Joe Morgan, Fired

In a move that will surely destroy my Sunday Night Baseball drinking game, ESPN has decided to not renew the contracts of the announcing duo of Joe Morgan and Jon Miller. Miller may stay on with ESPN to continue his radio work but Morgan was told no thank you. Most of the baseball blogosphere is rejoicing tonight after hearing the news but I built an entire drinking game around Joe Morgan's nonsensical stories, stat bashing and referrals to his playing days. I'm going to miss being drunk by the third inning. Here's what the four letter told Richard Sandomir...

“We’ve decided to make a change and introduce new voices and new perspective,” said Norby Williamson, an executive vice president of ESPN. He added: “Twenty one years is an eternity in this business. And today is about acknowledging the contributions they made to the franchise.”

Ken Tremendous and the rest of the prophets at Fire Joe Morgan are no doubt popping the corks of their proverbial champagne. I reluctantly approve of this move because before my drinking game, I had to watch SNB on mute. I have nothing against Jon Miller but Joe Morgan's crusade against advanced metrics was aggravating. On base percentage is an actual thing, Joe, people understand it now.

Dan Shulman and Orel Hershiser look like the heir apparents and I think they will be a great team. I can begrudgingly give up the drinking game for some intelligent game calling.

The collateral damage here is no more of my Weekly Cup of Joe where I ripped a question and answer from an ESPN Joe Morgan chat. Obviously FJM did it better but it was fun while it lasted. I guess this will be one of the last times I get to use my Joe Morgan cup pic. *chugs the rest of the Icee, brain freeze*

Weekly Cup Of Joe: Tim Raines Edition

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

I took the last couple of weeks of from Joe Morgan's chats over at the Four Letter because I was afraid of all the brain damage. But it's Tuesday and I'm a masochist so I strapped on my special helmet and dove into this week's Joe Chat. Instead of just blasting away at some nonsensical answer, I'm actually using this question and answer for a jumping off point for something I was planning on writing anyway. Let's grab that nugget of wisdom...

Tito (Brooklyn)

What do you think is more important from the leadoff hitter in a batting lineup: speed or OBP?

Joe Morgan (11:25 AM)

A perfect leadoff hitter does both. You want guys to get on base. There were a lot of guys who hit first and got on base but didn't have speed. Wade Boggs comes to mind. He got on base a lot and gave his team a chance to score runs. Now if a guy gets on base and has speed, he can help the team score runs by himself. If he doesn't have speed, then you can still get on base and help the team score runs within the team concept.

Joe Morgan (11:27 AM)

The perfect blend is getting on base with speed and Rickey Henderson comes to mind with that. But as we both know Rickey and Boggs are both in the hall of fame.

Rickey Henderson comes to mind, huh Joe? Well Rickey is the greatest leadoff hitter in the history of baseball with a career .401 OBP and the all time steals record of 1406 (second is Lou Brock with 938). Henderson was the prototype for leadoff hitters, the perfect combo. Somewhere along the line, managers fell too in love with the speed and now Ozzie Guillen has no problem leading off with Juan Pierre and his .348 career OBP. Sure speed at the top of the order is nice but getting on base is, well, the most important part of baseball from the hitter aspect. Or not making an out but now we're just arguing semantics. Rickey got on base 40 percent of the time. Then with the combination of his speed and forcing the pitcher to throw from the stretch, he gave the rest of his lineup the advantage. Which leads me to the next best leadoff hitter.

Why isn't Tim Raines a first ballot Hall of Famer? No, really, I'm asking. By the way, my love for Raines has nothing to do with my recent affair with the Expos that started here and continued here with their draft history and will end in the not foreseeable future. Okay, maybe that has a little something to do with it but it's mainly stat based love. Raines is 5th all time in stolen bases with 808 and sports a career .294/.385/.425 line. He was overshadowed by Rickey but that's certainly no excuse for his lack of Hall of Fame votes.

Raines is tied with Ozzie Smith for the 82nd best career WAR of 64.60 according to Baseball-Reference. Now, I can't really get a grip on Raines' fielding because Fangraphs' Total Zone has him all over the place throughout his career and there aren't any UZR stats for him except for the brief 2002 stint with the Marlins. Either way, WAR puts him into the top 100 players of all time which should get him much more HOF love. Still not convinced? Go check out our friends at Raines30 who have put together Rock's Hall of Fame case better than I can.

I'm not sure what the argument is against Tim Raines. I don't even hear a big backlash against his drug use either. There's no stat based reason I can see. How about some more nerdy stats? Rickey's career wOBA .386, Rock's career wOBA .374. Raines has the advantage in batting average (.294-.279) and slugging (.425-.419) but trails in the all important leadoff categories of on base (.401-.385) and steals (1406-808). Rickey was clearly the prototype but if Raines wasn't built in his image then I don't know who was.

Weekly Cup Of Joe: Best Managers Edition

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

Tuesday is when Joe Morgan drops some bombs of baseball wisdom on our heads over at the Four Letter. Usually after a Joe Chat, I feel confused and have to take a nap. I didn't make it past the second question of yesterday's Joe Chat. In fact, I had to take the rest of the day off to attempt to re-gather my thoughts. Let's check out the answer that jarred my brain like a Rock Em, Sock Em Robot...

Clay D (NY)

Who is the best manager in the NL out of the current playoff teams?

Joe Morgan (11:06 AM)

A few years ago, I wrote a book and listed my top 5 managers: Dusty Baker, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, Tony LaRusa and I think the fifth was Cito Gaston. So, in the NL, Baker, Cox and Torre are the best managers.

Joe Morgan (11:06 AM)

Along with Tony LaRusa.

Joe wrote a book? I actually think he's referring to Baseball for Dummies and if that's the case, I'm buying that thing. What can I say, I'm a masochist. Without knowing his criteria, I have to assume Joe listed his best managers by the surefire method of "first 5 managers to pop into my head." At first I thought maybe it was just modern era but Earl Weaver managed into the 1980's. He has to be better than Cito Gaston, right? I mean Earl Weaver actually added some revolutionary strategies to the managerial world. I'm not sure Cito Gaston would make my top 50.

Then I thought it has to be wins, right? La Russa is 3rd all time (2611), Cox is 4th (2473), Torre is 5th (2301), Baker is 26th (1374) and Gaston is 67th (865). Even if he's just talking active managers, Jim Leyland, Mike Scioscia and Terry Francona have better arguments than Gaston and probably Baker. Although Baker, I assume, gets extra credit for ruining the careers of Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. And coming soon the careers of Edinson Volquez and Johnny Cueto.

The other problem I have with this is that being a major league manager isn't exactly rocket science. LaRussa does it drunk half the time.[citation needed] Sure, a "bad manager" can cost a team wins at a much quicker rate than a "good manager" can lead a team to more wins. That's mainly just through bullpen management. Even writing down names on a lineup card doesn't really matter. Tom Tango has done plenty of research on lineup order for The Book and even the optimal lineup is only worth an extra win or two over a season. And don't give me double switches and pinch hitting for the pitcher in the National League. Those are forced decisions not actual strategy.

I'm not saying managers are completely interchangeable. Sometimes a manager's personality can change the culture of a clubhouse and turn a team around. Buck Showalter already has the Orioles on a one game winning streak. It's difficult to gage managerial performance. It's even more difficult to tell how Joe Morgan ranked them.

If forced to answer that question, my list would look like this...

1. Anybody but Dusty Baker

Weekly Cup Of Joe: Midway MVP Edition

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

It's Tuesday which means there was a Joe Chat over at the Four Letter. Joe Morgan's chats are like McDonald's food. It seems like a good idea at the time but after you're done with it you feel gross and need a nap. I actually read today's chat while eating McDonald's and I'm pretty sure I broke the space-time continuum. Let's grab a McNugget of wisdom while I try to pull myself together...

Matt (Plano,TX)

Who is your MVP for the AL and NL?

Joe Morgan (11:31 AM)

Too early to tell. I thought it was Cano for a while in the AL, but Cabrera and Hamilton are in the conversation now as well. I always feel like the MVP should come from a winning team, one that's in the pennant race. You always have to start with Pujols in the NL. He's the best player in the game and it's his award to lose. For a long period, David Wright was the leader, but he has cooled off. Andre Ethier was one of the top candidates for a while, and you have to mention Adrian Gonzalez because the Padres are winning, and he's the reason they're in first place. But it's still too early to tell.

Yeah, he's wrong but let's see why. Oh and you should probably buckle up, it's going to get nerdy.

MTD's NL MVP Leaders

1. Joey Votto 4.1 WAR, .424 wOBA
Votto has 22 home runs to go with his .307/.415/.573 slash line. He's having such an amazing season I'm willing to overlook his 0-2 on 2 pitches performance at the All Star Game.

2. David Wright 4.1 WAR, .393 wOBA
It feels like Wright is flying under the radar. He only has 15 homers and 15 steals to go with his .312/.387/.531 slash line and a 5.8 UZR/150. Nothing wrong with that and, somehow, he has his team in the NL East pennant race. Oliver Perez thinks that's preposterous as he injures himself rolling around in a pile of cash.

3. Matt Holliday 4.2 WAR, .395 wOBA
Pujols has a better wOBA (.412) but trails in WAR (3.6) and after a couple of stunning seasons at first base, he's having a rather poor year in the field (-2.2 UZR/150).

MTD's AL MVP Leaders

1. Justin Morneau 5.0 WAR, .447 wOBA
I wanted to put Josh Hamilton or Miggy Carbera first put the advanced stats slapped me on the back of the head and shook its fist at me. Did anyone else outside of Minnesota notice the sick stats Morneau was putting up? Hopefully he recovers from that concussion I gave him during a pick-up hockey game soon so I can complain when he doesn't win the MVP at the end of the year.

2. Josh Hamilton 4.8 WAR, .439 wOBA
Probably too far back in RBI to catch Cabrera but if Hamilton stays healthy, he could lead the American League in batting average, home runs and unwanted tattoos. A healthy Josh Hamilton is scary, especially since I'm an Angels fan.

3. Miguel Cabrera 3.8 WAR, .443 wOBA
Cabrera is second in home runs (25-24), third in batting average (.353-.340) and first in RBI (82-76). Miggy could make a serious run at the Triple Crown this summer. He's also the most likely to have had McDonald's this week. And yes, I'm proud of the way I brought that full circle.

Weekly Cup Of Joe: NL Center Field Edition

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

I can't even begin to describe what a joy it is to listen to Chris Berman and Joe Morgan call the Home Derby. The only thing that could make it any better is if they invite Ken Harrelson next year. Imagine Berman yelling "back, back, back, back" while Harrelson yells "You can put it on the booooard... YES!" Music to my ears. Painful, blood inducing music. It's Tuesday so there was a Joe Chat over a the Four Letter. Let's grab a nugget of wisdom and see if I can add any useful insight...

Tito (Brooklyn)

Joe, who do you think is the best overall CF in the NL?

Joe Morgan (11:22 AM)

Well, I guess the question would be defensively or offensively? CF in the NL, you have Shane Victorino is a good defensive OF. Matt Kemp as well. That's an interesting question, because I don't think there are a lot of great CFs in the NL. Those are two that are exceptional. Drew Stubbs has a chance to be a good CF.

Um actually Joe, the question was overall CF. Which I assume encompasses both offense and defense. A quick glance at WAR tells me Andres Torres (3.5), Marlon Byrd (3.5) and Angel Pagan (3.3) are all worth close to a win more than the rest of the National League center fielders. Victorino (1.7) is in the middle of the pack while Kemp (0.3) and Stubbs (0.8) are towards the bottom.

Maybe Joe was just talking about offensive center fielders. According to wOBA, Colby Rasmus (.390), Andres Torres (.383) and Carlos Gonzalez (.375) are the top guys. Victorino (.342), Kemp (.336) and Stubbs (.321) aren't particularly close.

Perhaps Joe was just talking about defensive center fielders. UZR/150 has Tony Gwynn (49.8) smoking the rest of the pack with Marlon Byrd (15.8) and Michael Bourn (13.2) having really good seasons. At the other end of the spectrum, Matt Kemp has a -29.9 UZR/150. I think that means somewhere around 14 balls have bounced off of his head for home runs. Victorino (-4.1) and Stubbs (-6.5) aren't exactly helping out their pitchers either.

Don't like advanced metrics? You really should look into that. Byrd (.317), Pagan (.315) and Gonzalez (.314) are the only center fielders with a batting average over .300. Vitcorino (.250) and Stubbs (.235) have the worst batting averages for center fielders and I'm starting to wonder why Stubbs is on my fantasy team. Kemp (.261) isn't exactly lighting the league on fire either.

Kemp is third in home runs and RBI for center fielders. That's all I have. I don't know where Joe came up with these answers. They may actually be the only center fielders he could think of.

I think this season the best center fielder in the National League is Marlon Byrd. But guys like Carlos Gonzalez, Colby Rasmus and Andrew McCutchen will probably be vying for that top spot sooner than later.

Weekly Cup Of Joe: LeBron James Edition

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

Joe was off on Tuesday or thought today was Tuesday, an easy enough mistake to make with the holiday weekend thing. So he did his Joe Chat over at the Four Letter today. Last week's Cup of Joe came with a disclaimer and so does this one. Last week I went a little nerdy with all of the UZR/150 and Gold Glove voting. This week, we're talking LeBron mania! So if you're already sick of all the Lebron talk you might want to come back in a little while but come on, you want to know Joe's take on the situation. Let's grab that nugget of wisdom...

Rob (NY)

Hey joe lets get a LeBron prediction from a fellow beloved ohio ballplayer

Joe Morgan (11:27 AM)

First of all, I am a HUGE NBA fan. But I will say this: I am personally turned off by all of this. In my opinion, if LeBron goes and plays in Miami and Wade and Bosh, then he's throwing his teammates in Cleveland under the bus as if it were their fault that they didn't win in the NBA last year. I've always talked with Bill Russell, the greatest champion in team sports, and he always said it was his duty to make his teammates better. If LeBron goes to Miami, he's saying it wasn't his fault, it was someone else's. I would not want to have that opinion of LeBron.

Joe Morgan (11:28 AM)

If Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Dwight Howard all went together, they'd probably win a championship. So, if you can orchestrate who you can play with at the right time, anybody can win a championship.

Okay, this LeBron stuff is suffocating, so I'm sorry for piling on. On the other hand, his hour long announcement special tomorrow night is must see TV. What is he going to do for an hour to announce what will literally take less than 10 seconds to say? Personally, I'm hoping for ventriloquism with the Nike puppet. Or magic. The Penn and Teller kind, not the Laker kind.

On to Joe's point. Isn't the point of sports to win or impress women? LeBron's best chance to win multiple titles is to have other great talent around him. He makes his teammates better. You're a fool if you don't believe that. Without Lebron, a Delonte West led Cavs team wins, what, 12 games? I think their free agent summit was genius. If the Heat can find a way to give all these guys max deals (oh yeah, pro athletes also like the proverbial fat cash), then good for them. Doubt it happens, though.

And this stuff happens in baseball too. Why do you think players have no-trade clauses? Players want to play with other good players so they can win. Nobody wants to be a Royal. Except for maybe Wilson Betemit.

Bonus Poor Grammar Question:

Ryan (PA)

Am I the only person who would prefer players from their team not make the All-Star game? I would rather have them have a couple days rest, especially the pitchers from the team I route for.

Oh, Ryan. Route? That one stung my brain.

Weekly Cup Of Joe: Gold Glove Edition

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

Look at me, I actually remembered that 1) it's Tuesday and 2) there's a Joe Chat over at the Four Letter. I've been watching soccer for what feels like the past three months. The conclusion I've come to is that their rules are more confusing than Joe Morgan in a broadcast booth. Today's nugget of wisdom forced me to do some actually research so excuse me if I get a little grumpy...

conshymatt (philly)

Who is the best defensive player in baseball?

Joe Morgan (11:18 AM)

That's a tough question. I think there are a lot of good defensive players. You have to rate them by position. One demands more than another. Catcher demands more than, say, second base. I think they've done a good job the last few years, if you look at the gold glove winners. There might be one or two exceptions, but I think they've done a good job.

Gold Gloves might be one of the most worthless awards in all of sports. Once you win a couple, you're pretty much locked in for a good stretch. Just go ask Ichiro, Jeter and Torii Hunter. I'm not saying the voters are lazy but, oh no, that was what I was saying.

The other problem is that defensive metrics are still being improved upon. Big strides have been made though and we don't have to rely on Fielding Percentage anymore. So I accept your challenge, Joe. I will find more than a couple of exceptions in Gold Glove winners.

*Warning* It's about to get pretty nerdy. So if you don't like numbers, you might want to go work out like you've been talking about or go get a Double Whopper like we both know you're going to and then come back in a little while. *Warning*

I'm just going to look at 2009 so I can get back to writing nonsense at some point today. I think most of us are fairly comfortable with UZR. Since UZR is a counting stat we'll use UZR/150 to equal out playing time. I couldn't get my hands on 2009 Dewan +/- stats but I will sprinkle in some of last year's Fielding Bible winners.

NL 2B Winner: Orlando Hudson -3.4 UZR/150

Hudson was perceived as a great fielding second baseman but 2009 was the fourth straight year he posted a negative UZR/150. The more deserving second baseman was, of course, Chase Utley and his 12.2 UZR/150. Utley has been the best fielding second baseman for three years now. I still can't figure out how he doesn't get more MVP love.

NL SS Winner: Jimmy Rollins 5.0 UZR/150

Rollins wasn't a bad choice and he was really good in 2008. But in 2009 J.J. Hardy was better with a 9.2 UZR/150. I was actually surprised to see how well UZR has rated Hardy over the years.

NL OF Winners: Michael Bourn 9.9, Matt Kemp 3.7, Shane Victorino -5.7

Bourn was at least sixth in NL in UZR/150. The top three though were Nyjer Morgan 34.7, Randy Winn 17.6 and Colby Rasmus 14.0. Morgan and Rasmus are a little skewed because they only played around 1000 innings so you could plug Mike Cameron, Hunter Pence or Bourn in for those guys.

AL 1B Winner: Mark Teixeira 0.5 UZR/150

Justin Morneau 7.6 and Kendry Morales 7.4 simply had much better seasons. The Fielding Bible had Albert Pujols as the top fielding first baseman in the league. UZR wasn't quite so high on Pujols.

AL SS Winner: Derek Jeter 8.0 UZR/150

This was Jeter's best season by far since UZR data has been recorded since 2002. But who didn't see this coming? If you've ever met me, you'd know I'm one of those guys who harps on about how overrated Jeter is at short. Jeter has a career UZR of -38.0. But hey, he dove into the stands. Elvis Andus played a much better short with a 13.5 UZR/150. The Fielding Bible had Jack Wilson as the best short in the league and UZR agrees if you combine his AL and NL stats.

AL OF Winners: Ichiro 8.8, Torii Hunter -2.0, Adam Jones -8.2

The top three UZR/150 in the AL were Franklin Gutierrez 28.9, Ryan Sweeney 23.8 and Carl Crawford 18.6. The big loser here Gutierrez who was sensational in center for the Mariners and was great in right before that in Cleveland. The Fielding Bible had Gutierrez, Crawford and Ichiro as the best outfielders in the league.

Recap: By my count, Gold Gloves went to 8 wrong fielders out of 14 (excluding pitchers and catchers) in 2009. That's not very good, Joe.

I know UZR isn't the perfect defensive metric and that it is best used over the course of several seasons. But it's better than a lot of other ways to judge fielding. Plus I couldn't get Dewan's 2009 +/- stats, Bill James' DER and I was to lazy go through all of B-R's advanced stats.

I'll try to make up for this post with something mind numbing later. Sorry.

Weekly Cup Of Joe

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

I keep forgetting to check in with Joe Morgan on Tuesdays. This World Cup fever is really getting to me. I might have to go to the free clinic. I gave my grandpa a yellow card the other day for taking too long at the refrigerator. Usually, I like to just grab a nugget of wisdom from every Joe Chat over at the Four Letter but today's Weekly Cup of Joe is going to be a grande. Let's get going kids...

Brian (New York)

Joe, has Robinson Cano finally reached his potential or is there more to come?

Joe Morgan (11:04 AM)

I don't know if there is more to come, but he's a great player, and you can't always measure a great player by numbers, so I don't know what you mean by "potential". To ask, is there more to come? I don't know.

I love how Joe's standard reply has become, "To answer your question, I don't know." That's the hard hitting analysis I deliver here for free. Somebody needs to start sending me money. I could have sworn I copyrighted that. And I thought all we did was measure great players by their numbers. Why do you think people spent so much time on WAR or wOBA? Why do you hate metrics SO MUCH? Then this happened...

Joseph (St. Louis)

Who's will be the NL Central Champs?

Congrats Joseph in St. Louis, you failed English. After I wiped the blood from my eyes, I moved on to this question...

Tito (Brooklyn)

Joe, with the emergence of Joey Votto and Adrian Gonzalez, is Ryan Howard now only the 4th best hitting first baseman in the NL?

Joe Morgan (11:25 AM)

Are you kidding? Ryan Howard's the only guy besides Pujols that does what a first baseman is supposed to do -- he hits home runs, drives in runs, and leads his team to the World Series. Everyone took a shot at his contract -- he's been Rookie of the Year, MVP, and led his team to a World Championship and two consecutive World Series appearances. Has anybody done that other than Pujols? None of those guys have done that. I wonder why no one questions Matt Holliday's similar contract -- he's never won an MVP award or won a World Series. His numbers were put up in Colorado, where everyone puts up big hitting numbers. He's the second-best first baseman in the league, not fourth-best.

Uhh, *head explodes* Yeah, Howard jacks home runs and has a surprisingly high OBP for the amount of strikeouts he accrues. He's a three-true-outcome player. He's Adam Dunn in a better lineup. Just, let's just look at the last three years of OPS+. Does that sound reasonable?

Howard: 2010 - 124 OPS+, 2009 - 140 OPS+, 2008 - 124 OPS+

Gonzalez: 2010 - 173 OPS+ (best in the NL), 2009 - 166 OPS+, 2008 - 139 OPS+

Votto: 2010 - 154 OPS+, 2009 - 155 OPS+, 2008 - 125 OPS+

Recap: Joey Votto and Adrian Gonzalez have been better hitters than Ryan Howard over the past three years.

Weekly Cup Of Joe

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

I almost missed another Joe Chat this week. I've been swept up in this vuvuzela madness that's taking over the globe (download the iPhone app here). So between drinking in the morning while watching 0-0 ties during the World Cup and my subsequent afternoon naps, I missed all of the Tuesday baseball chats at the Four Letter. That doesn't mean we can't still grab a nugget of wisdom...

Dan (New York)

Joe, from a former players and fan perspective do you get more enjoyment seeing a young team like the Rays who have built themselves from internally or a team of veterans (some perhaps bought) like the Yankees win?

Joe Morgan (11:21 AM)

From a fans perspective, I like to see a good team, an exciting team, young guys grow into roles of stars and play well. But I also like to see a dominant team. When a team becomes a team that everyone looks at, a team that everybody wants to beat or emulate, I like that as well. Everyone in the AL starts the season saying they need to beat the Yankees to get to the World Series and I like that. But I also like a team like the Rays that people say can be dangerous. It just depends. They both bring a lot to baseball. The Yankees have been great all these years and have been great for the game. The Rays have become an up and coming team and they're good for the game. I'm just a fan of the game and like to see it played well, whether young or veteran players.

Sorry Pirates and Orioles, Joe Morgan hates you. Joe only likes the good/dominant teams. Does Joe even answer the question? It's hard to tell. He clearly likes good teams. I got that. Oh, okay. He just likes to see the game played well. Sorry Diamondbacks, Joe hates you too.

Weekly Cup Of Joe

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

Joe was conspicuously absent from the chat page over at the Four Letter on Tuesday so I almost missed his Joe Chat today. Surely he had a good excuse for pushing it back a day. Perhaps he was studying film of freshly drafted super prospects. Let's grab a nugget of wisdom...

Woody (C-Ville)

With everyone increasing the hype about Bryce Harper, do you see him becoming a star, average player or a bust?

Joe Morgan (11:17 AM)

I've never seen him play but Strasburg has proven himself. We have to give Harper that same chance. It's harder to become a refined hitter than a pitcher. Hitting is just tougher to do, period. It's harder to find a super hitter in my opinion. That said, because I've never seen him, I'll have to see what he does. He may be the new Ted Williams, you never know.

I even have a problem with this question. Obviously, it's way too early to project what 17-year-old is going do in ten years. The hype is about his tools. He has monster power and a plus-plus arm but nobody is writing him into the Hall of Fame yet. Strasburg was a different case entirely. He destroyed college hitters and was ready to take the mound on opening day this year.

Now on to Joe's response. Why would he even take this question if he hasn't seen Bryce Harper? I'll tell you why. He just wanted to point out that it's so much harder to be a hitter rather than a pitcher. Just ignore that throwing a pitch is an unnatural motion for the human arm. Forget that pitchers blow out their elbows every year and the surgery to repair them is named after a pitcher. But yeah, hitting a baseball is hard. Really hard. I just find it strange that good pitching is always in such demand.

Since Joe hasn't seen Bryce Harper, he'll have to wait to see what he does. That's not an answer, sir. Just start making stuff up at this point. How much damage could your credibility really take? I'd respect you more if you told this guy that Bryce Harper is the greatest baseball player since Joe Morgan. No, I'm just kidding, I'd rip you more. See ya next week, Joe.

Weekly Cup Of Joe

I prefer to think of this as more of a tribute to Fire Joe Morgan than a blatant ripoff. But who are we really kidding here?

Tuesday means there's a new Joe chat at the Four Letter. Let's grab us a nugget of wisdom...

Matt (NM)

Joe, you and Orel talked about "quality strikes" on Sunday. What's a quality strike?

Joe Morgan (11:13 AM)

That's a great question. I feel badly if we didn't explain it properly. I take pride in explaining myself on the air. There are three parts to the plate, outside corner, inside corner and middle. You want to stay out of the middle. Most hitters can handle the ball on the middle of the plate. Some players have trouble with the inside corner or outside corner. A quality strike is one that stays low and is middle in or middle out. Just stay out of the middle of the plate. Good question.

Okay, just to recap... Three parts of the plate; outside corner, inside corner and middle. Gotcha. Stay out of the middle. Good, fine. Stay middle in or middle out, just not middle. Of course, wait, what? Is middle in part of the middle or inside corner or left side right? Are there now five parts to the plate? How many parts of the plate does Vlad Guerrero have? Because I've seen him hit one out that was upside topsy-turvy.

All I think I learned is don't throw it straight down the middle of the plate. That's not a quality strike. You know, unless it's a strike.

Thank god they put Rob Neyer on directly after Joe. It helps stop my brain from melting.