How are the Jays supposed to get a fair shake with this map? Surely Ontario's blind optimism is no less intense than Maryland's, Florida's, or New England's!
StrangerJanuary 6, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Man, those are some die hard O's fans! I live in Maryland, but gave up hope years ago. It does, however, appear that we finally have some individuals in the front office who are at the very least competent.
GeoJanuary 6, 2009 at 11:22 pm
I love the dig a trench with spoons idea I almost fell off my chair laughing. I love the if we don't do this we'll have at least 10% unemployment (so only 90% of us will have jobs instead of 95%).
geoJanuary 6, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Since Congress is so good at graft and corruption lets let them just start taking bribes outright that we can use to bailout more banks. I'd even agree to congress members keeping a little slice of that for their trouble.
Baseball dudeJanuary 7, 2009 at 1:45 am
The public baaaa their way to sheephood again: just because the yanks throw some money around does *not* make them a great team. They were a crappy team last year and aren't likely to be much better this year. Those who really follow baseball know the strength that the Rays have accumulated: the Rays are the team to beat, now and for several more years.
SteveJanuary 7, 2009 at 6:42 am
Hey, Geo…
The Yanks won 89 games last year…
Wang was hurt for a good part of the year. So they added Sabbathia, Burnett, Wang, and Teixeira.
Come on…
SteveJanuary 7, 2009 at 6:44 am
I guess that last comment should have been
directed at baseball dude…
EJJanuary 7, 2009 at 9:02 am
Ok,
So you can make an argument for the Rays, Sox and Yankees… but the O's?! People in Maryland really think they are going to win the toughest division there is?
twJanuary 7, 2009 at 9:27 am
I tried to vote in this poll, but the ballot was very, very confusing. I think I actually picked Pat Buchanan to win the AL East!
Actually, this seems like a pretty rational response. When people have nothing to lose and no money on the line in an opinion poll, they'll say most likely what they have the most confidence in – and they'll have the most confidence in what they have the most knowledge of. Everyone knows who plays for the Yanks, that they're ticked about bad playoff performances of late and that they'll pay to attempt a "fix". Makes sense to pick them. The locals on the other hand have more knowledge of their teams and get more positive local media coverage. Again, when no money's on the line asking "who will win X" is about the same as asking "who have you been hearing the most good news about". The bias is a bias towards the best information.
There is always also the bias of those who vote based on hope, but I think that's less of a factor, especially in the Yanks case.
MetreJanuary 8, 2009 at 7:16 am
@Econtalk Superfan:
I have noticed a similar thing on weather maps – namely all weather in the US stops at the border with Canada. Apparently, US weather does not have a visa to enter Canada and is refused entry. As a result, no US weather is imported into Canada. I have sent a letter to my congress woman proposing that the US reciprocate by imposing a stiff tarriff on the import of Canadian weather. Perhaps we should do the same with baseball.
AnonymousJanuary 9, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I'm sure that this was a completely non-randomized sample with various survey errors
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{ 12 comments }
How are the Jays supposed to get a fair shake with this map? Surely Ontario's blind optimism is no less intense than Maryland's, Florida's, or New England's!
Man, those are some die hard O's fans! I live in Maryland, but gave up hope years ago. It does, however, appear that we finally have some individuals in the front office who are at the very least competent.
I love the dig a trench with spoons idea I almost fell off my chair laughing. I love the if we don't do this we'll have at least 10% unemployment (so only 90% of us will have jobs instead of 95%).
Since Congress is so good at graft and corruption lets let them just start taking bribes outright that we can use to bailout more banks. I'd even agree to congress members keeping a little slice of that for their trouble.
The public baaaa their way to sheephood again: just because the yanks throw some money around does *not* make them a great team. They were a crappy team last year and aren't likely to be much better this year. Those who really follow baseball know the strength that the Rays have accumulated: the Rays are the team to beat, now and for several more years.
Hey, Geo…
The Yanks won 89 games last year…
Wang was hurt for a good part of the year. So they added Sabbathia, Burnett, Wang, and Teixeira.
Come on…
I guess that last comment should have been
directed at baseball dude…
Ok,
So you can make an argument for the Rays, Sox and Yankees… but the O's?! People in Maryland really think they are going to win the toughest division there is?
I tried to vote in this poll, but the ballot was very, very confusing. I think I actually picked Pat Buchanan to win the AL East!
Actually, this seems like a pretty rational response. When people have nothing to lose and no money on the line in an opinion poll, they'll say most likely what they have the most confidence in – and they'll have the most confidence in what they have the most knowledge of. Everyone knows who plays for the Yanks, that they're ticked about bad playoff performances of late and that they'll pay to attempt a "fix". Makes sense to pick them. The locals on the other hand have more knowledge of their teams and get more positive local media coverage. Again, when no money's on the line asking "who will win X" is about the same as asking "who have you been hearing the most good news about". The bias is a bias towards the best information.
There is always also the bias of those who vote based on hope, but I think that's less of a factor, especially in the Yanks case.
@Econtalk Superfan:
I have noticed a similar thing on weather maps – namely all weather in the US stops at the border with Canada. Apparently, US weather does not have a visa to enter Canada and is refused entry. As a result, no US weather is imported into Canada. I have sent a letter to my congress woman proposing that the US reciprocate by imposing a stiff tarriff on the import of Canadian weather. Perhaps we should do the same with baseball.
I'm sure that this was a completely non-randomized sample with various survey errors