Marge, you got on you a buttahtatwonquit theygotthesepretzelzhere ahasdat fas Triple Play?!?!  getouttahere…

Wow…so the Mets aren’t even a disappointment, really?  That’s averagetastic!

Break up the Rays!

I guess that’s likely to happen whether or not they continue to play well.

[2] espNESN commentators keep suggesting they trade TSCC for draft picks.

SG

is it possible to include world series winner odd and division winner odds as well?

These are things I can bet (its legal here!!) on whereas making the playoffs is not (that I can find anyway).

That way I can check when odds>>probability and make a killing. I might even donate a percentage of all winnings will to RLYW!!

Don’t do it if it is too much hassle.

Thanks!!

[3] Is that even legal?

From the other complaint thread, good to see that Thurm agrees with Private Pyle and Nick Johnson being lookalikes. I wish Johnson hit a little better, but I do believe he will.

“It’s not about me starting anything (with the Yankees),’’ Braden said. “It starts and ends with today. Nobody’s ever done that to me when I pitched in the big leagues. I had to get my point across in terms of the unwritten rules, the little intracacies of the game, how the game’s supposed to be played, how we expect it to be played, how we play it over here, and I did that.’‘

This is what all the fuss is about? Who knew.

If no one ever bothered to write down the said rule, then it is probably not much to fuss about.

I wish A-Rod had a bit of Pedro Martinez in him, and retorted back “Who is Dallas Braden?”

“There will be repercussions if it happens again.” - Braden

Good to know that Braden plays the game the right way™.

I can deal with the Rays being really good as long as the Red Sox suck.

I’d be very happy with the Yankees and Rays making the LCS with coin flip odds.  Losing to the Rays would be OK.  Same thing with the A’s or Twins (though that seems unlikely).

Losing to the Red Sox boils my blood.  I would also hate losing to the Angels or Mariners.

I might even donate a percentage of all winnings will to RLYW!!

Good, we could afford to send mom out for more Hot Pockets. And a new quad-core server.

Here’s an interesting juxtaposition of facts:  (1) Josh Beckett has the second lowest ERA among Red Sox starters. (2) Josh Beckett’s ERA is 5.26.

Here’s another:  (1)  CC Sabathia has the second highest ERA among Yankees starters.  (2)  CC Sabathia’s ERA is 3.00.

[9]  Unlike you I can’t stomach a loss to the Twins.  The plethora of small-market scrappines doing things the right way articles ... too much.

The plethora of small-market scrappines doing things the right way articles ... too much.

And you don’t think we’d get just as much of that with the Rays?

is it possible to include world series winner odd and division winner odds as well?

I’ve got a separate spreadsheet for calculating the postseason, but let me see if I can combine the two.  For now as a rough estimate, you can use playoff probability times

0.5 for advancing past the Division Series.
0.25 for advancing past the Championship Series.
0.125 for winning the World Series.

Of course, this assumes that all 8 teams in the postseason are equally likely to advance, which isn’t entirely true.

So taking the Yankees as an example, given their current 76.6% probability of making the postseason, we’d say right now their odds of advancing past the ALDS are 38.3%, past the ALCS are 19.1%, and of winning the WS are 9.6%.

Of course, in actuality we know each set of odds is closer to -100.0%.

Rob Neyer seems to have a pretty good perspective on the mound issue.

Who makes up these unwritten rules anyway? It seems like a classic case of Larry David rules (“He wanted to do a stop-and-chat.”).

I rather win the Wild Card behind the Rays as division champions, than winning the division and have Boston as the WC, am I crazy?

I just can’t handle the ALCS vs the Red Sox

Losing to the Red Sox would be a thousand times more annoying, but it looks like the Rays are the better team, so I’m torn.

[17] Yes, you are crazy.  Winning the division is good.  And though the ALCS vs. the Red Sox can be exhausting - and there was nothing worse than the ALCS being cancelled after 3 games in 2004 - is there really much of anything better than the hurt the Yanks put on them in 2003?  Beating Tampa would be satisfying, but probably not memorable.

Who makes up these unwritten rules anyway?
I read I think on It’s About the Money, someone commented that Bill James has never heard of this “rule” even though he’s been writing about baseball for around 4 decades.

This also reminded me of something I read years ago.  Sparky Anderson I think went on a tirade about someone stealing - and I think it was a Yankees’ player - a base when his (Sparky’s) team was down more than five runs.  Same thing, unwritten rule, respecting the game, blah-blah.  An author - pretty sure Neyer - took Sparky to task, and found that Anderson’s teams had run a number of times when up more than 5.  Several dozen attempts at least, which while only a few times a year is more than enough to say that Sparky wasn’t respecting the rule, either.

So the Red Sox are already down a full win because of stolen bases.  That’s pretty incredible.  How long does that last?

[16] If Braden was as funny as Larry David, his unwritten rules would be easier to take.

Sparky Anderson I think went on a tirade about someone stealing - and I think it was a Yankees’ player - a base when his (Sparky’s) team was down more than five runs.  Same thing, unwritten rule, respecting the game, blah-blah.  An author - pretty sure Neyer - took Sparky to task, and found that Anderson’s teams had run a number of times when up more than 5.

Bob Brenly burst several blood vessels in his neck screaming about someone trying to break up a Schilling no-hitter by bunting.  Later that same season IIRC, a member of Brenly’s D’backs bunted to break up a no-hitter.

[20] I hope until it costs them another 10 wins.

[19] I think I recall that game. Buck was the manager, and he and Sparky had to be separated as both benches cleared. I can’t remember for sure, but the Tigers may have even staged a comeback and won that game.

[25] lol

[24] Sounds like the right timeframe.  I did some Google searching but didn’t find a reference to it - what I really want of course is whoever called Sparky out on it with the evidence. 

[22] I remember the game you are talking about, but I don’t know about the second incident.  I don’t doubt it however.  IIRC, the first no-hitter was like 1-0 or 2-0 at the time of the bunt.  So the hitter was trying to either bring the tying run to the plate, or BE the tying run on base.  I’m pretty sure unwritten rule #1 is, “always help your team to win the game”.

Oh, and a lot of the group of players that are in the, “Pete Rose belongs in the Hall!” group, I think are also the, “ARod needs to respect the unwritten rules!” group.  The difference is, the rule Pete broke was a written rule, and had been for over 60 years when he broke it!

To be clear, I’d have no problem with Pete being in the Hall if they were to change the rule and make it retroactive.  E.g. gambling on your own team carries a 25 year ban, so Pete would be eligible in a couple of years.

I can’t stand the phrase “unwritten rule.”  It’s quite the oxymoron.  Rules, for the most part, are written down somewhere.  If it’s not written down, it’s not a rule.  What Braden was bitching about was a breach of some sort of etiquette.  An etiquette that seems to exist solely in his mind.

Hey, everyone knows Pete Rose played and gambled the game the “right way.”

Braden seriously looked like he was in full roid-rage coming off the mound after the double play.  Maybe I can understand how what A-Rod did may irk you (not really though), but seriously, chill out dude.  Did it really require blowing your top and throwing Gatorade cups everywhere?

I think a distinction should be drawn between unwritten rules that are strictly about etiquette vs. ones that directly affect the terms of the competition.  Saying an opposing player shouldn’t try to steal a base or shouldn’t try to lay down a bunt during a no-hitter bid seems like a slippery slope.  How would we feel about an unwritten rule that said that, during the ninth inning of a no-hit bid, the opposing player can’t swing the bat at all?

Am I alone in thinking you should steal bases no matter the score?  I think that it’s a sign of respect that you need to keep scoring, because you believe the opponent could come and score right back.  Even if it’s 20-0, you still want to score, because you’re here to play baseball and do your best for the team.  If there were a mercy rule in baseball, fine, but I haven’t seen one.

[17]“I rather win the Wild Card behind the Rays as division champions, than winning the division and have Boston as the WC, am I crazy?”

I agree completely.  If the Yankees making the playoffs on my personal joy/sorrow scale is a +10, the Red Sox not making it is a +8.

Losing to the Red Sox or Mets in the playoffs is -20. Losing to the Angels is -5.  Losing to the Rays/A’s/Twins/Rangers/Other is -3.

Yankees in playoffs/Red Sox out virtually guarantees a net “joyful” baseball season.

[33] In other sports, if a team has a big lead, the coach often puts in his bench players, and if the lead shrinks too much, he can reinsert his starters. In baseball, that isn’t an option, so it does support the idea that that no lead is safe (or at least fewer leads are).

Is the day after NJ starts hitting the day NJ gets hurt?

Maybe NJ has discovered the secret to stay injury free, avoid hits.

Braden should have realized it was just Alex trying to make friends.

[35] Not to mention that you can’t predict baseball.

“And whatever A-Rod’s intent (or not), Braden had, according to long-held tradition, a legitimate beef.”

This claim is entirely unsourced.  The post he links to doesn’t know about this tradition either.  I suspect video evidence will show baserunners doing this every day of the season without comment.

[37] - I thought that’s what the large hadron collider was supposed to do.  Predict baseball, or blow up the world trying.

[33] Stealing is so low impact that I would be surprised if there were a single game in a season (across all teams) where not stealing during a blowout resulted in a loss.

[38] It’s one thing if it is an unwritten rule, another if it is tradition. Now we know why Braden was so upset.   Who can blame him!

Yeah, I’d really like someone to research whether other players do this often. Or hell, perhaps even a general survey among other players - “Did you know that this was considered bad form?”

Because I know I sure as heck have never heard of this “unwritten rule,” and it seems like none of you folks have, either.

So I tend to think Braden is off base here, but I’d like to know for sure.

If it’s not written down, it’s not a rule.

I don’t know.  Are there exceptions that prove the unwritten rules?

[43] I think it is claimed that the British constitution is a bit of an unwritten rule.

Are there exceptions that prove the unwritten rules?

I did a google search, but apparently all the exceptions have also gone unrecorded.

[44] Not written in any one place, more like it.  Though I bet there’s a cd somewhere with a pretty thorough collection.