This kind of stuff is just clogging up the posting lists.

he missed a HR by a foot yesterday

Bob Hazle came up late one year (I think to replace Billy Bruton) and he just hit the cover off the ball. A lot of Braves fans thought he was the second coming. Tagged him Hurricane Hazle. He was 26 or 27. Just a flash in the pan.

PENA: .120BA .371OBP .240SLG .611OPS!
VS
LAHAIR: .179BA .250OBP .321SLG .571OPS!

And note that Pena gets the luxury of playing his natural position that doesn’t have strain himself running down those fly balls!!!

I love it.

LaHair is most likely another September flash in the pan. There’s a reason nobody wanted to trade with first the Mariners and then the Cubs as a throw in.

Long ago, I loved the stories about someone coming from nowhere and doing well. The scrappy underpaid, under-appreciated guy not just having his one moment in the sun, but immensely enjoying it.

Looking at advanced metrics and more careful analysis has, of course, led me to place those stories more in context. Some of the best stories lack significance when it comes down to it, not just in the reversal of the initial small sample size, but also in the sense of that player, even when he burst out of nowhere and confounded the pundits, not actually contributing that much.

Still, nothing about my more reasoned recognition has led me to feel other than good about these stories, these seeming emergences. I loved when Sam Fuld went all out for the Cubs, crashing into walls and having fun. I may even have beaten Jessica to respond to someone posting that Sam like Soriano will soon learn where the walls are: I said he already knows. I loved it when Sam get his chance in Tampa and started strong; his chance came at the banishment of Manny and it may be fair to say he is the opposite of that player: enthusiasm over numbers. Sam Fuld cape day – how great was that although I have to admit I never participated in the discussions of whether he deserved it.

I am very happy with what have learned about how teams win and players contribute to that in the statistical sense. However, I am even happier that this knowledge has not made me jaded or hateful when someone is lauded, who it can be argued is overrated.

I know you have posted any number of these and seem to have done so gleefully. I recall one in particular. To the extent, Sam Fuld contributed to the success of the Rays (and at this point a single WAR back then may mean the playoffs) it was with taking pitches, speed and playing defense. Yet, your headline trumpeted his batting average and RBI even though he was the leadoff hitter on the team. This was buffoonery on your part. Buffoonery plus hatred is very ugly indeed.