That Time of Year

[DOUGHBOYS]

I got a kick out of the graemlins. This one in particular. It is supposed to be a 'mad' graemlin. Am I wrong, or does he just look constipated? I don't know, maybe it's just me....

We are getting to that time of the season again. We will be bombarded by numbers from touts, authors, sabermeticians, and the like. We go through a metamorphic process after baseball season ends. Our memories fade and we start doubting what we saw is real. Thank God for the Shandler's of the world.

They remind us, in numerish form, how each player performed. They'll use numbers to forecast the next season for each player. Does it work? No. But it makes for great reading.
I remember once a sabremetric guy reminding all his readers how he had predicted Bret Boone would have a great 2001 season
He was soon reminded of his misses and his saberection went soft.

Nobody has the answers. They're not at the back of any book. Or, even in the middle of them. But, we'll still buy these books to help assist us in the upcoming season. And there is nothing wrong with that. It's what makes this hobby great. When we say the words 'Matt Kemp', there won't be two differing opinions. There'll be many.
'He can't maintain his average'. 'He'll get 'fat' with a new contract'. 'He'll be better'. He'll hit 50-50'. 'He'll go Hollywood and slump again'.
Thoughts like these run through our heads. Not just for Kemp, but for every player. An NFBC player will know what his team needs quicker than he can remember his wife's birthday. It's not a right side of brain problem. It's not a left side of brain problem. It's that darker space, the NFBC side.

Speaking of the NFBC, a friend of mine asked me the other day a question that I didn't have to pause to answer.
He asked, 'In a fantasy baseball league, who would be more apt to win, a non-baseball fan who knew his numbers or a baseball fan who didn't follow numbers.
I told him that if there was an NFBC guy in the league, they'd both be dead money.
For you newbies, you won't understand that.
You will.
It is registration time. Get your feet wet and register. Then, enjoy the ride. There is one bad thing that will occur after playing awhile
Your wife's birthday will be a lot harder to remember.

[Don M]

Classic Dan, and so true.

[Edwards Kings]

So true. And my favorite, when someone in the neighborhood or the office comes up in casual sports conversation and says something like "Man, that Joe Shlabotnik has really turned the corner and he is going to have a MONSTER year!" Before my brain (and therefore the courtesy of discretion) kicks in, my mouth is in overdrive. "Pffft...not at 34 with a career 15% line drive rate and a 69% contact rate. Who do you think he is, Ryan Howard?"

Funny, very few people outside of these boards ever want to talk baseball with me anymore?

[rockitsauce]

So true. And my favorite, when someone in the neighborhood or the office comes up in casual sports conversation and says something like "Man, that Joe Shlabotnik has really turned the corner and he is going to have a MONSTER year!" Before my brain (and therefore the courtesy of discretion) kicks in, my mouth is in overdrive. "Pffft...not at 34 with a career 15% line drive rate and a 69% contact rate. Who do you think he is, Ryan Howard?"

Funny, very few people outside of these boards ever want to talk baseball with me anymore?

wasn't Joe Schlabotnik Charlie Brown's fav. player?

[Winston's Empire]

Good stuff Dough! My wife still has a birthday?

[Edwards Kings]

So true. And my favorite, when someone in the neighborhood or the office comes up in casual sports conversation and says something like "Man, that Joe Shlabotnik has really turned the corner and he is going to have a MONSTER year!" Before my brain (and therefore the courtesy of discretion) kicks in, my mouth is in overdrive. "Pffft...not at 34 with a career 15% line drive rate and a 69% contact rate. Who do you think he is, Ryan Howard?"

Funny, very few people outside of these boards ever want to talk baseball with me anymore?

wasn't Joe Schlabotnik Charlie Brown's fav. player?

Yes. We were discussing fantasy baseball, right?

[rockitsauce]

So true. And my favorite, when someone in the neighborhood or the office comes up in casual sports conversation and says something like "Man, that Joe Shlabotnik has really turned the corner and he is going to have a MONSTER year!" Before my brain (and therefore the courtesy of discretion) kicks in, my mouth is in overdrive. "Pffft...not at 34 with a career 15% line drive rate and a 69% contact rate. Who do you think he is, Ryan Howard?"

Funny, very few people outside of these boards ever want to talk baseball with me anymore?

wasn't Joe Schlabotnik Charlie Brown's fav. player?

Yes. We were discussing fantasy baseball, right?

I used to read "Peanuts" as a kid and a few yrs yrs ago I read the biography on Charles Schulz. I never thought I'd come across anyone in my life who knew who Joe Schlabotnik (Charlie Brown's fav. player) was. Thanks Wayne