I hate stats

More specifically, I hate stat "people". Those people who push their stats on others. Those people that think good old stats like RBIs, ERA and fielding percentage are no longer valid because we have things like WAR, UZR, OPS and CHONE. Every time you open your mouth with a clearly ungrounded statement like "I like Jacoby Ellsbury" someone has to come back with how his WAR is far below the league average, his OPS is lackluster at best and his UZR fielding rating lists him just above Wily Mo Pena and just below a three legged dog. This then makes your innocent "I like Jacoby Ellsbury" comment come off as "I lick windows" because some stat guy wants to flex his numerical stat muscles and questions your "fan-dom".

I'll tell you one thing: stats are flawed. All of them. The more flawed they are, the more interpolating them effs things up even more. To think you can divide a field up into sections and determine who can get to what ball and who does it better is founded on the same principles as the ones that brought us every Hugh Grant movie ever made, and that is not a world I want to live in. It makes every Joe Shmo out there think they are Bill James. Sorry for the name drop. It's kind of how starting a lame Red Sox blog makes you think that people want to hear what you think.... ohhhh, self burn.

I'll tell you another thing: I like Jacoby Ellsbury.

You're telling me THIS guy is a bad fielder?

The Gold Gloves were given out last week and it was the usual suspects taking home the hardware and among all the fielding talk someone found a way to try and tell us that Jacoby Ellsbury is a below average out fielder. Actually, of all the AL center fielders the UZR (which I can only assume stands for "Useless Z-something Rating") had him listed second to last, only in front of Vernon "Ridiculously Crippling Contract" Wells. His rating is actually so bad it says that his shifty D gives up 18.3 runs per year. We have entered the twilight zone. Yes I know his arm is only a tick above Johnny Damon, who is barely a tick above disabled infant monkey, but he has made an entire Nation get used to the fact that a diving, lay yourself horizontal 3 feet in the air, catch is something that is to be expected on a daily basis. Let the stat guys have their fun but no one is going to convince me that Tacoby Bellsbury is not a good fielder. UZR, to you I say GOOD DAY!!