As you probably know, the Boston Beaneaters went up one game to nil nothing over the Denver Bears in the 2007 World Series with a 13 to 1 victory (the Beaneaters donated one of their two extra points to the Bears in a fine show of sportsmanship).
I always ponder DIPS whenever I watch an inning like the bottom of the 5th where a team pounds line drive after line drive for base hits with seemingly no end in sight. It’s not that I believe my conclusions any less mind you, just that it’s interesting when you see what appears to be a blatant contradiction to something you’re more or less sure is true.
The explanations seem more like excuses, but are probably nonetheless accurate: the Red Sox are a well above average hitting team, Fenway Park is an excellent park for hits on balls in play, the Rockies weren’t really striking anyone out, there were a few walks mixed in, a few of the hits were cheapish, things like this happen in a small sample, etc. ad nauseum.
Your reaction to it nevertheless remains the same: “These bastards are making me look like an idiot!” Even the most seemingly rational analysts are prone to fits of the irrational. Whether I seem rational to anyone is another story.
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