced pitching stats like FIP can help a lot of pitchers keep their confidence and not get down on themselves too much. The idea that a stat can show you're doing something right when things aren't going well and has proven that eventually, things will probably get better can be a nice confidence boost to a pitcher with confidence issues (Greinke for instance).

Thibs sounds like the team lost in the postgame interview...lol.

QUOTE (Cali @ Apr 25, 2013 -> 10:06 PM) #TWTW How do you measure that stat?

QUOTE (BigEdWalsh @ Apr 25, 2013 -> 10:05 PM) Sure was. Kinda spoils the elation of winning. Oh well, HELL YEAH BULLS!!! They were playing not to lose. The offense pretty much stalled as they were more into milking the clock than running an actual offense. You hate to give the Nets confidence like that. This Nets team has a lot of talent.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 25, 2013 -> 10:05 PM) Jose Molina missed the 3 at the buzzer...nice I don't know how an NBA player air balls a pretty much wide open 3 from the corner.

That was way closer than it should have been. How fitting that C.J. airballed the last shot...lol

I wonder why Thibs didn't put Nate in when the offense was clearly struggling.

QUOTE (fathom @ Apr 25, 2013 -> 09:28 PM) Wow, former Sox draft pick A 300 pounder played baseball?!