ALDS Coverage: Notes on a BM

It’s not really going out on a limb to say that Fire Joe Morgan was a great site. Before the identities of its authors were revealed, I used to read it and think, “Who are these anonymous superstars of the prose form?” After I found out their identities, I used to read it and think, “Figures.” But another thing I thought was, “I love this so much I want to marry it.”

What made it so excellent? Well, it was about baseball, for one. And also, it had a great Revenge of the Nerds vibe to it. I mean, sure, Bill Plaschke could talk about heart and guts and grit all he wanted, but he was very clearly less smart than the FJM entourage — and FJM represented us. Ultimately, though, it was just the excellence of the writing that made the site what I like to call a Triumph of the Human Spirit. Honestly, I’m pretty sure it could’ve been a blog about Ugandan tapestry and I would’ve been on board with it.

Despite the wild success that was FJM, sites that have attempted to mimic its formula often come off as clumsy and/or mean-spirited. I’m not smart enough to know why exactly. Maybe because that particular ship has sailed. Maybe because the newer versions tend more towards the ad hominem side of things. Maybe because announcing (and sportswriting) is actually pretty hard and anyone, when absolutely required to produce content with some frequency, will have to sacrifice quality occasionally.

Having said that, I think that it’s probably also the case that many announcers make it hard on themselves when they provide absolutely nothing in the way of evidence to support certain of their claims. Or so was my thought process while listening to Buck Flippin’ Martinez today.

This was the first game of the Angels-Red Sox series that I watched in a residence — as opposed to the area watering hole where I generally partake of America’s Pastime. Accordingly, it was the first in which I was privvy to the musings of Mr. Buck Martinez. Buck — who I’ll refer to as BM — BM was talking a lot today, and I thought it would make sense to apply a little due diligence to some of his more notable claims.

Below are five of BM’s statements. For each statement, I’ve provided the context in which it was made and also a brief commentary.

Commençons!

#1
The Context
BM is mentioning how L.A. is facing Clay Buchholz for the first time since last summer.

BM Said
“They’ll be anxious to take a lot of pitches and see his stuff.”

Comment
When I heard that, man-oh-man, did I laugh snarkily. I says to my friend, I says, “Has this guy ever seen the Angels bat?! Sure, Figgins and Abreu are patient, but the rest of the team is a giant whiff factory.”

There were a couple flaws with my statement. First, there’s actually no such thing as a whiff factory. Second, BM is almost right. Almost.

It’s true, the Angels don’t walk too much. They finished 18th in that category this season at 8.9%. However — and this is kinda interesting — the Angels also don’t swing that much. L.A. actually finished with the seventh lowest Swing%, with a mark of 43.7%, behind teams you’d expect, like the Yankees and Red Sox.

Score half a point for Buck.

#2
The Context
BM is analyzing Buchholz’s prospects for pitching a good game.

What BM Said
“Buchholz will be good, so long as he doesn’t start improvising on the mound.”

Comment
I assume that what BM means is that Buchholz ought to stick to his team’s game plan and just throw whatever Victor Martinez says. He (i.e. BM) mentioned something to this effect in the fourth inning or so. In any event, is that really the thing that’s separating Buchholz from greatness? Is Buchholz some sort of rogue loner who throws his way or no way at all? My guess is no. My guess is that BM just said whatever he wanted to say.

The thing separating Buchholz from greatness is probably the fact that his K- and BB-rates are almost exactly league average and his HR/FB rate was a little high (15.7%) this season.

#3
The Context
BM is giving entirely anecdotal reasons for the Angels success this season.

What BM Said
“… and Torii Hunter’s enthusiasm is infectious.”

Comment
This is probably not the main reason for the Angels’ success this year. I’m sure, yes, it makes the games much more fun. But scoring runs and preventing runs: that’s how you win games.

Also, it makes Torii Hunter sound like a sick person. “Hey, everyone, just a reminder: don’t forget to get immunized this year. Torii Hunter’s enthusiasm is infectious.”

#4
The Context
Abreu takes second after Buchholz’s pick-off attempt gets by Youkilis.

What BM Said
“A lot of times we discount the stolen base threat.”

Comment
I would say that never before have I heard an announcer discount the stolen base threat. You know what I have heard? I’ve heard announcers talk ad nauseam about the “pressure” a base stealer puts on the defense, or how a base stealer is able to “distract” the pitcher.

Baseball Prospectus covered this in Baseball Between the Numbers. If I remember correctly, yes, there is a small gain in batter OPS when a bonafide base stealer occupies first. But even then it’s negligible, and way overstated by the announcerati.

#5
The Context
Dustin Pedroia is batting (both in the first and fifth — almost identical comments!).

What BM Said
“Pedroia loves anything hard.”

Comment
Because you are very probably a man between the ages of 18-49, I’m sure I don’t have to explain how many entendres there are in such a statement. What BM meant, of course, is that Pedroia likes fastballs. Fastballs are his favorite things to hit. It’s fastballs or bust for Little Dustin Pedroia.

Because you are also very probably a baseball nerd, your inclination is to probably go to Pedroia’s FanGraphs player page and look up his Pitch Type Values. Well, no need; I already did it.

BM is right to say that Pedroia hits fastballs well — he’s got a wFB/C of 0.63. But he also has a 0.92 wSL/C and 2.56 CB/C. So, sure, Pedroia hits the fastball well. But to say he loves anything hard… well, that’s inappropriate in more than one way, turns out.