Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Rick Sutcliffe Reviews Offseason Transactions

Posted by Scott Lewis under General on Nov 19, 2012

It was my intention to keep a running diary of offseason transactions, with a smattering of analysis to boot. This was before it occurred to me that our readers would be more likely to enjoy reading the thoughts of one of baseball’s greatest minds, rather than the meandering insights from one of the internet’s most prominent self-professed insiders. Enter Rick Sutcliffe.

Rick Sutcliffe would not return my calls or emails (Ed note: I did not attempt to call or email Rick Sutcliffe), so I opted to publish what I believe would be the Red Baron’s thoughts on several of the transactions that have taken place so far. Countless hours of research and linguistic analysis went into this blog post.

Blue Jays sign Maicer Izturis: “One of these producer guys here was telling me that Maicer Izturis puts nearly half the balls he makes contact with on the ground. He’s talking like it’s some kinda negative part of his game. What I see is a guy willing to make a productive out. Just too many guys today are trying to put the ball up the middle and find holes. Why worry about that when you just need to move the runner over?”

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Report: Rangers Unwilling to Offer Hamilton More Than Three Years

Posted by Scott Lewis under General, Josh Hamilton on Nov 09, 2012

As if it wasn’t all but certain that Josh Hamilton would be sporting a new uniform next season, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Texas Rangers will not offer the free agent outfielder a deal that exceeds three years. Citing an unnamed “high-ranking team official”, Nightengale alludes to a Rangers future that does not include Hamilton in the picture.

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The 2012 Gold Gloves: Who Should Of Won

Posted by Archi Zuber under General on Oct 30, 2012

Should of been Trout

In what was easily one of the most convoluted and least organized awards presentations I’ve ever had the pleasure of following, the MLB announced the recipients for the 2012 Gold Glove Awards on ESPN2 and (for those without access to ‘the deuce’) a live twitter feed that included any and all mentions of the words ‘Gold Glove’.

Here is your list of winners, and because I had to sift through the dreck of a live twitter feed to find any useful information, I have provided an in-depth look at the biggest snubs and insight about who ‘should of’ won.
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Another Special Thing About the 2012 San Francisco Giants

Posted by Wendy Thurm under General, Postseason, San Francisco Giants on Oct 27, 2012

I was a guest on a San Francisco Giants-themed podcast on Tuesday, the night before Game 1 of the World Series. Danny and Thomas, the fine hosts of Two Guys, A Glove & A Coke Bottle, asked me if I’d noticed that the Giants had only faced right-handed starting pitchers through the National League Division Series against the Reds, and the National League Championship Series against the Cardinals, and would only face right-handed starting pitchers in the World Series against the Tigers. “Hmmm,” I said. “I hadn’t noticed that,” or words to that effect.

I was deliriously tired after the podcast, as I’d attended Games 6 and 7 of the NLCS at AT&T Park, and spent my other waking hours since Sunday writing about the Giants and baseball. I know, tough life. I’m not complaining, just explaining why I didn’t immediately do any follow-up research on the Giants’ postseason-streak of facing only right-handed starters.

Yesterday, my friend Anna, the lovely and talented @SFBleacherGirl, wondered aloud on Twitter whether any team other than the Giants had faced only right-handed starters throughout the postseason. “Oh,” I said in my empty home office, “I meant to look at that after the podcast.” “Thanks Anna,” I tweeted back, “I’m going to write a post about that!”

So here we are.

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A-Rod And Declining Stars On The Big Stage

Posted by Wendy Thurm under Alex Rodriguez, General, New York Yankees on Oct 17, 2012

Perhaps it was inevitable. A once-in-a-generation player. A player so talented, so fluid, so powerful, so fast, so agile. A player in his nineteenth big-league season. A player saddled with injuries and questions about his health and his toughness.

Baseball’s highest-paid player struggling on the biggest stage. In the biggest city. For the most successful team in the history of the sport. In an age of immediate information and instant analysis and second-guessing. The manager fills out his lineup card and the focus shifts to the missing name. A-Rod benched. In the biggest, most important game of the season.

The Yankees lost last night in Game Three of the American League Championship Series with A-Rod on the bench. He didn’t start, replaced at third base by Eric Chavez. He didn’t pinch hit. He sat, with his Yankees windbreaker jacket keeping him warm on a cool Detroit night.

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MLB Playoff Teams as Bands

Posted by Scott Lewis under General on Oct 05, 2012

The 2012 Major League Baseball Playoffs will began later today with the inaugural Wild Card play-in games. In celebration of the second season beginning, we offer up some hard hitting analysis. No, there will be no mention of WAR, SIERA or WPA here. We will compare all ten playoff teams to bands with little to no method whatsoever.

The Washington Nationals are Fugazi

Never mind the geographical connection here, it’s all about the provenance. The Washington Nationals (Fugazi) will be the team remembered for its successes, but everyone knows that the Montreal Expos (Minor Threat) will always be far more influential.

The Cincinnati Reds are The Kinks

No matter how many games they win, the Cincinnati Reds are never going to garner the same level of respect as their peers. In reality, they’re arguably the best of the bunch.

The New York Yankees are U2

Both are aging and their best years are behind them. The face of U2 masks his age and deflects criticism with oversized sunglasses and by uniting big businesses and government leaders the world over in humanitarian efforts. The captain of the Yankees masks his age with B-list celebrity girlfriends and the gift baskets he hands them on the way out the door.

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Making WAR Work for MVPs

Posted by Drew Fairservice under General on Oct 02, 2012

Not everyone like Wins Above Replacement as a statistic. It is not without its flaws, like anything. Consider me among the crowd who believe it, warts and all, comes as advertised. Russell Carlton of Baseball Prospectus did a fine job breaking down their in-house Wins stat (WARP) today for those not mathematically inclined.

One challenge the more narrative-minded among us have with composite stats like WAR and WARP is the concept of all hits being created equal. That a hit is a hit is a hit, no matter when it occurs. Players cannot receive credit for driving in runners they did not place into scoring position in the first place is a stumbling block for many fans and writers. Somebody needs to come up in those spots and drive those runners home. Scoring runs, after all, is the point of the game.

Enter Win Probability Added. WPA doesn’t care how or how many. WPA simply tells us who increased their team’s chances of winning the most. The context of the situation does matter. A walkoff grand slam does more to alter the outcome of a game than a lonely solo shot in a blow out and WPA accounts for that.

What if we used WPA instead of Batting Runs to calculate WAR? Shouldn’t the ability to deliver, over and over, when the team needs it most be reflected in a player’s value?

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