What a surprise, this post is about politics and sports! I'll start with politics so most of you can stop reading once that part is complete:
Russia: Former International Chess Champion Garry Kasparov has been arrested and imprisoned in Russia. What was his crime? Speaking out against Vladimir Putin. That's it. All he did was voice his opinion against the Head of the Russia state. This is a despicable cowardly action that is only now coming to light because Putin has finally arrested someone of note. He's been breaking up demonstrations and quieting opposition voices for quite some time now.
Why do I bring this up? Well, it's been a few days now, and I don't hear the outcry from people who exercise the freedom in this country that Kasparov has been denied in his. I don't hear the Left crying for his release. Where is the outrage?! What if it were Bush doing this? We'd never hear the end of it (Just look at how they respond on behalf of people who want to destroy our country! Could you imagine how they'd respond if it were someone who thought that what he believed in was best for the country?!) What I would expect to hear is, "Well, it's not our country, we don't have any right saying what they should and shouldn't do, but Bush needs to release the prisoners at Gitmo!" Hmm. Funny, they welcome the criticisms of the French and Germans regarding our country (And anyone else who agrees with them, for that matter.) When did the Left because isolationist anti-world-cop? Oh, right, it was when the policies they'd normally support coming from a (D) started coming from an (R)!
So, here is Putin, recent regular critic of the White House, imprisoning a dissenting voice with seeming impunity. Well, I call for Kasparov's release! Russia is no longer a Communist Nation with disappearances and a strong armed government! Putin: Free the chess master!
AL Cy Young Award: Beckett got robbed! What a joke that C.C. Sabathia was awarded the AL Cy Young award! Everyone knows that the awards are based on stats, so let's take a look at them. There are only 12 stats that matter when determining the best pitcher in the league and they are usually separated into four groups: First and foremost (normally) is Wins, all by itself. If you lead the league in wins, you've got the best chance at the Cy Young. Somebody better be blowing you out of the water if they have fewer wins and want the hardware. The second group consists of Strike outs, ERA, and Hits given up. If you have more wins, this category is where your opponent must be head and shoulders above you to have a shot at victory. The third group that is considered, but not very important consists of Earned Runs given up, Runs given up, Home Runs surrendered, and Walks. The final group that is more academic than anything is made up of innings pitched, Complete games, Shut outs and number of starts.
So, how do C.C. and Josh compare? Well, Josh was the only 20 game winner in the Major Leagues (that's AL and NL). If Josh wore any other uniform, other than one with a "B" it'd be a given that he's the Cy Young Pitcher. In category two C.C. leads Josh in SO (by 15), ERA (by 0.06 runs per 9 innings) but gave up more hits (49 more, to be exact). This is by no means a blowout in those stats. Category three: C.C. gave up more earned runs (13), more runs (18), three more HRs, but allowed three fewer walks. Based on these stats, does C.C. really sound like a better pitcher?
Supporters of C.C.'s victory cite only two stats: Strike Outs (remember he had 15 more than Josh) and innings pitched (241 for C.C., 200 2/3's for Josh). Somehow, this is why he's worthy over Beckett! The biggest problem with this is that these two stats contradict each other! Of course he had 15 more strike outs, he had 39 1/3 more innings in which to compile them! Fans of Sabathia say that's also why he had hits, runs, etc. Hmm, I for some reason, I doubt that.
I would say that 200 innings is more than enough to gather an accurate average for a pitcher. I propose we extend Josh's season to 241 innings, just like C.C. pitched and see how the numbers compare then!
Stat.....C.C.....Josh(real)....Josh(w/241 IP)
IP......241......200.6........241
Wins.....19.......20...........24
Loss......7........7............8
SO......209.......194.........233
Hits....238.......189.........227
ERA.....3.21......3.27........3.27 (it's an average)
ER.......86........73..........88
R........94........76..........91
HR.......20........17..........20
BB.......37........40..........48
Even if we extend Josh's workload to 241 innings, he still doesn't beat C.C. in every category. He'd have given up more earned runs (2) and more walks (11). But I'd like you to note that in both cases (actual and extended) more batters struck out when facing Josh than managed to hit safely!Josh's numbers are so far and away better than C.C.'s that, if Sabathia had more wins, I wouldn't have been surprised if Josh still won the Cy Young. Which makes it even more of a travesty that Josh didn't walk away with the award!
NL MVP: It appears that the writers who voted for this award used the same criteria as those that voted for the AL Cy Young. Somehow Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies edged out Matt Holliday of the Rockies for the MVP. Just check out their stats! The only categories Rollins leads in are At Bats and Strike outs!
Stat.....Rollins........Holliday
AB........716............636
Hits......212............216
Avg......(.296).........(.340)
OBP......(.344).........(.405)
SLG......(.531).........(.607)
TB........380.............386
Runs......139.............120
2B.........38..............50
3B.........20...............6
HR.........30..............36
BB.........49..............63
It's staggering just how obvious who the winner should have been!
At least they got the AL Rookie of the Year right! Congrats PedROYa!
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