Homerism and the A's fans...

by Adam J. Morris on Jan 10, 2006 7:28 PM CST in News

Over at Athletics Nation, they are running a poll on which A.L. West team had the best offseason...

I liked the Milton Bradley pickup, but still...68% picking the A's?

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impressive response...

and some honest respones: 25% giving the rangers the edge

Troy I. ----- "It helps if the hitter thinks you're a little crazy." -Nolan Ryan

by tdi1985 on Jan 10, 2006 7:35 PM CST reply actions

To their credit

The guy who authors the site, Blez, said that the Rangers had the best offseason:

http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2006/1/3/192250/4852

by trza on Jan 10, 2006 11:23 PM CST reply actions

Well

you should do the same poll here...and see what happens...

by Longhorn on Jan 11, 2006 12:13 AM CST reply actions

Here's my prediction:

Fewer than 1,000 people respond ...

by devo on Jan 11, 2006 7:38 PM CST up reply actions

Personally I think the A's are the favorite. Harden, Zito, Loiza, Haren and Blanton is the best rotation in the division, and their offense should be better with Bradley on board, and if Crosby is healthy and Chavez rebounds.

They're by no means the runaway favorite. But right now I think they've got to be the favorite.

Anaheim got worse, IMO, so I'd put us 2nd.

But realistically any of the three could win it all this year.

Somebody's got to win the West in '06. Why not Texas???

by thedirkatron on Jan 11, 2006 12:48 AM CST reply actions

Duh.

Put a poll on a fan website and the outcome is skewed to the fans' team? Shocking.

As an A's fan, let me give you some examples of homerism:

--Daric Barton is a better prospect than Brandon Wood
--Billy Beane is light-years ahead of every other GM
--The A's unequivocally had the best offseason of any AL West team

Here are some examples of non-homerism, that, while perhaps wrong, are defensible positions:

--Daric Barton is more of sure-thing prospect because Brandon Wood has yet to play in the high minors
--Billy Beane has an impressive track record as a GM
--The A's had a good offseason in that they slightly upgraded their rotation (Loaiza > Saarloos) and their lineup (Bradley > Hatteberg). This was better than the Rangers' offseason in that they slightly downgraded their rotation (Eaton+Millwood<Young+Rogers) and slightly upgraded their lineup (Wilkerson> Soriano).

I'm not saying that the A's had a better offseason than the Rangers - but it certainly is a defensible position. It was close, to be sure, but the results of a poll don't reveal the thought processes of the respondents, and to think that a fan website wouldn't display some kind of skew is, well...homerism.

Visiting A's Fan - also from BTB, a sister SBN site.

by salb918 on Jan 11, 2006 1:54 AM CST reply actions

you forgot

padilla for ricrod and the addition of otsuka.

by ab03 on Jan 11, 2006 6:30 AM CST up reply actions

Sal!?!?

What are you doing here?

by devo on Jan 11, 2006 7:38 PM CST up reply actions

I read most of the other

SB Nation sites and have accounts at several of them. I like AJM as a blogger and LSB in general. Now, let's be good trolls and go back to our caves. I feel bad enough interrupting LSB as it is.

Visiting A's Fan - also from BTB, a sister SBN site.

by salb918 on Jan 11, 2006 10:01 PM CST up reply actions

I guess you'd need an account

to go from site to site to plug your posts at BTB - an excellent member of the Sports Blog family.

In order to be good trolls, though, I think we need to say something unpleasant before we can go back to our caves in peace.

So, umm, Rangers Suck!!!!!

Okay, that should be good, see you back on AN.

by devo on Jan 12, 2006 12:33 AM CST up reply actions

Contradiction

1."The A's unequivocally had the best offseason of any AL West team.
2. I'm not saying the A's had a better offseason than the Rangers.

We are also in the AL WEST, and upgraded our starting rotation, bullpen, defense, and if Wilkerson rebounds from injury, possibly offense. Is there even a question who had the best off-season?

But with the utmost respect for Beane's team with their inadequate payroll, Daniel's has made some Beane-esqe moves this off-season.

by Allen13 on Jan 11, 2006 7:06 AM CST reply actions