We are baseball fans first and foremost and none of us has the time or energy to take ourselves overly seriously. Do not forget--Cool Ball is a blog. What THT consists of is a bunch of bloggers who decided to come together and form a larger, collective blog/site using our diversity to discuss and analyze the game we love from as many angles and facets as possible.
To paraphrase Pogo--he has seen the enemy and it is he.
The thing the caught my attention was the implication that we are a bunch of stat nerds and nothing could be farther from the truth. I, for one, reek at math and only the happy circumstance of being born male allow me to count past 20.
I guess that counts as having “TI-83's for dicks” although I’ve never attempted (or thought of) using it for anything beyond simple addition (including additions to my family).
THT is far from a statistical monolith--we’re a diverse bunch and don’t have a THT ‘mindset’ or dominant philosophy. It’s not uncommon for us to disagree with what someone else has written. However, we view that diversity as strength. Our slogan is simply “Baseball. Insight. Daily.” and there’s everything from history (Steve Treder), the business of baseball (Brian Borawski) and whatever the heck it is that I'm supposed to be doing--getting practice for the editing staff I guess.
The only thing about the post that I took issue with were the insults directed at Chris Jaffe and Sal Baxamusa (and by extension--the rest of our stat experts). This person doesn't know these people and I find it distasteful that he draws conclusions about folks of whom he has never met or interacted. He goes from Person does X (writes about stats) which means he is Y (has these characteristics).
This sort of prejudgment is where prejudice gets its very ugly name. Prejudice is drawing conclusions about the qualities somebody has based on one’s own preconceived notions. We’re familiar with the stereotypes foisted upon various groups based on ethnic, religious or economic backgrounds. If this person wishes for his point of view to be taken seriously and his criticisms evaluated he’d be better off limiting himself to dealing with specific complaints and realizing that a few pop culture references does not equal credibility--it just means they know how to use Google.
Sal and Chris are both decent people (despite their tendency to squeal during our sacred initiation rituals--don’t ask) and, while they’re more than capable of defending themselves, I don’t enjoy reading some random nitwit blasting my friends simply because he has issues with a web site--we should be better than that.
Regardless, I’ll be checking back to see what else he has to say. I hope he can be more specific in his critiques because we do welcome constructive feedback. If he does so, his blog will be an asset in cyberspace; if he’s just doing it to show off how ‘hip’ he is (or his mad Googling skillz) and is simply being an attention whore then chances are good the novelty of randomly flinging around feces and see what it hits will get old fairly fast.
At any rate ‘tingler’, welcome to the blogosphere and I hope “Cool Ball” will become a must-read for baseball fans. I'm adding a link to your site here at TPoSGD to show there are no hard feelings on our part.
How low can I go?
First, I would like to apologize to Drunk Jays Fans but I was
desperate. It’s getting harder and harder to find folks who wish to handle my post's signoff. Well, somebody did step up but sadly, it was my old nemesis, Florida Marlins executive David Samson. He demanded (1) that I help with it and (2) I build a new stadium for his team. After some negotiation, we settled on a compromise. I would help with the sign off and in(<---) exchange, I would post his picture on my blog.
O.K. David, do I have this straight--you’re going to sing it and when you point at me I’m supposed to chime in with what is written on this sheet of paper … right?
All right, (sigh) let’s get this over with…
(To the tune of “Gaston” from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”)
“Gosh it so thrills me to see you, Brattain
As your blog does down to the dumps
No one will read what you post, John Brattain
Best Regards makes you a chump.
No blogger at blogspot is despised much as you
It is noooobody’s favourite site
There’s no one reading what is written by you
And it's noooot verrrry hard to see whyyyy…
No one's lame as Brattain
Inflicts pain like Brattain
No one's posts are incredibly strange as Brattain's
For there's no guy 'round here half as verbose
Folks say that your mind is quite gone!
You can ask any Jon, Dust or Pete Rose
And they'll ask you just what the heck that you’rrre ooooon.
No one's been like Brattain
A pinhead like Brattain
No one's got a lamer sign off than Brattain…”
As a blogger, yes, I am irritating!
“My he is fried, that Brattain!
Give five "sign offs!" Give twelve "get losts!"
Brattain. Is. The. Worst
And the rest paaay the coooost.
No one gabs like Brattain
Loves to blab like Brattain
When it comes to blogs nobody’s bites like Brattain's!
For there's no one as squirrelly and yawny.”
As you see I've got bandwidth to spare…
“Not a bit of him's witty or funny…”
That's right! And ev'ry last post of mine--nobody cares.
“No blog hits for Brattain
No visits for Brattain
In a blogging post he’s a half-wit that Brattain…”
I'm especially gooood at pontificaaaating! YAAAWN!
“Still no hits for Brattain!”
When starting the blog, I wrote four dozen posts
Ev'ry morning to help it get large
And now that it's grown
I write five dozen posts
So it’s roughly the siiiiize of a barrrrrge!
“No one writes like Brattain
Makes posts trite like Brattain
Then goes blogging without being bright like Brattain…”
I use regards in any and all blog postings!
“My, he is friiiiied, Braaaaattaiiiiin!”
Are we done? No? What else is there? There’s still more?
(sigh)
Fine … go ahead.
“No one sucks like Brattain
Gets no yucks like Brattain
Likes inspiring folks to say “Oh [bleep]” like Brattain
Going offline weee’lllll soon be celebraaaating…
So now goooood-bye … Braaaattaiiiin!”
Geez …what a moron. What’s worse is that he forgot what he was supposed to do to begin with; so for the second post in a row I’ve got to handle it myself. At least when it was Jiminy Cricket I could stomp the little son of…
(light bulb goes on--brings up mental picture of Jiminy and Samson side by side and notes similarities in stature)
*CRUNCH*
(shrug)
Best Regards
John
2 comments:
Well done. That diatribe against THT was the blogging equivalent of driving on the wrong side of the highway.
His rant made little sense and the only thing he accomplished was a feeble attempt to characterize the SABR-people as unlovable losers, and he had little tact in doing so.
I know you're Mr. Nice Guy, but I'm less tolerance of intolerance and prejudice. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have even linked to it because cretins like this guy thrive on attention.
I'd have no problem if he wanted to criticize Sabermetrics. But when you're simply making childish insults about its adherents, instead of focusing on the ideology itself, you have missed your own point.
To quote the movie Billy Madison:
What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
well, as for me i was VERY offended by cool ball because i don't HAVE a dick and i didn't even know what a TI-83 thingy even was.
i'm not even as statty as u r john dahlink and i get real tired about people who want to complain about stats but can't manage to mount a coherent argument
and that was an excellent sam song...
lisa gray
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