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Post by sharksrog on Aug 19, 2019 12:11:28 GMT -5
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 19, 2019 12:16:58 GMT -5
By the way, Boly, how do you think it would have been if I mailed it in when I was officiating sports? I was bad enough as it was!  Really though, there was a time when I worked five jobs (three of them because they involved sports, which I loved, and one because I had made a commitment to people and needed to continue it), officiated sports for up to nine hours a day, then went home and watched the Giants, Warriors and Sharks games I had recorded? I agree with you that the players should be able to give it their all, despite the difficulties of standing around in the hot sun and in traveling at odd hours. But I think sometimes when you think they're mailing it in, they're simply having a hard time hitting. Not always, by the way. As you say, it's pretty hard to be 100% all the time. But teams tend to look listless when they don't hit, and I don't think they're listless every time they don't hit. |
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Post by klaiggeb on Aug 19, 2019 13:04:19 GMT -5
No, I didn't.
But what I DID have to face was legislation that said that I could no longer use the words "he" and 'She' in the classroom.
I couldn't say her or him, either, or I'd be brought up on charges of discrimination.
I had to accept that "All Gender" bathrooms were coming.
I had to face parents who were both the same sex.
I had a parent who used to be a 'dad' but now, after his/her operation, she was now a 2nd "mom."
I had to deal with irrational parents who all believed their sons were going to get a baseball scholarship, and how come I wasn't playing him more?
I had to watch every single word that came out of my mouth.
And that's just a very, very short list.
So, no, I didn't have to face 100 mph fast balls, but in that same context, I had to face something even worse; going to court, being sued, or, in a worst case scenario, going to jail.
It's not a case of them being 'motivated' by the manager.
It's not a case of they look listless 'cause their not hitting.
It's random dumb stuff like NOT barreling up a putz. No, check that, MANY putzes.
It's stupid base running, like Scooter did 2 games in a row.
It's PINCHING your butt cheeks so hard with RISP you can't perform.
You're not going to agree, and that's fine.
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sfgdood
Long time member 
stats geeks never played the game...that's why they don't get it and never will
Posts: 90
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Post by sfgdood on Aug 19, 2019 15:45:31 GMT -5
I am so glad I decided to work for myself before all this forced gender language came about. Any employer trying to force false genderization on me would have a very triggersome conversation coming
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Post by klaiggeb on Aug 19, 2019 16:59:10 GMT -5
I'm right there with you, Randy.
And you'll all love this; a report came out last week from some big time College in and/or around the Washington DC area stating that "Milking cows is basically the same as sexual abuse."
What in the world has this country come to?
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sfgdood
Long time member
stats geeks never played the game...that's why they don't get it and never will
Posts: 90
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Post by sfgdood on Aug 19, 2019 17:46:11 GMT -5
Who knew that calves were such perverts?
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Post by klaiggeb on Aug 19, 2019 18:00:46 GMT -5
You got that right! Sheesh! Who knew! |
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 20, 2019 7:34:58 GMT -5
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 20, 2019 7:44:47 GMT -5
It's PINCHING your butt cheeks so hard with RISP you can't perform. Rog -- I'm beginning to realize why we get out of proportion so often. Frustration. As fans, we get frustrated, and we can't see clearly. Sure, the Giants have gone through extended periods when it seemed they couldn't BUY a hit with RISP. But on the season they've hit FAR better with RISP than with the bases empty. Want them to get hits with RISP? Their batting average is 30 points higher with RISP than with the bases empty. Want them to avoid making outs? Their OBP is 32 points higher. Maybe we'd like them to hit with more power. Their slugging percentage is 38 points higher. Perhaps their bigger problem is that they don't pinch their butt cheeks hard enough with the bases empty, which has been the situation in nearly three out of very five at bats. The Giants' biggest hitting problem this season hasn't been not hitting well enough with RISP. It's been in getting base runners on in the first place. When Giants hitters have come to the plate with the Giants not having a base runner, more than 70% of the time the hitter has completed his trip with the bases still empty. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5480/pomeranz-black-traded-milwaukee?page=2#ixzz5x90xdjDM |
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Post by klaiggeb on Aug 20, 2019 9:39:29 GMT -5
Rog, it's hard to explain how players 'press' when the stress level climbs.
Kruk and Kuip talk about it all the time.
I've been on the field and I've seen it.
There are tons of players who simply don't perform as well when the anxiety level rises.
There are others, like Bum, who thrive on it.
That's what pinching your butt cheeks means; high anxiety level that causes a player to grip the bat tighter and start to THINK about how important it is to produce.
Baseball is a game of instinctive preparation.
Too much thinking, at times, gets in the way.
You have to simply 'react.'
Pinching your butt cheeks prevents that.
And this is another classic example of what I've spoken about so often; If someone has NEVER been on the field in THAT type of situation, they only have a theoretical knowledge, not first hand, applicable knowledge.
They are different things.
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Post by Islandboagie on Aug 20, 2019 10:09:00 GMT -5
You're certainly right about that, Boly. That's why the Giants won 3 Championships, we had guys who got better in those situations. Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner, Zito, Vogelsong etc...they all wanted the ball in those situations. And I've felt that feeling myself on both ends. I've felt the helplessness of being overcome with a stressful situation. Your body doesn't move the same, your eyes don't focus...you know you're going to fail. I've also been on the side of knowing that your opponent is overcome while you are seeing clearly. All your senses are heightened to the point of not feeling any stress whatsoever. In those situations you want the ball, you want the bat, you can't get up there fast enough.
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Post by klaiggeb on Aug 20, 2019 11:52:43 GMT -5
Absolutely true.
I have always said, what puts the super star into a class by themselves is how they handle pressure.
The great ones over come it.
The others are over come BY it.
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 20, 2019 14:55:28 GMT -5
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 20, 2019 15:08:27 GMT -5
And this is another classic example of what I've spoken about so often; If someone has NEVER been on the field in THAT type of situation, they only have a theoretical knowledge, not first hand, applicable knowledge. Rog -- I think more people have better knowledge of it than you think. You don't like basketball, but shooting free throws is an area where many players feel the pressure. But I think the same type of pressure is felt in many walks of life. As an official, there was often pressure. But rather than allow it to get in the way, I tried to simply use it to hone my concentration. Too much pressure is bad, but a certain amount of pressure is good. You learned to tune the unimportant things out. I can think back even now and remember things that were said in the crowd, but in the heat of battle, those things were simply tuned out. There were simply too many other, more important factors to concentrate on. An umpire certainly shouldn't have rabbit ears. The time for him to tell a dugout to quiet down is when they're beginning to affect his concentration. Or if they're saying things they absolutely shouldn't say (magic words). I've mentioned this before, but one time in an American Legion game the manager went out to talk to his pitcher. He took a long time, so I had to go out to break up the conference. Then it became obvious that much of his intent was to tell me how I was hurting his pitcher with my calls. He said something along the lines of "My pitcher is struggling, and you're not giving him the pitches on the black. You've got to help us out here." He wasn't questioning balls and strikes, since the black isn't considered part of the plate, and pitches on the black only ARE balls. He was stern, but not obnoxious. IIRC I simply said, "OK. Let's play ball." Nothing more needed to be said. And I needed to call the next pitch precisely as I would have called it if not for our little "visit." By the way, I thought the manager did a nice job there. He "protected" his players but wasn't out of line. It was kind of an ambush, but not a hostile ambush. Kudos to the manager! Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5480/pomeranz-black-traded-milwaukee?page=2#ixzz5xAnVTZok |
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 20, 2019 15:25:32 GMT -5
There are tons of players who simply don't perform as well when the anxiety level rises. There are others, like Bum, who thrive on it. Rog -- No question Madison has been the best postseason pitcher of this generation, and one of the best ever. But how much of that is due to small sample size? There is no answer, of course, and I would be happy to take my chances with him in another postseason, but let's take a look at how he's performed over his entire regular season career. He's allowed opponents a .655 OPS. Here is how he has fared in certain high- and low-stress situations: RISP -- .644 Bases empty -- .645 Late & close -- .720 Tie games -- .643 Within 1 run -- .660 High leverage -- .632 Low leverage -- .620 Over the much bigger sample of the regular season, Madison appears to pitch pretty much the same whether the stress situation is high or low. The one exception is his .720 OPS allowed in late & close situations, but that may be not because he "chokes" in any way, shape or form, but because he's a horse who is allowed to pitch late in games and is given more opportunity to work out of his messes. Thus the higher OPS allowed may stem more from tiredness than from feeling the pressure. So is Madison a great pressure pitcher? He may be. He has the countenance. But if we look at what he's done over his 10 regular seasons, it doesn't necessarily show up. I'm not saying that Madison isn't a great pressure pitcher. As I mentioned, I wouldn't at all be afraid to hand him the postseason ball. But I can't prove that he's a good pressure pitcher, as much as I'd like to be able to. What has impressed me about him this season though is that he's bounced back from what threatened to be his worst season in the majors and is now pitching well. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5480/pomeranz-black-traded-milwaukee?page=2#ixzz5xArEk45e |
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 20, 2019 15:27:49 GMT -5
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Post by klaiggeb on Aug 20, 2019 15:43:17 GMT -5
We're talking 2 different things here:
1-I was talking in a previous post about guys who rise to the occasion; as clearly Molina and Alfonso (pre Giant time) were.
2-Super stars.
Please don't put them in the same conversation because I didn't.
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 20, 2019 17:58:22 GMT -5
You mentioned that what puts superstars into that class is the way they handle the pressure, and I was pointing out that there is more to it than that IMO. Molina and Alfonso were two players who seemed outstanding in how they handled the pressure compared to how they performed in less pressure-filled situations, but they weren't good enough overall to be superstars. Both were very good players, players who value was even higher because of their excellent ability to handle the pressure; but that, by itself, didn't elevate them into superstars.
As I mentioned with Madison, his outstanding postseason performances make him appear to be excellent at handling the pressure. I think it's safe to say that he doesn't wilt under it by any means, and I would give him a little boost for his postseason performances, yet his regular season numbers don't make it appear that he is a night-and-day better performer under pressure as he has been in the small sample of the postseason.
My point isn't that Madison isn't a good pressure performer. My point is that while Madison's POSTSEASON numbers make him appear to be stellar in the clutch, his regular season numbers show him to be above-average in that regard but not great. Which should be more trusted? Probably the much bigger sample.
An example would be Barry Bonds. Until 2002, Barry appeared to be a postseason dud. But that was based on a small sample. Anyone looking at his much bigger regular season performance would think that he likely WOULD perform well in future postseasons. And sure enough, his 2002 World Series was one for the ages. If the Giants' game six lead had held up, he would have been credited with one of the best World Series ever, even though he was pitched around like crazy.
How do I think Madison would perform if the Giants make the postseason this year? I would lean in the positive a tiny bit because of his postseason history, but I would be more influenced by his career records and particularly how he's been performing of late. If the postseason were to start tomorrow, I would expect a good performance from Madison, but I wouldn't expect him to come close to his fabulous post postseason performance.
There is no way to know for sure how he would fare, of course, but his postseason performance isn't a large enough sample to put a high degreee of confidence in it IMO.
Remember, if one had used Barry's previous postseason performances to predict how he would perform in the 2002 postseason, he would have been FAR off base. If one had used his career and recent marks as a base, he would have come much closer.
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Post by klaiggeb on Aug 20, 2019 19:57:20 GMT -5
Gil Hodges was another massive, post season dud until, I believe the year they finally beat the Yankees.
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Post by sharksrog on Aug 20, 2019 21:43:32 GMT -5
Did Gil ever make the Hall? If not, he's probably one of the better players who haven't. Tremendous fielder as well as a very good hitter.
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How about those who have 250 working days? Or 300?
