I will concentrate on the Braves. Besides Chipper Jones (OPS+=157), Brian McCann (OPS+=147) and some times Yunel Escobar (OPS+=110), they have no offense. McClouth will eventually help, but he is not enough. They have a back-up catcher and some back-up outfielders hitting the ball and getting on base, and they need to find ways to get these guys on the field. But they have very little offense.
Their overall offense strategy is completely opposite of the established "Moneyball" norms of "getting on base," "taking pitches," and "power is important." Some of this is the Braves and Bobby Cox have had some success with "pitching, defense, singles and sacrifices." Some of it is arrogance. Some of it is the parity of professional sports. The fact that the Braves can be a .500 team and kind of (but not really) in the NL East race helps to keep the few fans still interested in the Braves buying tickets (and memorabilia).
The points of this post are the following:
1. Many successful people base their lives on routine.
2. Change is hard especially when you're older.
3. It is hard to be above average for any extended period of time.
1 comment:
The Braves just lost 2 out of 3 to the Orioles. They are getting closer and closer to being a .400 team. They haven't played anyone in a couple of weeks, and they are less than .500. The vintage Braves used find ways to win these series. They were always a good regular season team. A team that find ways to beat the teams they were more talented than.
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