When In Doubt, Go With The Larger Sample Size

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 19, 2008 1:23 PM EDT

Gabe Gross

Regular season: 399 PAs, .750 OPS, plus defender.

Post-season: 19 PAs, .274 OPS, looks bad lately.

Grant Balfour

Regular season: 58.3 IP, 3 homeruns allowed.

Post-season: 5.6 IP, 2 homeruns allowed.

Rays Defense

Regular season: .712 DER

Post-season: .706 DER (.719 in the ALCS)

So yeah, anyone who says our defense has fallen off simply does not know what they're talking about.

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Comments

If aimed at me

all i’ll say is timing is everything

The errors in Game 5 and 6 led to two huge runs

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:40 PM EDT reply actions

How many runs have they prevented?

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 19, 2008 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't know

enlighten me

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions

I wonder if 3 testicles is going to hurt his pitching ability

Matt Garza is in the middle of having his 3rd testicle descend. He will be ready in time to win tonight though.

by joeybw on Oct 19, 2008 1:44 PM EDT reply actions

My point RJ is this

a harmless error in a 13-4 game that leads to nothing is counted the same way in your stat above as the ones made in Game 5 and 6

But in your opinion, they’re all the same

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:45 PM EDT reply actions

No, your point was the defense was not as good as it was during the regular season, and you were wrong, again.

You can try to change what you said now, but you were wrong. Just like you were wrong about Upton, about the Rays not finishing above .500, about the Rays not making the playoffs, and about a dozen other things.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 19, 2008 1:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Interesting, i'm the only one here that bashed Upton

and i post on other forus and blogs how defense and bullpen have turned the team around, so you’re misinterpreting my thread on defense

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions

You emailed me during the ALDS, game one or two, saying he was hurting this team.

The crow you’ve had to eat since should be quite delicious.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 19, 2008 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

And i'm loving it

Whatever ailed him, he fixed

I just want all of you to know, in my own way i love this team

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

RJ do you feel the bullpen will refress in '09?

I am optimisric on all else but the pen

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:48 PM EDT reply actions

That post is coming after the season ends.

All I’m saying about the regression war is that we were only lucky in regards to the Sox being unlucky and we were the second best team in the AL all season using BaseRuns.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 19, 2008 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Here's hoping you suggest Jackson

to the back end of the pen

A bit dissapointed we have $11 million comitted to Percy and Wheeler the next two years

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

See, the problem with you is that you assume it will happen here because it happens in Cleveland.

You aren’t looking at the processes, simply the results.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 19, 2008 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Always remeber this

when you deal with me

I personally saw, the shot, the drive, the fumble. red right 88, Mesa’s meltdown in Miami

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions

So?

Everyone on this site has seen some messed up stuff between the Bucs, Bolts, Rays, Magic,and whatever other teams they follow. Nick Anderson’s meltdown as not a cake walk.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 19, 2008 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Not 40 years of itmost of these guys don't remember life w/o cell phones

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Most of these guys also grew up with 24/7 sports news and had to be reminded over and over.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 19, 2008 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions

It was a better life

w/o all the cable news we get today

I really think canle has led to the hate between the ‘red’ and ‘blue’ sates

When i was a kid party affiliation was hardly a concern

by sternfan1 on Oct 19, 2008 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

HEY YOU KIDS

GET OFF MY LAWN

by NY Tyler on Oct 19, 2008 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

i just hope that shitty

broadcast station televises the game… i was stuck with the vomit inducing Texas game since TBS decided to televise some BS show instead of the biggest game of the season… i’m crossing my fingers for tonight… Thank God i have the Bucs in the event that TBS sticks it to me once again… where is FOX when you need it, sweet jebus

Buc 'Em - Where a select few of Bucs Fans spend their time...

by JScott on Oct 19, 2008 1:50 PM EDT reply actions

David Price?

When will he appear? What better time to use him than Game 7? Storybook?

by jdh on Oct 19, 2008 2:24 PM EDT reply actions

I have exclusively been dreaming of the Rays last few days

cant help it, its all I think about.

If my dream comes true we get 6/7 shutout from Garza and 2/3 shutout from Price.

I can see Maddon doing it, the big 3 aren’t doing their job right now

Matt Garza is in the middle of having his 3rd testicle descend. He will be ready in time to win tonight though.

by joeybw on Oct 19, 2008 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions

also

was thinking that maybe we bring in Sonny when Garza is done?

Matt Garza is in the middle of having his 3rd testicle descend. He will be ready in time to win tonight though.

by joeybw on Oct 19, 2008 2:29 PM EDT up reply actions

ABB

anyone but balfour right now… i think he needs a rest… and i of course don’t want to see Wheeler like, ever again.

by daveh33 on Oct 19, 2008 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

I wouldn't mind him seeing in the WS

since that means we made it and all

Matt Garza is in the middle of having his 3rd testicle descend. He will be ready in time to win tonight though.

by joeybw on Oct 19, 2008 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

ok, but we have to be up by 6+ runs...

and if anyone gets on base, and either rollins, utley, howard, or burrell is up, then NO.

it still baffles me as to why Maddon didn’t step on boston’s fucking throat…. up 7-4, in boston, 5 outs away from the world series, and we didn’t step on their fucking throats. we fucking let wheeler throw jd drew a 89 mph BP home run ball. that exact moment is where i tell velociraptor jesus to come in and throw a 98 mph fastball that jd drew’s bat can’t catch

by daveh33 on Oct 19, 2008 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Maddon played the matchups

Drew had crappy numbers against Wheeler. It just didn’t work out. It fucking happens. Now why we kept Wheels in after that happened is anybody’s guess

Certainties in Life: Death, Taxes, and Gabe Gross coming through in the ninth

by JMB on Oct 19, 2008 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions

was i the only one who could tell that wheeler didn't have anything?

and anyway, in that environment, and with that team, you just don’t test it… at the same token i could say that Drew was due for a big hit against wheeler… kind of like how varitek was due last night as well… you know who Drew is 0-fer against? DAVID PRICE

by daveh33 on Oct 19, 2008 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions