And that is why I link your posts and recommend the site elsewhere. I’ll admit that Judging the Royals is my favorite site due to the in-depth look at individual games and the insights into players and coaches, often in their own words, but Authority is a daily must-read for me, as is Kings of Kaufman, and during the minor-league season I go to Pine Tar for the last night’s games to check on the prospects. Pine Tar Press has a couple of new writers who are doing very good work, and that on top of Clint and Greg. Today’s offering from the guys:

http://www.pinetarpress.com/?p=11330

For most exciting play, I think certain plays at home are the best, the line drive to the gap, the outfielder picking it on the bounce, the off-balance throw to the cut-off man, the spin and throw to the plate, the catch and collision. A lot of times you know what is coming at the crack of the bat and have ten seconds to watch the drama unfold until the unpredictable ending. One reason I liked Matt Treanor was his brass balls, hanging tough at the plate to crush a foolish base runner while risking the injury that ended his season.

Plays at the plate are fun too. And I love looking strike outs, quite a bit more than swinging strike outs actually.

While the triple is exciting – especially when slow guys are going for three, I kind of like the inside the park homer and, in the last year, the outfield assist at home plate has been fun to watch.

That tells me I’m doing something right… Which is detailing cause and effect. Which is what I always try to do in my posts.

I think of watching a baseball game as a big tent kind of thing… There are many ways to watch, learn and enjoy. I like a specific way – which is a focus on the numbers. I am well aware there are (a majority?) of fans who don’t care about the numbers beyond the HRs and RBI. Who am I to criticize how they enjoy the game? I’m annoyed by anyone who feels the need to proselytize their way is better. And that goes for the world beyond baseball.

And on that note, I firmly believe the most exciting play in baseball is the triple. And I will fight anyone who disagrees.

For our readers, contrary to the party line of the Pop Tart Brigade, most of us old guys are eager to learn. We just weren’t raised on a Play Station and have no interest in Fantasy Baseball. The compliment from Lee and my posting links from Royals Authority and Pine Tar Press on Lee’s site are sincere and in both cases motivated by an interest in understanding and spreading useful information to a broad cross-section of fans. Some folks, whether Hot Stovers or Nerds, are in bubbles of received revelation, so have no interest in a different perspective, but my experience is that most fans want more information and more viewpoints so that they can come to their own, unique opinions. Here’s Lee’s latest column, which gives a good idea of the people who read him and the wide variety of opinion in the general community, as opposed to that within the “sects” of fans:

http://royals.kansascity.com/entries/why-ron-polks-mvp-chart-works-me/

I linked it to Greg Schaum, who has solid enough credibility in the blogosphere, and it turns out he developed a similar system to that of Ron Polk when he was coaching American Legion ball in ’95.

Beyond that, for those who actually might read the columns, the point system is a framework for how Lee looks at an actual game and allows him to concentrate on aspects of the game that beat writers and bloggers don’t get to, a result of Lee’s specific niche in the field. The points aren’t the finished product, they are just part of the production process that leads to an inside look, from on the field and in the clubhouse, at the hundreds or thousands of individual moments that make up one game.