Media Misunderstandings

By Matt "The Stat" Himelfarb
Posted Saturday, March 22, 2008

Soon after writing about the disparity between the mainstream media and the more progressive blogosphere on the subject of Barry Bonds, I began to wonder: just why do we, and particularly the former, share such a deep hatred for each other? After all, it is no secret that newspaper columnists crave lashing out on us with their wonderful sarcasm and poorly crafted analogies whenever possible.

It is of my belief that, like anything else, the deep animosity stems from simple misunderstandings. Therefore, I have taken the time to fabricate four common examples of this, and why traditionalists really have nothing to fear from us.

1. We will never get laid.

This pretty much speaks for itself. I can understand why the actual stat-mongering nerd living out of his parent’s basement really does carefully avoid Murray Chass, Bill Plaschke, and the rest of the gentleman’s club; it is not their woeful ignorance or grammatically incorrect one-liners. It is that they are a constant reminder that you must be Wilt Chamberlain to be content with your life. That they are ready to whip out their calculators and pocket protectors at a moments notice. That they wear nerd glasses, will never have a date for the prom, and yes, they will never get laid. Of course, this is all very much an exaggeration: just ask Brian Bannister.

2. Threatening of Job Security.

As most of you have heard by now, Sportscaster Bob Costas recently went on an anti-blog rant, as detailed in the Miami Herald. Costas appeared at such a loss for words that he managed to get the concept of comments section and well-to-do blogs confused, but we will skip right to the juicy part:

''I understand with newspapers struggling and hoping to hold on to, or possibly expand their audiences, I understand why they do what they do,'' Costas said. 'But it's one thing if somebody just sets up a blog from their mother's basement in Albuquerque and they are who they are, and they're a pathetic get-a-life loser, but now that pathetic get-a-life loser can piggyback onto someone who actually has some level of professional accountability and they can be comment No. 17 on Dan Le Batard's column or Bernie Miklasz' column in St. Louis. That, in most cases, grants a forum to somebody who has no particular insight or responsibility. Most of it is a combination of ignorance or invective.''

Wow. It is hard to tell which nineteenth-century Democrat Costas is here: the Irish immigrant, the confederate veteran, or the Wall Street trader? All of them united by the political circumstances of the time.

In all seriousness, Costas’s anger might be slightly justified and genuine, but not much more. Yes, there are quite a few bloggers out there today who make a living off society’s laziness by regurgitating what is reported by the mainstream media; I recently had an interesting exchange with another rabid baseball fan in another forum who says he understands why newspaper writers would be frustrated with the fact that Tim Dierkes- the creator and main author of the popular blog “MLB Trade Rumors,” who by no means does not provide valuable insight and opinion in his posts, is now able to make blogging a full-time job when his site has become mostly a virtual pit stop for hot stove news.

But for the most part, blogs and news outlets still generally complement each other well; one reports the facts, the quotes, and the rumors, the blogs tarring them apart and analyzing them.

3. Election Season.

A recent Fox Sports Intelligence estimate put forth by Tim McCarver has shows that sabermetric-minded people are twice as likely to vote for Hillary Clinton in this year’s general election should she receive the Democratic nomination.

Now, I know that might seem like a whole lot of hogwash to the casual reader out there, but let’s try and look deeper into this. For one, it is a well-known fact that scouts and fans alike are often guided by the appearance of a ballplayer. Unfortunately, this type of trend has also been reflected in the political scene as of late. Take, for instance, recent polls showing that, while many Republicans believe the War in Iraq should never have been waged, almost half of those people are still willing to vote for McCain since he gives the impression that he is a war hero and crusader against all evil.

Let’s take another example. In a clear show of support for Barack Obama and his speech on race and politics, Huffington Post writer Drew Westen wrote, “for 45 minutes, I saw a man who for days had appeared somewhat at sea, buffeted by waves that relentlessly pushed him off course, seem to find his compass and chart a course directly into the eye of the storm…."

(Mid-Term thoughts: All I can say is: Holy Gazookas! Shark!)

"…I saw a man with the inner confidence, and the steadiness of a captain who knew he was sailing on uncharted waters but needed to go there anyway, take the nation with him and land them safely on the shore."

Of course, it is very unlikely that the sabermetric-minded people will vote for Hillary Clinton in 2008; mostly because everyone refuses to acknowledge the fact it would take a miracle for her to capture the nomination now.

4. The Moneyball Effect.

Ah; the root and prime motivator of the insurgency that was supposed to take over baseball and change current world order as we know it. Most traditionalists have (supposedly) had an arduous time deciphering the author of the book (Michael Lewis). Given past trends, I would have to say that Joe Morgan is still convinced that man is Billy Beane.

So, in short, we are all guilty by association here, and that all sabermetric-minded people should and do adhere to the principles of Moneyball. In truth, Lewis’ caricatures and reliance on statistics are often off-base in the book, but most traditionalists still fail to grasp the point: the theme behind Moneyball was not Jeremy Brown or sabermetrics; but simply about getting the best bang for your buck by finding and exploiting inefficiencies in the market.

Well, that just about wraps it up. I am looking forward to publishing your thoughts and misunderstandings that you believe I have of the current establishment. All inquiries are to be sent directly to: matthimelfarb@gmail.com