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[Dmncnby2k9]

Phillie fans proving yet again why they're the dumbest fanbase.

Lol indeed!

 

[Sanjuro]

I didn't want Beltran either, but my team isn't the Phillies.

 

[mjc]

Man, I'm really excited for Brewers/Cards game tonight. They should be able to pull in quite a hefty viewing audience.

 

[The Elite]

Jays called up Henderson Alvarez. He gets the start tomorrow.

Who has the youngest team (average) in the bigs right now?

 

[eznark]

Phillie fans proving yet again why they're the dumbest fanbase.

The Brewers are 10-1 since not trading for Beltran or Pence! Wooo, best moves are the ones you don't make!!!!!!!

 

[Doytch]

Jays called up Henderson Alvarez. He gets the start tomorrow.

Who has the youngest team (average) in the bigs right now?

Rumor yesterday was Friday. Thank god I actually watch this one.

Answer to the second question is the Royals, which was my guess.

 

[yankeehater]

Phillie fans proving yet again why they're the dumbest fanbase.

Poor mets fans having to defend trash like Beltran because their horrible team will most likely be stuck with him again next year.

 

[Macattk15]

Rumor yesterday was Friday. Thank god I actually watch this one.

Answer to the second question is the Royals, which was my guess.

Kansas City was my guess also ... I knew Seattle would be up there, just didnt know how far.

 

[harSon]

On my way to San Fran for the day! You better win again Pirates!

 

[Sanjuro]

Pirates have been exposed. Other teams just rub mud all over their bodies.

 

[The Frankman]

Poor mets fans having to defend trash like Beltran because their horrible team will most likely be stuck with him again next year.

Phillie fans proving yet again why they're the dumbest fanbase.

You're really not helping dispel that stereotype.

 

[Mr. Enigma]

Happy birthday, Jason Heyward. You get to spend your 22nd birthday on the bench!

1. Bourn - CF
2. Prado - LF
3. Freeman - 1B
4. Uggla - 2B
5. Jones - 3B
6. Gonzalez - SS
7. Ross - C
8. Constanza - RF
9. Beachy - P

 

[Corran Horn]

Happy birthday, Jason Heyward. You get to spend your 22nd birthday on the bench!

1. Bourn - CF
2. Prado - LF
3. Freeman - 1B
4. Uggla - 2B
5. Jones - 3B
6. Gonzalez - SS
7. Ross - C
8. Constanza - RF
9. Beachy - P

Posey is better?

Spoiler

While on the DL

 

[Dmncnby2k9]

Shit, gotta let the guy play on his bday, people tend to perform at a high level.

 

[eznark]

Shit, gotta let the guy play on his bday, people tend to perform at a high level.

citation needed

 

[Mr. Enigma]

citation needed

I think Chipper is a career .400+ hitter on his birthday with a couple home runs.

 

[Windu]

 

[eznark]

I think Chipper is a career .400+ hitter on his birthday with a couple home runs.

oh sweet, it's like war spending=economic boom, one data point "proves" it!

 

[AndresON777]

fucked up Freddi wont play him on his birthday

 

[Mr. Enigma]

oh sweet, it's like war spending=economic boom, one data point "proves" it!

You asked for a citation and I gave you one. You didn't ask for a fucking extensive research report.

 

[Mr. Enigma]

http://i.imgur.com/xm8gH.jpg

Braves OF Jose Constanza is 15-for-30 with double, triple, homer, four RBIs and six runs in eight-game hitting streak, with six multi-hit games. He’s hit .421 (16-for-38) in his first 10 major league games, with one walk, three strikeouts and a 1.015 OPS.

There's still room on the Constanza hype train. Jump on, brother.

 

[Dmncnby2k9]

citation needed

http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-good-life/200906/happy-birthdays-in-major-league-baseball
Here you go. Its from 2009.

 

[eznark]

http://m.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-good-life/200906/happy-birthdays-in-major-league-baseball
Here you go. Its from 2009.

Awesome, thank you!

Without controlling for pitcher performance and with such a small sample size it's ludicrous to draw the conclusions that it does yet still...very cool

Among the everyday players, 69 had at least one plate appearance that fell on their birthday during the 2008 season, whereas the remaining 113 did not. Consistent with our hypothesis, players hit better on their birthdays than on other days during the season, and better on their birthdays than did other players during the season.

Batting average is the percentage of hits per plate appearance, and the birthday batting average among MLB players was a notable .306 (versus .275 for other days and .279 for other players).

Slugging percentage is the total number of bases per plate appearance, where a single = 1, a double = 2, a triple = 3, and a homerun = 4. The birthday slugging percentage among MLB players was again notable: .509 (versus .454 for other days and .440 for other players).

 

[CajoleJuice]

What a fucking joke, one year of birthday samples. lol psychologists

 

[Dmncnby2k9]

Awesome, thank you!

Without controlling for pitcher performance and with such a small sample size it's ludicrous to draw the conclusions that it does yet still...very cool

Yea definetly, good read. There's. Something about birthdays that makes one pefromance, e.i. birthday sex lol

 

[eznark]

What a fucking joke, one year of birthday samples. lol psychologists

I love the fantastically emphatic and enthusiastic conclusion they draw:

All of these MLB players are elite athletes who do well at a very difficult task. Nonetheless, on their birthdays they do even better. If every day were a batter's birthday, he would be a likely candidate for the Baseball Hall of Fame and would earn many millions of dollars more in salary.

The practical implication for major league managers is never to rest a batter on his birthday.

Yet they were not content with that. They decided to extrapolate this out to everyone everywhere!!

the practical implication for everyone else - parents, educators, and workplace supervisors - is to capitalize on naturally-occurring positive emotions as well as to cultivate such emotions.

 

[turnbuckle]

Whew, looks like the injury VMart had wasn't serious. He's back in the lineup today. When it happened I was sure he was gonna be put on the 15 day minimum. 12 of our remaining 48 games are against the Indians. Time to set some distance between first and second...though the Sox are the ones I'm concerned with.

 

[Windu]

i think there is a "is birthday?" option on BR's play index

 

[CajoleJuice]

i think there is a "is birthday?" option on BR's play index

Yeah, there is. Maybe I should look into this.

 

[Dmncnby2k9]

i think there is a "is birthday?" option on BR's play index

O ok I was looking for something along those lines.

 

[Cathcart]

You're really not helping dispel that stereotype.

Who cares? The idea that you can know anything about a person because of what baseball team he likes is moronic.

 

[Lambtron]

Happy birthday, Jason Heyward. You get to spend your 22nd birthday on the bench!

So when do the Braves trade him for an older, less talented player who plays the same position?

 

[eznark]

So when do the Braves trade him for an older, less talented player who plays the same position?

 

[turnbuckle]

So when do the Braves trade him for an older, less talented player who plays the same position?

Magglio Ordonez. He's a veteran. A guy who knows how to win. Something something something professional hitter. I'd even throw Brad Penny in the pot to sweeten the deal.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Poor mets fans having to defend trash like Beltran because their horrible team will most likely be stuck with him again next year.

I think Pence was a better acquisition than Beltran, but don't sell the dude short. In his KC/early Mets days he was a beast, and has still been good when he's not injured.

I like Pence better because he's younger and will be around for a while (2014 is his free agent year, I think?). But he has never, and probably will never have the power Beltran had/has. I think his BA/OBP is more important for the Phillies than more power, as well.

 

[Windu]

I think his BA/OBP is more important for the Phillies than more power, as well.

Pence isn't a player to normally put up a high OBP.

 

[Lambtron]

Magglio Ordonez. He's a veteran. A guy who knows how to win. Something something something professional hitter. I'd even throw Brad Penny in the pot to sweeten the deal.

I'll counter your offer with Delmon Young. He's only 25. No one doubts his talent.

 

[Windu]

I'll counter your offer with Delmon Young. He's only 25. No one doubts his talent.

but is he good in the clubhouse? does he have any good jokes?

 

[Sanjuro]

Nomar had a wicked awesome birthday once.. :'(

 

[Lambtron]

but is he good in the clubhouse? does he have any good jokes?

I'm sure he does. His favorite book is The Great Gatsby, so you know he's a guy who loves a fun time.

The Twins really should've traded Cuddyer to the Braves. He's a great clubhouse guy. No jokes, but he does card tricks in the clubhouse. Maybe it would've kept the Twins from inevitably overpaying him.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Pence isn't a player to normally put up a high OBP.

You're right, my mistake. For some reason I thought his OBP was higher than Beltran's, but it's not, it's just his BA. Hopefully his OBP will go up with age like Beltran's did. Still like him better for the Phillies than Beltran though, mostly because he's young.

 

[Sanjuro]

I'm sure he does. His favorite book is The Great Gatsby, so you know he's a guy who loves a fun time.

The Twins really should've traded Cuddyer to the Braves. He's a great clubhouse guy. No jokes, but he does card tricks in the clubhouse. Maybe it would've kept the Twins from inevitably overpaying him.

I really like the idea of Cuddyer, but Reddick just is too fun not to watch.

 

[darkside31337]

I think Pence was a better acquisition than Beltran, but don't sell the dude short. In his KC/early Mets days he was a beast, and has still been good when he's not injured.

I like Pence better because he's younger and will be around for a while (2014 is his free agent year, I think?). But he has never, and probably will never have the power Beltran had/has. I think his BA/OBP is more important for the Phillies than more power, as well.

Stop it. Seriously stop it. Hunter Pence is not half the player Beltran was in his prime, and he's not better than Beltran now.

10 games is a ridiculously small sample size. It's true that Beltran hasn't played well for the Giants but even within the scope of half a season there is still plenty of time for him to turn it around and crush the suddenly massively overrated Hunter Pence.

There was a time when Raul Ibanez was considered a great signing for the Phillies.

Also I'm glad Heyward is spending his time on the bench. A Brave born on the same day as me deserves to have a crappy birthday. I'll take solace in any victory I can get over the Braves as a Mets fan.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Stop it. Seriously stop it. Hunter Pence is not half the player Beltran was in his prime, and he's not better than Beltran now.

http://www.fangraphs.com/graphs/589_8252___sgraph_ _8_9_2011.png

10 games is a ridiculously small sample size. It's true that Beltran hasn't played well for the Giants but even within the scope of half a season there is still plenty of time for him to turn it around and crush the suddenly massively overrated Hunter Pence.

There was a time when Raul Ibanez was considered a great signing for the Phillies.

Also I'm glad Heyward is spending his time on the bench. A Brave born on the same day as me deserves to have a crappy birthday. I'll take solace in any victory I can get over the Braves as a Mets fan.

Why don't you stop being a douchebag and notice that NOWHERE in my post did I claim Pence was a better player than Beltran? I don't even THINK Pence is a better player than Beltran was in his prime, nor do I necessarily think that he ever will be (something I clearly STATED about his power numbers). I fucking come in here defending Beltran and you're calling me out? Reading comprehension failure total.

All I said was that I think Pence was a better choice for the Phillies. The Phillies have an aging infield and are lucky when they can acquire some young blood so that in two or three years when they've got to start thinking about doing something about it, at least they'll have a young and talented OF to rely on. Pull your damn underwear out of your ass instead of acting like an asshole toward me.

 

[darkside31337]

Why don't you stop being a douchebag and notice that NOWHERE in my post did I claim Pence was a better player than Beltran? I don't even THINK Pence is a better player than Beltran was in his prime, nor do I necessarily think that he ever will be (something I clearly STATED about his power numbers). I fucking come in here defending Beltran and you're calling me out? Reading comprehension failure total.

All I said was that I think Pence was a better choice for the Phillies. The Phillies have an aging infield and are lucky when they can acquire some young blood so that in two or three years when they've got to start thinking about doing something about it, at least they'll have a young and talented OF to rely on. Pull your damn underwear out of your ass instead of acting like an asshole toward me.

I actually just quoted the wrong post. All my comments were directed towards YankeesHater, who is more like MetsHater.

But I disagree with you on Pence anyway. Because he's not all that great. He's not really much of a bargain anyway since he's going to be overpaid through arbitration. If the window closes 2 years from now because Ryan Howard is still the most overpaid/overrated player in baseball, Chase Utley physically breaks down into a million pieces, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay naturally regress into old men, Hunter Pence is not going to be the foundation that keeps it all together.

 

[Lambtron]

I really like the idea of Cuddyer, but Reddick just is too fun not to watch.

I like Cuddyer fine, I think he's just overrated by the fans & the org. He's not a good defender anywhere on the field. He's an ideal platoon DH because he mashes lefties. He's 32, and I'm scared the Twins are going to extend him past his age 35 season. He's due to fall off a cliff at any time (and he's showed it in stretches both last year and this year).

 

[Sanjuro]

I like Cuddyer fine, I think he's just overrated by the fans & the org. He's not a good defender anywhere on the field. He's an ideal platoon DH because he mashes lefties. He's 32, and I'm scared the Twins are going to extend him past his age 35 season. He's due to fall off a cliff at any time (and he's showed it in stretches both last year and this year).

We could always use help against lefties. Primarily I wanted to get a veteran in here in case Reddick drops back to earth. I honestly think we have seen the last of JD Drew.

I think a two/three year with option makes sense for a player like him. You are right though, primarily he is a AL guy with limited fielding ability.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

I actually just quoted the wrong post. All my comments were directed towards YankeesHater, who is more like MetsHater.

But I disagree with you on Pence anyway. Because he's not all that great.

My apologies then.

Not all that great though? Maybe when you compare him to someone like Beltran. But we don't fucking need Beltran numbers for a year, then have no one in the OF afterward. Ibanez is done after this year, Beltran would be gone, and we'd have Victorino and maybe Brown or Mayberry if they turn out to be as good as their potential. That doesn't leave a whole heck of a lot of depth. Beltran might be the better player but he's 34 so signing him to anything long term is a gamble, he's in a free agent year, and his agent is Scott Boras so the Phillies would get raped if they even tried to sign him afterwards. He'd also cost them about $15 million more than Pence this year, and Amaro keeps saying the money is tight anyway.

I just think Pence was the better acquisition in the long term. Having some young healthy outfield when the core starts to age is going to be better than not having an outfield and having to go shopping for one.

 

[darkside31337]

My apologies then.

Not all that great though? Maybe when you compare him to someone like Beltran. But we don't fucking need Beltran numbers for a year, then have no one in the OF afterward. Ibanez is done after this year, Beltran would be gone, and we'd have Victorino and maybe Brown or Mayberry if they turn out to be as good as their potential. That doesn't leave a whole heck of a lot of depth. Beltran might be the better player but he's 34 so signing him to anything long term is a gamble, he's in a free agent year, and his agent is Scott Boras so the Phillies would get raped if they even tried to sign him afterwards. He'd also cost them about $15 million more than Pence this year, and Amaro keeps saying the money is tight anyway.

I just think Pence was the better acquisition in the long term. Having some young healthy outfield when the core starts to age is going to be better than not having an outfield and having to go shopping for one.

Well yes obviously Pence is the better acquisition long term because Beltran wasn't a long term pickup.

The Phillies have no payroll flexibility going into next season, there's a good chance they will actually be looking to unload some money off the books to create some flexibility. Pence will get somewhere around 25 million over the next 2 seasons. He wasn't an asset to the Astros precisely because he was getting about market value for who he (and that they're barely a 60 win team)

I like Pence as a player, I just find it stunning that people think he's a franchise cornerstone because he's played great for 10 games in a Phillies uniform.

And that $15 million is a ludicrous figure. The Mets owed $6 million to Beltran before they traded him to the Giants and they basically picked up the entire tab. The Giants just paid for that in giving up a big time prospect for him.

 

[yankeehater]

I actually just quoted the wrong post. All my comments were directed towards YankeesHater, who is more like MetsHater.

But I disagree with you on Pence anyway. Because he's not all that great. He's not really much of a bargain anyway since he's going to be overpaid through arbitration. If the window closes 2 years from now because Ryan Howard is still the most overpaid/overrated player in baseball, Chase Utley physically breaks down into a million pieces, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay naturally regress into old men, Hunter Pence is not going to be the foundation that keeps it all together.

I am not a mets hater at all. I normally dont even think about them. I just hate players like Beltran, the guy always looks so miserable. That is the reason I didnt want the Phils to get him, and why I am so happy they got Pence. The Phils really needed a high energy guy, and Pence is that in spades. I complained about Werth last year when he was a Phillie also, he had that same dour look on his face that Beltran always has.