A Preemptive Complaint About Kevin Kennedy

by R.J. Anderson on Feb 9, 2010 6:43 PM EST

From the comments section at U.S.S. Mariner:

I was listening to XM Radio the other day, and Kevin Kennedy was criticizing Bill James because "He said that the 8th inning is more important than the 9th [and they tried a bullpen by committee and it didn't work]." He went on to talk about how once they got Keith Foulke, an established closer, they took off and found success. This was quite a while ago, and people within baseball still point to it as a triumph of hidebound traditional reasoning over creative, sabrmetric [sic] analysis.

Rafael Soriano is a fantastic pitcher who makes the Rays better and clearly improves the bullpen, which was a weak spot when all was said and done last year. He's good. We're all glad we have him. Hopefully he's going to rack up saves, strikeouts, and saliva like nobody's business.

That being said, he's going to be overrated as much as any player in recent memory. That's not his fault and shouldn't be held against him. It's just something you have to accept when the Sori-storm arrives.

Kevin Kennedy is going to rant and rave about this guy for the wrong reasons; those being A) his role B) his experience. There's a reason I don't particularly care for his analysis skills, and this fits right in. He's a generic analyst who latches onto old timey wisdom without ever challenging the conventional. He's also a generic baseball manager.

This makes me miss Joe Magrane and adore Joe Maddon even more.

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Comments

Well said, sir.

Well said.

on Twitter @BradleyWoodrum and @CubsStats23

by BWoodrum on Feb 9, 2010 6:46 PM EST reply actions

MLBN using UZR, OPS+ and WPA the last two days.

WHERE THE FUCK AM I?

One more year Brett. One more year.

by PriceMultiCyYoungs on Feb 9, 2010 6:47 PM EST reply actions

Srsly?

That makes both happy (that they’re using good stats) and sad (that I have bunny ears on my tv).

on Twitter @BradleyWoodrum and @CubsStats23

by BWoodrum on Feb 9, 2010 7:26 PM EST up reply actions

Good news is Brian Anderson will be in the booth for about 50 games this season. Hopefully that means a lot less of Kennedy

by missmay on Feb 9, 2010 6:51 PM EST reply actions

Didn't we have him for about that much last year?

I don’t know how many kalas did.

I miss George Steinbrenner. He was the man responsible for keeping the Yankees competitive.

by kericr on Feb 10, 2010 9:03 AM EST up reply actions

When thinking saves and closers keep this in mind

Joe Borowski had 46 saves in 2007

by sternfan1 on Feb 9, 2010 6:57 PM EST reply actions

No one here

ever said Kevin Kennedy was the brightest bulb to step foot in the Rays press box…

That’s archaic, 1990’s thinking there from Kevin. At least that’s better than Dan Sileo’s 1960’s ways of analyzing pitchers.

by FloridaownsFSU on Feb 9, 2010 7:32 PM EST reply actions

Someone is going to need a new manager soon

KK coached in Boston and he was a catcher (who knew)! Maybe the Mets could sign him to play catcher, i’m sure DRB could throw in some money for the tv contract buyout.

http://citrusjuicing.com/ An SRQ focused-Tampa Bay area sports blog

by CubFanRaysaddict on Feb 9, 2010 7:37 PM EST reply actions

I fully expect him to pull a Steve Phillips and get caught banging some hag behind his wife's back.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 9, 2010 7:38 PM EST up reply actions

You really hate being on the masthead don't you

I’m still waiting for your and Niko’s collaborative piece to come out ‘Hairy graph that smells of gyro’.

http://citrusjuicing.com/ An SRQ focused-Tampa Bay area sports blog

by CubFanRaysaddict on Feb 9, 2010 7:56 PM EST up reply actions

The Tampa Bay SBN Writers' Valentine Social should be interesting.

Follow Me on Twitter @FreeZorilla

by FreeZorilla on Feb 9, 2010 7:59 PM EST up reply actions

SBN wants 80% of the candy.

by R.J. Anderson on Feb 9, 2010 8:00 PM EST up reply actions

SRQ Demands half of that.

Official head of the Eric Berry bandwagon.

Buc'em- Your source for everything buccaneer.

by 4QB on Feb 10, 2010 12:01 AM EST up reply actions

Sorry on a diet.

by SRQman on Feb 10, 2010 12:06 AM EST up reply actions

Figures as much

you ran away from your stalking opportunity on David Price in a restaurant.

http://citrusjuicing.com/ An SRQ focused-Tampa Bay area sports blog

by CubFanRaysaddict on Feb 10, 2010 12:09 AM EST up reply actions

Steve Phillips is a scumbag

I’d like to see someone defend him. I don’t have a problem with Niko nor any of the fine work that they do. Can’t we just move on from an ugly and unfortunate incident?

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 9, 2010 8:34 PM EST up reply actions

I especially enjoy their illegal videos that make the network look like Bleacher Report.

by R.J. Anderson on Feb 9, 2010 8:39 PM EST up reply actions

You seem extra fiesty lately.

by Suttree on Feb 9, 2010 8:45 PM EST up reply actions

I went to Bleacher Report one time

Here’s the other side of the argument that I was in. I haven’t been back. SBN is my overlord.

So let me see if I have this right, Sandy..
You’ve been here, what, two days, and have made maybe a dozen or so comments, and you’re already questioning someone else’s credibility because they don’t have the same belief in the sabermetric system as you do?
Not cool, man, not cool at all.
Good riddance.
I’ve been here over a year, you’ve been here two days. Most here know my position on things..some agree, some disagree, but all, I think, respect them.
You would be wise to do the same.
I’m not really sure what you’re referring to, but, again, most of this thread is a continuation of a long standing discussion. It’s like starting War and Peace in the middle, no way you can figure out what’s going on, no matter how smart you might think yourself to be.
Spoken like someone who doesn’t have any.
You have none, and you must have it in order to question someone else’s.

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 9, 2010 9:03 PM EST up reply actions

...

I don’t have a problem with BR nor any of the fine work that they do. Can’t we just move on from an ugly and unfortunate incident?

http://citrusjuicing.com/ An SRQ focused-Tampa Bay area sports blog

by CubFanRaysaddict on Feb 9, 2010 9:11 PM EST up reply actions

Wow.

That’s pretty lame. We get upset when people appear out of the blue and being posting quasi-erotic live-journals, not question our reasoning.

However, I would say my allegiance is definitely closer to DRB and BtB than SBN…

on Twitter @BradleyWoodrum and @CubsStats23

by BWoodrum on Feb 9, 2010 9:21 PM EST up reply actions

There are SBN sites with stuff like that.

Thankfully most of the baseball sites are more open-minded.

by R.J. Anderson on Feb 9, 2010 9:23 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, MOST baseball site...

I’m not good with insects, so I wonder how well a Bee can See another Bee?

on Twitter @BradleyWoodrum and @CubsStats23

by BWoodrum on Feb 9, 2010 9:34 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Off Topic

you’ve gotta thank Dave from me for posting the Zuckerman story, I invited Mark Zuckerman to stay with me (I live in Viera where the Nat’s do ST), but he raised enough money to fund his own trip. He has written me back though and agreed to dinner with my girlfriend and I, so i’ll let ya’ll know how that goes.

http://citrusjuicing.com/ An SRQ focused-Tampa Bay area sports blog

by CubFanRaysaddict on Feb 10, 2010 12:33 AM EST up reply actions

Dinner with your girlfriend, you're not invited

ZUCKERMANNNNNN!

Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Feb 10, 2010 8:52 AM EST up reply actions

o god

Sometimes, it was as if he was reading out of a book from the 80’s …he was soooo boring….give me B.A. any day.

by electriclott on Feb 9, 2010 10:46 PM EST reply actions

Soriano is going to be a long-term problem to this area's mentality.

It’s pretty safe to say that he’s gonna produce, and the bullpen is going to improve this year thanks to his presence. It’s also safe to say that he’s not going to be around next year. So when this team does what they’re going to do next year (which IMO includes not signing a replacement closer), and the bullpen isn’t as good next year as a result of it, all we’re gonna hear is the whining and bitching of idiots talking about how cheap the team is because they won’t sign a closer.

Sometimes I wish Andrew Friedman would just come out and tell the fans, “We’re not signing a closer because closers are overrated. If you think otherwise, you’re an idiot, and we’d like you to stop coming to our games because we want smart fans.”

I miss George Steinbrenner. He was the man responsible for keeping the Yankees competitive.

by kericr on Feb 10, 2010 1:13 PM EST reply actions