A Phillipsbuster Proven
Steve Phillips is right, but he has no idea why. If you can stand watching an ESPN broadcast with the sound on, and really, the unintentional comedy of listening to Dan Shulman corral the two knuckleheads locked in that booth with him is reason enough, you’ve heard Phillips’ latest tirade. “Major League Baseball is on pace for one THOUSAND less home runs than in 2006.” Or something vaguely familiar and more convoluted than that.
Amateur economists like to quote a famous economist that once said “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Phillips’ filibuster on home run totals looks like some guy trying to create misleading statistical evidence. Why limit it to home runs? They aren’t the only measure of power and therefore, steroid use. Why use the entire season? Power is usually down in April and May as players adjust and power is sapped by cold weather and dense air. Why use a raw total? Generally there are more off days and rain outs in the cold northeast during April and May. If he was really trying to prove that power has declined he’d compare a rate stat over a similar time period.
As it turns out, he’s covered up the truth. Slugging was down in April, and by a large margin.
MLB SLG, April 2006: .430
MLB SLG, April 2008: .401
Thanks for dumbing it down Steve, maybe soon we’ll reach your level.
when you listen to an ESPN game you can really appreciate the quiet time that takes place during a NESN broadcast. What these bonehead ESPN announcers do not realize is that quiet is very good. I would not limit the criticism to Phillips, Morgan is also a non stop talker.