Spiezio and female companion v cabdriver
Former Mariner Scott Spiezio (who, you may remember from way back, was brought in to provide clubhouse leadership, grit, and character) was charged with assaulting a cabdriver in Chicago.
Spiezio […] argued with the driver, Gani Musabar Hasan, over the credit card fare, [police spokesman] Bayless said. During the argument, Jennifer Pankratz, 27, reached through the cab’s partition for the credit card, grabbed it and broke Hasan’s glasses, authorities said.
The result:
Pankratz was charged with battery and criminal damage to property, and Spiezio was charged with theft, criminal damage to property and simple assault. Bail for each was set at $1,000.
A quick search reveals Ms. Pankratz has done some modeling and that she is likely the same Jenn who is, reputedly, Spiezio’s girlfriend. Spiezio and Ms. Pankratz can be seen together in this photo.
You can purchase a Pankrantz 2003 “Benchwarmer” collector’s card on a signed (maybe) Ebay right now for $1.34 if you act within the next few days or an unsigned for $3.00 in the next day.
While bidding for those items is not hot, remember for contrast that a Scott Spiezio 1997 rookie card is worth (based on recent sales) under $1.
Mind Game out
The long-delayed “Mind Game: How the Boston Red Sox Got Smart, Won a World Series, and Created a New Blueprint for Winning” is finally available (according to Amazon, it’s by the excellent Steve Goldman, who wrote and edited, and also some of the old Baseball Prospectus guys who didn’t say, write chapters like me and others… which is kinda annoying, since this is the last BP book my name’s going to be on in any capacity and I worked hard on it).
I’d tell you how the final product is, but as an author, it’s unlikely I’ll ever be receiving a copy (don’t ask). The stuff I read was quite good, though, I liked my chapters, Goldman’s great, and the reception seems to be excellent, so I’m confident it’s worth checking out if you get the chance. However, I don’t get any money if it sells well and no longer have any stake in BP’s success, so don’t at all feel like a purchase supports, even indirectly, me or USSM.
Jonah Keri’s doing a book signing for Mind Game December 17th at Third Place Books, which I’m sure we’ll be plugging again as that approaches.
Hack Attack
People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities. This is a truism. And since there is a study for everything these days, there’s hard scientific research proving it from Justin Kruger and David Dunning of Cornell University in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The idea is that dull thinking skills lead to overconfidence. In extreme cases, this can cause misguided faith in one’s ill-held ideas. An extreme example from the study: a sad fellow who was shocked to be arrested for the bank robberies he’d committed, having been under the mistaken impression that rubbing lemon juice on one’s face obscured his appearance to the security cameras.
From the abstract:
[P]eople who are unskilled … suffer a dual burden: Not only do these people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices, but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it. Across four studies, the authors found that participants [whose] … test scores put them in the 12th percentile … estimated themselves to be in the 62nd.
This calls to mind the old Socratic canard that the only thing worth knowing is how little you really know, or the Robert Burns poem about being able to see ourselves as others see us. It also calls to mind L.A. Times sportswriter Bill Plaschke.
To Plaschke, Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta’s failure to bring back manager Jim Tracy is an unforgivable betrayal of a baseball man by a man blinded by his book-learning.
Potshots between old and new schools are nothing new, and Plaschke grinding his dull butterknife (too dull to call it an axe) isn’t exactly stop-the-presses material either. This, though, is the rich part, and the part that inspires this post:
But love of the Dodgers no longer matters here. It’s all about loving DePodesta, who has polarized the Dodger community like few others.
Plaschke saying DePodesta has polarized the Dodger community is a bit like Mrs. O’Leary’s cow complaining about the heat in the barn. Why, oh why, would this vile man and his nefarious spreadsheet set Dodger fans against each other in this way? It isn’t like there was anything fanning the flames from the very beginning.
Let’s leave aside the merits or demerits of the Tracy firing. Indeed, let’s forget even the substance of this particular beef and think a bit broader.
Reasonable people can disagree about the way baseball teams go about business. To claim that a failure to stand in lockstep with a columnist’s dogma constitutes a lack of “love” isn’t just wrong, it’s a bit pathological.
My knee isn’t going to jerk defending either DePodesta or his methods. The man has come in for much criticism here over the last year. The danger of Plaschke’s pathology, though, is that it eliminates open-mindedness, stifling the ability to acknowledge that we all have a lot to learn, and often from the people we least expect to learn from.
At times, the old ways are the best. A certain criminal might have been better off with the time-honored tradition of pantyhose or a ski mask. We’re all better off, though, when we consider that new thoughts are worth a look.
Otherwise, you end up being — like Plaschke — the one with lemon juice on your face.
“[Forget] The Veterans”
Passed on with minimal comment: Miguel Cabrera is the latest example of a tumultuous Marlins clubhouse.
Those of you around for the game thread last night may recall that Dave considers Cabrera one of three players he would trade King Felix for. Knowing how Dave feels about Felix, that says a lot. No reasonable person would dispute the young man’s talent, or his future.
His attitude, though, has come under recent scrutiny. First he kept showing up late for things. Then he refused to shag fly balls, relenting only when asked by Tony Perez. When Jeff Conine suggested that one of the team’s veteran players take Cabrera aside, the 22-year-old’s response was measured and well-reasoned. Oh, wait, no it wasn’t:
“[Forget] the veterans,” he told the Post. “They haven’t told me anything and they better not come tell me anything, either … I’m not going to go crazy worrying about these things.”
I’m guessing that the word they swapped out for “forget” begins with the same letter.
This comes after A.J. Burnett’s outburst and subsequent punishment by the organization. Short version: he dissed them, they dismissed him. Manager Jack McKeon is also reportedly gone at season’s end.
First thought: what is going on with the organization here? It’s like an open mutiny, to use a nautical analogy. Next thought: there is no way, save temporary insanity, that the Marlins would trade Miguel Cabrera for anything less than overwhelming value. So don’t get your hopes up.
Yes, I am talking to myself with that last sentence.
The Attrition War, Summary and Conclusions
The Mariners suffer more serious arm injuries than other major league teams. This is indisputable. From Ryan Anderson’s multiple shoulder issues to Jorge Campillo’s one-inning debut-and-shutdown (“Hello!” “Goodbye!”) we’ve seen the Mariner system decimated in recent years. This is not a perception issue that’s a result of being too close to the problem.
For this work, I looked at every team’s pitching prospects, as ranked by Baseball America, from 1995-2004, and attempted to find which prospects had serious arm or shoulder injuries requiring surgery that cost them a year of playing time. You can read the methodology notes, or go to the index page for links to all the team pages.
In absolute terms, the Mariners tied with the Reds with nine serious injuries. As a percentage of prospects, they were tied with the Brewers for second place with 32%. The average team was at 20%. Standard deviation was 2.4 (8%). The Mariners were two deviations from the mean. That’s significant, but it’s not huge.
Team # Shldr Elbow Total Inj. % Reds 25 7 2 9 36% Mariners 28 5 4 9 32% Brewers 25 5 3 8 32% Braves 27 4 4 8 30% Dodgers 27 3 5 8 30% Rangers 32 3 6 9 28% Cardinals 36 5 4 9 25% Cubs 37 3 6 9 24% Mets 29 2 5 7 24% Orioles 31 3 4 7 23% Yankees 26 2 4 5 23% Tigers 32 4 3 7 22% Royals 24 2 3 5 21% Astros 29 5 1 6 21% Diamondbacks 20 0 4 4 20% Indians 36 2 5 7 19% White Sox 33 2 4 6 18% Angels 28 2 3 5 18% Devil Rays 17 1 2 3 18% Marlins 34 3 3 6 18% Giants 31 2 3 5 16% Phillies 28 3 1 4 14% Rockies 28 3 1 4 14% Pirates 22 0 3 3 14% Blue Jays 24 1 2 3 13% Nationals 32 1 3 4 13% Red Sox 32 1 3 4 13% Padres 28 0 3 3 11% Twins 22 1 1 2 9% Athletics 32 0 0 0 0% Average 28.7 2.5 3.2 5.6 20% Total 855 75 95 170
I looked at “expected injury rate”, figuring that 1/5th of the pitchers would get injured. The Mariners were four pitchers above that, along with the Reds, with the Brewers at three. You would expect the A’s to have six pitchers go down during this period. They had none.
Here are the questions that have come up repeatedly:
Read more
The Attrition War, Methodology notes
This is the really dry part where I talk about problems with the data and issues encountered. Read more
Junior!
Homer #33 today, the 534th career and good for a tie with Jimmie Foxx for 13th all-time. Also his 1000th career extra base hit. Oh, and a 14-game hitting streak to boot. Season line: a robust .302/.371/.578 with 45% of his hits going for extra bases.
We still love ya, man.
The Attrition War, Yankees
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Yankees. Next up: the summary, methodology, and all kinds of good stuff.
The Attrition War, White Sox
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the White Sox.
The Attrition War, Twins
Part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Do the Mariners, in comparison to other teams, suffer a higher rate of injury to their pitching prospects than other teams? Here, I look at the Twins. Only two more after this.