O.J. Simpson & Racialism

On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson was found brutally murdered outside her Brentwood home, along with her friend Ronald Goldman.

Nicole Brown Murdered

O.J. Simpson had a long history of abusing his estranged wife.

Nicole-Simpson-Abuse-Diaries-1

At O.J.’s home (several miles from the murder scene), LAPD found a bloody right glove, matching a left glove found at the murder scene.

OJ Glove

Both gloves were soiled with the blood of O.J. Simpson and the two murder victims.

Nicole Brown & Ronald Goldman

No question, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) have a long history of violence towards impoverished black communities.

But also note that Willie L. Williams was the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from 1992 to 1997, indicating deeper class issues superseding any racialist narrative.

LAPD Police Chief 1994

Williams replaced Daryl Gates’ following the 1992 LA riots, in the wake of the Rodney King police-beating ‘not guilty’ verdict.

The primary issue that acquitted O.J. Simpson in 1995, was his privileged class status.

Shapiro-Douglas-Cochran-OJ-Trial

O.J. was still a (mostly) beloved celebrity, with powerful connections that allowed him the best legal defense money could buy.

F Lee Bailey & OJ Simpson

Here’s a question for all the black racialists: Would O.J. have been found guilty (by a predominantly black jury), if he had instead murdered his first wife, Marguerite Whitley?

OJ & Marguritte

Johnnie Cochran & Carl E. Douglass are black racialists who specialize in manipulating tragedy (or any perceived injustice) that befalls a black person, for political & personal gain.

Johnnie Cochran

These are the worst forms of hucksters, jive acts & snake-oil salesmen– parading in silk suits and passing themselves off as respectable.

Carl E Douglas: Pimp for OJ

For a prominent black celebrity such as O.J Simpson, to be acquitted of a double murder (which he surely committed), is an advance for all black people– according to Cochran & Douglas.

OJ Trial Jury

This racialist garbage is still being exploited today, in various forms.

OJ_Made_in_America

When the judge allows the defense in a double-murder trial to turn everything into a circus and stack the jury along racial lines, nothing good can come of it.

Kangaroo Court

When the original black superstar athlete to sell out to white corporate America, is suddenly transformed into a black civil rights movement, we need a reality check.

Go OJ, Go!

These were the only real attorneys (professionals) during The O.J. Trial:

Marcia-Clark-Christopher-Darden

Ezra Edelman’s O.J.: Made in America (2016) is about as deep & thoughtful as’ black’ intelligentsia has ever gotten on the subject:

Ezra Edelman_OJ: Made in America

This racialism has consequences, and leads politically to Obama v. McCain 2008, which was really no choice for anyone who worked for a living–  black, white, or whatever…

McCain & Obama

Hillary v. Trump is the political/feminist 2.0 version of this toxicity.

Hillary Trump Bill

Are you a racialist?

oj-simpson-white-bronco-chase

We are all homo sapiens of various shades, this is black:

Black

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Catching Tandems in Focus

AJ Pierzynski_C_Age 39

MLB catchers always need to be discussed & understood as a tandem for their teams. Even the very best need a day (or two) off per week, and all catchers suffer at the plate from the fatigue & grind of the position. An adequate back-up catcher is crucial to late-season success for any team. Conversely, if C is inadequately stocked, this critical defensive position will quickly become an Achilles heel for any team. Exhibit A are the 2016 Atlanta Braves.

Tyler Flowers_C_Age 30

The narrative fed to Braves fans for the 2016 season has been rebuilding, yet ATL GM John Coppolella [on 12-10-15] traded age-24 C Christian Bethancourt to the Padres, for age-26 righty reliever Casey Kelly (2016 thru 8/13: 0-3, 5.82 ERA, 21.2 IP, 1.708 WHIP) & an age-18 (highly-iffy) prospect. The Braves organization & their fans made it clear they were frustrated with Bethancourt’s lack of development, despite his great potential. ATL had seen enough, and they instead went into 2016 with a catching tandem of A.J. Pierzynski (age 39, .216/.233/.301) & Tyler Flowers (age-30, .253/.343/.425, 53G, currently on the DL). Braves as of this writing are 44-73, worst record in MLB. That’s not rebuilding, that’s being stupid and selling a future short.

Craig Kimbrel & Christian Bethancourt

C Christian Bethancourt

Season Age Team G PA   AVG/OBP/SLG
2015      23   ATL   48 160  .200/.225/.290
2016      24   SDP   61 160  .243/.275/.414

The Padres, whom many ‘experts’ mocked as ‘directionless’ went with a catching tandem of Derek Norris & Christian Bethancourt (who is out of options); sending top-rookie catcher Austin Hedges to AAA. Hedges raked, then (unfortunately) broke his right hamate bone. Hedges had it surgically removed. He rehabilitated and returned to AAA El Paso, continuing to mash (65G .340/.373/.635). Austin Hedges always been rated as a top-level receiver. He’s being held at AAA by the Padres because; 1) El Paso Chihuahuas are in first place, and 2) arbitration clock management.

Austin Hedges_C_Age 23

Derek Norris was the Padres starting C in 2016, and had a tough season– for all kinds of reasons, many not his fault. Now the trade deadline is past (contract pitchers sold-off), so Bethancourt is getting more starts behind the plate. Norris remains a solid catcher, which has value. Norris is now arbitration eligible, and will be free-agent eligible in 2019. At age 27, he earns $2.9M in 2016, which is fair, despite the replacement-level batting line of .191/.254/.347. Norris has some pop, but makes too many outs at the plate, to be a championship-level starting catcher. He’s a top-10 defensive catcher and handles pitchers very well. That’s why AJP didn’t just give him away at the 8/1 deadline. Derek Norris is undervalued, in a market that mostly doesn’t understand defense.

Derek Norris_C_Age 27

Defensive runs-saved is a huge inefficiency that has been corrected by leading organizations including the Tampa Bay Rays & 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals. For reference, the defensive spectrum runs C-SS-2B-CF-3B-RF-LF-1B-DH. Active catchers, getting extra strikes (and all the rest) for their pitchers are HUGE. C Jose Molina (15 seasons .233/.282/.327) made a career of it, helping good teams win year-after-year, in spite of his punchless bat.

Jose Molina_C

A.J. Preller has a decision to make on catchers Derek Norris and Christian Bethancourt, as Austin Hedges will likely be the Padres Opening Day catcher in 2017. Bethancourt is still young, and has shown much improvement. He might profile more as a back-up catcher, with his rudimentary receivership skills. If he can continue to improve (especially defensively) at the MLB level, he could be just what the Padres need– a caddy for Hedges. Bethancourt’s chase rate (swinging at pitches outside the strike zone) is still too high, hence his low OBP (.275). The power has developed, but it needs to be tempered with a more-patient plate approach. He still swings himself into tough counts, and out of too many at-bats. Winter ball (or some other development league) is probably required for Christian Bethancourt.

Bethancourt can play OF some, which helps Andy Green, and he’s even mopped-up on the mound a few times during blow-outs. Right now with CF Jon Jay still on the DL, the Padres have only starting outfielders (Dickerson, Jankowski, Blash) on their active roster. Bethancourt can play corner OF, if needed. Adam Rosales works the same way, as Andy Green’s utility infielder, with some pop. Ben Zobrist is the championship-level version of this modern utility player. Ask Cubs manager Joe Maddon if this kind of flexibility is valuable?

Ben Zobrist_Utility Man

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Padres Patchwork Pitching

Padres recall veteran right-hander Morrow
Return to big leagues comes more than year after sustaining shoulder injury 8-13-16
Padres manager Andy Green really needs a reliable long man out of the pen, and Buddy Baumann (5.1 IP, 6.75 ERA, 1.688 WHIP) wasn’t the answer. Plenty of reasons to be skeptical on Brandon Morrow being effective again, but at this point it’s try anything.

Brandon Morrow_RHP

[8/13 Results] James Shields vs. Marlins (ND) 3 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 2 HR, 0 SO
Jared Cosart vs. Mets (ND) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 SO; 89 pitches, Padres committed 3 errors behind him. Jacob deGrom was a little better. Mets rallied for a run in the 7th inning, off young Padres reliever Jose Dominguez. Brandon Morrow pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning in his 2016 debut. Jeurys Familia brought in to close it out, but 1B Wil Myers homers with 2 outs, tying it at 2-2. Bullpen wars until the Mets manufacture a run in the 11th, winning 3-2.

Current 6-man rotation, all numbers with Padres through 8/13:

Age 28 LHP Christian Friedrich 4-8 W/L, 4.84 ERA, 87.1 IP, 1.489 WHIP
Age 23 RHP Luis Perdomo 5-6 W/L, 6.80 ERA, 94.0 IP, 1.862 WHIP
Age 32 RHP Edwin Jackson 3-1 W/L, 3.62 ERA, 32.1 IP, 1.237 WHIP
Age 28 RHP Paul Clemens 1-2 W/L, 4.03 ERA, 22.1 IP, 1.299 WHIP
Age 26 RHP Jared Cosart 0-0 W/L, 5.03 ERA, 14.1 IP, 1.560 WHIP
Age 32 LHP Clayton Richard 0-0 W/L, 6.75 ERA, 1.1 IP, 3.000 WHIP

Padres starting pitching is already scary bad, keeping in mind that Perdomo & Friedrich need to be shut down by September, or so. Edwin Jackson may well end up as their second-most valuable starter (after Drew Pomeranz– traded to BOS) when the season is over. Cubs are paying the last of his 4/$48M deal, which is nice.

RHP Edwin Jackson & GM Jed Hoyer

Jared Cosart is the intriguing project for Balsley & Green, so Padres fans are looking (hoping) for improvement. He’ll be in the 2017 rotation mix.  Paul Clemens is a long-shot at best, but the Padres are happy to have him. Clayton Richard is a usable arm to help finish this season, while reducing the workload on their young starters and relievers.

Ryan Buchter_lefty reliever

Righty set-up men Brandon Mauer & Jose Dominguez, and lefties Ryan Buchter (pictured above) & Brad Hand are valuable bullpen pieces. They also can’t be overworked. Brandon Morrow (and his like) are on the active roster to get the Padres through the season, so later effectiveness & health aren’t compromised in these young relievers. GM A. J. Preller & Andy Green have a lot more pieces in place, compared to one year ago. They just need to protect their young arms, and develop a few more.

Padres power up, hold off rally to top Mets 8-12-16
Andrew Cashner tonight 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 5 BB, L to CWS. In 16 1/3 innings since joining the Marlins, Cashner’s ERA is 6.61, allowing 22 hits and 12 earned runs. Next it’s James Shields against the Marlins; so far 3-7, 6.62 ERA in 62 IP for the White Sox. [see results above] Drew Pomeranz 0-2, 5.26 ERA in 5 starts, 25.2 IP for BOS. Fernando Rodney 1-2, 5.40 ERA 18,1 IP has also been a disaster for the Marlins bullpen. The waivers pick-ups (Edwin Jackson & Paul Clemens) have been better pitchers for the Padres.

RHP Paul Clemens

Nice work by Padres GM A.J. Preller, who has scraped up enough starters (three from the Marlins: Jackson, Clemens & Cosart) to get his young arms through the season, while maximizing their development.  If he needs more, he’ll find them.

Padres, Clemens eye turnaround at Citi Field 8-12-16
Padres have Clemens going for them tonight at Citi Field.  Game on, Mets fans!

Piazza-Clemens 2

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Socialism vs. Third-Party Opportunists

The World Socialist Web Site has been linked many times in these writings.  The WSWS has provided daily political analysis (6 days/week) since 1998, and is the most actively revolutionary website on the Internet.  Its archives are rich in classical Marxist analysis of issues ranging from the Bill Clinton impeachment, right up to the present.  Their coverage is global, with a daily readership of 50K+. [1]

2016 election_SEP

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is the U.S. political branch of the WSWS.  The SEP is running Jerry White & Nile Niemuth as their presidential and vice-presidential candidates. [2]

Niles Niemuth and Jerry White speak to an autoworker at shift br

If you vote this November, I encourage you to write them in.  Be sure to then photograph your ballot, before submitting it.  Who knows how it will be counted?

Puppet Masters & Stalin

There are other bourgeois alternatives to Democrat Hillary Clinton & Republican Donald Trump.  Here’s a quick update on the two major players– the Greens & Libertarians.

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a campaign event in New York

The Greens are arm-chair activists, phony environmentalists, and cowardly middle-class ex-radicals, who insist that government can be reformed & must be part of the solution.  The Greens funnel directly to the Democrats in everything.

Jill Stein_ Twitter Plea to Bernie Sanders

Here’s “An Open Letter to Bernie Sanders” published on their site:

“We want to congratulate you on the work that you have done to support Bernie Sanders’ campaign for president. You self-organized to phone bank and reached 75 million voters. You created a social media machine that overcame the commercial media’s attempts to ignore the campaign. You created cool swag, wrote songs and cooked ‘Feel the Bern’ hot sauce. You painted your cars, your houses and giant murals with the words and likeness of Bernie. It was amazing.”  [3]

Bernie-Sanders & Hillary-Clinton_DNC 2016

Not a word on Bernie Sanders’ capitulation to Hillary Clinton’s right-wing machinery, nor any serious discussion of the U.S.-led wars raging in the Middle East, and beyond.  Their mailing address proves them as Beltway-influenced as the Democrats:

Green Party of the United States
PO Box 75075
Washington, DC 20013
202.319.7191

bernie-jill

How many people knew the Greens just held their convention in Houston, Texas– August 4-7?  This is noteworthy in the lack of media coverage.  Political alternatives to the Democrats & Republicans are strictly censured by capitalism.

Libertarian-slogan

The Libs are to the Reps, as the Greens are to the Dems. Both act as safety valves when these major parties fail to adequately capture their constituency.  The Libertarians are a complete mess at this point, which is not surprising considering the state of the Republican party. [4]

Libertarians are ‘loonies’ in mainstream political terms, meaning they are crazy– but considered harmless.  Libertarians are never taken seriously, and are only used as pawns by right-wing power brokers.  This video below actually happened on 5-29-16 in Orlando, FL at their convention:

Libertarian candidate for president is Gary Johnson:

Gary Johnson_Libertarian 2016

“My charitable contributions would be negligible — I mean just, really almost non-existent,” the former New Mexico governor told CNN.  [5]

The other most-memorable moment in Libertarian party history (founded 1971) happened in 1994, when radio shock-jock Howard Stern bum-rushed the Libertarian convention and secured their nomination for governor of New York.

Stern only withdrew his candidacy in an on-air press conference months later, because he refused to disclose his financial records saying: “I spend 25 hours a week telling you all the most intimate details of my life … One fact I’ve never revealed is how much I make and how much money I have … it’s none of your business.” [6]

Howard Stern 1994

The Libertarian Party’s vision is for a world in which individuals can freely exercise the right of sole dominion over their own lives and property.  [7]

Howard_Stern_For_Governor_Button

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AJ Preller’s Padres: Youth & Upside

Steal City: Jankowski swipes home for 2nd time 8-10-16
The screenshot thumbnail shows what a great athlete CF Travis Jankowski is, as he touches home plate with his right hand, while running nearly full-speed & avoiding the catcher. He would have likely been out, if not mishandled, but it’s his speed which applied the pressure that made PIT crack. That needs to be the limit of his daring on stealing home, as a playoff team would have nailed him. Still: 25 SB, 5 CS is excellent all-around. He’s had a few replay calls turned against him, which proves how fast he is to the umpires on the field.  Padres fans also love his defense and .378 OBP.

CF Travis Jankowski: Padres AA

Jankowski has replaced Jon Jay, beautifully. The Federalist may still be traded, if he can recover from his broken wrist and clear waivers by 8/31.  Padres really can’t QO him, and he doesn’t fit their roster anymore.  Otherwise he’ll remain as a 4th outfielder. We’ll see…

Padres unconditionally release Olivera 8-10-16
Green said Wednesday that he had discussions within the organization to make sure that the Padres’ Minor League affiliates are cognizant of the replay process at the Major League level — even though it doesn’t apply in the Minors.

“We have to really do a better job, even if it costs us at the Minor League level, of holding the bag longer and holding our tags longer, and driving tags through guys,” Green said. “Those are things that you’ve just got to clean up as an organization.”

That’s leadership (Green & Preller) getting ahead of the curve. Great news for an organization that has been mostly behind. It’s why so many Padres fans are excited, despite their current 4th-place record. This team sold off all its contracts at the deadline, and got better!  Padres are younger (upside & cheaper), with better OBP & defense.  More power comes with age and experience.  Solid planning & execution, from Padres ownership & management; through to the coaches, scouts and the rest of the organization.

Hector-Olivera-3B

By officially releasing 3B/OF Hector Olivera, Preller proves this deal was a pure salary dump of RF Matt Kemp to ATL.  Padres eat $28.5M on Olivera. The Braves get shifted $10.5M of the LA Dodgers money (from SD) on Kemp’s deal, and owe the remainder of this year, plus 3 more years at $21.75M/year.

Preller & Kemp

Padres got a season and two-thirds out of Matt Kemp and paid him ~ $15M ($3.25M in 2015 + ~$12M in 2016), plus the $28.5M on Olivera for a total of ~$44M.  That’s an over-pay, (for sure), but not a disaster– due to it’s short length.  The longer an albatross hangs, the more it costs.  Kemp was likely foisted upon Preller, by an over-eager new Padres ownership group in 2014:

Peter Seidler, left, Kevin O'Malley, Tom Seidler, and Brian O'Malley of the San Diego Padres new ownership group

Padres fans thank RF Matt Kemp for his professionalism, and for hitting for the only cycle in franchise history in 2015.  Now, only the Marlins (existed since 1993) have not had a player hit for the cycle.

matt-kemp-padres-celebrates-cycle

Padres remain the only MLB franchise, w/o a no-hitter pitched.

A. J. Preller did a masterful job, dumping a losing player (currently .285 OBP) onto an organization that (obviously) has no idea on winning.  This opportunity came about for the Padres, because the Braves couldn’t handle their own mess.  When Hector Olivera became a PR disaster that wouldn’t go away, Preller swooped in and handled it for them, while dumping the player he HAD to trade– at minimal cost to the Padres.  ATL fans and coaches can argue Matt Kemp’s merits, but they need to realize Braves GM John Coppolella should have made the Padres eat more themselves, instead of just transferring Dodgers money ($10.5M).  Call the Padres’ savings on Kemp, A.J. Preller’s ‘handling fee’ on Olivera, doing what the Braves should have done long ago.

John Coppolella_Braves GM

The Matt Kemp dump may have been the most brilliant deadline deal A. J. Preller made.  It clearly made NYY GM Brian Cashman take a closer look at the A-Rod situation, and arguably influenced the Yankees actions.  The mighty Yankees were getting shown up by a West-coast ‘small-market’ team willing to eat ~$70M to improve themselves.  It was only $27M for the Yankees, who have now done what the Padres already did.   Notice, the Padres have done more, with much less– due to AJP’s skill & creativity.  Of course the Yankees get more hype on this, because they’re the Yankees.

Padres welcome back versatile lefty Richard 8-7-16
This must certainly be better than LHP Matt Thornton (Age 39, 17 IP, 5.82 ERA). Green & Balsley will work on Clayton Richard, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a crack at starting in September. Padres need to shut down RHP Luis Perdomo & LHP Christian Friedrich soon, so they’ll need all the arms they can get. Preller is doing his job, acquiring whatever pitching he can get, after trading his staff away for prospects or losing them to injury.  The Edwin Jackson pick-up (waived by the Marlins) has really helped: 3-1 in 5 starts, with a 3.62 ERA in 32.1 IP.

Edwin Jackson_Marlins

Padres may use six-man rotation temporarily

Club hopes to limit innings during 16-game stretch without an off-day   8-7-16

Smart. It’s all about managing injury-risk for pitchers. Opposite of the Marlins.

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Fangraphs 8/11/16: The Padres Are Running Like Crazy People  [1]

Goodnight, A-Rod & Tiny Tim

We’ll take Big News At 11 for Yankees, Alex 8-7-16
Alex Rodriguez is to be DFA-ed by the Yankees, next Friday (8/12) at Yankee Stadium.  Yankees eat  ~$27M remaining on his deal through 2017.

Alex Rodriguez_DH

Baseball fact: Alex Rodriguez (22 seasons: .295/.380/.550) was the greatest SS in the history of the game, and easily one of the 5-best players ever.

Alex Rodriguez_ SS

He likely used PED’s because he never truly believed in himself, which is tragic.

A-Rod SS Rangers

Third base, (and second fiddle) was his unfairly-assigned role upon his arrival in the Bronx in 2004:

The Captain & A-Rod

As far as valuing Alex Rodriguez’s career, his best years were with the Mariners (1995-2000) & Rangers (2001-2003), because he played SS.  The Yankees could not have won it in 2009 without him.

Arod Albatross from the Boss

The Yankees acquired A-Rod and received value in the first half of his time in NY. He was clearly superior defensively to SS Derek Jeter, who selfishly insisted on staying at his position.  Alex Rodriguez responded by becoming a gold-glove 3B.  By the end, A-Rod was a DH: the ‘Albatross left by the Boss.’

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Freak_Tim Lincecum

Angels designate Lincecum for assignment 8-6-16
It also looks like the end for RHP Tim Lincecum. Some injuries are career-enders, and his hip injury was one of them. ‘The Freak’ was awesome with the Giants, and baseball fans are happy someone (Angels) gave him another chance, but he can no longer generate the necessary torque & velocity, so it isn’t going to happen.

Tim Lincecum_comeback-angels

Tim Lincecum’s 10-year career (9 w/ SFG), included: 2 Cy Young Awards, 4 All-Star selections, and pitching on 3 World Series-championship teams (2010, 2012 & 2014). He is listed at 5′ 11′, 170 pounds; and stood as an inspiration for normalcy in a PED-driven sports world.

Lincecum_High Times

Of course, Lincecum is notorious for smoking marijuana, so conventional PED ethics & results now become further blurred.  One last note on Tim Lincecum; the best mainstream article (I’ve ever read) on pitching was Tom Verducci’s “How Tiny Tim Became a Giant” in 2008.  Consider it essential reading for any serious baseball fan  [1].

Sports_Illustrated_Tiny Tim

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Best Team in MLB 1994

In August 1994, MLB players walked out after being provoked by their owners threatening to unilaterally impose a salary cap system.  Owner representative & MLB commissioner Bud Selig cancelled the World Series a month later, for reasons discussed in greater detail in an earlier piece. [1]

Pedro & Felipe

No one knows who would have won the 1994 World Series, but the Montreal Expos and New York Yankees seemed the most likely match-up.  Each were clearly the best team in their league.  This piece is an analysis of something that never happened, as MLB has never acknowledged a “Best Team of 1994,” in lieu of its traditional ‘World Series champions.’

It seems necessary to do so, in the name of fairness, especially to a group of fans who saw their team robbed of the best chance they ever had to win a World Series.  The great irony of all this was the 1994 MLB strike was provoked by the owners & their commissioner– Bud Selig, in the name “small-market competitiveness.”

The scope of this piece is the understanding of numbers, to determine the superior team.  Recognizing the correct numbers (and their integrated weighted values), is where math and baseball knowledge blend. Everything a fan needs to know to solve the 1994-season is provided in the numbers below, which were gleaned from baseball-reference.com.

Final note to ATL fans: the Braves divisional winning streak was broken in this season, as they finished second in the NL East to the Expos. Yes, the season was shortened; and yes there were no playoffs, but the record still stands as the Braves losing the division in 1994. The Braves two consecutive division-winning streaks from this era run: 1991-1993, and 1995-2005.

Expos 1994

1994 Montreal Expos
74-40, Finished 1st in NL East
Manager: Felipe Alou
GM: Kevin Malone (Promoted 1/27/1994), Farm Dir: Kent Qualls, Scouting Dir: Ed Creech
Scored 585 runs, Allowed 454 runs. Pythagorean W-L: 70-44

Moises Alou_LF

Pos  Name                Age  G     PA    AVG/OBP/SLG
C      Darrin Fletcher  27    94   325      .260/.314/.435
1B    Cliff Floyd          21   100   366     .281/.332/.398
2B    Mike Lansing    26    106  435      .266/.328/.368
SS   Wil Cordero       22    110  467      .294/.363/.489
3B    Sean Berry       28    103  359      .278/.347/.453
LF    Moises Alou      27    107  471      .339/.397/.592
CF  Marquis Grissom 27   110  521      .288/.344/.427
RF  Larry Walker        27   103  452      .322/.394/.587

Bench
C Lenny Webster     29       57 166    .273/.370/.448
LF Lou Frazier          29       76 160    .271/.358/.307
2B Juan Bell             26       38 114    .278/.372/.381
LF Rondell White      22       40 109    .278/.358/.464

Pedro Martinez-Expos

Starters             Age   W/L  ERA G GS   IP       WHIP
Ken Hill                28    16 5   3.32 23 23  154.2   1.222
Pedro Martinez    22    11 5   3.42 24 23 144.2    1.106
Jeff Fassero         31     8 6   2.99 21 21  138.2    1.147
Butch Henry         25     8 3   2.43 24 15  107.1    1.090
Kirk Rueter           23     7 3   5.17 20 20   92.1     1.397

Bullpen               Age   W/L  ERA  G GF   IP       WHIP
John Wetteland    27      4 6    2.83  52  43  63.2    1.052
Mel Rojas             27      3 2    3.32  58  27  84.0    1.095
Gil Heredia           28      6 3    3.46  39   8   75.1    1.301
Jeff Shaw             27      5 2    3.88  46 15   67.1    1.218
Tim Scott             27       5 2    2.70  40  8    53.1    1.294

Expos team fielding % of .979, ranked 11th of 14 NL teams

Stade Olympique · Attendance: 1,276,250 (11th in NL)

Total Expos payroll: $26,388,500 (27th in MLB)

Buck Showalter & Boss Steinbrenner

1994 New York Yankees
70-43, Finished 1st in AL East
Manager: Buck Showalter
GM: Gene Michael, Farm Dir: Mitch Lukevics, Scouting Dir: Bill Livesey
Scored 670 runs, Allowed 534 runs. Pythagorean W-L: 68-45

Wade Boggs 3B

Pos  Name                Age  G     PA    AVG/OBP/SLG
C      Mike Stanley       31  82     333   .300/.384/.545

1B    Don Mattingly      33  97     436   .304/.397/.411
2B    Pat Kelly              26  93     329   .280/.330/.399
SS    Mike Gallego       33  89     357   .239/.327/.359
3B    Wade Boggs        36  97     434   .342/.433/.489
LF    Luis Polonia         30  95     394   .311/.383/.414
CF   Bernie Williams    25 108    475   .289/.384/.453
RF   Paul O’Neill          31 103    443   .359/.460/.603
DH Danny Tartabull    31 104    470    .256/.360/.464

Bench
IF Randy Velarde        31  77     310  .279/.338/.439
UT Jim Leyritz            30  75      293  .265/.365/.518
LF Gerald Williams     27  57       91   .291/.319/.523


Starters               Age    W/L  ERA  G  GS   IP     WHIP

Jimmy Key            33     17 4   3.27  25 25 168.0    1.363
Jim Abbott             26       9 8   4.55  24 24  160.1   1.441
Melido Perez         28       9 4   4.10  22 22  151.1   1.269
Terry Mulholland    31      6 7   6.49  24 19  120.2   1.550
Scott Kamieniecki 30       8 6   3.76  22 16  117.1   1.483

Bullpen               Age     W/L   ERA   G  GF    IP      WHIP
Steve Howe          36        3 0   1.80    40  25   40.0    0.875
Bob Wickman       25        5 4   3.09    53  19   70.0    1.157
Xavier Hernandez 28        4 4  5.85     31 14   40.0    1.725
Donn Pall               32        1 2  3.60     26  7    35.0    1.486
Paul Gibson          34        1 1   4.97    30  15   29.0    1.483

NYY had a fielding % of .982, good for 4th of 14 AL teams

Yankee Stadium · Attendance: 1,675,556 (7th in AL)

Total Yankees payroll: $66,208,334 (1st in MLB)

Yankee Stadium_8-3-94

Wrap-up: Interpreting the correct numbers correctly, we see the Montreal Expos were clearly the best team in MLB in 1994, and likely would have won the World Series had there been a full season.  If these teams played our hypothetical World Series ten times, the Expos would win seven.  Montreal starting pitching was dominant, and so was their bullpen.  The ’94 Expos also got on-base (OBP) & mashed (SLG). They were a bit below-average defensively, which was their only weakness.

The Yankees had a great lineup, a notch better than the outstanding Expos. However, Yankees pitching was several notches worse. Compare ERA & WHIP for both staffs.  Thin all-around would be the best description for NYY, as they were overly-reliant on veteran lefty Jimmy Key to be an ace. Self-destructive Steve Howe was their closer.  After that it was pedestrian arms at best, in the rotation & pen.  The Yankees were good, but not great defensively, so that advantage over the Expos would have been minimal.

Both teams had good managers, as indicated by the fact that both overplayed their Pythagorean projections. Both had bench depth. Compare player ages, and notice how much younger the Expos were, as compared to the veteran Yankees. In 1994, the Expos did it purely with scouting & player development; meanwhile the Yankees (again) had the largest payroll in MLB, as only Bernie Williams was homegrown.

1994 Montreal Expos

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