Media Bias (Quiz)

[endaround]

Quiz time:

 

Which highly paid (big 8 figures) player whose value is tied entirely to his offense is having an abysmal season thus far? So bad that if it was any other player making his salary there would be huge articles about it everywhere? Hint: It's not Richie Sexson.

[olliegjw]

Derek Jeter?

 

 

Edit: Andruw Jones?

[strawbossisevil]

Paul Konerko?

[bball123h2]

Der-ek Jet-er! Clap clap clap clap clap.

 

Also, David Ortiz looks like Craig Counsell, minus the scrappiness.

[chuckiehacks]

Sheffield?

[bklynbrewcrew]

No doubt its Jeter who is the most overrated player in the game.

[Samurai Bucky]

Gary Sheffield

 

Edit: I see somebody beat me to this by a few minutes...

[elbobbo82]

It's got to be Jeter, because he is having an awful season at the plate. There is some precedence for this though, as he has had one other season that he started painfully slow and then was on fire in the second half to get back to his career averages. Not that I'm a Jeter apologist, just pointing out that he has the ability to get back to where he always is.

[endaround]

Derek Jeter is being paid $21m this year to hit .276/.333/.381 and play his bad defense. My main point is that this has been almost entirely swept aside. Jeter could easily regain his form. But if ARod hit this way for a single month we would be swamped with stories about how he just can't handle the pressure and isn't worth the money.

[cubfan1126]

Yeah it is Sheffield but Thome is only a little ahead of him.

 

Hey, we may get to see Jim at first base this weekend especially with Konerko on the DL.

[bigredrobbo]

Quiz time:

 

Which highly paid (big 8 figures) player whose value is tied entirely to his offense is having an abysmal season thus far? So bad that if it was any other player making his salary there would be huge articles about it everywhere? Hint: It's not Richie Sexson.

 

Is it Russell Branyan?

 

Ooops, my bad. I'm just in "the answer to every question must be Russell Branyan" mode!

[makwaloon]

Not to hi-jack the thread, but is anyone else tired of the Joba Chamberlain love fest? What is he doing that Seth McClung isn't?

 

Joba debuted in the rotation on 6/03. Seth pitched that night too. Here are their stats since then:

 

Chamberlain 0-0 record, 18.1 IP, 1.96ERA (7 runs/4 earned), 19K's/12BB, 1.55 Whip

McClung 2-1 record, 18.0 IP, 2.50ERA (5 runs/5 earned), 13K's/1BB, 0.77 Whip

[TSack27]

ESPN First Take just had a story pointing out the Jeter was recently voted the Most Overated player by 500 of his peers.

 

(Barry Zito was #2 and Alex Rodriguez & JD Drew were tied for #3)

[Glennron]

ESPN First Take just had a story pointing out the Jeter was recently voted the Most Overated player by 500 of his peers.

 

(Barry Zito was #2 and Alex Rodriguez & JD Drew were tied for #3)

Is Barry Zito really rated that highly anymore? I just assumed most people know he's been very bad the last year and a half.

[GB12]

ESPN First Take just had a story pointing out the Jeter was recently voted the Most Overated player by 500 of his peers.

 

(Barry Zito was #2 and Alex Rodriguez & JD Drew were tied for #3)

Is Barry Zito really rated that highly anymore? I just assumed most people know he's been very bad the last year and a half.

 

I'm sure it has to do with how much he's getting paid.

[sbrylski]

A-Rod is overrated? I'm not saying he's underrated, but I think he gets a raw deal more often than not.

[Thurston Fluff]

There is two ways to be overrated. One is to be considered great when in fact the payer is only above average. Jeter is probably about average but is still viewed as one of the elite shortstops in the game. The other way is to be great but viewed as being able to shift the balance of power in the game itself. A-Rod is that type. He has been hired to play on a team yet paid and viewed as someone who can take an average team and make them championship caliber. That works in the NBA were a Jordan type player can shift the balance of power in the league on his own. Baseball isn't that type of sport yet certain guys like A-Rod get put in that category. Then when he doesn't change the landscape of the league he's viewed as overrated.

[ozzybourne]

the answer must be travis hafner

[Samurai Bucky]

I thought it was Zito, but then I saw the value of the player is tied to his offense. What is Zito's lifetime average? ;-)

[TooLiveBrew]

My main point is that this has been almost entirely swept aside. Jeter could easily regain his form. But if ARod hit this way for a single month we would be swamped with stories about how he just can't handle the pressure and isn't worth the money.

 

Yeah, Jeter's been bad this season. He gets almost a complete free pass, but not from all Yanks fans. Father Time appears to be catching up with Derek, though I doubt he won't have an offensive surge this season that'll bring those numbers back up near his norms.

 

 

Ooops, my bad. I'm just in "the answer to every question must be Russell Branyan" mode!

 

Well, you certainly shouldn't ever be out of that mode, so it's ok!

 

 

Not to hi-jack the thread, but is anyone else tired of the Joba Chamberlain love fest? What is he doing that Seth McClung isn't?

 

Joba debuted in the rotation on 6/03. Seth pitched that night too. Here are their stats since then:

 

Chamberlain 0-0 record, 18.1 IP, 1.96ERA (7 runs/4 earned), 19K's/12BB, 1.55 Whip

McClung 2-1 record, 18.0 IP, 2.50ERA (5 runs/5 earned), 13K's/1BB, 0.77 Whip

 

Seth & Joba are hardly even worth comparing (imho). Chamberlain is far & away the better talent. His early SP numbers are skewed by him going straight from 1-inning set-up man to starter without being stretched out. His start yesterday was pretty dominating (3 BB / 9 K in 6 2/3). He's a special talent.

[kramnoj]

I don't think this is media bias. I think that this is just another example of how BA centric the media is. Jeter is hitting .276. Sure, it's the lowest that Jeter has hit since he was 21, but a standard MSM type is going to gloss over .276 and not think much about it. His BA and OBP are above league average, and an OPS+ of 93 isn't horrid for a SS. Also, Jeter is currently about 17th in ZR for SS, ahead of Jose Reyes. Below average for sure, but not really bad. Jeter has been overpaid since he got the big contract. Just another example of contracts paying for the past rather than the future.