European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 10, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday june 10,1988 the stars and stripes pagans commentary abstract James names game s Lames Wade Boggs of Floc Boston red sox is die Best player in baseball. Giving Andre Dawson of the Chicago cubs the National league map last year was a Bod joke. The san Francisco giants Wilt win this year s world series. The los Angeles dodgers and Detroit tigers Are doomed for the cellar by 199. Says who says Bill James in his 1988 baseball abstract Hook. As usual the researcher from Kan Sas makes you think about baseball like no other author. Think Abou these Dairy Strawberry of inc new York mils has a 5 percent Chance of hitting 700 Home runs. Baltimore s Cal Ripken has a realistic shot at breaking Lou Gehrig s consecutive game Streak. Kansas City s Kevin Seltzer was a better Rookie in 1987 than Oakland s Home run King Mark mag wire. Jack Clark won t prove to be a big help for the Yankees. Neither will us Smith for the red so. The Pittsburgh pirates won t win the my East for at least another three years. Who is this Bill James and what makes him assert these abstracts of baseball he s a 38-year-old math Whiz out of the University of Kansas. Piqued by such mid tos suggestions As the one saying Ted Sim Mons was As valuable a Catcher As Johnny Bench James searched for the truth. He found it it was obvious thai the difference Between Johnny Bench catching and Ted Simmons was at least 50 stolen bases a by 1977, James was writing his baseball a eleven years later he s still pitching against theories that arc Lough to strike out. To wit the intentional walk in most cases is a knee Jerk reaction that has about As much value As throwing an intentional wild pitch committing an intentional error or intentionally striking out As a the hidden benefits of the stolen base arc can celeb out by hidden costs of the running game. The running game can create a balk and it can create an error on the Pitcher it can also Lead a runner being picked off first base without being charged with a Bucky Fox caught stealing a hidden Cost which does t show up in the to score. The running game can distract inc Pitcher it can also distract the hitter that s the analytical Bill James. The Guy can spend a chapter studying platoon differential and a Page detailing his value approximation method. If i tried Reading that stuff thursday morning 1 would be been asleep by the time Roger Clemens yielded his first hit during an s red son Yankees broadcast. I prefer the opinionated Bill James. Let s hear it. On Andre Dawson Dawson created an Esti mated 111 runs 10th in inc National league. He made 463 outs. Of the nine men who created More runs for their team than Dawson All nine did so while using fewer oils. So Why did he win the map award 1 know what some people will say. It was t Dawson s statistics it was his leadership and his throwing . People will say that but you know it in t. You Don t give an map for leadership on a last place team. Half the time the map award goes to the league Leader in Bis. That s not leadership that s statistics. And if they really understood his statistics they would t have done on the cubs it s hard to find anything Good to say about an organization that dispatches a Fine manager like Gene Michael and hires or. Potato head Jim Fry to be their general manager on the Boston manager As a fan i think hat John Mcnamara is a on inc Texas left fielder Pete Incaviglia in left held is possibly he worst defensive outfielder in the american league now that Lonnie Smith is on Jay Howell then with Oakland making the 1987 All Star team despite his 4.41 Era who is responsible for this and Why has t he been brought up on charges ? i know i m overreacting but i was furious about this before the game was played. When Howell actually had to pitch and immediately lost the game bringing to an end a 15-inning scoreless match i was fit to be tied. How about we name an All stupid team next year instead on the royals Willie Wilson the unspoken message is that if you take him out of Center Field he s going to sulk and pout until he poisons the atmosphere in the clubhouse. His attitude is that if he wants to swing at bad pitches hell swing at bad pitches and if you take him out of the Mcadoff spot hell hold his breath until he turns on Milwaukee s right fielder having Glenn Braggs in right Field is like having him hat third a tribute to Luicir stubborn evaluation of his potential in the face of his obvious limitations. Brags has to have the worst of any major league right fielder not to mention the worst Bat on Alfredo Griffin if you did figure intelligence scores errors command of the strike tone stolen base percentage inconsistency Lack of growth you know who would probably score As the dumbest player in baseball the new dodger Alfredo. Well not the very dumbest i guess Luis Salazar would get the very lowest score but Ahto a Quad. Be Way Down Bill James docs Praise players and managers. He rates the cardinals Ozzie Smith As the smartest player and the cardinals Hilcy Hinog As the Best manager. James even roots for learns other than his favorite royals. He writes of the Toronto Blue jays. We have had 10 world champions in 10 years out no team has worked harder no fans have supported their team any better no front office has been smarter or More decent. Good Luck to he writes of his Hotuj Gerics pick the san Francisco giants three years of bar than the Minne Sota twins have never won a world championship. They la need to Caich some Breaks to do it this year. I just believe watching them play listening to the things they say Hal this is a team of players who hate to lose and Guys who will do what they have to do to Bill James can be wrong As when he writes of the Oakland a s. Bui you can never Call him Boring. His 1988 baseball abstract which James Calls his last is available at stars and stripes bookstores in major shopping Sias a Shimi Cash Connors lose in Stella Artois 3rd round London a Wimbledon Cham Pion Pat Cash was upset in the third round of the 5385,000 Stella Artois championships thursday Cash the no. 2 seed who had played flawlessly for two Days in this Wimble Don warm up event Al Queens club was ousted 7-6, 6-4 by fellow australian Dar Ren Cahill one of his Best friends on the tour. In a Day of upsets the tournament also lost Veteran Jimmy Connors the no. 3 seed. He lost 6-4, 7-6 to Frenchman Guy forget whom he had beaten in All their previous four meetings. But Stefan Edberg of Sweden the no. 2 seed continued to make steady if in spectacular Progress to gain the Quarter finals. Edberg came from behind to de feat Johan kick 4-6,6-1,6-2, Boris Becker Wimbledon Champion in 1985 and 19s6, also won on thurs Day. The 20-year-old West German the defending titlist Al Queens club slopped Bill Scanlon 6-3,6-4. Cash 23, said he could not under stand How he was Able to Start his Wimb Ledon preparation so Well Only to Cave in suddenly against an opponent ranked 6filh in the world in his first two matches Here Cash dropped just three games. I cannot explain it Cash said everything seemed to be wrong. My concentration my movement everything. Cash promised however that the de Cal would Only fire him up More f9r the defense of his All England men s singles title. He said he was so mad with the toss that he intended to Lake it out on opponents at Wimbledon which begins june 20. As far As i m concerned it will be a Bonus he said. It la make me play bet Cash began Well enough against Ca Hill racing out a 4-1 Lead. But when he dropped his serve for the first time his game became littered with errors. One of them a netted half Volley gave Cahill inc tiebreaker 7-5. Especially frustrating for Cash was the inconsistency of his serve always a vital weapon on grass. When he served for a 5-3 Lead in the second set he served iwo consecutive double faults. They worried him so much he did t win another game. I can t remember the last time i did that Cash said. Cahill who made his Davis cup debut earlier this year against France said his Best previous win was against Argentina s Martin Jaity the world s 21st ranked player. Pal did t serve very Well but Natu rally this is a great Confidence boost Cahill said. But i would not Lake it Loo seriously As far As Wimbledon is concerned. Hell be a lot belter forget hit 12 aces against Connors who came through a Marathon three set match on wednesday when he rallied to beat Robert Segusta. His match against forget appeared to Volley Allers selected for armed forces volleyball Europe based Mili tary players will be liberally represented Al the National volleyball championships in Salt Lake City Utah. Four Safe and three Usa eur vol icy Allers have been selected for the armed local Roundup no. 3 seed Jimmy Connors. First setback against Guy forget be going the same Way when the Ameri can served for the second set to level it at one set All. But he was broken at 30 and Forgaci went on to Clinch the tiebreaker 7 5, wrapping up the Victory on his second match Point. I m no really tired said Connors who entered this event after a seven week Layoff to rest a foot injury. Bui grass is a great equalizer. It could be the most difficult surface to play on. One break can Cost a Guy everything if you gel a bad Bounce. On grass you have to go out there expecting the worst and hoping for the Best. Forces men s and women s teams in the National tournament which opens sat urday and continues through tuesday. Picked for the men s team were Todd Lchman of Hahn a. Sam Hodges from Raf Chicksands England and Martin Maraulis of Heidelberg. Lchman and Hodges play inc hitter position and Maraulis is an outside Back. Usa eur s Julie Powers of Munich and Laurie Hill of Frankfurt and us afe s Mclinda Martens of bit Burz. And Carla Rogstad of Simbach. Were selected for the women s armed forces team. M Arttns is listed As a i Itter Back. Powers in Natl and Rogstad Are hitters. Alt seven were chosen on the basis of their performances in the armed forces championships May 22-27, at Charles ton . The Usa eur positional men s and women s volleyball tournaments gel under Way saturday Al the fallen fitness Center in Heidelberg. Play begins at 9 . Saturday. The women s Lilly match is set for 11 . Sunday while the men play at 1
