Third Base Coach Rankings

sox are last in number of runners thrown out at the plate. i think we know part of the reason for that.

[edit: maybe my wording was confusing and people apparently don't actually click on links; so, to be clear, the sox are last because they've had the least number of runners thrown out at the plate. so, ergo, last = at least an okay thing.]

2 months ago larry Comment 25 comments 0 recs |

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i think we know part of the reason for that.

yes, the reason for that is that jeff cox is an absolute moron

wtf was wrong with razor shines that ozzie had to fire him?

is there anything this stooge brought to the team? wasn’t ozzie raving about how good the baserunning will be under cox?

yeah, last place good

what a tool…

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Jul 22, 2008 5:57 PM CDT 0 recs

uh, no. i think you missed the point. being last is kind of good because it means guys aren't getting thrown out.

what i was getting at was the reason guys aren’t thrown out is because the sox have lots of slow guys and generally good old coxie isn’t sending them. so settle down with the vitriol there, slugger.

by larry on Jul 22, 2008 6:44 PM CDT up 0 recs

jeff cox is still an absolute moron

we have a slow team so deal with that coxie

AJ was out by a couple miles the other day

only a freakin moron like coxie would send him…

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Jul 22, 2008 6:59 PM CDT up 0 recs

yeah, i'm going "really small sample size" on this one.

by larry on Jul 22, 2008 7:01 PM CDT up 0 recs

go with whatever you want, it still was an epicly stupid play

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Jul 22, 2008 7:03 PM CDT up 0 recs

here's a newsflash for those who don't watch any baseball other than white sox games: every third base coach will have a guy thrown out by a mile at least once a year.

settle the fuck down. jesus. this i why i think i’m going to stop posting links. nothing good ever seems to come of it anymore. instead of actual intelligent discussion about what the numbers in the link mean i get replies with moron, kook, tool, blah blah fucking blah.

by larry on Jul 22, 2008 7:07 PM CDT up 0 recs

settle down?

no, I’m mad with that

instead of actual intelligent discussion about what the numbers in the link mean

ok, I ranted enough, have fun now

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Jul 22, 2008 7:16 PM CDT up 0 recs

Well, I was BAzzled in the Azzle the other day for suggesting

it was sort of normal to have a guy thrown out at the plate, no matter the stats/situation. It happens. And you would think Coxxie would have a mandate to avoid that because of how bad Cora was at it.

Keep posting. Not everyone is knee-jerk in their reaction, even those that don’t post a comment.

You POS.

The Butkus year - time to knock everyone on their ass.

by winningugly on Jul 22, 2008 7:49 PM CDT up 0 recs

i simply wish people would simply read what i'm linking to/quoting, think for a moment, and reply with something reasonably intelligent.

thank god JRE is back. i was becoming quite bored again.

by larry on Jul 22, 2008 7:58 PM CDT up 0 recs

Get a room, you two

The Butkus year - time to knock everyone on their ass.

by winningugly on Jul 23, 2008 6:17 AM CDT up 0 recs

of course guys will get thrown out at the plate throughout the course of the season.

that doesn’t mean much in relation to the particular context of the play we were talking about. it’s still about percentages and stage in the game. if uribe had been on deck in that situation, my reaction wouldn’t have been nearly so harsh. same if alexei had been sent and was still thrown out. or if a usually terrible arm in the outfield nailed the runner. or if it had been the 2nd inning of a tie game. but as it happened, it was close and late, aj was running, jose guillen was in left field, and if i recall correctly thome was coming to the plate.

you know, a team will also get burned by intentional walks throughout a season, but it doesn’t mean bitching isn’t reasonable if one is issued with the bases loaded (extreme example, i know) or if one is issued to, for instance, the indians’ 9th place hitter to load the bases for sizemore.

all of that said, though, i don’t think you can make a blanket judgment on cox based on that play or even a couple like it. but it was still awful.

"fortunately, i'm adhering to a pretty strict, uh, drug, uh, regimen to keep my mind, you know, uh, limber."

by Toonderstrook on Jul 23, 2008 5:25 PM CDT up 0 recs

Yes, Thome was coming to the plate...

and I agree with your post.

by SSH2005 on Jul 23, 2008 7:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

Horse = dead

Pelt is yours. But you are not invited to larry’s new site, where Tdogg, JRE, Jack Nicholson, and larry have a circle jerk while quoting Nate Silver and Wm. F. Buckley, Jr. You and I may (perhaps) press our faces against the screen but cannot post.

You POS.

The Butkus year - time to knock everyone on their ass.

by winningugly on Jul 23, 2008 8:24 PM CDT up 0 recs

keep posting them yo

fuck the others

He was a catcher with the Orioles back in the day. Sorry looking (expletive). My brother had his card. He looked like this little kid who got left at a bus station by his parents. You know why? Because he had to catch Hoyt Wilhelms knuckle ball five (expletive) years.

by onlysoxfaninboston on Jul 23, 2008 5:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

forgo the run expectancy chart

bases loaded, 1 out : 1.65 runs; 1st and 3rd, 2 out: .538. epic fail.

what a tool, what a kook…

The greatest trick the White Sox ever pulled was convincing their fan base that "Ozzieball" ever existed.

by The Wizard on Jul 22, 2008 7:02 PM CDT up 0 recs

Nice

yeah, last place good
what a tool…

Congrats on the reading thing.

by The Big Hurt on Jul 22, 2008 8:52 PM CDT 0 recs

Wiz you fial at reading.

…and there is nothing like my dad’s egg sandwiches! - Nick Swisher

by omnipotent grab on Jul 22, 2008 11:05 PM CDT 0 recs

oh aby!

are you trying to use stats around here? what the fuck do you think this is? - MM

by colintj on Jul 23, 2008 1:37 AM CDT 0 recs

It's nice seeing that there's been no one thrown out running from the plate or first

I’m sure there were very few chances for a sox’ player to be thrown out in such a situation, but i guess it at least hints that Cox gets a good read on a long developing play

-Jeeves Life in the Cell

by jeeves on Jul 23, 2008 10:01 AM CDT 0 recs

We dont really want to be last do we?

Meaning being dead last implies that the team is probably leaving some runs out there.

The SSS motto should be the answer to "What is our deepest fear?". Or maybe just Prozac.

by Tdogg on Jul 23, 2008 10:02 AM CDT 0 recs

only took like fifteen posts.

yeah, i was thinking the same thing, which is why in my edit i said “at least okay.” but i’m not sure of that. this isn’t exactly a team that has a lot of burners or that doesn’t score a lot of runs that you want to be taking chances like that. i was thinking back to the stop sign cox gave cabrera a few games back, which i was sort of surprised at. would suggest that he may be a bit too conservative. however, i’m not sure if we’ve got enough info yet. and cox, in fairness to him, may not necessarily have enough of a feel for the players yet, either, or at least earlier in the season.

by larry on Jul 23, 2008 10:19 AM CDT up 0 recs

This is the one where DJ and Hawk argued a bit?

If so yeah. I understood both their points but it did make me wonder if Cox was a little too gun shy. More experience for him with the team is fair but its one thing to say AJ is one of the team’s smartest base runners but forget he is slow as hell with a rocket arm out in left. Cox has not been bad but I would like him to stretch it a little. Esp since everyone is afraid any number of Sox players can knock the ball over their head and don’t play that shallow.

Oh hell. They continue to hit 2,3 or 4 run homers and I don’t give a shit then unless he’s on the other end of the rankings…

The SSS motto should be the answer to "What is our deepest fear?". Or maybe just Prozac.

by Tdogg on Jul 23, 2008 11:24 AM CDT up 0 recs

I'm always for error on the side of conservative when you have a slow, slugging team

Of course, a good 3rd base coach knows the situation, knows the runner, and knows the arm in the field—but even armed with all that knowledge I’d like a guy (with this Sox team) that knows that a guy capable of hitting a HR is waiting to hit later in the inning.

In general I think taking extra bases not a wise investment as the reward (moving from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd) doesn’t equal the risk (an out).

Obviously 3rd to home is a different bet. I think this might be an area where some serious academic study could reveal some smart approaches.

by madvillian on Jul 23, 2008 10:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

Although how is problematic

Unlike most things that happen in baseball, “sending the runner” is not a singular event, it’s part of another event (a hit, sac fly, error, whathaveyou) and can’t be analyzed in isolation.

I guess you could standardize the situation (e.g. runner on 2nd liner to center 1 out) and get some sense of how often a runner is thrown out when attempting, and then analyze that (% success * the run plus the rest of the inning) against the run expecttency of 1st and 3rd one out

by madvillian on Jul 23, 2008 10:18 PM CDT 0 recs

Being a 3rd base coach is a tough job

You send the guy, he scores, he gets all the high fives, chest bumps and Captain Morgan poses.

You send the guy, he’s out, and you’re “a freakin’ moron.”

Other than getting to wear the uniform, make a nice salary and wave your arm in front of 35,000 people, it’s a pretty shitty job. Based on larry’s stats, it appears Coxie is rather good at his job. Although, with all the fridge-carrying runners the Sox possess, does the guy really have a whole lot of challenges?

I’d much rather be a first base coach, so I could knuckle punch with the guys when they get a hit and collect their shin guards for safekeeping.

Other than that, being a bench coach (collect a check for being the manager’s buddy) or bullpen catcher (wear the gear; play catch with Bobby Jenks; talk to chicks in the bleachers) would be my next choices.

larry – keep posting…we’d miss your indignation and rants.

"Everybody looks at the Cubs. Look at the White Sox. They're a pretty good ballclub." - Lou Piniella (6/29/08)

by tailgater on Jul 26, 2008 12:08 AM CDT 0 recs