Proceeds from the ads below will be donated to the
Bob Wuesthoff scholarship fund.
Thursday, April 06, 2006 |
Pickoff Moves
Does Baseball Need A Salary Cap? And Why Billy Beane's Sh*t Don't Work In The Postseason
Here's a good excerpt from Baseball Prospectus's Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game is Wrong. It reminds me of an argument I had in spring training with some elder bozo who insisted that baseball had a salary cap; no, it has revenue sharing and a luxury tax, but teams can still spend as much as they want on player salaries.And here's another excerpt about Beane's stuff not working in the postseason.
After any number of permutations of the twenty-six variables in our database, we identified three factors that have the most fundamental and direct relationship with Playoff Success Points. These variables are as follows:Interestingly, of the clubs they investigate, the Angels had the
- Closer's performance
- Pitcher strikeout rate
- Defense
Tommy Lasorda Says His Key Word Is "Phony"
And it's a good thing, because it's something he's deeply familiar with:Some guy named Barry Bonds, among the slew of this generation's artificially inflated sluggers. "Oh, gosh. When you stop and think what these guys have done and what this stuff has done for them, it's amazing, and if you're a pitcher, you have to be upset," said Lasorda, trying to keep his 79-year-old head from exploding while sliding next to the columnist. Then, with arms flailing and voice rising, Lasorda added, "People say to me, 'Well, they still have to hit the ball.' No doubt about that, but those fly balls that were on the warning track are now flying into the seats, and that's the difference. It's just not right."Via BTF.
Minor League Notes
- The Salt Lake Trib has a welcome-to-the-new-season piece up about the Bees, including Dallas McPherson, who seems to have learned about what to say and not say:
"I feel pretty good," McPherson said, adding that he's trying not to look ahead too far. "I'm just trying to build up more strength, and just trying to get better. I'm here trying to help Salt Lake win games."
- BTF has a list of minor league matchups for opening day, today for most clubs. Chad Billingsley opens the season for the 51's, who play Giants affiliate Fresno at Las Vegas. Dan Davidson takes the mound for the Travs, who play at Springfield.
- Jon passes on this (lame, non-baseball-related) interview with Las Vegas hitting instructor and former Dodger catcher Steve Yeager.
- Still no progress on the crawler, and I'm going to the Ahmanson tonight, so I'll probably be late with the Minor League Scorebook posts. Sorry, guys.
- Update: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has their preseason preview up, too, which spends most of its time in an interview with starting pitcher Dan Davidson. Davidson had a 2.84 ERA in three appearances and one start, with a 0-1 record in spring training, not bad for a 24-year-old who's about to repeat AA.
Wow, The Chron Thinks I'm Worth Reading?
That's funny, but what's funnier is that they don't mention Jon when looking for Dodger blogs. Nutty.More Of Derek Lowe's Dirty Laundry
There are times even I get disgusted with the media's willingness to hand out somebody's soiled underwear, but this is the Boston press, after all.
Comments:
I notice you didn't mention the clutch hitting excerpt. And in there, they list Darin Erstad as the 19th best clutch hitter (career) over the last 35 years.
Seems that Tommy Lasagna is unaware that pitchers are (were) perfectly capable of juicing up themselves so that they could turn their eminently hittable 88 m.p.h. "fastballs" into true 94 m.ph. heaters that could blow past the Barroids of the world.
# posted by 
: 4/06/2006 10:56:00 AM
: 4/06/2006 10:56:00 AM
and if you're a pitcher, you have to be upset
Matthew beat me to it, but I was going to say, this assumes that the pitcher wasn't also juicing. Not an assumption I'm willing to make, seeing as how a couple of pitchers were among the first suspended.
Matthew beat me to it, but I was going to say, this assumes that the pitcher wasn't also juicing. Not an assumption I'm willing to make, seeing as how a couple of pitchers were among the first suspended.
I thought you might find this interesting:
Mets' new stadium reminiscent of Ebbets Field
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2399327
NEW YORK -- New York Mets officials stirred up the past on Thursday when they unveiled a stadium design reminiscent of Ebbets Field, the storied home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
One day after the City Council approved several key aspects of an $800 million stadium for the Yankees, Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Mets owner Fred Wilpon announced plans at Shea Stadium for a new Mets home to be built in the parking lot of the existing ballpark.
Wilpon, a Brooklyn native, has long desired a new home for his team that evokes memories of the glory days of the Dodgers, who moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Eight years ago, Wilpon unveiled a design for an Ebbets Field-type ballpark for the Mets, but it wasn't until last summer that city officials and the team agreed on a plan to replace Shea Stadium.
"This is a historic and rather emotional occasion," Wilpon said as he recalled visiting Ebbets Field with his father as a young boy. He said predicted the new facility would be a "world class ballpark that, through its unique design, links the past and the future."
Although the planned stadium still requires regulatory approval, Mets officials hope to put their team on a new field by 2009 -- the same year the Yankees expect to be playing in a new home in the Bronx.
The new ballpark in Queens will have a capacity of 45,000, down from the current 57,333. The seats will be a little wider and provide more leg room. Also, there will be more luxury suites, rest rooms and restaurants.
The Mets are paying $550 million for the stadium and the city is expected to kick in $90 million in capital funds, officials said. The state will provide $75 million for infrastructure improvements around the stadium.
Mets' new stadium reminiscent of Ebbets Field
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2399327
NEW YORK -- New York Mets officials stirred up the past on Thursday when they unveiled a stadium design reminiscent of Ebbets Field, the storied home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
One day after the City Council approved several key aspects of an $800 million stadium for the Yankees, Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Mets owner Fred Wilpon announced plans at Shea Stadium for a new Mets home to be built in the parking lot of the existing ballpark.
Wilpon, a Brooklyn native, has long desired a new home for his team that evokes memories of the glory days of the Dodgers, who moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Eight years ago, Wilpon unveiled a design for an Ebbets Field-type ballpark for the Mets, but it wasn't until last summer that city officials and the team agreed on a plan to replace Shea Stadium.
"This is a historic and rather emotional occasion," Wilpon said as he recalled visiting Ebbets Field with his father as a young boy. He said predicted the new facility would be a "world class ballpark that, through its unique design, links the past and the future."
Although the planned stadium still requires regulatory approval, Mets officials hope to put their team on a new field by 2009 -- the same year the Yankees expect to be playing in a new home in the Bronx.
The new ballpark in Queens will have a capacity of 45,000, down from the current 57,333. The seats will be a little wider and provide more leg room. Also, there will be more luxury suites, rest rooms and restaurants.
The Mets are paying $550 million for the stadium and the city is expected to kick in $90 million in capital funds, officials said. The state will provide $75 million for infrastructure improvements around the stadium.
# posted by : 4/06/2006 03:51:00 PM
: 4/06/2006 03:51:00 PM
Also, I think you got the strikeout rate thing wrong (that the Angels had the highest). I read it as them having the 106th highest pitcher strikeout rate out of 180 playoff teams, or the lowest strikeout rate among the top 10 when avergaing the three metrics (closer, defense, and pitcher strikeout rate). It shows how historically good their team defense was that year (5th out of 180 playoff teams and best of the top 10). Also, if their pitcher strikeout rate was equal to the next worst team's pitcher K-rate from the top ten (the 1979 Pirates at 70th), the Angels would have had a composite ranking of 33, which would have made them the 2nd best team all-time by that metric (the 1979 Orioles at 29.3 and lost to said Pirates would be the only one better). Since then, the Angels' pitcher K-rate has increased while the team defense has decreased.
Newer› ‹Older
 |
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.