Picks of the Week
Posted: February 27th, 2009 | Filed under: Pop Culture | 31 Comments »
OK, I’m going to pull a quote out of a book here, and I want you to guess who wrote this. I did this once, but it was more more than a year ago … and anyway, this always gets me. These words were written in 1993 … so 15 years ago. Are you ready? Here we go:
“The two most overrated stats in all of baseball are batting average and earned run average. I measure a player by his run production: Slugging percentage and on-base percentage actually tell you more about run production than batting average.”
Who wrote those words?
Joe Morgan, of course.
*Of course it’s cheap to make my own book a pick of the week. I suspect it won’t be the last time.
I really like the sound of the Fiery Furnaces … I think Benton Harbor Blues — Again gives a good feel for their sound.
And, of course, I like the Sleepy Rebels. I chose Kaleidoscope as this week’s song, but I really like all their stuff. And if you have seen those new JCPenny commericlals, you get a bit of this remix of Unbelievable.
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So, why is it so fashionable to NOT like Joe Morgan as a commentator. I’ve always liked him.
I mean I’m not as smart as the “firejoemorgan” guys or anything, but, c’mon this quote makes sense…and FIFTEEN YEARS AGO nonetheless!
Joe Morgan knows baseball, but I can’t listen to a game he broadcasts. (I just turn the sound off.) His ‘analysis’ seems to consist of variations on the idea that today’s players aren’t as good as he was. It’s unbearable, and it’s too bad because Jon Miller is great.
Yet again I don’t get the right answer…sigh…
On a totally unrelated note, Joe, how is your brother Tony doing with his weight loss???
“So, why is it so fashionable to NOT like Joe Morgan as a commentator. I’ve always liked him.
I mean I’m not as smart as the “firejoemorgan†guys or anything, but, c’mon this quote makes sense…and FIFTEEN YEARS AGO nonetheless!”
The problem is that most of the time what he says is the opposite of the spirit of this quote.
Along those very lines –
last week, I was watching a game on MLB network. it was a Saturday baseball game of the week from 1984, “the Sandberg game”, the Cardinals vs the Cubs, in which the Cards got out to an early 9-3 lead, but Sandberg tied the game with a HR off of Sutter in the 9th to send it to extras and again tied the game with a 2-run HR (again, off of Suter) in the 10th.
In the middle of this game, Bob Costas (whom I do not particularly like, on most days I’d say whom I detest, primarily for his overt rooting for the Yankees during the 2000 ALCS against my beloved Mariners), had the occiasion to remark in the middle of a meaningless at-bat : “Two of the most under-appreciated statistics in the game: walks, and on-base percentage.”
in 1984. My jaw dropped. I have since changed my mind about Costas … somewhat.
My first reaction is that David Falkner may actually have written those words.
I don’t know whether knowing that Joe Morgan has (or at least had) a sense as to the importance of what were at the time less traditional (but by no means esoteric) stats is heartening or depressing. Obviously, he was a great player, but his announcing is haughty and largely wrong-headed these days.
Morgan’s done a complete about-face when it comes to understanding – or showing that he understands – the importance of OBP, to the point where it’s almost as though he’s just being obstinate and contrarian. His announcing is not only wrong-headed, but haughty – if you value a walk over a bunt, you obviously don’t understand because you never played the game.
Any Joechat on FJM will show some prime examples as to Morgan’s attitude and old-school views. This article shows an even worse side of his personality:
http://www.sfweekly.com/2005-07-06/news/say-it-ain-t-so-joe/
Morgan’s kind of become the representative of one side in the increasingly combative battle between the new and old guards of baseball analysis. Ironically, the quote Joe P. included, and the style of player Morgan was back when he played, show that his understanding of the game and what makes for a good player is – or was – far more sophisticated and intelligent than he lets on.
On another note, since I haven’t been on the site for a bit, I hope your dad’s doing well, Joe.
Joe, check out Rebecca Hart and the Sexy Children. Great band.
http://www.rebeccahart.net
That is all, except ‘great picks, as always.’
The Fiery Furnaces! Joe, I can’t follow you unreservedly down the path of your Boss worship, but calling out the Furnaces is a stroke of brilliance. Their show at the Record Bar in Westport a year or so ago was one of the best I’ve seen.
I couldn’t remember his name. But I knew it had to be someone with a .271 batting average, a .392 career on-base percentage, and the highest slugging (in 1976) of any second baseman for 48 years.
Which Joe Morgan? The JM who managed the “Morgan Margic” Red Sox back in the ’80s?
As long as the Fiery Furnaces recommendation does not include anything off of “Rehearsing My Choir”, I can support the inclusion of them in your picks.
What’s this 09/09/09 thing? Are you writing a book about the Reds or something?
I think the joe morgan hates stems from your previous post about about home town announcers. for 150 local games a year you get to listen to the poetry of, say, harry kalas. Then the national announcers come to town and talk about how everybody i philadeldelphia throws snowballs at santa clause. im sure that analogy works for every city.
http://www.geocities.com/cyrilmorong@sbcglobal.net/LaneBaseonBalls.htm
1917. Article not only stresses the importance of walks, but even attempts to give them a precise run expectation to go along with the run expectations of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs. Looks like Tom Tango was beaten by about 90 years!
h/t: Plucked from a recent Baseball Prospectus article: Adventures in Team Fielding by Ben Lindbergh.
JM drives me up the wall. Most of what he says during a broadcast is flat out wrong, and the clincher is that he repeats himself over and over and over and……..
PhiskPhan – you might be right. My jaw dropped when I read that Joe “Dave Concepcion” Morgan said that quote. He seems to have gone from understanding baseball in 1993 to having no idea of what goes on in this decade. After all, it’s his job to watch baseball games, yet he routinely says, “I haven’t watched them, so I can’t comment” about almost every team in the league.
I miss FJM. However, this site has more than filled that vacancy in my daily blog reads.
So Joe, what about the Chefs getting Cassel and Vrabel for a single draft pick?
Most of you probably already know this, but I was in the bookstore the other day, and saw the “Baseball for Dummies”. Guess which former Cincinnati second basemen is featured on the cover?
Ron Oester?
The “Topsy-Turvy” upside down tomato grower infomercial on TV these days is definitely worth a look.
I was watching the Rays-Phillies spring training game yesterday, and it occurred to me that an interesting question is whether you would trade, straight up, Carlos Pena for Ryan Howard. Seriously – take a look. It’s not an easy answer like you might think.
I can see batting average (although in certain contexts, AVG has a good deal of value — it’s tough to score a runner from second base with a walk, after all).
But ERA? What’s the alternative metric for a pitcher’s effectiveness? Assuming you include park factor in your assessment, then ERA seems pretty appropriately rated, at least as far as starters are concerned. Other useful pitching metrics like WHIP and OPS against correspond pretty strongly to ERA. Am I missing some anti-ERA revolution here, or was Morgan just talking about unadjusted ERA?
The best thing you can say about Joe Morgan is that he’s not Tim McCarver.
I think Joe Morgan’s ghost writer wrote that. I cannot ever see Morgan writing something like that.
Quite hip this week, Joe…
Oh, and I’m on to you, Fremp…
Pete #5 –
I think you should re-evaluate your opinion of Costas. He is one of the brighter, more insightful minds on the subject; I would be thrilled to have him as Commissioner of MLB (well, if he had any actual power beyond being the lackey for the owners that Clueless Bud Selig is). His book, “Fair Ball: A Fan’s Case for Baseball” (http://tinyurl.com/cf6yxw) is quite excellent, and still holds up today.
As for his Yankee-rooting during the 2000 playoffs, I really don’t remember any. And trust me, I would have picked up on anything favorable to the Yankees, given how much I hated them and wished them to lose (slightly OT: I am so glad to see Joe Torre’s halo get tarnished by his book this spring; I cannot stand the sanctimony). Heck, I have lived in Manhattan for 30 years, and I was ecstatic when they lost in 2001 to Arizona, even though it surely would have undone all the tragedy of 9/11 (or so the announcers, writers, etc. would have you believe).
Anyway, I think the observation in 1984 is more in line with who he is and what he thinks than any pro-Yankee bias he may have had in 2000.
Has Joe ever REALLY said anything negative towards on base percentage, though? Most of his analysis that gets criticism is for his love of small ball and stolen bases, not necessarily for being anti-OBP. I think it might be fair to say that Morgan understands the importance of getting on base and extra base hits, but doesn’t understand the concepts of running into outs.
Never been a big fan of Joe Morgan, maybe he had just finished reading Bill James’ Baseball Abstract…..
I saw the same game that Pete (Post #5) saw on MLB Network, and I was struck as to the amount of good analysis that came from Costas and Kubek on that game. In fact, NBC’s Game of the Week was always good on baseball analysis. Today, we’re left with hearing things like “Ryan Howard is a really good power hitter”.
I miss the good old days of Game of the Week…..
@Bellweather Johnson – Thanks for that reference. I hope Fremp landed on his feet after Joe quit chatting with the commoners. I mean how can one expect Joe Morgan to answer those pesky fan questions about professional baseball when he never gets a chance to watch the games? Thank goodness he has a say in the Hall of Fame voting.
Posnanski, you’re about the most tasteful shill in history. Awesome teaser.
Joe Morgan just doesn’t put any effort into his current job. Obviously he knows tons about baseball, but he doesn’t care. He’s coasting. And his apathy leaps out of the TV screen whenever he’s on. That Joe has outlasted FJM says a lot about how much the American media values actual talent.
It’s a shame you 20-somethings don’t know of Bob Costas as anything other than a smarmy little prick. Because him and Tony Kubek doing the NBC Saturday games was a treat. One of my prize baseball-related possessions is my (disintegrating) VHS tapes of the 1987 ALCS. I love watching it almost as much for Kostas and Kubek’s calls, insights and general passion for explaining the game to viewers as I do for the fact that my beloved Twins crushed the heavily favored Tigers.
Those guys enhanced every game they called…
Okay. I read the quote, and I said to myself, “It’ll be hilarious if it ends up being Joe Morgan”
Arrow key down… WTF — Joe Morgan!? I didn’t laugh, by the way.
I don’t find it surprising at all that he contradicted himself; I find it insulting that he clearly possesses the open-mindedness and intellectual capacity necessary to utilize statistics other than the bread-and-butter, so to speak. He just chooses not to use it anymore, and, in fact, lobbies against it.
I’m curious as to what pushed Joe away from OBP/SLG since 1993. Or maybe he was misquoted? Drunk and/or high at the time? Did Billy Beane insult his mother?
I was watching Boone Pickens being interviewed by Bill Maher on Real Time. If you don’t know, Boone is now lobbying for the utilization of wind in lieu of foreign oil — an industry Boone profited greatly from over the course of his life.
Towards the end of the interview, Maher asks him who he voted for between Obama and McCain. Pickens said he voted for McCain.
Maher said (and I’m paraphrasing), if your mantra is “drilling is not the answer” why did you vote for a candidate who’s slogan was “drill, drill, drill”?
This kind of cognitive dissonance is eerily similar to that displayed by Joe Morgan.
If you want to watch the Pickens interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqMruFKnY4c