Sports September 19, 2010

Who actually thought the Jets would be good this season? I know they won two big playoff games on the road last season and gave the Colts a run for their money, but seriously? They have a young quaterback who still isn't in the games elite, or even close for that matter. To make matters worse for him, he has average receivers and a running game that just lost a 1,400 yard back. Their defense might be very good, but their all pro corner, Darrelle Revis, held out for most of the off season. They also have several other contract desputes. How can a team with all these issues really be that good? The evidence of this was Monday against the Ravens when Mark Sanchez threw for only 75 yards. The defense played well, but their offense really needed help. True the last time I doubted them they proved me wrong, but it just doesn't look like their year.

Baseball is full of random statistics. Some, like WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched), are good barometers of how good a player might be. But others, like BABIP (batting average of balls in play), are utterly useless. Austin Jackson, who leads the league in BABIP at .413 is suppose to join elite company with it. However, his batting average, .302, is more than a hundred points below that. So how does he make that .109? Strikeouts. Austin Jackson leads the American League in strikeouts, and its not even close. So why create a second, unrelated statistic that basically measures the same thing? Why make a player look like he's having a better season than he really is? Nothing on Austin Jackson, he's an important player in the Tigers lineup. But if your going to create a statistic, make sure it actually measures something significant, and not just another way of representing something else.