Proove it to me then. Show me where teams that bunt and run often win more often. If its true it will be in the stats. You probably also believe in clutch hitting and saves. And by the way Oakland has been in the playoffs more often than anyone, and they play in the toughest division in baseball. You wanna talk championships, well that only proves my point. Teams that steal bases don't win them with last year being the exception. 2003 Champion Marlins were first in stolen bases, the Devil Rays were second. Those stolen bases did them alot of good. 2002 Champion Angels fifth in stolen bases behind four teams that did not make the playoffs. 2001 Champion Diamond Backs twenty third in stolen bases.
Dude! Do you watch baseball? If speed and bunting ability didn't matter then teams wouldn't work on it. Now you're saying saves dont matter? Please, explain this to me. This has got to be the most retarded argument I've ever been a part of, and trust me, I've been involved in some stooooooopid ones.
Why saves are worthless... They are just a number. There is no power behind them. They just don't carry wait. You would think the closer has some vital role, but he doesn't. I mean think of the typical save situation. Noone on in the bottom of the 9th with a three run lead. Drop most any major league pitcher in that situation and you are golden. Closers in baseball are about as vital as the calvary is to the modern day army. You take an average pitcher drop him into the closers role, have him accumulate some gaudy high number of saves, then trade him off for more money or a player you actually need before the guy becomes a free agent
The teams that win most often except for the Marlins don't spend much time or money on it. When is the last time one guy stole 100 bases. Its been a while. Why because they are not a necessity in the low mound era.
So, had the Yanks traded Mariano Rivera for Albert Belle in 1996 they would have won more? Son, you have been brainwashed. You might want to consider getting your nose out of that website and try watching a little baseball.
No, he's just another idiot who read Money Ball and thinks that he's the next great GM, ala, BIlly Bean or Theo Epstien (If you can call them great). What he fails to realize is that Theo better win a World Series, and Billy Bean better win a World Series or their Sabremetrics asses will be calculating how many packages of Ramen Noodles it takes to feed their families for a month because another year or two of, "Damn! We were one out away from the Series. Well, lets get back to the stats." isn't going to cut it.
I've been a member of SABR since I was 15 and have had two articles on the website. Moneyball didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Face it guys conventional baseball wisdom is dieing out and the Jamesian view is taking over.
15 years and its dying out? did you say that 15 yrs ago and still waiting? Sure the game changes. Sure Larussa and his closer style baseball is overhyped. But I think you miss the boat...there are some dominant closers while there are others who just get the job done. When you make it to the playoffs and the game is on the line, a Rivera has been more of an asset to the yankees than anyone on at that team. While you arent guaranteed to win it all, it sure as hell helps your cause and your odds dramatically go up as opposed to having Turk Wendell in there for you. Some of the Billy Bean school of thought is logical and successful but the answer lies somewhere in the middle. it seems you are too jaded on the left with the new style of baseball going to take over mentality. Baseball is still baseball and if you watch it, you know that its not going to drastically change minus a few nuances. Kenny Lofton was a great base stealer. Henderson was the last of the greatest ones. The reason more managers dont steal is because you have punching judys hitting 30 bombs now. It isnt cost effective. If you think its to mess up the defense you give old school managers too much credit. They may implement new strategies at times but not to that degree. And GMs dont call pitches or shift defenses for the record. Seems you may have drank too much of the kool aid.
Ohio State didnt win a championship because it takes Luck to win a Mythical College Football Championship.
Jack McKeon probably never read Moneyball and that didn't keep the Marlins from winning the World Series. As far as a closer not being important that may be true when he comes into the 9th with a 3 or 4 run lead but if you have a 1 run lead with nobody out and a runner on second would you rather bring in a Mariano Rivera or an Eric Gagne or would you rather take your chances on the rest of the bullpen. A great closer has a special kind of mentality and he wants to be there in those situations. A lot of good pitchers are scared to death to be put in that kind of situation. Some of them are very good middle relievers but fail as closers.
