Andy O, as I understand it, yeah, you need to use facebook to comment on my site. I wouldn’t have a facebook account otherwise. When I asked why, I was told it made the conversation more civil when people had to use their real names…as if it was beyond someone to make up a name.

But I hope you go to the trouble to comment on my site. I’m trying to understand what I’m seeing and explain it to the fans who want to understand also.

If people have questions (why did that guy lay down a bunt there, what was the thinking behind that move, etc.) and let me know, maybe I can answer them or find someone who can.

At that moment Doug Sisson, who’s in charge of base running, walked up and I asked him what he thought, “Great play, he got a late jump, but he was aggressive in the right spot.”

I turned back to John and said, “Gibby, why do I even talk to you?”

“Stop, it won’t hurt my feelings.”

The point of that story is that a couple of very smart baseball guys disagreed and it has to do with philosophy. Two people coming to diffrent conclusions may not mean either one is wrong, they just disagree on what’s important.

I understand the system isn’t designed to award a player of the game, but it’s to accumulate points over the long haul to see who is contributing. I just chose to focus on that one game, because it was something that jumped out at me.

And I don’t think your website “sucks.” From what I’ve seen, the amount of content you produce is impressive. As I said, it’s a big tent… Just because I don’t agree with your system or your conclusions doesn’t mean we can’t share the same corner of the internet. Awww.

Yes! Nick Scott put me down. I feel like a MLB ballplayer in a KC Royals uniform!

Thanks for your invitation to do the podcast. My schedule’s nuts, but I’ll send you an email and maybe we can find a time. One thing I should clear up: I talked with Ron Polk several times because I wanted to understand what his intentions were in terms of scoring categories.

The system was originally set up to measure contribution, motivation was a secondary goal. He wanted to show who was helping, and possibly hurting, the team. He’d hang the numbers up once a week in the locker room and of course players (very competitive people) would immediately want to know who was ahead or behind. But you’re right in thinking his system motivated people to play the way he wanted them to play. Every team I’ve ever been close to keeps these kinds of numbers and each up to each team to decide what’s important.

I had a bunch of categories I was considering adding and when I’d ask Coach Polk what he thought he’d say, “Yeah, that’s a good stat.” After awhile he said, “Hell, Lee, this thing can be five pages long if you want it to be. There’s nothing sacred about the things I picked, but remember, you’re going to have to keep it.”

After that I want back to the editors and said why don’t we just stick with the stuff he picked and after a few changes, we did.

And Zack Daddy, I’ll try to be more cynical (first time I ever got THAT complaint).