Saturday follies - fish and falling off a ladder

Our fish have a new home - but it was a planned move, not like last year or the year before.

We decided to go from a 10- to 15-gallon tank, and because the weather was colder than it has been lately, I figured today would be a good day for the indoor project. Things were going so swimmingly during the transition that I decided to cut the grass in the afternoon.

But first, I had to turn off a motion-sensor light in the backyard that has been on for days. It would not shut off, so we decided to finally replace the thing that has never worked quite right since we moved here almost five years ago.

It was an easy project, but complicated because the light is at the highest part of the house and my ladder isn't quite tall enough. It was difficult at times trying to wire a light with one hand while clutching the house with the other, but I got the sucker up without major incident.

The major incident came when I was caulking to finish the job. Maneuvering a caulk gun and standing on ladder rungs you're not supposed to stand on don't mix.

As I fell, a couple thoughts crossed my mind: I'll just land on my feet - no problem ... oh wait, I'm falling, I can't move ... I hope Christine gets out the way, she could get hurt too.

I landed squarely on my back and had a little taste of what Mick Foley put himself through. I groaned, but thought I was OK until Christine pleaded with me to say something. I understood what she was saying, but kept groaning. "Oh no, I can't talk," I thought to myself. But soon enough I got my bearings and folded up that darned ladder.

One of the hardware stores has a 16-foot ladder on sale this week. I wish I knew that when I was at that store buying the light.

Postscript: I'm fine. Fishies enjoy their new tank. The light works as it's supposed to.

Phillies: Christine is upset because the Phillies game is not on again. They're on tomorrow (Roy Halladay), but she won't be able to watch much because she has work obligations. Jamie Moyer gave up five runs in the 3rd inning, but the Phillies regained the lead when Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer off Brandon Lyon in the 7th. (Yes, that's the guy who was part of the 2003 Red Sox bullpen by committee who the Phillies were supposedly interested in this year until Ed Wade signed him to what is considered the worst signing of the offseason.)

Red Sox: It wasn't the prettiest pitching duel, but tonight's matchup of Josh Beckett and Zack Greinke turned out to be a spirited back-and-forth contest. The Red Sox lead 6-3 in the 9th; hopefully the bullpen won't blow another one. (I knew I shouldn't have written last night that Tim Wakefield may get a win.)

Slinging sabermetrically

With the Cy Young awards going to the league's best pitchers, Zack Greinke and Tim Lincecum, instead of ones with gaudier win-loss records, statheads are cautiously celebrating that it appears sports writers are finally starting to look beyond conventional wisdom and gut feelings to use all the information available to make informed judgments.

As Fangraphs blogger Dave Cameron notes, it's too soon to say that these votes represent the end of the old school, but they do show signs of an evolution:

Today, the BBWAA took a pretty big step back towards credibility. It obviously isn't a wholesale change, and there are always going to be people resistant to any sort of change, but the shift is taking place. And it's a welcome occurrence.

And I do have a SoxandPhils point to these votes - besides a gratuitous mention that I correctly predicted Lincecum's win. This morning, Scott Lauber, using Greinke's awareness of modern statistics as a hook, noted that Cole Hamels wasn't as bad as he was perceived:

Hamels posted a 4.32 ERA in 32 regular-season starts, but according to The Hardball Times, his (Fielding Independent Pitching) was only 3.71, nearly identical to his 3.70 FIP in 2008. Obviously, Hamels was far better in 2008, posting a 3.09 ERA in 33 starts, allowing fewer hits (193 in 2008, 206 in 2009) and logging more innings (227.1 in 2008, 193.2 in 2009). But maybe, as Manuel and Dubee often have said, Hamels' stuff was nearly as good as it was in 2008. There were other factors that caused his demise.

Remembering all the grief Hamels took in recent months, you'd think this observation would be earth-shattering, but it has been pointed out by sabermetricians since the summer. Here's what David Golebiewski posted on Fangraphs back in July:

The 25 year-old changeup artist might have troubling surface numbers, but he’s arguably pitching better than he did during that magical 2008 season.

When I mentioned this to Christine this morning, she questioned why I kept saying he had a poor season. I admit, I fall into the trap of not looking at, or even understanding, the more sophisticated statistics.

I don't understand statistics, but I have a healthy respect for those who do. I appreciate what they're saying and understand that things that I think are true may not be so. Hopefully, sports writers, who should view considering new metrics as part of their job, are starting to have a similar attitude.

Red Sox: Despite the blaring headlines, I don't think it means anything that Jason Bay rejected the initial Red Sox offer, reportedly $60 million over four years, and will be able to take offers from other teams in a few hours. Bay's agent and GM Theo Epstein remain civil:

"Nothing will happen by day's end, but we'll keep talking," Bay's agent Joe Urbon said.

"It's not a surprise that a player that's gone this far wants to see what's out there," Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said by phone in Bay's regard, though Epstein declined comment on the team's talks with Bay.

David Ortiz, meanwhile, wants Bay back along with another player with power. Perhaps because he hasn't hit more than 30 homers in a season since 2007?

"I said that like a year ago and everybody was looking at me like I was a (expletive) clown. You know? I said we needed another 30-home run hitter. Everybody was talking trash. There you go. Now what?" he said.

He spoke today to promote his charity golf outing that will feature several Sox: Jacoby Ellsbury, Mike Lowell, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield and Terry Francona.

And Phils: Pedro Martinez, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard.