Category Archives: Sports

COMPENSATORY ETHICS: “IN THIS WICKED WORLD….”

Posted on March 29, 2010 by Philip

COMPENSATORY ETHICS: “IN THIS WICKED WORLD….” A theory of compensatory ethics fits with the story I told here about the hotel detective who told Doc Kearns, the boxing manager, that he had just rolled a drunk and was wondering if … Continue reading →

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MAYBE THE OLDEST CONTINUOUS ROTISSERIE LEAGUE?

Posted on March 24, 2010 by Philip

MAYBE THE OLDEST CONTINUOUS ROTISSERIE LEAGUE? Nick pointed out that the original Rotisserie league may have ceased operation at some point. The article I linked to yesterday contains this quote from Daniel Okrent, the man who had the idea for … Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Sports | 6 Comments

FANTASY BASEBALL AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS.

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Philip

FANTASY BASEBALL AND THE FINANCIAL CRISIS. The Baseball Musings blog linked to this article by Les Leopold with the provocative headline “Play Ball! How Rotisserie League Baseball Crashed the World Economy.” (I take a special interest in Rotisserie league baseball … Continue reading →

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ARE SOME BATTERS BETTER AT FOULING OFF PITCHES?

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Philip

ARE SOME BATTERS BETTER AT FOULING OFF PITCHES? I don’t read enough about baseball, so perhaps this question has been addressed somewhere. How helpful is it for a batter to be able to foul off a two-strike pitch—to “spoil” the … Continue reading →

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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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SABERMETRICS AND BASKETBALL.

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Philip

SABERMETRICS AND BASKETBALL. The March 12 Wall Street Journal also had an article comparing NBA teams that have at least one employee whose only duty is statistical analysis and those who don’t. The 15 teams that use a full-time statistician … Continue reading →

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SABERMETRICS COMES TO GOLF.

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Philip

SABERMETRICS COMES TO GOLF. The Wall Street Journal (March 12) had an article on a new measurement for putting success of professional golfers devised at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. The statistic takes into account the relative difficulty of the … 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 →

Posted in Baseball, Sports | 2 Comments