Comments on: Time for A-Rod to turn around playoff slump

By: anthony

anthony — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:51:25 +0000

A-Rod will have a great postseason in 2009 the yanks are a much better team and have a much better lineup then in recent seasons

By: pete

pete — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:55:55 +0000

if the yankees win the next four world series, i will personally execute anybody who doesn’t vote for obama next time

By: pete

pete — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:50:34 +0000

ietcvvvvm

By: pete

pete — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:47:18 +0000

don’t be ridiculous. nobody could do that

By: 'nother Guest

'nother Guest — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:06:47 +0000

All this chatter about how the Yanks will never win with A-Rod misses overarching cosmic reason for why the Yanks win/lose championships.

Like the NFL rule that seemingly predicts a down year for the stock market if an original AFL team wins the superbowl, I posit that the chances for the Yankees to win a world series ring is closely linked to which party occupies the White House. Let us look at their record since 1923 – i.e. when they finally moved out of the Polo grounds into the own stadium and could be called a proper team in their own right:

Consider the following data on presidential terms:

Bush 43 (GOP) – No WS wins, two losses
Clinton (Dem) – Four WS wins, no losses
Bush 41 (GOP) – No WS appearances
Reagan (GOP) – No WS wins, one loss
Carter (Dem) – Two WS wins, no losses
Ford (GOP) – No WS appearances
Nixon (GOP) – No WS appearances
LBJ (Dem) – No WS wins, one loss
Kennedy (Dem) – Two WS wins, one loss
Ike (GOP) – Three WS wins, three losses (we do like Ike)
Truman (Dem) – Five WS wins, no losses
FDR (Dem) – Six WS wins, no losses
Hoover (GOP) – One WS win, no losses
Coolidge (GOP) – Two WS wins, one loss

In fact the Yanks made it to the WS in every Democratic administration since 1923, winning during every one except under LBJ who seems to have gummed up the works somewhat.
So in the 46 years of GOP administration since 1923, the Yanks have won 7 and lost 8 WS (15% and 17%). But in the 40 years of Dem presidencies, they have won 19 and lost three (or rates of 48% and 8%). So any given year with a Dem president, there is almost a 50% chance of winning the WS (Yay for this year!!!) – three times as better as under a GOP prez.
The question for the statistically minded sabermetricians out there is after 86 datapoints, does this become a statistically significant model or is just a coincidence carried too too far?

Either way, looks like we can hope for at least two rings in the next four years and maybe two more if the folks put BHO back on the saddle in 2012.

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:44:49 +0000

Please see above response to this comment.

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:43:58 +0000

No, I most certainly was not saying that. I was saying that A-Rod needs to trust his teammates and not swing at stupid pitches. Note I did not say that A-Rod’s teammates (both this year and in the past) were untrustworthy. It was A-Rod’s fault for swinging at bad pitches when guys like Giambi, Sheffield, Posada, and a younger and healthier Matsui were hitting around him. This has nothing to do with how those guys. It has everything to do with A-Rod wrongly trying to hit a homerun on every pitch rather than taking bad pitches.

By: Riddering

Riddering — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:57:01 +0000

I have a good feeling for Alex this postseason. I think he’s been so consistent and successful in the past two months along with a lineup that can make the pitcher pay for not pitching to him that it’s bound to carryover into success.

If not, I’m blaming Cody Ransom.

By: OmgZombies!

OmgZombies! — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:30:02 +0000

Arod is a snake in the grass waiting for the right opportunity

By: Mike HC

Mike HC — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:29:03 +0000

Guest also pointed out this: (see above)

And he did say it was other people’s fault that ARod was failing. He said he was chasing bad pitches he would have otherwise stayed away from because he didn’t trust the hitters behind him. In other words, if the other players hit better, ARod would not have chased pitches, therefore ARod would have performed better