Tango brings up an interesting point. Why show the number of RBI when a player comes to bat when there’s nobody on base? I’ve always wondered why they show the same damn thing each time the batter comes up, but he makes a better point. The stats they show when the batter comes to bat can be much improved. Here …
2011 MLB Draft: Day Two ***updated***
Rounds 2 through 30 will begin today at 11 am central. The best players still available according to Baseball America rankings include Josh Bell who was the 15th ranked draft prospect. From a talent basis, outfielder Josh Bell and lefthander Daniel Norris are both first-round talents. But their asking price ensured that they are the two highest-rated players left undrafted …
2011 MLB Draft: Day One
The MLB Draft begins at 6 pm central and is televised on MLB Network and probably on mlb.com as well. Baseball America’s final mock draft has the Cubs taking Bubba Starling. A few weeks ago I thought that absurd, but based on every scouting report I’ve read the Cubs would be lucky to get him. If you don’t have a …
Expand the Playoffs ASAP
Major League Baseball should add more playoff teams. Now. And they shouldn’t stop at just one more wild card team. They might as well add two and force one of the division winners to prove themselves with an extra postseason round. Bud Selig reiterated this week his belief that the playoff field would expand to ten teams as early as …
Evaluating the Braun Deal (UPDATED)
Today, Ryan Braun signed a 5 year extension to his current deal with the Brewers, which already ran to 2015. It covers the 2016-2020 seasons and there is a mutual option that could be worth up to $20 million for 2021, with a $4m buyout. My gut reaction is that it’s not a great deal for the Brewers, given his …
Bunting
Mercurial Outfielder hates the bunt. He absolutley hates it. He’s not alone. There are a lot of people who think it’s a dumb strategy and there are a lot of people that think that one run is so important that it’s always a good strategy. The answer is somewhere in between and that’s what The Book focused on for 50 …
I just checked and Barry Bonds is still the home run leader
As you all know by now, Barry Bonds was convicted two days ago for hitting too many home runs. It’s a serious offense in modern America. Punishment has not yet been handed down and no precedent exists. It’s believed Bonds will be get a spanking for each of the 13 home runs he hit above Babe Ruth. There’s still much …
The Stats We Use: Baserunning
Believe it or not, baserunning is a relatively simple aspect of the game to quantify. If you think for a moment about the possibilities in baserunning, there aren’t really that many of them. There are several of course, but it’s not as many as you may think. For example, a runner on 1st when a single is hit can move …
The Stats We Use: FIP
Evaluating pitchers is tough. Most of the traditonal batting stats are based on discrete, context-free events that mostly have to do with the offensive player’s skill – Home Runs, hits, stolen bases, batting eye, etc. There are still stats like RBI and R that depend on the players around the batter, but generally the quick and dirty thing that were …
NL Central Questions & Answers: Pittsburgh Pirates
This is our final NL Central Questions & Answers and this time Pat Lackey from Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke answers our questions. Obstruced View: Neal Huntington – yea or nay? WHYGAVS: I think Huntington's done a pretty good job thus far for the Pirates; far better than his two predecessors at the very least. The Pirates last …