Baseball Tonight

I really can't believe I watch this show anymore.  It's just so outdated.  Oh, not in technology or score-reporting, but in its analysis.  John Kruk, Eduardo Perez, Dave Winfield, Buck Showalter... all of these guys are baseball guys through and through and don't pay one iota of attention to advanced statistics.  They rely solely on traditional baseball logic, which is unfortunately so often misguided, and some surface statistics that don't measure actual performance in any way.

So why did I write about this now?  They do this every night of course.  But last night I was paying more attention than I usually do, and I heard some particularly ridiculous things said.  I heard Dave Winfield give his analysis of Jonathan Broxton.  Did he use his astonishing FIP of 1.21?  Of course not.  Did he mention his excellent strikeout rate?  Predictably no.  Did he even bring up his ERA?  No, not even that.  His entire analysis was based on three games that he saw him pitch.  Three games!  That's three innings!  My best estimation of what he said (while the exact wording may not be very close, the spirit of the analysis is there):

I saw Jonathan Broxton that day in New York a week or two ago when he blew the game, and it looked like his confidence was shaken.  There was also the game against Philly in the playoffs that he lost.  Then he came out there for the ninth in the All-Star Game and got the job done.  It seemed like he breathed a sigh of relief afterward, and like he realized he could get the job done on the big stage.  Therefore I think he'll be fine in the second half of the year and be a force for the Dodgers.

I will not even make fun of it because what's wrong with that statement is so readily obvious.  And then they did a segment titled... wait for it... "Top 5 Reasons to Play Hard in the Second Half".  The list:

1. Make the most of your ability.
2. Be a team leader.
3. Earn respect.
4. Earn a new contract.
5. Get a new address.

Yeah, I wouldn't even put "Winning" or "Making the Playoffs" in the top 10.

Thank you for the insight, Baseball Tonight.