The Simmons Site

Espcially since he's a pitcher with known maturity issues, the Zito contract was beyond insan e.

 

There's not one long-term contract granted a starting pitcher that is sane.

 

Pretty much. I can't remember the last one that worked out really well for all parties involved... Greg Maddux with the Braves? Sabathia still has a chance at being decent over the duration of his deal, but he'll probably opt out to get even more years. Guys like Pedro, Schilling, Randy Johnson and Clemens got hurt a lot toward the end of theirs.

 

I really enjoyed the fake diary of Derek Jeter on the DL.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6713507/derek-jeter-dl-diary

 

Can I ask, why?

Barnwell showed a complete misunderstanding of international soccer, and a multitude of soccer writers, particularly foreign writers, ripped his argument to pieces. No other country would ever say, "Well, he's our best player right now but we need to think three years from now so we'll just screw our continental championship." That's what Barnwell suggested.

I love Football Outsiders. Barnwell is a great football writer. But he has been lousy for Grantland because he's trying to write advanced-level analysis of sports he clearly doesn't understand fully. He's swung and missed on a number of points.

Swung and missed seems to be the SOP at Grantland, though Weinreb on Renee Richards might have been the best sports piece the site has hosted.

 

It's impossible to say. Maybe Zito pushed Cain, Sanchez and Lincecum to be better pitchers along with Wilson? There are so many variables that make up a champion, it's very hard for me to say that taking one of them away would still make that team a champion.

If you look at the Steelers and playing in three and winning two Super Bowls, some people might say that they could have done better at backup quarterback than Charlie Batch. Maybe they could have, but with Batch, the only fact we know is that they won two and played in three. Maybe the small variable Batch brings to the Steelers gives them the slight edge that keeps them above the Ravens? I don't know. But I would not want to screw with success, or question it.

 

The model seems to be encouraging writers to push the risk-reward ratio to its limits, or the "Dave Kingman as editor" concept. The homers have been most enjoyable to read. The strikeouts don't bother me, because I stop reading them very quickly. But will other readers feel the same? Will the Simmons brand, a very, very strong one, keep readers diving into long pieces they don't much like?

 

If that's your opinion though, it seems so convoluted that pretty much no personnel decision can be questioned as long as a team wins a championship.

 

Well, to me that is an incredible stretch. I think if they could have taken that money they spent on those 2 players and signed different players they would have been just fine and probably wouldn't have needed a 1 game playoff to get in.

 

I thought he was spot on.

The foreign writers are cup hunters. CONCAlaugh is a two nation federation when it comes to cups and even WC aspirations. If the USMNT's main goal is beating Mexico for the Gold Cup, then the goal of winning a WC (or even playing for one) is diminished.

 

Really? I would think that watching the baseball playoffs, it became clear just how random the postseason can be. If Brooks Conrad makes routine plays these contracts suddenly become bad again? You point out there are many variables that make up a champion, but there is just a great deal of randomness as well. Just because someone makes a difference does not mean their contributions equal their salary.

Perhaps the best example on that team was Édgar Rentería. He did win world series MVP, and he did play a major role in those five games. BUT, that does not mean he was worth the 2-year $18-million contract. Look at his seasons. One where he just blew at hitting, and one where he was phased out of the lineup. He was even awful through the postseason before that series. And becuase he balled for five games, him getting that much money is not a bad deal? Maybe for him.

 

Well, that is the reason why they play the games.