The thread below inspired me to take a closer look at Yuniesky Betancourt to see just how much he's actually contributing to this team. For a while we've been assuming that he's a pretty average bat for a shortstop with above-average defense, but how does this stand up to investigation? I decided to avoid work for half an hour to find out.
Let me tell you - it doesn't stand up very well.
When he first came up to the big leagues, Yuni wowed us with his defense, and when the advanced metrics didn't support our opinions we wrote it off as a sample size anomaly. But here's the problem with maintaining that stance: Yuni has more than 3000 innings under his belt now as a Major League shortstop, and the advanced metrics still don't like him very much. Here are the big three to which I have the easiest access:
RZR, 2005-2008
Yuni: .802, 37 OOZ per 1000 innings
Average SS: .821, 41 OOZ per 1000 innings
PMR, 2005-2007
Yuni: 462 outs per 4000 in play, .115 DER
Average SS: 459 outs per 4000 in play, .115 DER
UZR, 2005-2007
Yuni: -5 runs per 150 games
Average SS: 0 runs per 150 games (duh)
That's bad. The numbers are painting the picture of a guy who's something like -10 < x < 0 runs in the field, relative to his position, and both the agreement and sample size are good enough for us to be able to say this with a fair bit of confidence. I think a lot of us have been giving this some thought for a little while now, what with Yuni's added weight and visibly diminished range, but when you actually spell it out and put it in plain writing...it's a bit of a shock to realize that the thing you appreciated most about a player doesn't exist, and arguably never did.
So that's his defense. What about at the plate? Let's go with wOBA :
Yuni: .303 (career)
Average SS: .316 (2005-2008)
To convert wOBA into runs, you simply divide by 1.15, which gives you runs/PA. Over 600 plate appearances, wOBA puts Yuni at 7 runs below the average shortstop.
But then, wOBA isn't park-adjusted. If you prefer something that is, you can look at Baseball Prospectus' EqA (or you can convert wOBA yourself but let's just keep this simple):
Yuni: .241, 61 EqR per 600 PA (career)
Average SS: .253, 67 EqR per 600 PA (2005-2008)
That's not much better. Depending on what you think of the statistics and how you adjust for Safeco, Yuni again comes out as being -10 < x < 0 runs below the average shortstop, this time with the bat. Which - ignoring baserunning and other minor stuff that generally doesn't make much of a difference either way - gives you a guy who's somewhere between 0 and 20 runs below average for his position per season.
That isn't good. Which means Yuniesky Betancourt isn't good. The fact that he's a shortstop making a paltry $1.25m this year makes him a reasonable value, but for all his enthusiasm and contact and hilarious arm positioning when he's running the bases, he just isn't a good player.
And that's lame.
3 recs | 213 comments
That is lame.
Because he’s a blast to watch when he’s not frustrating the hell out of you.
Thingray - May 8, 2008
Realistically
who could we get to replace him and give us better results?
BrianL - May 8, 2008
Realistically it's not going to happen
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
Well that's sad.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
Yuni isn't killing us, he just isn't very good
this team has way bigger issues to address.
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
All of our washed up 1B/DH/RF type players?
BrianL - May 8, 2008
All of our
washed up 1B/DH/RF typeplayers?CapSea - May 8, 2008
He's a mediocre shortstop.
Trade him to Toronto! They love mediocre shortstops.
Llewdor - May 8, 2008
But theirs can field
I’m this close to advocating a straight-up Yuni/McDonald swap.
You see how far above average Toronto’s team D is? You see how far below average ours is?
Felix deserves to pitch in front of a great defense. At least one year in his career.
I’m hopeful, though by no means certain, that the M’s can arrange that; it’ll take a few years at the minimum now.
marc w - May 8, 2008
David Eckstein cannot field
...
JI - May 8, 2008
It's all relative
in 2008, Yuni has an RZR of .792 with 6 out of zone plays.
in 2008, Eckstein has an RZR of .875 with 10 out of zone plays.
so if Eckstein can’t field….
marc w - May 8, 2008
And Eckstein doesn't play every day.
Llewdor - May 8, 2008
Have you actually seen him play defense?
JI - May 8, 2008
OSWALDO!!!!
Um. Or not.
Mike M
orseOh, wait.
FREE WILLIE!!!!
Okay, I’ll stop.
PositivePaul - May 8, 2008
::cry::
BrianL - May 8, 2008
I've tried not to think about this much, but it's hard not to think that a .710 OPS bat with mediocre D might be hurting you...
Very, very lame.
BrettJMiller - May 8, 2008
Call up Triunfel!!
Just kidding, just kidding..
Thingray - May 8, 2008
When the scouts, or people like me, bemoan the reliability
of defensive metrics, this is the best counter-example going.
There’s never been a player who has garnered such universal acclaim amongst scouts (at least on the defensive side).
I’d still argue that the guy we saw in 2005 is just not the same guy we’re seeing now. He’s lost more than a step, and it’s painfully obvious now. This may be a case where averaging 3 years of data makes him look better than he actually is.
Sad.
marc w - May 8, 2008
I agree with every point in this comment
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
Me, too.
Yuni in T-Town >>>>>> Yuni in Seattle…
PositivePaul - May 8, 2008
Hey, it's an impromptu edition of '3 guys who agree on everything'
marc w - May 8, 2008
My favourite part of going to games in 2005 was watching Yuni take ground balls
The man moved like a cat.
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
above/below avgerage
I’ve always wondered how close to a normal distribution we get in talent at a position like SS. Looking at PMR, in 2007, there were 13 SS above the mean and 26 below.
It’s evident that Betancourt is not a good player, but simply by holding such a difficult to fill position at an acceptable level without absorbing much of the team’s salary, that’s a fairly significant contribution. I would also guess that, when taken as a whole, his net contribution is about the median.
MrIncognito - May 8, 2008
His defense looks far worse now than it did just last year and the years prior.
CapSea - May 8, 2008
I don't know
LAST year was the big eye-opener for me. Forget the errors, he just stopped getting to balls last year. I hoped, fervently, that this would regress to the mean, or that it was impossible to get to balls given up by Horacio and Reefer Jaw.
I guess that wasn’t it.
marc w - May 8, 2008
Still looks worse this year.
CapSea - May 8, 2008
Right, he is both valuable and not good
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
That sounds like you could be describing Lopez too.
Most of the rest are just not good.
Jed MC - May 8, 2008
Lopez might be a pinch better but yeah
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
though with the position adjustment, it's daaaamn close
on paper, Lopez is a + defender, I think, which means it’s a toss-up.
marc w - May 8, 2008
Lopez is a 0 < x < 5 defender max.
I think it looks like gets to a lot of balls, but doesn’t always catch the ball. That ball before the Bautista/Baek implosion the other day represents Lopez’ play in my head. He got there, but missed the ball.
Jed MC - May 8, 2008
That came across a little stronger than I meant.
I don’t know enough about baseball to make that solid a claim. He LOOKS like a 0 < x < 5 defender to my lay-eyes.
Jed MC - May 8, 2008
That's what we had thought about Yuni too
And that was wrong
Robert Lintott - May 8, 2008
But the stats actually back it up for Lopez
Yes, he’s a 0
marc w - May 8, 2008
Boo.
Someone needs to make a “Last Fan of Yuniesky Betancourt” screen name.
Or not. I still like him, but I feel like he’s let me down of late. And when his defense was better, it was nice to feel like he was helping the team.
CapSea - May 8, 2008
You can still like a player who isn't very good.
Unless it’s Mike Morse. That’s not allowed.
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
I like Baek too.
CapSea - May 8, 2008
I'm not alone?!?
marc w - May 8, 2008
It's been too long since I've gotten to use this.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
hahahahaha
ASUBoyd - May 8, 2008
Amen!
PositivePaul - May 8, 2008
Hater!
PositivePaul - May 8, 2008
Player A?
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
A few winters ago Dave Cameron said that we'd be surprised
by what the offers the Mariners were getting for Yuni. I wonder what those were.
JI - May 8, 2008
I kinda don't want to know. Don't need more disappointment.
marc w - May 8, 2008
yeeeeesh that's bad
good thing he’s reasonably priced.
pdb - May 8, 2008
I can't wait until we buy out his arb years and let Felix walk.
JI - May 8, 2008
His arb years were bought out last April
He’s on a 4 year deal (through 2011) with a club option for 2012.
marc w - May 8, 2008
Didn't we already buy out his arb years?
Teej - May 8, 2008
Hell if I know.
I guess.
My original sentiment is still hilarious though.
JI - May 8, 2008
Speaking of,
Isn’t it about time that the rumored Felix deal gets done? That would make the M’s recent shittiness easier to endure.
Teej - May 8, 2008
Jesus that would make things so much better.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
Yeah they're still dicking around on that
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
It's going to hilarious when he signs with the Angels.
JI - May 8, 2008
Eh, I'm getting more of a New York / Boston signing vibe.
Eyebrows - May 8, 2008
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP
only we may talk about this, and then only in jest
JI - May 8, 2008
Incorrect.
Every time we play the Yankees and Felix is pitching, they bring up the same stories over and over about how he liked the M’s because they weren’t a “big” team, and it seemed like they cared about him, not just the team. I don’t think that = him going to a big market team.
Now, when the Orioles get new ownership…
Faux - May 8, 2008
I straight up asked him once
And he laughed and said he signed with Seattle for a reason
Robert - May 8, 2008
What do you know the Mariners can still get a reaction out of me
Robert - May 8, 2008
Maybe he'll realize this extra muscle thing isn't working
and slim down for next year. And figure out how to hit.
r0ry - May 8, 2008
I'm not really sure how much of this is reversible
I’m guessing “very little”.
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
And I'm not so sure it's muscle, either.
It looks like he’s just getting chubby.
Teej - May 8, 2008
Vidro'd.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
Well regardless
Felix has proved that that can be taken care of as well.
r0ry - May 8, 2008
Yuni's not fat; Yuni's just fluffy!
PositivePaul - May 8, 2008
Yeah, sure.
“Muscle.” Right.
CapSea - May 8, 2008
He isnt great at D and hasnt had an XBH in almost 10 games..
Damnit.
ASUBoyd - May 8, 2008
I know it's been said in one way or the other in this thread already
but you can’t undervalue low-priced average (or near average) production. Average is still well above replacement level. I wouldn’t call Yuni not-good. He’s just not great, which is what many had thought previously. Still having an ~average SS for the $1-2 mil or whatever he’s getting a year is a good thing. It allows a team to allocate its money to get excellent players at other positions, although it’s arguable whether the mariners have done this. The only time having average players is bad is when the whole roster is average, and not complemented by superstars (See: Toronto Blue Jays).
Eyebrows - May 8, 2008
Right, he is valuable
but I’d say ~average is his best possible scenario right now. The likelihood is that he’s a little below that.
He’s not good. He’s a value to have, but he’s not good.
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
Yeah
and it’s worth remembering that he’s bringing in close to $3.5m. This isn’t an MLB-minimum sort of a deal, people.
Still, he’s not killing the team, the contract’s not bad, etc. But we’re paying, per year, the free agent market rate on this guy (if $4m/win is ave. for FA, then I’d say his $3.5/a bit below is in the ballpark). That’s fine, it’s not awful. But when you’ve got young players in arb or in buy-outs, THAT’S where you’ve got to be making up ground – it’s not OK to get free-agent equivalent production from guys like that. It’s not crippling, but it’s frustrating.
marc w - May 8, 2008
avg and replacement value are different
So he’s still a good value at $3.5 mil.
MrIncognito - May 8, 2008
I don't get how the subject and the body of this message connect
Right, he’s below average and above replacement. He’s getting paid roughly what a FA with his production would give you. So… how’s he a good value?
My point is that tying up these arb or pre-arb guys is generally a way to get GUARANTEED value. Given the system, any arb guys you tie up should be average or hopefully a bit better. That’s why it’s just a bit disappointing to see his production drop a bit below average, and the dollars creep up.
marc w - May 8, 2008
The math
http://ussmariner.com/2008/02/14/2008-win-values/
The value of a player on the free agent market is wins above replacement, not wins above average.
Lopez is 1-2 wins above replacement, so his value is in the neighborhood of $4.4-$8.8 million (Dave’s number at UUSM was $7.5 million). At a $3.5 million salary, he’s proving the Mariners with enough excess value to go buy a win somewhere else.
MrIncognito - May 8, 2008
he's also nowhere near 3.5M expensive
Matthew - May 8, 2008
Wait, are we talking about Lopez or Yuni?
marc w - May 8, 2008
Blah, I meant Yuni
They all look the same anyways.
MrIncognito - May 8, 2008
Gotcha
Forgot the positional and RL adj. is that huge.
We’ll have to the magnitude of his defensive…issues is. It could easily eat up a full win this year. That said, considering position, he’s still a net positive. Gotcha.
marc w - May 8, 2008
how do you figure he's getting 3.5M?
Matthew - May 8, 2008
Averaging his $13.75/4 deal.
Jeff’s got the breakdown below, but I was just wingin’ it.
marc w - May 8, 2008
His contract escalates (as you'd expect)
08: $1.25m
09: $2m
10: $3m
11: $4m
12: $6m option or $2m buyout
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
I smart org would trade him this offseason.
JI - May 8, 2008
would really only work if we got a SS back
and those types of deals rarely happen.
Yuni will likely remain a value through 2010, if not for the full contract.
Trade him if you have someone to step in, but otherwise, motivate him to get better.
Matthew - May 8, 2008
Well yeah
on the other hand, when you have a player who’s perceived value greatly outweighs his actual value you should be looking to take advantage of that situation. I don’t know whether there are any decent one year fill ins on the FA market or if there’s a long term SS out there that makes sense, but it’s something a good organization would explore.
JI - May 8, 2008
Hmmm.
Any cheap options we could pick up at SS during the FA period that would be ~ $3 million on a 1-3 year deal and comparable to Yuni?
The way I see it, you flip him + talent for a decent young LHB at a corner OF position, sign this Mystery Free Agent SS (think Julio Lougo-ish), and you come out ahead.
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
Er, Lugo
important thing: he can’t completely suck ala Aurilia, but he can be just OK because he’s cheap but not very good like Yuni.
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
Oh, and this also requires a front office that does not suck.
:(
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
or when you are paying premuim FA $ for them
also see: Blue Jays, Toronto
JI - May 8, 2008
Oh and I should add
Good post, Jeff. This is why we have that rec button.
Eyebrows - May 8, 2008
I'm gonna blame last night's game on JeffS...glad to see the real Jeff is back.
Stupid evil, alternate-dimension twins.
SethGrandpa - May 8, 2008
JeffS isn't evil.
He’s the pedophile twin who lusts after Anne Frank.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
Anne Frank is way older than Jeff.
JI - May 8, 2008
JeffS lusts after Anne Frank circa Holocaust.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
needs more time travel
JI - May 8, 2008
JeffS is a necrophiliac?
JoeyJoJoJuniorShabadoo - May 8, 2008
He very well could be.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
If it's Anne Frank he's after...
...then he’s a necrophiliac pedophile.
PositivePaul - May 8, 2008
but it could also be assumed he's anti-Nazi
so there’s that.
pdb - May 8, 2008
skrobo would disagree
JI - May 8, 2008
as would skoorbo.
man, you were doing so well, too. We need one of those construction safety signs:
“JI’s Posts: (x) days without a typo”
pdb - May 8, 2008
Minutes might be a better unit of measurement.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
technically this is poor spelling and not a typo
JI - May 8, 2008
tomato/tomahto
pdb - May 8, 2008
You actually thought he was Skrobo?
Llewdor - May 8, 2008
YOU'RE A SKROBO
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
Finally! Someone not only notices the elephant in the corner of the room...
the person goes and touches the elephant to make sure.
Yuni has been able to get away with his antics because the other 8 guys in the lineup and the field keep raising the bar of sucktitude.
Wilder. - May 8, 2008
Don't touch my elephant.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 8, 2008
no means no, mr. elephant toucher
pdb - May 8, 2008
I'm Sorry to do this
But I am trying my damndest to talk and think in these new and better stats. Yet, I don’t understand the idea behind wOBA. How do I interpret the run values of an event. For instance, the claim that a HR = 1.7… Does that mean that if I hit 10 HR I should (theoretically) have 17 runs? That would make sense, but I have trouble believing that 10 NIBB would equal ~6 Runs… Am I doing this all wrong?
I mean, the wOBA number and it’s application is easy to understand, but since I’m trying so hard to get this stuff, I’d like to get the numbers behind it. Hope this isn’t too annoying…
Robert Lintott - May 8, 2008
This is quite complicated.
This first thing to consider is that there are many different states a baseball inning can be in, defined by the number of outs and which bases are occupied (so stuff like 2nd, 0 out, etc) . There end up being 15 of these game states, if I recall correctly.
Now what we do is say for each of these states, how many runs are scored on average between that state and the end of the inning. So bases empty with 2 down won’t give you a very high number, but bases loaded no outs is about 2. This is called run expectancy, and combining that with game states gives you a run expectancy matrix.
Now you can measure the run value of events, by averaging out the change in game state and therefore run expectancy. Say a batter comes up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out, and hits a double which pates 3 guys. The run value of that individual hit would be 3 (the number of runs driven in) + (run value [2nd, 1 out] – run value [loaded, 1 out])). That last term is going to work out as a negative number in this case.
So now we’ve seen how to get run values for an individual hit, you can sum up all the run values for every HR that has happened in the past 5 years and then take the average. Voila, 1.7 runs.
Sorry if that’s a little unclear, I’m a wee bit buzzed.
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
24 states, not 15
2^3*3
Matthew - May 8, 2008
15 is probably something to do with concrete then
My brain is really sore.
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
15 may also be your fingers slipping from 2 and 4 to 1 and 5
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
25 or 6 to 4.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 8, 2008
Be nice :(
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
That makes sense
But I am still unclear on one thing. Does this mean that your average walk is worth .62 runs?
Robert Lintott - May 8, 2008
Is there a place where I can see all fielders ranked by RZR?
I just want to know on a position by position basis who the best fielders are and trying to find a website that has that info is killing me. Seriously, it gave me cancer.
DAMellen - May 8, 2008
Hardball Times, if I'm not mistaken.
Teej - May 8, 2008
link
here
Matthew - May 8, 2008
And here's a link
to one of the best cancer centers in the country, which should help rid you of that pesky cancer.
pdb - May 8, 2008
There is a cure for cancer.
The FDA won’t approve of it because there is too much damn money in cancer research as well as in other cancer treatments… which only work a percentage of the time.
Makio Murayama is the man with the cure (he may be dead now; 93-years old in 2003 when I frequented his home) and he found the cure for Sickle Cell Anemia back a few decades ago, which also happens to still get plenty of research funds for some reason.
Wilder. - May 8, 2008
I 100% believe this.
Matthew - May 8, 2008
Why didn't he get off his ass
and cure AIDS while he was at it? Prejudice?
marc w - May 8, 2008
There might be a cure for AIDS.
You just won’t ever hear of it.
Wilder. - May 8, 2008
I 100% believe this.
Matthew - May 8, 2008
My uncle worked on a team that was developing a drug
To treat leukemia. It ended up being a cure and never went to market.
Sec 108 - May 8, 2008
I'm just going to stop lest I end up
repeating myself multiple times.
Matthew - May 8, 2008
I wouldn't even bother
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
Damnit Matthew!
The whole reason I spewed that BS was because your response was making me laugh.
Sec 108 - May 8, 2008
Much like Mike Morse
I dropped the ball
Matthew - May 8, 2008
How's your shoulder?
Sec 108 - May 8, 2008
A little sore.
I’m sure if it wasn’t I could get hit .350 though
Matthew - May 8, 2008
You could get hit .350?
like 35% HBPs for the season?
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
I 100% believe this.
Sec 108 - May 8, 2008
it's just not the same.
pdb - May 8, 2008
Why do you hate me?
Sec 108 - May 8, 2008
Your grandmother's piano teaching was substandard
pdb - May 8, 2008
She hated Catholics.
Only the Mormon kids got the Class A lessons.
Sec 108 - May 8, 2008
There's a cure for chronic shoulder tendonitis
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
Amputation cures everything
Head amputation
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
Drink more
that was far too coherent. You’re slacking off, sir.
pdb - May 8, 2008
Having me be drunk all the time would deprive everyone of tRA and idiot flaming services
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
I think you'd be more hilarious at flaming idiots drunk
but we would miss the tRA.
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
Eh we already have tRA so we don't need someone to invent it again
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
Less effective though
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
switching hands relieves the tension on the shoulder
pdb - May 8, 2008
Mike Morse doesn't drop the ball
that implies he has to get close enough to catch it.
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
Can anybody develop a cure for Bavasi, Armstrong, and Lincoln?
Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 8, 2008
There is one.
Ever hear of kidnapping? Recently approved for incompetent executives
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
I 100% believe this.
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
Dead meme.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 8, 2008
I 34.4% believe that.
pdb - May 8, 2008
That's bad.
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
The toppings contain potasium benzoate.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 8, 2008
*potassium
dammit.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 8, 2008
(blank stare)
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
That's bad.
Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 8, 2008
Can I go now?
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
I 010% Beleive Tihs.
PositivePaul - May 8, 2008
Sickle Cell
Is caused by a genetic mutation. In order to cure it, you would have to rewrite the patient’s genetic code. That’s not going to happen any time soon.
It’s currently treatable.
Wikipedia breaks it down pretty well, as usual.
Contrary to what conspiracy theorists like to think, the FDA only controls the US Drug market. There are dozens of regulatory bodies that are happy to look at drugs rejected in the US, so it’s not like the FDA could kill a cure for cancer, even if it wanted to.
MrIncognito - May 8, 2008
(Ducks as people stray towards the politics line)
Thingray - May 8, 2008
Okay, there is not a "cure" in the sense it can't be prevented.
But people born with Sickle Cell can have it treated. Therefore, for individuals there is a cure.
Oh, and I should say I did go a little far with the FDA. The National Cancer Institute wouldn’t allow a cheap, 100% treatable cure for all cancers to make it to the FDA level for approval.
Wilder. - May 8, 2008
The current treatment runs about $25 bucks a month
I don’t know why they would allow that cheap treatment on the market but not the crazy Japanese man’s.
last post on this issue
MrIncognito - May 8, 2008
I finally found what I was looking for.
I am not sure of the $25/month treatment you are talking about, but the “crazy Japanese man’s” treatment is the Hoxsey formula. But this treatment has been widely considered as “folk medicine” because it only works in rare cases. Well, Murayama added the “cure” for Sickle Cell Anemia, urea, to the Hoxsey formula and now the treatment works every time. And it only takes 3-4 weeks drinking the formula to cure the cancer.
Makio explained to me that the urea allowed the Hoxsey formula to penetrate into the cancerous cells and destroy them. Without urea, the Hoxsey formula struggles to pass through cancerous cells’ layers (I don’t know the names of which layers). This is why the Hoxsey formula only works in rare cases.
Makio cured himself twice with this treatment (many years apart) and many other patients of his with various different types of cancers. ALL of them were cured, but he eventually was forced out of cancer research by his peers and has received countless death threats over the years.
It’s just the way it is. Call it conspiracy theory, but this theory is actually proven… you just won’t ever read about it from a “trusted” source.
Wilder. - May 8, 2008
[Insert anticipated statement here]
Also, Hydroxyurea != Urea
Matthew - May 8, 2008
So the secret is adding biological waste
to a ‘treatment’ universally regarded as a fraud? And then it works?
altogether now, I 100% believe this.
marc w - May 8, 2008
I 99.8% believe this
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
Sounds like an excuse to piss on someone if you ask me
Graham MacAree - May 8, 2008
No judge, I wasn't engaging in illegal acts with those 14 year olds
I was curing them of Hodgkin’s!
Matthew - May 8, 2008
You forgot to sign it
- R. Kelly
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
Who needs an excuse?
Llewdor - May 8, 2008
It's a treatment that's been through wars
I don’t need your data or nerdspeak to nerd up my cure for cancer. It’s natural, so it must be good for you!
MrIncognito - May 8, 2008
There is always urea in your system
It’s a product of normal metabolism. Measuring urea levels is a standard lab test (blood urea nitrogen or BUN). In fact, there’s enough floating around your bloodstream that it would be completely pointless to take more.
There is still a Hoxsey center in Mexico. You can go there yourself and get treated for only $3,500.
Hoxsey Clinic
Bio-Medical center
PO Box 727
615 General Ferreira, Colonia Juarez
Tijuana, B.C. Mexico
Telephone: (011) 52-66-84-90-11
MrIncognito - May 8, 2008
There's mercury in your system, too.
But people are not dying all over the place because the amount floating around our systems is not fatal.
Urea is in our system as well, but there is not an amount great enough to allow the Hoxsey formula to work properly.
Get it. Got it. Good.
Wilder. - May 9, 2008
There is one.
Ever heard of kidnapping? Recently FDA approved for bad executives.
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
WTH replied to the wrong comment
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
So...
according to this, Eric Byrnes is the most valuable defensive player in baseball followed by Rick Ankiel? That’s a surprise. I knew Byrnes was a solid player, but that seems really high and I had no idea that Rick Ankiel was anywhere near that.
DAMellen - May 8, 2008
Out Of Zone (OOZ) plays are also important to take into consideration
but more than anything else, realize that 1+ month is way too small a sample from which to derive any sort of conclusions about a player’s defensive ability. You need a few years.
Jeff Sullivan - May 8, 2008
I still don't trust individual defensive metrics enough to make any claim on Yuni
being above or below average. I’m just going to call him average and leave it at there. I had small hopes for hit bat though, thats what I’m disappointed in.
Matthew - May 8, 2008
Agreed
He’s not good but definitely not holding this team back.
Edgar for Pres - May 8, 2008
Apparently Armstrong was on KJR earlier
Courtesey of USSMariner
"Advanced tickets sales, season tickets, and suites are all up this year. Weather has definately played a roll in the attendance dropping."
"Our team is clearly better than we are playing. The team picked to win the AL this year by many, the Detroit Tigers, is well below .500 and not playing well."
"We are trying to build the brand so when people come to the park they have a good Safeco Field experience. We are trying to cater to women and children."
"I think Bill Bavasi has done an outstanding job. During the Piniella years, I love Pinella, but he would not play young guys. Bavasi has built up our minor league system."
"We are in the 14th biggest market. Really 18th biggest market. Yet we have the 6th highest payroll."
"Bill Bavasi’s job is completely safe."
"Mac has done a good job."
There are the main points.
Holy crap
nwtrev - May 8, 2008
None of this is surprising or aggravating
unless you’ve never heard Chuck Armstrong speak before, in which case I’ll give you “surprising”. This is the Mariner Party Line, and will be until Chuck retires.
pdb - May 8, 2008
I have never really heard his comments before
So is he that dumb/blind or just out there to talk a bunch of gibberish? Because, yes, that did surprise me.
nwtrev - May 8, 2008
Neither dumb nor blind
he 100% believes that the Mariners are on the right track, and will continue to do things exactly as he has done in the past. This is the problem with these Mariners.
pdb - May 8, 2008
Nope.
You’re giving these guys WAY too much credit for being honest. Baseball executives spin worse than politicians. Basically, this is public posturing. See my post below.
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
"Our team is clearly better than we are playing." This is sort of true.
What Armstrong has failed to realize yet is that his team is basically a .500 + OR -.050, and that because of the slow start, bet on the -.
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
Also, none of this means jack shit.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20040505&slug=melvin05
Lincoln did his own evaluation, joining the club on its last road trip to Texas, Baltimore and Detroit. The team struggled to a 3-6 record, but Lincoln said he came away impressed with the team’s attitude and effort.“One thing very apparent to me, from the trip I took with the team, is that (the struggles) are not for want of trying,” Lincoln said. “Or some chemistry problem in the clubhouse, because there is not. I particularly admire the way Bob Melvin has handled our players. He’s remained positive and upbeat. He has the respect of the players.
“We could certainly have waited until the end of the season, but we thought it was the right thing to do now.”
They blew up the team a little over a month later, and fired the guy whose contract they extended in May. You remember the Iraqi Minister of Information? He’d make a hell of a baseball executive.
I would like to say that the rumors that the Mariners are in last place are complete lies.
eponymous_coward - May 8, 2008
But Yuni is a magician out there on the field.
A magician I tell you….
At least that’s what the commercial says.
At this point, unless Yuni completely falls off the table defensively, there is going to be a general consensus among casual observers and the FO that thinks Yuni is an amazing shortstop. Not that this is a massive problem or anything mind you but as long as Yuni does a serviceable job at SS he’s going to continue flying under the radar. And as a 9-hole hitter not much will be expected from him offensively.
But yea, that’s too bad. It’s fun to pull for Yuni but he’s certainly replaceable it it ever comes down to it.
ThundaPC - May 8, 2008
This is like finding out Santa isn't real
You suspect it for a while then someone tells you for a fact and it’s devastating(sp?)
WCLittleGiant - May 8, 2008
If you used Firefox you could tell if that word was spelled correctly or not (it is).
Phil Hatzenbuehler - May 8, 2008
FF spellcheck is a wonderful gift upon mankind.
I wish it worked in the post headings.
Matthew - May 8, 2008
as do I
JI - May 8, 2008
I 100% believe this
Alex B - May 8, 2008
From funny to meme to dead meme in 19 minutes
This place is going to strain my creativity.
Matthew - May 8, 2008
I'm impressed.
JI - May 8, 2008
Phildopip = Piniella
Refuses to give the young memes a chance.
Alex B - May 8, 2008
Well don't worry, someday veteran memes like Home Team Rules!
will fall off a cliff like Bret Boone and we’ll have to give new memes a chance
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
That is, assuming we haven't traded our meme farm for the "left-handed sock" meme
Alex B - May 8, 2008
Thankfully LL has Jeff as the GM instead of Gillick/Bavasi
so there will no panic meme-trades.
God forbid we would ever trade “John Olerud sucks” and “Home team rules” and Corco-bombing to HH for “Panther”
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
I just hope that Jeff doesn't throw it all away
For some high-risk, toolsy House memes of questionable age.
Alex B - May 8, 2008
Well we were able to sign "It's never lupus" for a pretty good deal
and it shows some promise.
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
That's true but demand is driving up the price of House memes
We need to look to the international draftee market.
Alex B - May 8, 2008
Yup, gotta start scouting those Korean dramas
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
Winter Sonata
LFoJL would love it
Alex B - May 8, 2008
I think we should hit up the Japanese meme market.
There’s some real talent to be had there.
BrianL - May 8, 2008
I agree
Need to watch out for age-gate with the international market though. There’d be nothing worse than signing a meme only to find that it’s already dead.
Alex B - May 8, 2008
Not such a problem with the Asian markets
what with the explosion of the interwebs and such.
Rural memes from Africa? Those might be a bigger problem, and I’m sure we’re going to have a few get over here and turn out to be much deader than anticipated
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
Isn't that where we got our AIDS memes?
Matthew - May 8, 2008
SARS
seattlebruin - May 8, 2008
In FF3
Right click Subject Bar-> Check spelling. You have to do this every time though
Robert - May 8, 2008
Don't have FF3 yet.
JI - May 8, 2008
I have 2.0.0.14, and it does that.
Faux - May 8, 2008
Or... You know... Better than it does.
That’d be nice too.
CapSea - May 8, 2008
Works in FF2 as well
nwtrev - May 8, 2008
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