Huzza Stats Geek

Brian O'Neill's latest on the subject of Jack Wilson strikes me as wise in several respects. For one, players on losing teams shouldn't get impatient with the front office for contract extensions. Win some games and then we'll talk. That would be my attitude. If that creates resentment, fine. Get the selfish asshole off the team. Players that want to put the cart before the horse can play somewhere else.

For two, the hullabaloo about Wilson not drawing walks is foolish so long as he maintains a .340 OBP. I have only a pitifully slow dial-up connection available to me this week as they remodel the $4.2M Rowdy estate (yeah, right) so I'm not going to find and link to the pre-season editorials I generously shared with the world on this subject. A .340 OBP from Jack Wilson was something of a dream then, and we'll love it now. If you had to choose between getting your .340 OBP on a .240 BA or a .330 BA, which would you choose? You'd be a fool to choose the former.

Anyone who thinks they look smart predicting that Jack Wilson won't finish the year with a .330 BA - for whatever reason, be it his walk numbers, the quality of the pitching he has faced, or his astrological sign - is self-deluded. One might as well predict that it will snow before Halloween. All the talk about Wilson's high BA being a "house of cards" makes the author look foolish and worse, so stubborn they're unable to see some good where it's evident in abundance. You get nothing but negative style points if you (a) are a non-fan writer with a national audience and (b) are so resentful that Wilson didn't live up to your pre-season predictions that (c) you can't restrain yourself from kicking a team when it's down with your dime-store prediction that Jack Wilson probably won't finish the season with a .330 batting average. Why not go for broke and predict he won't finish the year with a .400 batting average? If he finishes the year with a .290 batting average and an OBP that is below the top of the league's range of team averages (about .340), then you can get out your pen and stick it in the ribs of Pirates fans if you are still so insecure about the public's lack of undying respect for the wisdom of your pre-season predictions.

Huzza Jack Wilson. I don't give a damn about the All-Star game since I fail to see how his nomination will improve on our current place in the standings. And I don't care to re-sign Jack Wilson or anyone while the team is so disgracefully far below .500. All that said, Jack Wilson has made a huge improvement at the plate this year and I'm sure the improvement is here to stay.

Now tell me how a team can have such a quality shortstop and be so low in the standings.