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Every morning on my way to the Mock Draft Central office, I encounter at least one driver -- usually a lady on a cell phone -- who insists on going 65 mph in the passing lane, even though the posted speed limit is 70.
Every morning, I have to take my cruise control off 75 and follow that driver as they pass trucks, cute old ladies who are closer to their windshield than the wipers and the soon to be exiting.
Once everyone is passed, what does the driver in front of me do? NOTHING! They stay in the left lane even though there is nothing to their right and it`d do them no harm to get over and let me get back to my law-breaking ways.
So in a move that would make Tony Stewart proud, I swoop to the right lane, floor the gas, pass the 65er, then make a sudden cut back to the passing lane to avoid rear-ending an upcoming slow-goer. After five minutes and many curse words I can finally get back to my desired speed.
A person driving under the speed limit in the passing lane is my No. 1 pet peeve in life.
Unfortunately, the annoyance doesn`t stop when I get to office as fantasy baseball has one thing that also drives me insane: split stats. Specifically, those who use split stats without looking at the entire body of work.
On more than one occasion, I`ve read that I should be worried about Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki because he hit .256-9-39 away from Coors Field. Newsflash: The Rockies didn`t move to Boise this offseason; they still play in Denver, where the second-year shortstop hit .325-15-60 last year. Scared of the road splits? That`s OK, more .291-24-99 hitting middle infielders for me.
So what if Detroit Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson only hit .160 against lefties in 2007? Last I checked Bud Selig -- even as crazy as he is -- didn`t abolish right-handed pitching from the game since the final out of the World Series. Despite the southpaw struggles, the 26-year-old combined to hit .302 last season. Oh yeah, he hit 22 homers, scored 122 runs and stole 26 bases, too.
Last September, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal stole 12 bases in 15 games. However, many are quick to discount the feat as it relates to this upcoming season because seven of the swipes came against one team, the San Diego Padres. That would be worrisome if the Padres acquired Kenji Johjima or if the Dodgers played their neighbors to the south six times in 2008. However, green-lighters Josh Bard and Michael Barrett return as backstops and the Southern California rivals play each other 18 times.
Numbers are funny. If one digs deep enough, they can muster up a stat to help support any argument -- especially when it comes to fantasy baseball. Winning managers sift through that informed misinformation, put the splits together and see the big picture, which often times tells an entirely different story than the presented nonsense.
Every morning, I have to take my cruise control off 75 and follow that driver as they pass trucks, cute old ladies who are closer to their windshield than the wipers and the soon to be exiting.
Once everyone is passed, what does the driver in front of me do? NOTHING! They stay in the left lane even though there is nothing to their right and it`d do them no harm to get over and let me get back to my law-breaking ways.
So in a move that would make Tony Stewart proud, I swoop to the right lane, floor the gas, pass the 65er, then make a sudden cut back to the passing lane to avoid rear-ending an upcoming slow-goer. After five minutes and many curse words I can finally get back to my desired speed.
A person driving under the speed limit in the passing lane is my No. 1 pet peeve in life.
Unfortunately, the annoyance doesn`t stop when I get to office as fantasy baseball has one thing that also drives me insane: split stats. Specifically, those who use split stats without looking at the entire body of work.
On more than one occasion, I`ve read that I should be worried about Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki because he hit .256-9-39 away from Coors Field. Newsflash: The Rockies didn`t move to Boise this offseason; they still play in Denver, where the second-year shortstop hit .325-15-60 last year. Scared of the road splits? That`s OK, more .291-24-99 hitting middle infielders for me.
So what if Detroit Tigers outfielder Curtis Granderson only hit .160 against lefties in 2007? Last I checked Bud Selig -- even as crazy as he is -- didn`t abolish right-handed pitching from the game since the final out of the World Series. Despite the southpaw struggles, the 26-year-old combined to hit .302 last season. Oh yeah, he hit 22 homers, scored 122 runs and stole 26 bases, too.
Last September, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal stole 12 bases in 15 games. However, many are quick to discount the feat as it relates to this upcoming season because seven of the swipes came against one team, the San Diego Padres. That would be worrisome if the Padres acquired Kenji Johjima or if the Dodgers played their neighbors to the south six times in 2008. However, green-lighters Josh Bard and Michael Barrett return as backstops and the Southern California rivals play each other 18 times.
Numbers are funny. If one digs deep enough, they can muster up a stat to help support any argument -- especially when it comes to fantasy baseball. Winning managers sift through that informed misinformation, put the splits together and see the big picture, which often times tells an entirely different story than the presented nonsense.
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