Category Archives: Baseball

WHY IS THE AMERICAN LEAGUE SO MUCH BETTER?

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Philip

WHY IS THE AMERICAN LEAGUE SO MUCH BETTER? Back in the day, American League fans and National League fans used to enjoy arguing about which league was better. The only bases for comparison were the World Series and the All-Star … Continue reading →

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A NEW EMPHASIS ON DEFENSE?

Posted on March 10, 2010 by Philip

A NEW EMPHASIS ON DEFENSE? I look at the Baseball Musings blog more than any other baseball blog. The blog reported recently on a conference at MIT on sports analytics which featured some very impressive speakers. The session described here … Continue reading →

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THE SEATTLE MARINERS DEFENSE.

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Philip

THE SEATTLE MARINERS DEFENSE. Last year I posted here in early March on “The Importance of Mario Scutaro.” I pointed out how good the Toronto Blue Jay defense had been in 2008 and highlighted Mario Scutaro, their shortstop, who was … Continue reading →

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A MONEYBALL TRADE IN RETROSPECT.

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Philip

A MONEYBALL TRADE IN RETROSPECT. Michael Lewis is a wonderful storyteller. One of the stories he tells in MONEYBALL is how Billy Beane hornswoggled Kenny Williams of the White Sox into a trade in which Beane got relief pitcher Chad … Continue reading →

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PICKING BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO HAVE A “GOOD FACE.”

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Philip

PICKING BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO HAVE A “GOOD FACE.” MONEYBALL, Michael Lewis’s book about how Billy Beane of the Oakland Athletics had applied sabermetrics principles to baseball, was published in 2003, so that there is now some perspective about the predictions … Continue reading →

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TYRUS THOMAS—DEFENSE VERSUS OFFENSE.

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Philip

TYRUS THOMAS—DEFENSE VERSUS OFFENSE. I am a lifelong Bulls fan. I can’t hold back from going out on a limb about their trading Tyrus Thomas. In any sport, it’s unusual to see a player with extraordinary physical talent being traded … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Sports | 2 Comments

SABERMETRICS COMES TO SOCCER.

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Philip

SABERMETRICS COMES TO SOCCER. I have posted several times, including here, about how statistical analysis has changed how we look at baseball (People who study this are called sabermatricians; Bill James pioneered the study; MONEYBALL by Michael Lewis was a … Continue reading →

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AN ARGUMENT FOR MAKING REFEREE REVIEWS PUBLIC IN SOCCER.

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Philip

AN ARGUMENT FOR MAKING REFEREE REVIEWS PUBLIC IN SOCCER. I have posted several times that referee reviews in baseball, basketball and football should be made public. Some of my arguments were that referee mistakes are part of the narrative of … Continue reading →

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PREDICTION IS HARD.

Posted on November 12, 2009 by Philip

PREDICTION IS HARD. About a year ago, I posted here about FiveThirtyEight, a political website which extends sabermetric statistical analysis (that is, statistical analysis of baseball) to politics. The moving spirit of FiveThirtyEight is Nate Silver, whose PECOTA system is … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Politics, Sports | 2 Comments

INSTANT REPLAY IMMEDIATELY (COMMENT).

Posted on November 1, 2009 by Philip

INSTANT REPLAY IMMEDIATELY (COMMENT). I posted here on Jonah Keri’s suggestion that baseball get rid of all its umpires. Dylan commented on October 20 that baseball should have instant replay for calls other than balls and strikes. This column on … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Sports | 4 Comments