Re: An American View of Cricket (longish)

Richard R. Hershberger <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> I missed that you did stated that the Yankees were the best team
> in the AL.  Sorry about that.  So let's change the question
> slightly: which was the better team last season:  the Blue Jays
> or the Devil Rays?  As you have stated your criteria, this is an
> unanswerable question, as neither went to the playoffs.

It's only answerable if you qualify "best."  As in which team had
the best record.

> And what you can't grasp is that, however splendid your definition
> might be, it is not how "better team" and "worse team" are commonly
> understood. 

Perhaps you mean commonly _misunderstood_.

> The vast majority of fans would have no problem answering the
> question I posed above about the Blue Jays and the Devils Rays:
> they would look that the teams' respective win/loss records and
> that would be that.  I really don't care if you want to use your
> own definition, but to pretend that this is the only definition
> is to actively work against actual communication.

Not at all.  We would never argue that the Devil Rays had a better
record.  But having a better record only means that you were better
more often than the other team.  It does not follow that you were
absolutely better at playing baseball.  The leap in logic cannot be
justified and just because many people make that mistake in logic
does not make the mistake justifiable.

> You might, by the way, contemplate the concept of "necessary
> definition" and why it is meaningless.

Har.  We have been making "by definition" arguments in this ng for
over 10 years now.

> While in a contemplative mood, you might consider ashcanning your
> use of the royal "we".  It is a literary affectation which shouts
> "I am an ass!"

That's just about as relevant as all the rest of your arguments.

You've been whipped, son.  We don't expect to hear much more out of
you.

cordially, as always,

rm