July 2
Philadelphia Inquirer
columnist Frank Fitzpatrick
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Jim Fregosi used to complain that I refused to absorb all the wisdom he tried to impart, whether it was about baseball, journalism, or 401(k)s. But the ex-Phillies manager did teach me one valuable lesson during my four years as a beat writer: A baseball season is 162 games long for a reason. Good teams invariably end up with good records, bad teams with bad. And, unless some underlying variable is at work, veteran players almost always come close to their career norms. They don't fall off statistical cliffs for no apparent reason. Which brings us to the strange, sad case of Jimmy Rollins and His Missing Bat. According to Fregosi's theory, either the slumping Phils shortstop will have an ..."