we really shouldn't be surprised that Stu be trollin'

no, he's most definitely not. That's what makes this very....interesting? Strange?

It's strange that a Smart Guy wrote this is all.

i r dumb

Houshphandzadeh wrote:have you guys met Disco Stu? he enjoys the rousing of rabble, the tickling of feathers, etc.

That's not Disco Stu

oh my bad. coulda swown David Cohen was stu. is it dscman?

no. DSC25.

what is it

"correlation doesn't mean causation" or whatever the hell that saying is. As EEM alluded to, just because their W% is the same since Pence came over doesn't mean that he hasn't done anything.

what a shit ass article

That he continues to defend it in the comments is more baffling.

crazier that Cohen is defending it too

Might as well have titled the article "The Good Phight's Official Position On: The Hunter Pence Trade"

Eem wrote:Might as well have titled the article "The Good Phight's Official Position On: The Hunter Pence Trade"

TOPICAL

FFS.

Phillies had a five game lead in the division after Pence's first game and had a 12 game lead when they clinched on Saturday.

maybe they should trash the bourn pickup instead? And contrast the deals, and trash those who said we "SHOULDA GOT"? <And maybe BelTRON too.... MOZ>

ALSO, as the Phillies continue to play meaningless baseball games (although, as Barry Jive said, I'd like the franchise record), the beat writers were going insane at the number of full retard comments from the Negladelphian's last night regarding the team's current 'losing streak'. Consider this:

The Phillies, at 38-26 on June 10, 2011, held the best record in Major League Baseball.

They still hold the best record in the Major League Baseball.

On April 26, 2011, the Phillies were in second place. That was the only day they were not in first place.

AND

They're the prohibitive favorites to win the World Series.

This came up in another thread on TGP yesterday as a statistical oddity. I think Cohen worded it a little too strongly but it wasn't really meant to be taken seriously.

so it was like the first season of the "founding fathers" citizens bank TV commercials where they didn't accent the absurdity enough?

Another quick note:

Phillies with Hunter Pence:

v. Arizona, 2-1
v. Milwaukee, 3-1
v. Atlanta, 3-0

Pence tweeted his knee feels great.

The article is either blatantly narrow-minded or (if indeed it was not meant to be taken seriously), a poor attempt at levity:

First, this:

Through last night's game, Hunter Pence has been with the Phillies for 49 games. Here's a simple comparison of the basic team metrics for the 49 games with Pence and the immediately preceding 49 games without Pence.

Code: Select all

Without    With
Runs Scored    226    225
Runs Allowed    154    150
Record    32-19    32-19

Now, I may not be a math whiz, but when I went to school, 32+19 was 51, not 49. So there may not be any "Bernie Madoff accounting," but there does seem to be a little shortchanging going on somewhere.

Second, you can't just look at the exact same period of time before the Pence trade as after it. You have to look at all the games the Phils played without Pence. Without him, they were 66-37, for a winning percentage of .641. With him -- in games played before they clinched the Division -- they were 32-15 for a winning percentage of .681.

Yes, I left out the last 4 games/losses because they weren't trying. There, I said it: "They weren't trying." I've no doubt each individual player was trying his best but, as a team, they weren't trying as hard. Charlie has used Savery, Schwimer, Bowker, Kratz, Moss, Gload, et al, in situations he never would have used them had the season been in doubt. I mean, do we really think Howard would have been rested and then gotten a cortisone shot if these last 4 games were "must win?"

I'll go even further, after such a grueling season, including this stretch of 33 games in 31 days, there's no doubt in my mind that certain regulars, subconsciously or not, eased off the gas pedal a bit. If you don't believe that professional athletes can give a bit more than even they thought they could in critical situations, read this article, published 2 days ago in the NYT: A Little Deception Helps Push Athletes to the Limit.

Third, if you're saying the Phils were just as good without Pence as with him then, logically, you're also saying the Phils would have been just as good without him as they were with him. Where's that analysis? Who would have gotten his AB's? Brown? Francisco? Mayberry? And, if it's Mayberry, who gets Mayberry's AB's?

Fourth, the Phils didn't get Pence just to help them get to the post-season. They also acquired him to help during the post-season. Among other benefits alluded to in the previous paragraph, the lineup is going to look a whole lot better in WS DH games when Pence is getting the AB's instead of Francisco or Gload.

And, finally, the Phils didn't get Pence only for this season. They got him for next year, too. Even if he leaves after 2012, he will have played ~220 regular-season games for the Phils (and who knows how many post-season games). Isn't it just a wee bit premature, if not selective, to judge the trade after the first 49 (51?) of those games?