Hitter protection

It looks like the theory strikes again. I wish I could find it in the archives, but it always seems to ring true, at least to me. Do you remember what I am talking about where he mentioned that out of 5 starts (I’m paraphrasing) that he would have a 1 star, 2 star, 3 star, 4 star, and a 5 star performance. It makes him hard to write off because just when you think the 1 and 2 star stars are indicative of his nature he comes out and has a 4 or 5 star performance. Bob if you read this, I’d love to hear you re-hash this idea.

FACT.

What kind of trolls still listen to AM radio?

I don’t want this masterpiece deleted.

I’m absolutely positive there’s more treasure where this came from. You may just have to be patient.

He’s talked shit about me on message boards before. Call me a douchebag dictator all you want, I don’t ban just because people disagree with me.

Here’s your free walk, base clogger.

It’s silly to say that protection doesn’t exist at all. Obviously it does, or we wouldn’t hear about managers making moves based on who’s next up in the lineup. It’s quite possible that guys try to nibble more if a hitter is ‘unprotected’ and there’s someone ahead of them on base. The issue is that it’s just not prevalent enough for it to make much of a difference. Pretty much every study on the issue has shown that there’s no statistically significant correlation between a batter’s overall performance and the performance of the guys who are next to him in the lineup. Basically, when someone is protected, they might see more pitches on the plate, but the corresponding reduction in walk rate tends to be enough to offset any improvement by seeing ‘better’ pitches.

Formerly a Yanks fan since you’re born into that in my family.

I was in 2nd grade during their inaugural season. I didn’t really care about baseball before that.

98 because they became my home team.

Raised in the Tampa area though. When I moved to New York, I stayed a Tampa Bay fan because it always pissed me off to see so many Yankees fans at the Devil Rays games, I decided I’d be the lone Tampa Bay fan in Yankeeland.

Before the Marlins, I didn’t really follow baseball much. Didn’t have cable, so when they formed it was the first time I had regular access to a single team.

I grew up in central Ohio and my early memories were the later years of the Big Red Machine… then the Tom Seaver era… going to the game after Pete hit 4192.. The Eric Davis years were next. I didn’t go to a whole lot of games. We were about a 2 hour drive away from the stadium, and would only make a few a year. The usual visit to Kings Island when we did made it even more special. But I listened to Marty and Joe call the game on the radio almost every night.. My first year away from home, during my freshman year in college in South Carolina, they swept the World Series. It was the pinnacle of my sports life up to that moment.

I moved to the Tampa Bay area in the fall of 2001 and have had a new favorite team since.