Number Crunchers and Game Watchers

There are two camps for baseball fans. Camp one, the "Stat Geeks." Heavy reliance on data and analysis is required. Baseball can be shrunk down, and thanks to Fangraphs, Baseball-Reference, Baseball Prospectus etc. and so forth, Bill James initial work done in the 70's has evolved into the massive Sabermetric presence we see today in baseball. It's called progress, and it's OK. Camp two, the "Watchers." Even though sayings like, "looks can be deceiving" and "these lying eyes" have been around for decades, these folks hold nothing above what they see when it comes to evaluation. the anti "moneyballers." Two camps, two ideas, red states and blue states, Hatfields and McCoys. A veritable WAR if you will. But why the vitriol?

Small Sample size Man Crush

I love small sample sizes sometimes. Especially when they justify a totally no homo man crush. I present to you, Nick Maronde.

I could go bananas over how deceptive he is on the mound, I could talk about how refreshing it is that bill of his hat isn't flat, I could go on an on about how giddy it makes me that we have another lefty in the pen who has a history of striking guys out (8.6 K/9 in in the minors). 

But no, I'm not going to do any of that. I'm just going to describe how Maronde makes me feel compared to How Johnny Depp makes me feel when he shows up in a movie. 

Mike Trout, AL MVP Front Runner?

     Mike Trout is something special.............let's try that again.  Mike Trout is on another plane of special in regards to playing baseball (I hear there is also rumors that he is curing cancer, saving children from high rise fires and volunteering at nursing homes, all while stealing 2nd base in the 1st inning). Scanning my Facebook (LOL at Facebook stock) timeline earlier I came across a post by the MLB Network where they asked if Mike Trout is the front runner for AL MVP.  Now, of course, I'm a little biased (he's the MVP of the galaxy as far as I'm concerned) so I say "YES."  But as I scanned some of the comments left by other users, I couldn't help but to burst out into laughter.  You can read them here, go on, I'll wait.

     Done? Good. Let's carry on.

News and Notes

     In case you missed the news that was out their yesterday, here's a brief recap of some of the more "off" news stories of the day.

    Iowa governor leaves hospital after choking on carrot.  The title alone makes this article worth reading.  Gov. Terry Brandstad was at a dedication for the USS Iowa (which is being turned into a floating, interactive museum, pretty cool). However, during the dinner, he seemed to forget that chewing your food is essential when eating dinner. Chew, swallow. Chew, swallow. Seems easy right? apparently it's more perilous to our health than we thought. Money quote:

Branstad choked on a carrot during the event and vomited, spokesman Tim Albrecht said. He said the governor was taken to a nearby hospital “out of an overabundance of caution,” went through a series of tests and was released after his health turned out to be fine. 

“We're glad he's okay. He's in great spirits,” Albrecht said. “He's probably a little more embarrassed than anything.” 

     Florida lifeguard fired for saving drowning man.  Wait? You went into the water over there to save that man? Why? No, why on earth would you think that it is a good idea to save that man when he is clearly outside the "protected" zone? This is too easy, Tomas Lopez should be commended for what he did, but apparently, it is the lifeguard company policy that "if someone is in trouble outside the company protection zone, the lifeguard is to call 911 and hope that help gets there on time." Money quote:

"The reason I was fired is just ridiculous," Lopez told CNN late Wednesday night. "It is a ridiculous rule, really. What was I supposed to do? Just let the guy drown?"

     Yes Tomas, you were

Oh Dan Haren, Why Must You Pain Me So?

     There are a few things in life that really get under my skin.  Oh, you want to know exactly what they are? I'll be happy to oblige you.

1. Cold. Seriously, if you live in a cold weather state, it feels like winter goes on and on and on. 
2. Other peoples kids. Sounds harsh right? Yeah, I know, but some parents should have never been allowed to have kids. And it's my kid who seems to always need sand washed out of his eyes because one of these hellions pushed one of them off the teeter-totter. (you, in the khakis, yeah you.  I'm watching you)
3. Ignorance. Racists, bigots, people I work with.  They are EVERYWHERE!
4. A player on the team that I root for, hurting the team that I root for.

     Dan Haren.  Dear, dear Dan Haren.  You sir, are really starting to get on my nerves.  Tonight's performance against the Indians is another example of why I now dread the days you pitch.  For those of you that are gonna say, but, Ervin Santana, Ervin Santana.  Santana has been seriously inconsistent this year, but you can tell early if it's gonna be a good game, or if you should get back to designing the model of the shipwrecked Titanic that you've been putting off for months.  Mr. Haren is another thing altogether.

Welcome Back Baseball

    It's that time of year again.  Time for the sounds, sights and smells associated with the greatest game on earth.  Players are descending upon Arizona and Florida with one goal in mind, finish the year holding a championship trophy proudly over their head.

     For fans, the debating over their team's 2012 chances are coming to a head.  Some care about the Spring Training standings (this guy), some don't.  To some, spring stats are useful tool, forecasting for the season ahead. For others those numbers are meaningless.

        For some fans, the baseball season is like adding a second marriage for the next eight months.  A marriage with all the trimmings (ups, downs, elation, despair, depression and most importantly....antacids).  We'll get mad at, we'll argue with it and we'll swear to never talk to it again.  But the next day will come, and there we will be, watching or listening or following along on our computer.  We love this game, whether we like it or not.  And that heartbreaking and heart-warming time of year is upon us, and i couldn't be more excited.

       Now where did I put my tums and maalox at? 

Welcome,

    Day one, blog one. Welcome to Messages From Mike. My name is Mike and   I would like to thank you for visiting. Hopefully you come back often and enjoy the reading.

     About me, I am a father of two children. You will probably hear about them often. Hailey is in kindergarten, she's scared of her own shadow, but lately, she has been coming home with phone numbers (I see high phone bills in my sleep). Kayden is our "almost" kindergartener. He loves dinosaurs (seriously, ask him what dinosaur a Quetzalcoatlus is and he will politely correct you. letting you know that it is not a dinosaur, it's a terasaur).

     I am married to a woman who is constantly putting up with at least one thing or another from me (usually my Angels fandom), she swears I'm brainwashing my kids (because I am), but we both love the Lakers (even if her love for them is just because of Kobe). She's my rock and she knows it, but that's OK because I know it too.

     We'll finish for now.

follow me on twitter @mike_hllywa.