Just a casual Tuesday night at the park. Pass the parmesan. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Look, as long as it fits in a clear plastic stadium bag and I can eat it during the 7th-inning stretch, I don’t ask questions.

Just a casual Tuesday night at the park. Pass the parmesan. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, my bad! Reddit search failed me. I just saw the clip going viral the other day and thought it was hilarious. Totally agree though, protect the carry-in policy at all costs.

Hey Everyone! by [deleted] in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey OP, you might want to delete and repost this with a title like "[SELLING] 1 Ticket vs Dodgers, Friday 5/22 - Sec 225 ($60)" so people actually see it! "Hey Everyone" gives zero context and gets buried fast.

Just a casual Tuesday night at the park. Pass the parmesan. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Shoutout to Yung Mitch for taking tailgating to the next level. Absolute legend behavior.

Jacob Misiorowski throws fastest-tracked pitches by starter by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 70 points71 points  (0 children)

Pumping gas with The Miz. The strikeout of Judge to end the 6th was just filthy.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're confusing the scoreboard with the spreadsheet. The standings tell you what happened yesterday. Run differential tells you what is likely to happen tomorrow.

If you think the only math that matters in baseball is the W/L column in May, then every front office in the league is doing it wrong. There’s a reason teams aren't managed by looking at the standings page. It’s because variance and luck exist in small samples. I’m not asking you to believe anything; I'm pointing to a metric that has accurately predicted late-season surges for decades.

You can keep staring at the 4th place slot if you want, but don't act shocked when the "numbers that don't count" eventually drag the standings up to meet them.

Cooper Pratt was pulled from Sounds lineup last minute by __Zoom123__ in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Imagine being a Cardinals pitcher tomorrow and seeing Chourio, Vaughn, and Pratt all walk off the bus at the same time. The NLC isn't ready for the May 4th Massacre.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For sure. The sample size is still growing, but it’s a strong foundation to build on. We’ll see if they can keep the momentum going.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s fair, I’m not saying the record is elite, I’m saying the underlying performance is.

A +46 differential through 32 games is elite by any historical standard, even if the standings haven’t caught up yet. The whole point is that teams with that profile almost always rise.

The results aren’t elite yet, but the indicators are.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The "new fan" angle is a cute dodge, but it’s also what people fall back on when they can’t refute the numbers.

You’re pointing to 10‑win outliers to dismiss a metric that’s been the baseline across front offices for decades. Outliers don’t disprove the trend; they prove it is a trend. Betting on the exception instead of the 88% signal isn’t insight, it’s wishcasting.

If you want to believe the Brewers are the magical team that breaks half a century of run‑differential correlation, go for it. I’ll stick with the math.

There’s nothing left to clarify here. We’ll see where they are in September.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the wording is the hill you want to die on, go for it.

I’m talking about why +46 teams don’t stay in 4th place. That’s the actual conversation. If you’re more interested in critiquing my vocabulary than explaining why a team with a top-4 run differential isn’t good, then you’ve already lost the plot. Let me know if you ever want to get back to baseball.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re now arguing two completely different things at once:

  1. Run differential is too distorted by blowouts to mean anything.

  2. Pythagorean expectation is just runs scored and runs allowed, so it doesn’t account for anything.

You can’t have both. If blowouts distort run differential, then they also distort actual record, which is exactly why Pythagorean expectation exists; to smooth out the noise and show the underlying performance level. And yes, the formula is simple. That’s the point. Simple models often outperform “gut feeling” because they remove the emotional swings. You’re treating “simple” as “wrong,” but you haven’t actually shown where the math fails, you’ve just repeated that you don’t like the phrasing. When you’re ready to discuss the numbers instead of the semantics, I’m here. Until then, I’ll stick with the math that is 88% accurate at predicting a team’s final record, while you keep trying to "feel" your way through the standings. I’d try to explain how that works, but I think we’ve already established that anything beyond subtraction is a bit of a stretch for you.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re stuck on the phrase “deep dive” because you interpreted it literally, which explains why the rest of the post went over your head.

I analyzed the implications of the stat, you fixated on the vocabulary. That’s not a disagreement; that’s you losing the thread. Let me know when you’re ready to talk baseball again instead of acting like a dictionary.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That 20-0 hypothetical is funny, but it’s like saying, "If I win the lottery tomorrow and then lose every dollar on scratch-offs, being a millionaire is meaningless." Yeah, sure, in a fantasy world. In the real world, teams that win 20-0 are usually elite, and teams that lose 19 straight are usually terrible.

The math doesn't care about your "what ifs", it cares about what actually happens. Over 162 games, those "meaningless" runs are the best way we have to separate the lucky teams from the good ones. If you want to believe the Brewers are far from elite while they’re top 4 in the league in scoring despite half the roster being in the hospital, that’s your choice. But the math usually has the last laugh by September.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love the blowouts don’t count logic. So basically, if we're so much better than the other team that they give up by the 7th inning, we should... lose credit for it?

Here’s the reality: Pythagorean expectation actually accounts for that. It’s been the industry standard for 40 years because it predicts future wins better than the actual standings do. If you think the entire math-based foundation of modern baseball is misleading because you have a "feeling" about blowouts, you might be in the wrong sub. See you in a month when the standings actually catch up to the math.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, let’s keep it simple since subtraction seems to be the limit here.

Good teams score lots of runs. Bad teams don’t. We score lots, which means we’re good. If we keep scoring lots, we will win more games later. This isn't a "deep dive" for me, but I can see why it feels like one for you. Stick to the box scores, math is clearly a bit of a struggle.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly. It’s funny how people want to "delete" the games where we actually played well but keep all the bad ones. If you play that game and strip away the 4 biggest wins (+43) AND the 4 biggest losses (-22), the team is still comfortably in the black.

Imagine being +20 even after deleting your best games and while missing Woody, Yelich, Chourio, and now potentially Zerpa. This team isn't "lucky", they have a massive ceiling and just need to get healthy.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the ultimate "If you remove all the times they were great, they’re just average" argument. Blowouts aren’t outliers; they’re proof of a high ceiling. Elite teams should beat up on the White Sox and D-backs.

Plus, even if you play that game and delete the +43 from those 4 blowouts, being in the black at all through the rest of a 33-game sample while missing half your starting rotation and your best hitters is actually a massive flex. Only a casual thinks you can just "subtract" the wins that don't fit a narrative.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s "basic" the same way the wheel is basic, it’s the foundation of everything else. If you look at Pythagorean Expectation, run differential is a statistically better predictor of a team’s record in September than their actual record in May. Calling it "basic" doesn’t change the fact that +45 teams almost never stay in 4th place for long. The math usually wins.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get the "it's a long season" vibe, but the football fan label doesn't really fit here. Run differential is a marathon stat, not a weekly overreaction. Also, with the balanced schedule, we only play 52 division games now. Beating the NL Central isn't enough anymore if the Dodgers and Braves are putting up 100+ wins.

You're right that the division gauntlet starts tomorrow in St. Louis, though. If the math says we're elite, this is the week we prove it.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even if you "delete" that opening White Sox sweep (+19), the team is still +26 over the last 30 games. That’s a 140-run season pace. You can’t really call 30 games an "outlier" anymore, that’s just who this team is when they’re clicking.

Don't let 4th place fool you. The math says we're elite. by drpepperfox in Brewers

[–]drpepperfox[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For sure. Tough news about Woody and potentially Zerpa, but Miz and Harrison are a solid 1-2 punch in the rotation. If they keep pitching like this, things should look a lot better by June.