Yosted/Royals 2K14

http://joeposnanski.com/joeblogs/alex-gordon-and-the-m-v-p-chants/

That’s where Wins Above Replacement come in.

Gordon’ is second in the major leagues in Fangraphs WAR – that would be AHEAD of Giancarlo Stanton. He’s fourth in the American League in Baseball Reference WAR. How is this possible? Well, he plays spectacular defense in left field (and it really is special defense). He’s also an excellent base runner. We’ve already pointed out that his offensive numbers, in context, are better than they look. When you add it all up WAR style – you get a legitimate MVP candidate.

Or do you? This, to me, becomes a more and more interesting question. I’m working on a piece now about the statistical revolution in baseball, and among the statistical people I’m speaking with there seems to be a growing concern that we as a so called “advanced-statistics community” are beginning to make many of the same leaps of faith and broad generalizations that doomed the old statistics. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but it’s fair to say there’s a growing sense among some that WAR is becoming the advanced version of RBIs or batting average or pitcher wins – that is to say that people, to quote Vin Scully, are using WAR the way a drunk using a lamppost, for support and not illumination. Heck, I might be the Foster Brooks of WAR.

this is a really good point that i would spend 10000 words on if i had like, a new yorker salary

true

otoh awards as a whole are weird, it's weird that there are so many piles of "how do we decide these awards" and nothing about "why do these awards exist and why do we act like they're so necessary that we treat them with the seriousness of like the debate over global warming"

i'm derailing aren't i

the weirdness just occasionally sticks out to me, like here, when really there's no way to determine who's the best at a baseball season so whatever

(oh and more importantly why does it matter so much)

it's fun to debate maybe it's just poz's obsessive need to rank ballplayers correctly that brings it out in me

So over the weekend, Royals fans came to Kaufman Stadium en masse, selling the place out. Here’s Yost (Sunday) night:

“The crowds have been fantastic,” Yost said. “I think it’s got them juiced up. They want to really perform for them. And that never works. You’ve got to stay disciplined.”

Maybe Yost should just tell Royals fans the exact number of people he needs in the seats for his team to play at its best.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/09/01/ned-yost-says-his-players-tried-too-hard-in-front-of-large-crowds/

makes sense that they suddenly have stage fright

"Juiced up"? Lil' choke 'n' poke? Knock in some ribbies or ribeyes?

Think I just heard Hudler(?) refer to Jeremy Guthrie as "J-Guts."

his nickname was "guts" in baltimore, never heard j-guts

@msimonespn
Wade Davis last 30 appearances
0.00 ERA
0.73 WHIP
28 2/3 IP
15 H
38 K
6 BB
Nice to have that when your closer can't go

wil myers trade looking better and better!

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/11476915/kansas-city-royals-danny-duffy-shoulder-exits-one-pitch

why would yost leave him in that long pitch counts are way too high these days

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BxhsfR4IQAE6yhk.jpg

Sam Mellinger @mellinger
Ned Yost on facing Chris Sale: "He throws a lot of strikes. That's good for us, because we swing at a lot of balls."

Lindbergh on BP podcast wondered if Yost was trolling w/ those Sunday billpen comments

ned yost has said and done way too many dumb things to really credit that

unless he's playing a *really* deep troll game, which i would suggest is misguided

it's like the 'long game' of a certaiin president

no

As a Brewer fan I assure you, the guy is not trolling

Finally-full stadium, pulled starters: 2014 Kansas City Royals

Yost!

Kansas City - Bottom of 1st				SCORE
Max Scherzer pitching for Detroit			DET	KC
A Escobar doubled to deep left.				0	0
N Aoki sacrificed to pitcher, A Escobar to third.	0	0
J Willingham struck out swinging.			0	0
A Gordon struck out swinging.				0	0

@jazayerli
You mean moving the strikeout-prone hitter facing one of the game's top strikeout pitchers didn't bring the runner home from 3rd with 1 out?

Yost!

Kansas City - Bottom of 3rd						SCORE
Max Scherzer pitching for Detroit					DET	KC
J Dyson singled to right.						0	0
A Escobar singled to left, J Dyson to second.				0	0
N Aoki sacrificed to pitcher, J Dyson to third, A Escobar to second.	0	0
J Willingham fouled out to first.					0	0
A Gordon struck out swinging.						0	0

yeah i heard some boos in that first inning.

I think we are going to hear a lot about that Perez blunder.

yea that was wild

Guess we're still wondering what Nathan has to do to lose his job.

pretty much. 14 swings-and-misses in his last 13 innings, i'm told

lol aoki has 13 hits in his last 18 at bats, so naturally bunt him twice

there goes the Cinderella costume

"We wanted a professional hitter in a professional at-bat." -- Ned Yost

(Hear that, Billy Butler?)

Kahrl:

http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/51636/royals-botching-both-little-big-things

Kansas City - Bottom of 4th					SCORE
Rick Porcello pitching for Detroit				DET	KC
O Infante walked.						2	2
M Moustakas singled to right, O Infante to second.		2	2
A Escobar bunt popped out to pitcher.				2	2

Escobar was two-for-two prior to this at-bat. Infante and Moustakas were the Royals' ninth and tenth base runners against Porcello, whose stuff has been LOUSY today.

Luckily for Yost, Aoki tripled after Escobar's pop-out (which occurred on a second attempt; there were boos the moment Escobar squared the first time).

And Jim Johnson is Ausmus' first choice from the pen. OK.

Aoki bunted on his own at least once on Saturday btw

jazayerli:

Afterwards we learned that Aoki bunted on his own his first time up. Sorry, but that’s no excuse. It’s the manager’s job to make sure when his players should NOT be bunting, and man oh man was that a situation in which the batter should not be bunting.

And anyway, Yost did put the bunt on with Aoki his second time up, proving he had learned nothing from how the first inning ended.

yes i wd agree

KC crowd booed the bunts too

http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/96076652/royals-2014-success-translate-to-2015

royals

yostseason

your skepticism is yosttoast

ok, where is the Central playoff if there is a tie on Sunday night?

I propose the Big O.

^^^pvmic

pvmic?

oh i get it

am i the only one who still doesn't really count the new one game playoff as the "playoffs"

fuck you, fan of a team that's won two championships without ever winning a division

if the first wild card series was three games or something i'd count it, but one game feels too impermanent to me

cool for the royals though (go A's nonetheless)

it's the postseason, "the playoffs" are that 2-month NBA joke perpetuated with everyone who's .400+

also the primary benefit of the one-game 'play-in' crapshoot was to make a first place finish meaningful