Dayn Fallout

One last Dayn post. Maybe tomorrow I'll talk about baseball -- wouldn't that be novel? First off, I mentioned Yuda's masterful analysis of the problems several of us have with Dayn Perry and with Baseball Prospectus, home of the haughty, overpaid tastemakers of the sabermetric world. In case you didn't get into the long, embarrassing comments thread that houses this masterpiece, or in case you did but couldn't get past all the Pat O'Brien, here's Yuda's unanswered question to Dayn:

While it's true that Montreal got something of a raw deal, they didn't really go to any lengths at all to prevent the team from moving. The fans stopped coming to the park; no owner who wanted to keep the team there stepped up to buy the team (a la Paul Allen and the Portland TrailBlazers).

But, it's not just your column that has us pissed off. For the last six months there's been a notable and clear bias against the city of Washington and the team playing in RFK. I recognize that all the writers here have favorite teams, and I expect that kind of bias to come out from time to time. But rooting against a particular team just because you don't like Bud Selig -- with no other reason to do so -- isn't going to win you many fans in the area.

Through all this, the only BP writer who's been professional about the topic if the Expos moving to D.C. is Jonah Keri -- ironic, given he's the one writer who's actually been injured in the whole scenario.

But beyond that, what it boils down to is the quality of BP has gone down -- way down -- over the last couple of years. You guys have been phoning it in since sometime around early August last year. When's the last time you checked a fact? Hell, Nate Silver last month linked to an article claiming that Jim Bowden was looking to trade for Neifi Perez. The article talked about his interest in Damian Jackson, Pokey Reese or Wilson Betemit as a backup shortstop. None of those players are named Neifi Perez.

You guys have started reaching conclusions first and trying to find data -- or even just ignoring what data you do find -- to fit said preconceptions.

I'd have already let my subscription lapse if I hadn't paid for two years in 2003; I know several people who *have* let theirs lapse. If you don't want to address it, that's fine. Half the staff has cushy writing gigs at places like Fox Sports now.

Of course, those outside cushy writing gigs are probably part of the problem, as I suspect everybody is saving their A game.

And no swears!

Basil T. Inquirer also chimed in on the Perry issue.

Anyone on Team Prospectus can (try to) assess whether Erik Bedard is legit; you have written something far more specific, in an incediary fashion, with no basis for it other than to antagonize. And you complain that there's a better forum for it than your BP chat? I don't think so.

In law, we'd call this kind of thing . . . well, I was going to say "invited error," but that's something different, and this case can be concisely worded as Being a Jerk.

There you go. If Dayn's going to flamebait, he can't start whining when the conflagration starts.

And finally: Dayn Perry, May 2005: "For external observers, however, the move of the Expos to D.C. can be viewed only as a grave injustice and yet another example of MLB's lamentable corporatist ethic."

Dayn Perry, January 2005: "Fans and media: Take it easy on the righteous indignation."

Dayn should consider following his own advice. Or just stop being a jackass.