FJM: ESPN/ Tim Lincecum Edition

Here's excerpts from the ESPN article written about Tim Lincecum winning the NL Cy Young this year. You can read the full article here, but if you're smart enough to be on this blog, I wouldn't recommend it.

ESPN seem like that kid in your high school class who's a nice kid but just a little bit slow getting things. Kind of like Forrest Gump. He's trying so hard to learn the material, but you can't help but laugh at him anyway.

I'm going to hell.

Anyway, here's some of ESPN's hard hitting analysis and it's attempts to bring sabermetrics and advanced statistics into the mainstream

Lincecum, nicknamed "The Freak" for his giant stride, led the NL with 261 strikeouts and tied for the league lead with four complete games and two shutouts.

Well, at least they're getting off on the right foot. You know how us sabermetricians love to use complete games and shut outs as the basis for our Cy Young votes. That's why I've been advocating all year for Mark Buerhle to win the AL Cy Young.

The wiry right-hander attracts plenty of attention on the mound with his shoulder-length brown hair and twisting delivery. But it was his 15 victories -- the fewest for a Cy Young starter over a non-shortened season -- that were really noticeable for the award winner.

Yes, the fact that Lincecum plays a team with an offense worse than the Washington Nationals and on par with the Kansas City Royals. It wasn't the fact that this is Lincecum's second Cy Young in less than three years of being in MLB or the fact that he's fucking awesome that was the noticeable thing. Nope, it was 15 wins.

The 2009 honors for Lincecum and Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke reflect a recent shift in how pitchers are evaluated. The focus has changed to more developed statistics, including some that even take into account team defense.

What a novel concept! We use data that proves causal factors in determining how good a player as the basis for Cy Young awards and not wins!? These smart baseball writers are too confusing for my dumb little mind. My head can't comprehend this concept that once a pitch leaves the picthers hand, he really has no control whether that ball goes as a pop up or home run! How DARE ESPN take into team defense when evaluating a pitcher!

Also, I think Chris Rongey would disagree with you ESPN.

Greinke equaled the previous low of 16 wins for a non-shortened season when he won the AL award on Tuesday. Afterward, he talked all about FIP, a mathematician's dream that stands for Fielding Independent Pitching.

Oh, you mean a Kansas City Royals pitcher ALSO got a Cy Young. Well, too bad both guys are just shitty batters that they couldn't generate enough runs to help themselves win.

Also, when did FIP equal a mathematicians dream? That's like saying it's Steve Phillips dream to spend all of is free time going after ugly girls. Sure it SOUNDS like they go together, but do they really?

Plus, I thought FIP also was for loser bloggers who sit in their mother's basement? Why couldn't ESPN just say FIP = one of the best ways to measure how good a player is considering, um, it is?

Lincecum has his own favorite indicator.

"To say which one I look to the most, I would just say WHIP," he said, referring to walks plus hits allowed per inning, "just because you just limit the amount of baserunners that can hurt you."

Too bad Lincecum isn't as smart as Zach Greinke. Lincy's arm may be developed by NASA, but his head sure isn't.

...

Two voters, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus and Keith Law of ESPN.com, did not include Carpenter on their ballots. Carroll had Wainwright in the top spot, Lincecum second and Arizona's Dan Haren third. Law voted for Lincecum, Atlanta's Javier Vazquez and Wainwright in third. Those were the only votes for Haren and Vazquez.

You mean two really smart analysts who are aware of the causal reasons why a pitcher is good actually used logic and reasoning as the basis for voting and not their "eye" or anything like that! What silly people are getting Cy Young votes these days!