Scribes Stott Soto Stupid Slashes

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DOUGHBOYS
Posts: 13088
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:00 pm

Scribes Stott Soto Stupid Slashes

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Thu Jun 09, 2022 10:52 am

I know I've been down this road before but please permit me yet another rant.....

Call them experts. Call them pundits. Call them Touts. I call bullshit.
Especially these fellas that write for 'so-called' fantasy sites.
Why the 'so-called'?
These fellas do not write for us. They write for themselves. They write to show how 'smart' they are.
Ugh.
Let me give you a couple of examples.....

'Bryson Stott finished 4-for-4 with a homer, a double and three runs scored in Wednesday's rout of the Brewers.
Even a four-hit game merely pushed Stott's average up to .188. Still, he was at .123 when the month starter, so this is quite an improvement. He has three homers, all of which have come in June. Unfortunately, there's nothing much in his exit velocity numbers to suggest he's going to keep this up.'

He has reduced hitting down to velocity. Maybe it is his 'go-to; for stats. The problem being that velocity off the bat is not the end all be all for players.
That's another problem, by the way, most of these writers have never played baseball.
They rely on any statistics, especially new ones to come up up with a hypothesis that is usually wrong.
In Stott's case, he struggled for weeks figuring out Major League pitching.
Is he getting it? Yes.
Has he gotten it? I don't know?
But neither does this writer.
But he is quick to write him off.
Jerk.

Most fantasy leagues are roto leagues. Mostly like our format here in the NFBC.
Sure there are various other leagues, but mostly like ours.
Still, these writers use slash marks to define a player.
These are supposedly ROTO writers.
But again, they are writing for themselves. Not for us.
They want to sound schmart.
In there minds, they believe a slash tells more of a story about a player.
It's a story I don't want to read.
I care about an offensive players five categories.

Roto writers gush about Juan Soto's slash line.
Juan Soto's owners flip them the bird.
Look at this...

Soto is 121st in Batting Average.
Soto is 27th in Runs.
Soto is 16th in Home Runs.
Soto is 126th in RBI.
Soto is 45th in Stolen Bases.

These are not the numbers of a first round pick. Or even a second round pick.
I believe Soto's problems stem from the very thing that these writers laud him for.
Pitchers are avoiding him. They would rather walk him than pitch to him in most RBI situations.
You know what RBI situations are, right?
These are situations that roto writers call 'lucky'.
We call them an important category.
So instead of telling us the truth that Soto has not been a very good fantasy player this year, they piss on our leg and tell us it's raining.
They rely on his slash line which is pumped up mostly by the walks that pitchers give him to avoid his bat.
You know what Soto does lead the league in?
That's right. The BB.
The very weapon that pitchers are using to dispose of Soto is the very thing that writers praise Soto for. It is Crazy.
He has 46 of them, while the next player in that category has 35.
It's great for the slash.
Sucks for us.

I can understand National real baseball writers in pumping up Soto for his Votto-like qualities.
Not roto writers.
For us roto players, we've seen it all before.
We know that roto writers piss on players like Stott.
We know they pump up players like Soto.
Like us when we draft, we are heavily dependent on the past.
Follow the progression on Martin Perez blurbs this year.
It's hilarious.
These writers were calling him out for being lucky and 'foresaw' failure....
Here is a blurb from Perez last Spring Training start before Major Drafts....
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

DOUGHBOYS
Posts: 13088
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:00 pm

Re: Scribes Stott Soto Stupid Slashes

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Thu Jun 09, 2022 10:56 am

Part 2.....

"He looked pretty sharp in the first two innings before running into trouble in the third, as the left-hander allowed three of six batters to reach and one to score. Perez didn't strike anyone out but did induce seven groundouts. It's unlikely he'll have any fantasy value this season."

A few appearances later....they gush....

' Martín Pérez yielded one run over seven innings Thursday in a no-decision against the Athletics.
Pérez continued his phenomenal 2022 campaign, limiting the Athletics to just one run on four hits and a pair of walks over seven frames. He also finished with six strikeouts in this one. The 31-year-old left-hander has allowed three earned runs or fewer in nine consecutive starts this season and also hasn't given up a home run yet. He'll carry a microscopic 1.60 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 44/14 K/BB ratio across 56 1/3 innings (nine starts) into a favorable home matchup Tuesday against the Rays.'

They were wrong about Perez like most of us were.
They are wrong in pumping Soto.
They are wrong in giving Stott little chance based on one stat.
Really, they are just plain wrong a lot.

I'll still keep reading them and so will you.
We don't have much choice.
We want the info.
But to you fellas that write the blurbs.....
Don't lie to us.
We know the truth.
We know that for some reason, you must pump Soto. Fine.
We also know that Juan Soto is a great player.
We also know that he is NOT a great fantasy player THIS year.
We don't know if Bryson Stott will even be a good player.
BUT, neither do you.
And PUHLEESE........
Don't rely on one stat or slash lines to make a point.
Those are for baseball announcers and those in real baseball.
We care about five categories.
Remember them?
If not....remember that you are a ROTO-writer.
Maybe, just maybe, it'll come back to you.

(On a completely different note, I have a friend who is beside himself. He blames these writers for making bad picks in his draft.
I told my friend not to blame the writers. Blame himself.
These writers do not know anything more about fantasy baseball than most of us who play in the NFBC.
The only difference being that they have a platform.
And if they're touting players like Torkelson or Rutschman or Juan Soto as your first round pick......That is them. It is what they do.
It is our job to pick the best players in a draft. If any drafter is swayed enough by writers to blame them, then maybe that player should re-evaluate their drafting skills.
To me, ANY other opinions on players are merely information that we process in determining who we select.
As said in the piece up above, these writers are wrong, just like we are sometimes.
Nobody gets it right all the time.
It's why we play this game we love so much.)
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

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Edwards Kings
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Re: Scribes Stott Soto Stupid Slashes

Post by Edwards Kings » Thu Jun 09, 2022 12:05 pm

He's baaaack! The crowd goes wild...

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Good blog Dan! Not surprising but I am in total agreement. My wife and I were watching the Braves (more fun recently as they have been whupping up on the little league franchises in Colorado, Arizona, and Oakland).

My wife even commented on the latest stat-cotton candy.

Wife: "What is all this about exit velocity? Is a home run that squeeks out worth as much as one that is hit hard?"

Me: "Nope. HR is a HR."

Wife: "Why then is every other word out of Skip Carey's mouth about exit velocity?"

Me: "Because he is an idiot and a prime example of replicative fading. He doesn't know much about baseball and doesn't realize we have been talking about "exit velocity" for years."

Wife: "We have?"

Me: "Sure! We just said it differently..."He got all of THAT one!"

Same thing....

No...they do not know much but it plays well with the 8-10 team mixed Yahoo! leagues (are those still around?) Trying to sound fresh and knowledgable but end up as fresh as a talcumed and perfumed old lady.

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Soto is just as good as he always was, but as you noted he cannot do it on his own. Nelson Cruz (awesome player but doesn't exactly instill fear in pitchers as much as he once did) and Josh Bell (power hitter that hits 50+% ground balls) are not enough top cover. Won't have the same fantasy impact until the Nats are better. But Soto goes in the first round next year I bet!

On Martin Perez, the guy is not doing it with mirrors. is change in pitch mix for a guy with mediocre stuff really what is causing it? Cannot discount not giving up any more than two ER since his first two starts of the season...and that includes holding Houston (2), and Boston (1) to only two total ER in those three starts. I get it with Kyle Wright (change in mix and arm slot) but he came in with pedigree.

Anyway...welcome back.

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Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer

DOUGHBOYS
Posts: 13088
Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:00 pm

Re: Scribes Stott Soto Stupid Slashes

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Sat Jun 11, 2022 10:56 am

Thanks Wayne. Appreciated.
I'll try to be more consistent in posting for the near future. Fingers crossed. :)
Love seeing your blog back on your Main Event team. Good Stuff!
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

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