Outside the Box
Keeping track of Baseball-Reference.com and the stathead world / RSS/Atom FeedWednesday, February 28
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Shawn Green doesn't care how much others earn
Of course, I don't know if Shawn Green is the right person to ask about making more money. He was paid $14m for being the 13th best right-fielder in the major leagues last year according to xWins, and yes that is park adjusted. To be honest, it looks to me that the writer was more interested in making the distinction than Green was.
Of course, I don't know if Shawn Green is the right person to ask about making more money. He was paid $14m for being the 13th best right-fielder in the major leagues last year according to xWins, and yes that is park adjusted. To be honest, it looks to me that the writer was more interested in making the distinction than Green was.
Crisis at the Corner
Holy Cow! Why hasn't this been a top story of spring training? Derek Jeter takes a few days off and it is all over the papers.
Adrian Beltre has a leaking wound from an appendectomy. He can't eat, has lost 20 pounds, and needs an IV every night. He hasn't had solid food for 50 days! And has to wear an "abdominal bag".
And I read about it while looking for more Sheffield articles. I knew he had had surgery, but I didn't imagine it was quite this dire.
I'm surprised the teams don't have medivac insurance for their Latin players. They could fairly easily fly them out to Miami at a moment's notice.
Holy Cow! Why hasn't this been a top story of spring training? Derek Jeter takes a few days off and it is all over the papers.
Adrian Beltre has a leaking wound from an appendectomy. He can't eat, has lost 20 pounds, and needs an IV every night. He hasn't had solid food for 50 days! And has to wear an "abdominal bag".
And I read about it while looking for more Sheffield articles. I knew he had had surgery, but I didn't imagine it was quite this dire.
I'm surprised the teams don't have medivac insurance for their Latin players. They could fairly easily fly them out to Miami at a moment's notice.
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - The Inside Corner: Dodgers can live with Sheffield
Former Angels GM Bill Bavasi is writing a column, and it appeared here. It is pretty good, though we'll see about Marquis Grissom's ability to help the Dodgers. I think his comments on Sheffied were well thought out and I laughed at his comments about Sheffield's effort in left field.
Former Angels GM Bill Bavasi is writing a column, and it appeared here. It is pretty good, though we'll see about Marquis Grissom's ability to help the Dodgers. I think his comments on Sheffied were well thought out and I laughed at his comments about Sheffield's effort in left field.
Hank Aaron Statistics - Baseball-Reference
I've acquired some expanded biographical data (height, weight, place of birth, etc.) and I was playing around withhow to best present it.
I was also thinking that the links to other sites should appear higher up. Oftentimes, I find myself looking for a split and using baseball-reference's player links to get to the page and then jumping to ESPN from there. This would make it easier to do that.
I also am thinking about using page anchors listed in the heading area to allow folks to jump to lower in the page (batting, fielding, leaderboard, postseason, similar, comments), but there can be problems if the pages don't render quickly enough and interior links tend to confuse more than help.
Any improvements on how this data is presented?
I've acquired some expanded biographical data (height, weight, place of birth, etc.) and I was playing around withhow to best present it.
I was also thinking that the links to other sites should appear higher up. Oftentimes, I find myself looking for a split and using baseball-reference's player links to get to the page and then jumping to ESPN from there. This would make it easier to do that.
I also am thinking about using page anchors listed in the heading area to allow folks to jump to lower in the page (batting, fielding, leaderboard, postseason, similar, comments), but there can be problems if the pages don't render quickly enough and interior links tend to confuse more than help.
Any improvements on how this data is presented?
ESPN.com - MLB Message Boards
Welcome to Outside the Box, society page for the sabermetric set. Apparently, Rob's fans on his message board at ESPN have been peppering the editors at ESPN with questions regarding their resident sabermetrician.
Speaking of society page, it's pretty much a done deal that I'll be going to the SABR convention in Milwaukee this July. (Unless I don't finish my dissertation at which point I'll be locked in the apartment all summer.) I don't know how many readers here are SABR members or live in Milwaukee, but something we might want to look into is getting together at a Brew Pub or something, some night and have dinner and watch some games. It's early on now, but something to think about.
Welcome to Outside the Box, society page for the sabermetric set. Apparently, Rob's fans on his message board at ESPN have been peppering the editors at ESPN with questions regarding their resident sabermetrician.
Speaking of society page, it's pretty much a done deal that I'll be going to the SABR convention in Milwaukee this July. (Unless I don't finish my dissertation at which point I'll be locked in the apartment all summer.) I don't know how many readers here are SABR members or live in Milwaukee, but something we might want to look into is getting together at a Brew Pub or something, some night and have dinner and watch some games. It's early on now, but something to think about.
Mark Scapicchio's BASEBLOG
Look! Another baseball weblog. By the end of the summer there will likely be 20-50 of these things being produced. You can get your own at blogger.com.
Look! Another baseball weblog. By the end of the summer there will likely be 20-50 of these things being produced. You can get your own at blogger.com.
Tuesday, February 27
Works of Bill James
I don't know if there are any Bill James fans who read this, but you might find this interesting. It is a complete rundown of every article that the Shakespeare of Sabermetrics ever wrote. Self published, abstracts, magazines, the who nine innings.
I don't know if there are any Bill James fans who read this, but you might find this interesting. It is a complete rundown of every article that the Shakespeare of Sabermetrics ever wrote. Self published, abstracts, magazines, the who nine innings.
February 26, 2001 - The Week In Quotes
Good quotes in this weeks BP week in quotes. Some of them are so ironic it's just laughable.
Good quotes in this weeks BP week in quotes. Some of them are so ironic it's just laughable.
VHOF: The rec.sport.baseball Virtual Hall of Fame (big page)
While I was away from rsbb, they completed the Virtual Hall of Fame election. Essentially, a group on rec.sport.baseball went back through history and held elections for each year. They've been at it a long time and now have 80 inductees.
While I was away from rsbb, they completed the Virtual Hall of Fame election. Essentially, a group on rec.sport.baseball went back through history and held elections for each year. They've been at it a long time and now have 80 inductees.
Monday, February 26
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Manager has a little fun with trade rumors
This sounds a touch bush to me, but I don't belong in an MLB clubhouse, so I don't know what sort of crazy things go on there. It is interesting to note that Sheffield can block trades to half the MLB teams and KC is not on his no-trade list. It appears that the listed all the contenders thinking that a non-contender would never take on his salary.
The Phillies could be all over this. It's too bad they dumped Estalella because putting Sheffield in left, Burrell at first and trading Lieberthal and Lee for Sheffield might get it done. As they stand right now, they don't have what it takes to get a deal like that done.
This sounds a touch bush to me, but I don't belong in an MLB clubhouse, so I don't know what sort of crazy things go on there. It is interesting to note that Sheffield can block trades to half the MLB teams and KC is not on his no-trade list. It appears that the listed all the contenders thinking that a non-contender would never take on his salary.
The Phillies could be all over this. It's too bad they dumped Estalella because putting Sheffield in left, Burrell at first and trading Lieberthal and Lee for Sheffield might get it done. As they stand right now, they don't have what it takes to get a deal like that done.
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Dodgers swap White for Brewers' Grissom
Brewers fans should be happy that they are out from under Marquis Grissom's contract for 2002, but Devon White is still going to make a bunch of money next summer. If Devo could actually hit right handers this might turn out to be a decent pseudo-platoon with Jeffrey Hammonds, but as it is he'll probably get 250-300 at bats filling in all over.
As for the minor leaguer, the Brewer have so little minor league talent that the chances of the Dodgers getting someone worthwhile are pretty slim.
Brewers fans should be happy that they are out from under Marquis Grissom's contract for 2002, but Devon White is still going to make a bunch of money next summer. If Devo could actually hit right handers this might turn out to be a decent pseudo-platoon with Jeffrey Hammonds, but as it is he'll probably get 250-300 at bats filling in all over.
As for the minor leaguer, the Brewer have so little minor league talent that the chances of the Dodgers getting someone worthwhile are pretty slim.
Friday, February 23
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Thomas skips practice again
In cases like this, the players should be giving to their agents and not to their teams. They shouldn't expect the teams to take the risk of a long-term deal and then refuse to honor said deal. Teams need to play some hardball with these guys or it could get ugly. Of course, as much as they have made in previous years, they could probably sit out the whole year and not miss much. Except in Thomas's case, that might cost him a spot in the Hall of Fame.
In cases like this, the players should be giving to their agents and not to their teams. They shouldn't expect the teams to take the risk of a long-term deal and then refuse to honor said deal. Teams need to play some hardball with these guys or it could get ugly. Of course, as much as they have made in previous years, they could probably sit out the whole year and not miss much. Except in Thomas's case, that might cost him a spot in the Hall of Fame.
Outside the Box - What makes a good baseball website
"Vic" asked me what makes a good baseball website. Since I have the bully pulpit, here is my response.
My opinion is that simpler is better. I feel a site is much better off worrying about the service rather than the look of the site. For instance, I am constantly amazed at the utility of Yahoo. I use myYahoo and I can't imagine not using it more. Yahoo's graphic design is almost absurdly simplistic, but they understand that people are there to look at their services and not their design. I'm a pretty big baseball stats nut, so for this site I was worried most about how I wanted to use a site. I also tried not to constrict users in any way. The web is inherently non-linear, so lots and lots of links allow users to achieve a "Flow". I've also found that stating the obvious is important even when it appears obvious.
Testing is vitally important. I test my relatives on this site. I see how they look for things and whether they can find it or not. I know this site so well, that it is impossible for me to realize when something is clear or unclear.
As this page indicates, user feedback is important. My new site will have comments on every article.
Some of my sites haven't worked as well as I've expected, IowaFarmReport.com and theHILL are the two main ones. At IFR, I wanted user input on minor league players. I had envisioned a batallion of citizen scouts filing reports from games they saw. It just didn't happen. I think the main reason is that people saw no benefit to themselves for doing so. I'm not sure how to change that fact. With theHILL I think the information is just a little too esoteric for most people. Retrosheet is a great organization, but it's information is too specialized for all but a fractional percent of baseball fans.
For other sites, I would recommend concentrating on whatever service you provide. A link encouraging user input should be on nearly every page on the site. Users have great ideas and if they feel their feedback is valued they can give you some great ideas and point out problems you might not have seen before.
For statistics, I think making the information as unfettered as possible is the only way to go. If you don't do that somebody will come along and try to make it more useful.
Books I would recommend include: Designing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen (his site useit.com is very helpful), Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing by Philip Greenspun, and the Cluetrain Manifesto. There are a lot of others that I've used, but these are the three best. Clickz.com has some good info as well.
"Vic" asked me what makes a good baseball website. Since I have the bully pulpit, here is my response.
My opinion is that simpler is better. I feel a site is much better off worrying about the service rather than the look of the site. For instance, I am constantly amazed at the utility of Yahoo. I use myYahoo and I can't imagine not using it more. Yahoo's graphic design is almost absurdly simplistic, but they understand that people are there to look at their services and not their design. I'm a pretty big baseball stats nut, so for this site I was worried most about how I wanted to use a site. I also tried not to constrict users in any way. The web is inherently non-linear, so lots and lots of links allow users to achieve a "Flow". I've also found that stating the obvious is important even when it appears obvious.
Testing is vitally important. I test my relatives on this site. I see how they look for things and whether they can find it or not. I know this site so well, that it is impossible for me to realize when something is clear or unclear.
As this page indicates, user feedback is important. My new site will have comments on every article.
Some of my sites haven't worked as well as I've expected, IowaFarmReport.com and theHILL are the two main ones. At IFR, I wanted user input on minor league players. I had envisioned a batallion of citizen scouts filing reports from games they saw. It just didn't happen. I think the main reason is that people saw no benefit to themselves for doing so. I'm not sure how to change that fact. With theHILL I think the information is just a little too esoteric for most people. Retrosheet is a great organization, but it's information is too specialized for all but a fractional percent of baseball fans.
For other sites, I would recommend concentrating on whatever service you provide. A link encouraging user input should be on nearly every page on the site. Users have great ideas and if they feel their feedback is valued they can give you some great ideas and point out problems you might not have seen before.
For statistics, I think making the information as unfettered as possible is the only way to go. If you don't do that somebody will come along and try to make it more useful.
Books I would recommend include: Designing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen (his site useit.com is very helpful), Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing by Philip Greenspun, and the Cluetrain Manifesto. There are a lot of others that I've used, but these are the three best. Clickz.com has some good info as well.
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Ten Arizona players agree to defer salary
Wow! This is big news in my opinion. I've never heard of a team asking for such wholesale concessions on salaries. The D'Backs must be in pretty dire straits to approach something like this. It is a bit touching (I guess) that the players went for this, but it also points out that the Rattlers may not be the best run team in the league.
Wow! This is big news in my opinion. I've never heard of a team asking for such wholesale concessions on salaries. The D'Backs must be in pretty dire straits to approach something like this. It is a bit touching (I guess) that the players went for this, but it also points out that the Rattlers may not be the best run team in the league.
Compare Two Players at Baseball-Reference.com
I've been playing around with this new tool for a bit to see what I can come up with. I had an interesting hit here. Roberto Clemente and Kirby Puckett. Their numbers track quite well, and if you want to see something eerie check out their 162 Game Avg. Lines. .318/.360/.477 to .317/.359/.475. I'd say that is within tolerances.
I've been playing around with this new tool for a bit to see what I can come up with. I had an interesting hit here. Roberto Clemente and Kirby Puckett. Their numbers track quite well, and if you want to see something eerie check out their 162 Game Avg. Lines. .318/.360/.477 to .317/.359/.475. I'd say that is within tolerances.
Compare Nomar and Donnie Baseball at Baseball-Reference.com
I've got the product similarity implemented that I describe below under tout wars. I use the same similarity algorithm that I've been using for the last few years for Iowa Farm Report. Note that it adjust everyone to a 600 PA season and then compares them from that baseline. There is a penalty as well for differences in at bats. I'll have to write it up better if I utilize it on this site or elsewhere.
Anyways, I ran it on Nomar's four full seasons and removed the positional adjustment and guess who came up as Nomar's best comp? That's right, Mattingly. If you match up their age 23-26 seasons they map really well. You just have to hope that Nomar's career doesn't flame out quite like Mattingly's did. Dimaggio and Mize are in his top ten as well.
With defense, Ron Santo is Nomar's #1. And the top ten are:
Santo
Ernie Banks,
Joe Gordon
Cal Ripken
Travis Jackson
Tony Lazzeri
Don Mattingly
Chipper Jones
Edgardo Alfonso
Derek Jeter
Right now, I'm only looking at the ages where Nomar had 200+ plate appearances, so if a player debuted at age 24, they had a pretty big penalty for the first year. If the player debuted prior to age 23 as Jeter did, then there isn't any penalty added and we still only compare Nomar's age 23-26 to Jeter's age 23-26. Jeter's age 22 is disregarded in generating these values. Is this the most illuminative way to do things? I don't know.
I've got the product similarity implemented that I describe below under tout wars. I use the same similarity algorithm that I've been using for the last few years for Iowa Farm Report. Note that it adjust everyone to a 600 PA season and then compares them from that baseline. There is a penalty as well for differences in at bats. I'll have to write it up better if I utilize it on this site or elsewhere.
Anyways, I ran it on Nomar's four full seasons and removed the positional adjustment and guess who came up as Nomar's best comp? That's right, Mattingly. If you match up their age 23-26 seasons they map really well. You just have to hope that Nomar's career doesn't flame out quite like Mattingly's did. Dimaggio and Mize are in his top ten as well.
With defense, Ron Santo is Nomar's #1. And the top ten are:
Santo
Ernie Banks,
Joe Gordon
Cal Ripken
Travis Jackson
Tony Lazzeri
Don Mattingly
Chipper Jones
Edgardo Alfonso
Derek Jeter
Right now, I'm only looking at the ages where Nomar had 200+ plate appearances, so if a player debuted at age 24, they had a pretty big penalty for the first year. If the player debuted prior to age 23 as Jeter did, then there isn't any penalty added and we still only compare Nomar's age 23-26 to Jeter's age 23-26. Jeter's age 22 is disregarded in generating these values. Is this the most illuminative way to do things? I don't know.
Thursday, February 22
TOUT WARS: Battle of the Experts
I couldn't find a good page for Mat Olkin, but here is one with some stuff he's done.
The reason I incude this is that we had an e-mail exchange. Mat suggested that we do a similarity score where we compare player's season by season and then come up with an overall score, so for instance, two players could have the same career values, but arrive at them the exact opposite way. One peaks early and one late. With current sim scores, these guys would have the same value.
I thought of a sneaky way to do it differently. Part of the problem with adding the year-by-year scores and dividing by the number of years is that players with matches of 1000, 700, 1000, 700, 1000, 700 are the same as 850, 850, 850, 850, 850, 850.
They are similar, but I would say the second match is a better one. Just my opinion. A way to differentiate between these is to divide each score by 1000, so it is between 0 and 1. Then multiply them. The first group would be .343 and the second would be .377. Now if players are the same for 20 years or 8 we would like the same value, so we then take the Nth root of the result and multiply by 1000. .343^(1/6) * 1000 = 837 and the other group comes out to 850 (how about that). The only question comes in how to handle guys where their careers don't align at the beginning, say Vlad Guerrero and Bobby Abreu. Abreu debuted at age 22 and Vlad age 20.
My thinking is that 500 will be the minimum score between two seasons, so we'll just give those seasons a score of 500, or we could just use the seasons that match up I guess. I think I like the former better.
I might try and code this up and see what happens for some well known players. It may be that the scores are so far off that nothing of interest happens. We'll see.
I couldn't find a good page for Mat Olkin, but here is one with some stuff he's done.
The reason I incude this is that we had an e-mail exchange. Mat suggested that we do a similarity score where we compare player's season by season and then come up with an overall score, so for instance, two players could have the same career values, but arrive at them the exact opposite way. One peaks early and one late. With current sim scores, these guys would have the same value.
I thought of a sneaky way to do it differently. Part of the problem with adding the year-by-year scores and dividing by the number of years is that players with matches of 1000, 700, 1000, 700, 1000, 700 are the same as 850, 850, 850, 850, 850, 850.
They are similar, but I would say the second match is a better one. Just my opinion. A way to differentiate between these is to divide each score by 1000, so it is between 0 and 1. Then multiply them. The first group would be .343 and the second would be .377. Now if players are the same for 20 years or 8 we would like the same value, so we then take the Nth root of the result and multiply by 1000. .343^(1/6) * 1000 = 837 and the other group comes out to 850 (how about that). The only question comes in how to handle guys where their careers don't align at the beginning, say Vlad Guerrero and Bobby Abreu. Abreu debuted at age 22 and Vlad age 20.
My thinking is that 500 will be the minimum score between two seasons, so we'll just give those seasons a score of 500, or we could just use the seasons that match up I guess. I think I like the former better.
I might try and code this up and see what happens for some well known players. It may be that the scores are so far off that nothing of interest happens. We'll see.
FOXSports.com
It doesn't feel like baseball weather here in Philly as we got about 5" of snow today.
Juan Gone is injured already. He is a very good player (probably too severely penalized by the sabermetric community), but he's become a bit fragile. This, however, is a freak thing.
I also wanted to say that foxsports.com's new design is 20x better than their old site. I may start visiting there more often. ESPN.com is so damn cluttered that I can hardly find anything there. Check out how nice the baseball front page looks.
It doesn't feel like baseball weather here in Philly as we got about 5" of snow today.
Juan Gone is injured already. He is a very good player (probably too severely penalized by the sabermetric community), but he's become a bit fragile. This, however, is a freak thing.
I also wanted to say that foxsports.com's new design is 20x better than their old site. I may start visiting there more often. ESPN.com is so damn cluttered that I can hardly find anything there. Check out how nice the baseball front page looks.
Wednesday, February 21
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Look who's in camp -- El Sid and Deion show up
Sid Fernandez always seemed to me to have left the game before his time, so I'll be pulling for him. I doubt he'll make it too long in training camp, but it would be a great story if he made the team. There are always guys like this, Jim Palmer, Dave Stieb, Steve Trout, etc., who want to come back, but never make it very far. Of course, Stieb pitched pretty well in the minor if I remember correctly.
The Steve Rain fiasco is just dumb. Chris Kahrl won't be pleased. I realize that he has a job to do and being an NRI he shouldn't flaunt the rules, but this is a bit asinine on the Royals part. Fine the guy if you have to, but releasing him before even puts on his jersey just tells me that you are petty, not disciplined.
If you are worried about him showing up on time, lie to him and tell him to be there at 8:00 not 10:00. That is what we have to to to get my wife's extended family anywhere on time.
Also, what I said above about pulling for El Sid does not apply to Deion Sanders.
Sid Fernandez always seemed to me to have left the game before his time, so I'll be pulling for him. I doubt he'll make it too long in training camp, but it would be a great story if he made the team. There are always guys like this, Jim Palmer, Dave Stieb, Steve Trout, etc., who want to come back, but never make it very far. Of course, Stieb pitched pretty well in the minor if I remember correctly.
The Steve Rain fiasco is just dumb. Chris Kahrl won't be pleased. I realize that he has a job to do and being an NRI he shouldn't flaunt the rules, but this is a bit asinine on the Royals part. Fine the guy if you have to, but releasing him before even puts on his jersey just tells me that you are petty, not disciplined.
If you are worried about him showing up on time, lie to him and tell him to be there at 8:00 not 10:00. That is what we have to to to get my wife's extended family anywhere on time.
Also, what I said above about pulling for El Sid does not apply to Deion Sanders.
Sheff's Surprise
This view of Sheffield's situation is far different from this view.
Saint or sinner? Certainly, somewhere in between.
This view of Sheffield's situation is far different from this view.
Saint or sinner? Certainly, somewhere in between.
Bob Buhl Statistics - Baseball-Reference
Bob Buhl died last Friday. He was a pitcher during the 50's and 60's with the Braves and later with the Cubs. He was a pretty good one at that. He won 166 games and posted a 3.55 ERA to a league average 3.66.
I'm almost thirty years old, so I wasn't even born when he pitched, but the similarity scores equate him with some pitchers we now consider good or very good but not great: Dave Stieb, Rick Sutcliffe, Dave Stewart, Bob Forsch and Rick Rhoden.
Buhl was awful at the plate with a .089/.129/.091 career line. He had 70 hitless at bats in 1962 and many other seasons with a sub .100 batting average.
Bob Buhl died last Friday. He was a pitcher during the 50's and 60's with the Braves and later with the Cubs. He was a pretty good one at that. He won 166 games and posted a 3.55 ERA to a league average 3.66.
I'm almost thirty years old, so I wasn't even born when he pitched, but the similarity scores equate him with some pitchers we now consider good or very good but not great: Dave Stieb, Rick Sutcliffe, Dave Stewart, Bob Forsch and Rick Rhoden.
Buhl was awful at the plate with a .089/.129/.091 career line. He had 70 hitless at bats in 1962 and many other seasons with a sub .100 batting average.
Tuesday, February 20
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Ankiel wild in spring workout
This is bad, bad news for Cardinals fans. If Mark Wohlers can get it figured out, I'm guessing Ankiel will, but the question is at what cost.
This is bad, bad news for Cardinals fans. If Mark Wohlers can get it figured out, I'm guessing Ankiel will, but the question is at what cost.
Outside the Box - Baseball-Reference.com
I've been twiddling with the new program that I'm working on and here is what I'm thinking. The blog will have a similar setup with few exceptions.
The new software creates new entry pages for all of the entries that I add to the page, so each Sheffield entry I did would have a new page. And these pages are in addition to the main page like what I have now. I have the option of including the reader comments on the main page or solely on the entry page.
I'm now thinking that placing the comments on another page is superior to how I have it now. It is a bit more organized. The main reason I liked this setup is that you could easily see if new comments were added, but the volume has grown that even this is hard to do. The new setup will state the number of comments and will sort them in reverse chronological order. It will also reduce instances of posts for other threads ending up on the wrong entry (A la Sheffield and Midsummer Classic ; -) ).
This isn't really set up to be a threaded discussion area, and the new setup will make discussion possible, but won't drown out my comments as is happening now.
Also, the pop-up form will be going away. I've tried implementing it with the new software and it is just too much of a hassle to get a pop up window, so there is a form on the discussion page where you will enter the comments. Also, the cookies remembering your e-mail and webpage will go away, so you'll have to re-enter that data each time. On the plus side, you will be able to preview comments and include some html tags into your comments, so pre-formatted text will now be possible (I think).
This is all a bit hypothetical now, but in a week it will become abundantly clear what I'm talking about.
Comments?
I've been twiddling with the new program that I'm working on and here is what I'm thinking. The blog will have a similar setup with few exceptions.
The new software creates new entry pages for all of the entries that I add to the page, so each Sheffield entry I did would have a new page. And these pages are in addition to the main page like what I have now. I have the option of including the reader comments on the main page or solely on the entry page.
I'm now thinking that placing the comments on another page is superior to how I have it now. It is a bit more organized. The main reason I liked this setup is that you could easily see if new comments were added, but the volume has grown that even this is hard to do. The new setup will state the number of comments and will sort them in reverse chronological order. It will also reduce instances of posts for other threads ending up on the wrong entry (A la Sheffield and Midsummer Classic ; -) ).
This isn't really set up to be a threaded discussion area, and the new setup will make discussion possible, but won't drown out my comments as is happening now.
Also, the pop-up form will be going away. I've tried implementing it with the new software and it is just too much of a hassle to get a pop up window, so there is a form on the discussion page where you will enter the comments. Also, the cookies remembering your e-mail and webpage will go away, so you'll have to re-enter that data each time. On the plus side, you will be able to preview comments and include some html tags into your comments, so pre-formatted text will now be possible (I think).
This is all a bit hypothetical now, but in a week it will become abundantly clear what I'm talking about.
Comments?
Monday, February 19
Amazon.com: buying info: The Midsummer Classic : The Complete History of Baseball's All-Star Game
A new book caught my eye. A complete look at the All-Star game by some of baseball's heavy hitters. SABR and Retrosheet are well represented by this group of authors.
A new book caught my eye. A complete look at the All-Star game by some of baseball's heavy hitters. SABR and Retrosheet are well represented by this group of authors.
Gary Sheffield Bibliography - The Baseball Index - The Baseball Online Library
I tried a couple of newspaper archives to find articles about Sheffield with little luck. However, the Baseball Index from SABR is online and it has 80 or more references to Gary Sheffield. I don't see any referring to racism or throwing games, but they might be in there.
I tried a couple of newspaper archives to find articles about Sheffield with little luck. However, the Baseball Index from SABR is online and it has 80 or more references to Gary Sheffield. I don't see any referring to racism or throwing games, but they might be in there.
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Mets turns down Sheffield trade proposal
It sounds like the Sheriff is getting a bit uppity, and may be teetering on the edge of delusion. This could also be part of the PR mill that the Mets are running. Remember their "insulting/negotiating strategy" with A-Rod. A more likely scenario is that Phillips either doesn't have the horses or doesn't want Sheffield and is covering his behind. Or he is throwing the Braves off the scent.
Also, the Boss is playing it close to the vest. I agree with this writer. Why would you want to replace Shane Spencer or Paul O'Neill with Gary Sheffield's bat. He has been putting up inflated numbers in hitter haven Chavez Ravine for the last two years.
I still think the Yanks are the most likely scenario, though let's hope that Malone asks for Jeter or Williams.
It sounds like the Sheriff is getting a bit uppity, and may be teetering on the edge of delusion. This could also be part of the PR mill that the Mets are running. Remember their "insulting/negotiating strategy" with A-Rod. A more likely scenario is that Phillips either doesn't have the horses or doesn't want Sheffield and is covering his behind. Or he is throwing the Braves off the scent.
Also, the Boss is playing it close to the vest. I agree with this writer. Why would you want to replace Shane Spencer or Paul O'Neill with Gary Sheffield's bat. He has been putting up inflated numbers in hitter haven Chavez Ravine for the last two years.
I still think the Yanks are the most likely scenario, though let's hope that Malone asks for Jeter or Williams.
NYPOST.COM Sports: AS USUAL, AMAZIN'S BRAVES ARE RIVALS By TOM KEEGAN
Couldn't find anything at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Here is a NY Post article predicting that the Mets and Braves will be the biggest bidders. The guy has a wicked bat, so bidding should be fierce. He is also dirt cheap in today's dollars.
Couldn't find anything at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Here is a NY Post article predicting that the Mets and Braves will be the biggest bidders. The guy has a wicked bat, so bidding should be fierce. He is also dirt cheap in today's dollars.
Sheffield Is Officially on the Block
Wow! This was out of the blue. Sheffield appears to have surpassed Rickey Henderson as the most disrespected player in major league baseball. I generally defend players when they sign big dollar contracts, but failing to stand by the contract you signed is bad news in my opinion.
Just how good would Sheffield look in LF for the Yankees? He'll be with the Yankees for not much. Probably Soriano and some worthless pitching prospects. Just you wait and see.
Wow! This was out of the blue. Sheffield appears to have surpassed Rickey Henderson as the most disrespected player in major league baseball. I generally defend players when they sign big dollar contracts, but failing to stand by the contract you signed is bad news in my opinion.
Just how good would Sheffield look in LF for the Yankees? He'll be with the Yankees for not much. Probably Soriano and some worthless pitching prospects. Just you wait and see.
TIME.com: Nation -- The White House Club House! Bush Entertains Baseball Greats
I don't think there is any question that President Bush will throw out a number of first pitches this year. Bush may enjoy baseball, but I don't believe he was nearly the player that his dad was. I don't think he played in high school. A bigger question is whether any of this will change how baseball operates.
(BTW, watch the political swipes. ;-) )
I don't think there is any question that President Bush will throw out a number of first pitches this year. Bush may enjoy baseball, but I don't believe he was nearly the player that his dad was. I don't think he played in high school. A bigger question is whether any of this will change how baseball operates.
(BTW, watch the political swipes. ;-) )
Greymatter - Weblog/Journal Software
I've found some new software that is going to be pretty slick. As some of you may know and most of you don't care, Blogger provides the software that runs this weblog. Well, they've basically gone out of business and are down to one employee. They still have some servers, but they don't seem to be in a real strong position. So I've been looking for a more local solution to the problem.
This program runs on my server and has a huge amount of customizable features. My new webzine (2 weeks) will have a weblog and this blog will be moving there as well, and this new software looks really sharp. All the pages are auto updated when a new entry is added and all the comments work similarly to before. The popup window will go away for the comments, but the rest of it should work OK. This will also allow us to delete inappropriate (lewd/crude/abusive) comments.
Blogger is definitely easier to use, but this is way more powerful and I was able to hack the source code to make updating the site even more useful. You'll know it when we switch over, and I think you'll enjoy the improvements. Or maybe best of all you won't even notice a difference.
I've found some new software that is going to be pretty slick. As some of you may know and most of you don't care, Blogger provides the software that runs this weblog. Well, they've basically gone out of business and are down to one employee. They still have some servers, but they don't seem to be in a real strong position. So I've been looking for a more local solution to the problem.
This program runs on my server and has a huge amount of customizable features. My new webzine (2 weeks) will have a weblog and this blog will be moving there as well, and this new software looks really sharp. All the pages are auto updated when a new entry is added and all the comments work similarly to before. The popup window will go away for the comments, but the rest of it should work OK. This will also allow us to delete inappropriate (lewd/crude/abusive) comments.
Blogger is definitely easier to use, but this is way more powerful and I was able to hack the source code to make updating the site even more useful. You'll know it when we switch over, and I think you'll enjoy the improvements. Or maybe best of all you won't even notice a difference.
ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - ESPN.com's Spring Training coverage
Nothing like a little spring training coverage to get you excited.
Nothing like a little spring training coverage to get you excited.
Sunday, February 18
Saturday, February 17
The Price Is Wrong by John Solomon
One of the readers pointed this out to me. I can't guarantee that I'll link or comment on everything I get sent, but I will try to take a look at it. Saturday mornings are generally e-mail clean up at the Forman household and this came this week.
All I can say about this is "Hear, Hear!" As a selfish baseball fan, I'm not sure all of this popularity is a good thing (as a writer and web designer it is). The more popular the sport is the more nuts like me have to pay for my tickets. If I could get a season ticket to the Phils for $800, I would probably do it, but due to the sport's popularity it is currently double that amount. Maybe all of the people complaining about the demise of the game just want cheaper tickets?
One of the readers pointed this out to me. I can't guarantee that I'll link or comment on everything I get sent, but I will try to take a look at it. Saturday mornings are generally e-mail clean up at the Forman household and this came this week.
All I can say about this is "Hear, Hear!" As a selfish baseball fan, I'm not sure all of this popularity is a good thing (as a writer and web designer it is). The more popular the sport is the more nuts like me have to pay for my tickets. If I could get a season ticket to the Phils for $800, I would probably do it, but due to the sport's popularity it is currently double that amount. Maybe all of the people complaining about the demise of the game just want cheaper tickets?
Friday, February 16
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Photo Gallery
Yahoo! has 24 pages of baseball images, probably 80% of them are spring training shots.
Yahoo! has 24 pages of baseball images, probably 80% of them are spring training shots.
Yahoo! Sports: MLB -
Not many golfers get into a better hitting position at the top of their backswing than this 3-year-old does. The front foot off the ground is a little unconventional, but he is coiled nicely against his right side and he looks ready to fire through to the left side. It also looks like a good start for a baseball swing as well.
Not many golfers get into a better hitting position at the top of their backswing than this 3-year-old does. The front foot off the ground is a little unconventional, but he is coiled nicely against his right side and he looks ready to fire through to the left side. It also looks like a good start for a baseball swing as well.
Thursday, February 15
UltraBoard 2000B
I don't in any way want to belittle the comments that I've gotten on this site. This isn't an effort to stifle any input at all. But I've been overwhelmed by the amount and level of discourse that my meager comments have caused. And while this isn't a bad thing, I haven't expected this level of involvement from other folks, though I've been very pleased by it.
I only want to see if we can come up with an even better format, and some folks have suggested a bulletin board setting. My Web Host has a bulletin board software, so I'm curious what people think about this idea and whether I should remove comments from this page and point everyone here, or whether I should just maintain the status quo, etc. Third ways?
I should also say that I'm working on a new site and this area will likely be moved en masse to that new site, though the feel will be very much the same. The same capabilities are possible there, so I'm wondering what people think. I know there are a lot of bboards out there already, so I don't really care to wade into it if no one is going to use it. One other thing this might be good for is for suggesting and asking things about the site and also for storing information that people request of me. Since it has a file sharing capability we might also be able to share data that way.
As always your insights are appreciated and will be considered.
I don't in any way want to belittle the comments that I've gotten on this site. This isn't an effort to stifle any input at all. But I've been overwhelmed by the amount and level of discourse that my meager comments have caused. And while this isn't a bad thing, I haven't expected this level of involvement from other folks, though I've been very pleased by it.
I only want to see if we can come up with an even better format, and some folks have suggested a bulletin board setting. My Web Host has a bulletin board software, so I'm curious what people think about this idea and whether I should remove comments from this page and point everyone here, or whether I should just maintain the status quo, etc. Third ways?
I should also say that I'm working on a new site and this area will likely be moved en masse to that new site, though the feel will be very much the same. The same capabilities are possible there, so I'm wondering what people think. I know there are a lot of bboards out there already, so I don't really care to wade into it if no one is going to use it. One other thing this might be good for is for suggesting and asking things about the site and also for storing information that people request of me. Since it has a file sharing capability we might also be able to share data that way.
As always your insights are appreciated and will be considered.
Amazon.com: buying info: Baseball Prospectus 2001 (Baseball Prospectus, 2001)
I just got my copy of Baseball Prospectus yesterday and no I am not anonymous from Philadelphia leaving a 3-star review. I'll probably write a review at some point when I can get through more of it.
First thing I read was the two PAP articles. To summarize, Rany Jazayerli admitted that there was no evidence that showed that PAP predicted anything at all. He and Keith Woolner then did a couple of studies and came up with PAP^3, which is (pitches - 100)^3 and stress = sum(PAP^3)/sum(pitches). I'll comment on their arguments in the near future and I'll look forward to hearing what people have to say. Note that any comments will not be a personal attack and will be as Rob Neyer suggested we needed--"peer review". I would also encourage Keith to put the data from the article on their website. Even just name, year, pitches, PAP^3 and GS would be very helpful to those interested in looking at his results.
I just got my copy of Baseball Prospectus yesterday and no I am not anonymous from Philadelphia leaving a 3-star review. I'll probably write a review at some point when I can get through more of it.
First thing I read was the two PAP articles. To summarize, Rany Jazayerli admitted that there was no evidence that showed that PAP predicted anything at all. He and Keith Woolner then did a couple of studies and came up with PAP^3, which is (pitches - 100)^3 and stress = sum(PAP^3)/sum(pitches). I'll comment on their arguments in the near future and I'll look forward to hearing what people have to say. Note that any comments will not be a personal attack and will be as Rob Neyer suggested we needed--"peer review". I would also encourage Keith to put the data from the article on their website. Even just name, year, pitches, PAP^3 and GS would be very helpful to those interested in looking at his results.
ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - Schilling: My thoughts on the game
Curt Schilling tells it as he sees it. He definitely has character (and I mean that in a non-moral way), and he could probalbly use an editor as well. I have no doubt that the players would be happy with the current status quo. They may even be willing to sell the amateurs down the river to keep it that way as well. I'm not so sure of the need for realignment. I think that hiring a couple of good Operations Research specialists to do the schedule might solve the problem as well.
Curt Schilling tells it as he sees it. He definitely has character (and I mean that in a non-moral way), and he could probalbly use an editor as well. I have no doubt that the players would be happy with the current status quo. They may even be willing to sell the amateurs down the river to keep it that way as well. I'm not so sure of the need for realignment. I think that hiring a couple of good Operations Research specialists to do the schedule might solve the problem as well.
ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - Ranking the closers
I won't take ESPN to much to task here as I don't think they mean this to be "in-depth, accurate" analysis. At least I hope no one takes it that way. I like Esteban Yan's inclusion on the list. He had a 6.21 ERA last year, and blew both of his save opportunities. I'll be more than a bit surprised if he closes games for the D'Rays this year. An interesting list would be Runs better than replacement and might actually tell us who was more valuable.
I won't take ESPN to much to task here as I don't think they mean this to be "in-depth, accurate" analysis. At least I hope no one takes it that way. I like Esteban Yan's inclusion on the list. He had a 6.21 ERA last year, and blew both of his save opportunities. I'll be more than a bit surprised if he closes games for the D'Rays this year. An interesting list would be Runs better than replacement and might actually tell us who was more valuable.
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Cardinals may consider move to suburbs
Hey, lookie here. Not only can the Cardinals play the city versus the suburbs, but they can also play Missouri vs. Illinois. Just for fun, we should write "A How to Exploit a New Stadium from your Fans (and others)" Guide for Major League Baseball. If such a guide doesn't already exist.
Hey, lookie here. Not only can the Cardinals play the city versus the suburbs, but they can also play Missouri vs. Illinois. Just for fun, we should write "A How to Exploit a New Stadium from your Fans (and others)" Guide for Major League Baseball. If such a guide doesn't already exist.
Tuesday, February 13
The 73rd Annual Academy Awards
I love movies, so indulge me a moment here. First off, it is disappointing that the Life and Times of Hank Greenberg didn't get a nod here as best documentary. It would have been nice to see a baseball movie do well. Now I'll digress to completely non-baseball topics.
Second, the fact that Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat didn't get nominations for best actor and best actress for their roles in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is disappointing. Their relationship is one of the most melancholy and subtle I've seen and the fact that they pull that off while demonstrating nearly super power fighting abilities makes them winners in my book. Their final scene together is about as touching a movie scene as you will ever see. The movie is in Chinese, so you have to get over that hurdle, but I really, really liked it and would recommend it.
I would be happy if Tiger or Traffic won best picture. They are far better than Gladiator in my mind. Del Toro was outstanding in Traffic, BTW.
I love movies, so indulge me a moment here. First off, it is disappointing that the Life and Times of Hank Greenberg didn't get a nod here as best documentary. It would have been nice to see a baseball movie do well. Now I'll digress to completely non-baseball topics.
Second, the fact that Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat didn't get nominations for best actor and best actress for their roles in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is disappointing. Their relationship is one of the most melancholy and subtle I've seen and the fact that they pull that off while demonstrating nearly super power fighting abilities makes them winners in my book. Their final scene together is about as touching a movie scene as you will ever see. The movie is in Chinese, so you have to get over that hurdle, but I really, really liked it and would recommend it.
I would be happy if Tiger or Traffic won best picture. They are far better than Gladiator in my mind. Del Toro was outstanding in Traffic, BTW.
ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - Rumblings and Grumblings
To Jayson Stark's credit this appears under "Useless Information". I shouldn't find it surprising, but I do, that this sort of "trivia" is trumpeted as valuable information, but things like the actual number of outs a player makes in the field is disregarded as a "phony stat". The idea behind real analysis is not to support people's preconceived notions, but to determine what is real. Perhaps Rey Sanchez and Neifi Perez don't have as much style as Derek Jeter or Omar Vizquel, but they are more effective.
Perhaps, writers have a problem understanding this. They are graded on how stylish their work is and they might feel that the same standard holds for player effectiveness. That is why they constantly bring up clutch hitting for flashy plays. Those things are entertaining. They sell papers and increase viewership. A more scientific approach is solely concerned with effectiveness and quantification. A stathead run team would be very boring to watch. Lots of walks, lots of solid defense. These two approaches are in direct contradiction with each other
Jeter on Opening Day 2001:
Age: 26 years, 9-plus months
Full seasons: 5
200-hit seasons: 3
Total hits: 1,008
Pete Rose on Opening Day 1968:
Age: 26 years, 11-plus months
Full seasons: 5
200-hit seasons: 2
Total hits: 899
To Jayson Stark's credit this appears under "Useless Information". I shouldn't find it surprising, but I do, that this sort of "trivia" is trumpeted as valuable information, but things like the actual number of outs a player makes in the field is disregarded as a "phony stat". The idea behind real analysis is not to support people's preconceived notions, but to determine what is real. Perhaps Rey Sanchez and Neifi Perez don't have as much style as Derek Jeter or Omar Vizquel, but they are more effective.
Perhaps, writers have a problem understanding this. They are graded on how stylish their work is and they might feel that the same standard holds for player effectiveness. That is why they constantly bring up clutch hitting for flashy plays. Those things are entertaining. They sell papers and increase viewership. A more scientific approach is solely concerned with effectiveness and quantification. A stathead run team would be very boring to watch. Lots of walks, lots of solid defense. These two approaches are in direct contradiction with each other
Florida Marlins News
A classy move by the Hall of Fame and the committee members. They are recognizing a Spanish-speaking announcer with the Ford Frick award this year. Ramirez works for the Marlins and has been the Spanish radio voice of the World Series for some time.
A classy move by the Hall of Fame and the committee members. They are recognizing a Spanish-speaking announcer with the Ford Frick award this year. Ramirez works for the Marlins and has been the Spanish radio voice of the World Series for some time.
Monday, February 12
ExposNET - What Might Have Been... (Part 1: Introduction/1994)
I'll add some comments here later, but this is worth looking at, since the Expos are the topic of the previous week.
I'll add some comments here later, but this is worth looking at, since the Expos are the topic of the previous week.
NBA.com: All-Star Weekend 2001
Once again, I am very thankful that there is no halftime in baseball. While the NBA All-Star game was not as in your face as the Super Bowl, it still was not very entertaining. The Harry Connick Jr. performance seemed a little out of place for a league that is more Rap than Jazz oriented no matter how much David Stern wants to deny that fact.
For intermission entertainment, you still can't beat the grounds crew in my mind.
Once again, I am very thankful that there is no halftime in baseball. While the NBA All-Star game was not as in your face as the Super Bowl, it still was not very entertaining. The Harry Connick Jr. performance seemed a little out of place for a league that is more Rap than Jazz oriented no matter how much David Stern wants to deny that fact.
For intermission entertainment, you still can't beat the grounds crew in my mind.
The Book Trader.com ... Search for Out of Print, Rare, Used, Antiquarian & Hard to find Books
I ventured down to South Street in Philly for a day of dining of shopping and dining on Saturday. Sylvia and I had a good time, though our friends weren't interested in getting any middle eastern food, so we had to settle for pizza.
I also was able to more thoroughly peruse the shelves at the Book Trader which is right around South and Fifth (By the way, the Tower Books down the street is going out of business and has some Total Baseball's 50% off).
I could have spent $150, but ended up with five books.
BARS: Baseball Analysis and Reporting System by Bill Welch. I had never seen this before, so I though I would give it a shot. It has some interesting data presentations and seems like a stab at a combination of scouting and sabermetrics, though more scouting.
How to get noticed by a Major League Scout by Vincent Pica. This is a little pamphlit with a discussion of what scouts are looking for in players and how to improve your skills.
Baseball and Billions by Andrew Zimbalist
STATS Scouting Notebook, just something I've never picked up and wanted to look at.
World Series by Neft and Cohen. Along with all my Baseball Guides, I now have play by play for all the World Series games.
As I said there were a lot of things that I could have bought, but didn't. They even had a 1998 BBBA, which shocked me.
It is the best used baseball section I've actually seen in person.
I ventured down to South Street in Philly for a day of dining of shopping and dining on Saturday. Sylvia and I had a good time, though our friends weren't interested in getting any middle eastern food, so we had to settle for pizza.
I also was able to more thoroughly peruse the shelves at the Book Trader which is right around South and Fifth (By the way, the Tower Books down the street is going out of business and has some Total Baseball's 50% off).
I could have spent $150, but ended up with five books.
BARS: Baseball Analysis and Reporting System by Bill Welch. I had never seen this before, so I though I would give it a shot. It has some interesting data presentations and seems like a stab at a combination of scouting and sabermetrics, though more scouting.
How to get noticed by a Major League Scout by Vincent Pica. This is a little pamphlit with a discussion of what scouts are looking for in players and how to improve your skills.
Baseball and Billions by Andrew Zimbalist
STATS Scouting Notebook, just something I've never picked up and wanted to look at.
World Series by Neft and Cohen. Along with all my Baseball Guides, I now have play by play for all the World Series games.
As I said there were a lot of things that I could have bought, but didn't. They even had a 1998 BBBA, which shocked me.
It is the best used baseball section I've actually seen in person.
Sunday, February 11
Three Rivers Stadium goes out with a bang
Text, video clips and other stuff from 3 Rivers being demolished. I sure hope Clemente Field, I mean PNC Park, will be done in time. ;-) Of course, with Terry Mulholland and Derek Bell on the field does it really matter?
Text, video clips and other stuff from 3 Rivers being demolished. I sure hope Clemente Field, I mean PNC Park, will be done in time. ;-) Of course, with Terry Mulholland and Derek Bell on the field does it really matter?
Saturday, February 10
Major League Baseball News: Arbitration Q & A with Ed Wade
I'll comment on the new mlb.com at a later point, but here is an article on arbitration. There is another one on waivers, but I wasn't able to find it.
I'll comment on the new mlb.com at a later point, but here is an article on arbitration. There is another one on waivers, but I wasn't able to find it.
Smizik: Fan has plan to save baseball
You read articles like this and you wonder if people can store more than five years worth of data. Yes the Yankees have won four of five World Series, but be sure to look at the ten years prior to that. The postseason was a very diverse collection of teams, and one dynasty does not change that.
From 1988-1992, the Oakland A's won 98 or more games four times and 486 total. From 1996-2000, the Yankees won 98 or more games three times and won 487 games total. Based solely on the regular season, the Oakland team was far better. They didn't have four new teams over the course their run and they made the postseason four times in a non-wildcard setting.
Did you hear any complaints about competitive imbalance back then. That the big A's were ruining things for everyone else. No you didn't. The Yankees have had the best postseason run of all time, but they are not some juggernaut of never before seen proportions. They are a very, very good short series team. In fact, over the last five years, Atlanta has won more games than the Yankees (501).
You read articles like this and you wonder if people can store more than five years worth of data. Yes the Yankees have won four of five World Series, but be sure to look at the ten years prior to that. The postseason was a very diverse collection of teams, and one dynasty does not change that.
From 1988-1992, the Oakland A's won 98 or more games four times and 486 total. From 1996-2000, the Yankees won 98 or more games three times and won 487 games total. Based solely on the regular season, the Oakland team was far better. They didn't have four new teams over the course their run and they made the postseason four times in a non-wildcard setting.
Did you hear any complaints about competitive imbalance back then. That the big A's were ruining things for everyone else. No you didn't. The Yankees have had the best postseason run of all time, but they are not some juggernaut of never before seen proportions. They are a very, very good short series team. In fact, over the last five years, Atlanta has won more games than the Yankees (501).
BaseballResearch.com
This website showed up in my referrer logs, so I thought, I would point it out. The creator of the site, Tom Timmerman, is an organizational psychologist and he has applied some of his training to baseball issues. More work in these areas could help quantify things like chemistry and clutch performance.
This website showed up in my referrer logs, so I thought, I would point it out. The creator of the site, Tom Timmerman, is an organizational psychologist and he has applied some of his training to baseball issues. More work in these areas could help quantify things like chemistry and clutch performance.
Thursday, February 8
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Finley finds fountain of youth in unlikely place
An interesting explanation for Steve Finley's surprising production. Between Finley and Dr. Mike Marshall, I know of two physiology majors who where major leaguers.
An interesting explanation for Steve Finley's surprising production. Between Finley and Dr. Mike Marshall, I know of two physiology majors who where major leaguers.
Wednesday, February 7
February 5, 2001 - The Daily Prospectus: So, Where Were We?
Joe Sheehan is back with his daily prospectus. His column is a bit weightier than my disparate ramblings here and definitely more structured. A good move would be to shoot it to your mailbox every morning.
Joe Sheehan is back with his daily prospectus. His column is a bit weightier than my disparate ramblings here and definitely more structured. A good move would be to shoot it to your mailbox every morning.
1992 Player Salaries - The Baseball Archive
I was fiddling around with the 1992 data to figure out how much Jeter will be making relative to the league max in 2010. In 2010 he'll be making ~$20m. The top salary (as far as I can tell) in 1992 was Bobby Bonilla's $6.1m. The max salary has increased 333% percent (roughly) since 1992, making the top salary in 2010 about $66m per year. Note that none of this is adjusted for inflation. So what will Jeter look like at age 36 and will it be worth $6.1m?
Well, if you believe that you can look at his similars and use them then it is a pretty ugly picture.
Vern Stephens, Joe Sewell, Travis Jackson (what a terrible HOF pick!), Harvey Kuenn, and Tony Lazzeri had all retired by age 36. At age 36, only Bill Dahlen (471) and Alan Trammell managed over 125 at bats. Fregosi (20), Joe Cronin (77) and Arky Vaughan (123) were all essentially done for their career.
Adjusting for era, Trammell seems like a pretty good match. Jeter appears more durable than Trammell. Like Jeter, Trammell had some MVP type seasons, but wasn't the best SS in his league. He even won a WS MVP in his age 26 season. What would Alan Trammell be worth knowing what you know of his career?
I was fiddling around with the 1992 data to figure out how much Jeter will be making relative to the league max in 2010. In 2010 he'll be making ~$20m. The top salary (as far as I can tell) in 1992 was Bobby Bonilla's $6.1m. The max salary has increased 333% percent (roughly) since 1992, making the top salary in 2010 about $66m per year. Note that none of this is adjusted for inflation. So what will Jeter look like at age 36 and will it be worth $6.1m?
Well, if you believe that you can look at his similars and use them then it is a pretty ugly picture.
Vern Stephens, Joe Sewell, Travis Jackson (what a terrible HOF pick!), Harvey Kuenn, and Tony Lazzeri had all retired by age 36. At age 36, only Bill Dahlen (471) and Alan Trammell managed over 125 at bats. Fregosi (20), Joe Cronin (77) and Arky Vaughan (123) were all essentially done for their career.
Adjusting for era, Trammell seems like a pretty good match. Jeter appears more durable than Trammell. Like Jeter, Trammell had some MVP type seasons, but wasn't the best SS in his league. He even won a WS MVP in his age 26 season. What would Alan Trammell be worth knowing what you know of his career?
ESPN.com - Major League Baseball - Rumblings and Grumblings
Bmark, you aren't the only one to notice this. I'm not going to belittle the play. It was a good play, but how often does this sort of thing come up in a season. How often does this skill translate into an out that another player doesn't make. Three? four? five? There were several times during the postseason where a ball went up the middle or into the hole and got through and I wondered, "Where was Jeter positioned that he didn't get to that ball?" Poor range is impossible to quantify other than through the numbers.
Look at Ozzie Smith. He averaged nearly an out per game more than the league. Now he didn't make a diving stop a game. He made a lot of them over the course of a season, but not one a game. He just reached more balls in more ways than anybody else. Jeter reaches fewer balls than most everyone else in the league. Some of that may be his staff, maybe some of it is Brosius (though Ozzie was still Ozzie with Terry Pendleton playing next to him), but Jeter just isn't a good defensive player. He looks good doing it, but the results are poor.
Now please do not misconstrue these statements. He is a fantastic player, very valuable and worth a lot of money. He is also a cash cow for the Yankees. I'm just curious to see if his Free Agency value will rise much above $189m for ten years. You can argue that his price has already risen from $115m for 7 years, but we don't know that. We only know what one team is willing to pay him. How high will the price go if he is a free agent next year? Will he pass A-Rod?
"That throw in Game 1 of the World Series (to nail Timo Perez at the plate) -- that was the play of the Series," says an AL scout. "I said in my reports: 'This guy is better at taking relays and turning them into outs than anyone in the game.' He takes bad throws and turns them into good throws because of his athleticism and his feel for the game. And that throw was the perfect example of it."
Bmark, you aren't the only one to notice this. I'm not going to belittle the play. It was a good play, but how often does this sort of thing come up in a season. How often does this skill translate into an out that another player doesn't make. Three? four? five? There were several times during the postseason where a ball went up the middle or into the hole and got through and I wondered, "Where was Jeter positioned that he didn't get to that ball?" Poor range is impossible to quantify other than through the numbers.
Look at Ozzie Smith. He averaged nearly an out per game more than the league. Now he didn't make a diving stop a game. He made a lot of them over the course of a season, but not one a game. He just reached more balls in more ways than anybody else. Jeter reaches fewer balls than most everyone else in the league. Some of that may be his staff, maybe some of it is Brosius (though Ozzie was still Ozzie with Terry Pendleton playing next to him), but Jeter just isn't a good defensive player. He looks good doing it, but the results are poor.
Now please do not misconstrue these statements. He is a fantastic player, very valuable and worth a lot of money. He is also a cash cow for the Yankees. I'm just curious to see if his Free Agency value will rise much above $189m for ten years. You can argue that his price has already risen from $115m for 7 years, but we don't know that. We only know what one team is willing to pay him. How high will the price go if he is a free agent next year? Will he pass A-Rod?
Tuesday, February 6
Amazon Honor System
I'm always looking for more and more ways to make this site both better and more profitable. Amazon has gotten on the micro-payments bandwagon and are shipping payments as low as a dollar between customers. This has a lot better chance of being profitable for me because Amazon has much deeper market penetration than PayPal, so people are likely going to be more likely to pay through Amazon rather than PayPal. I like PayPal's service, don't get me wrong.
If this site and others could support me like a professorship, I might jump into this full time. Then the site would be really rocking, but this site barely supports my cat, let alone myself and my wife.
I'm always looking for more and more ways to make this site both better and more profitable. Amazon has gotten on the micro-payments bandwagon and are shipping payments as low as a dollar between customers. This has a lot better chance of being profitable for me because Amazon has much deeper market penetration than PayPal, so people are likely going to be more likely to pay through Amazon rather than PayPal. I like PayPal's service, don't get me wrong.
If this site and others could support me like a professorship, I might jump into this full time. Then the site would be really rocking, but this site barely supports my cat, let alone myself and my wife.
Previous Post - Outside the Box - Baseball-Reference.com
Following up an earlier post. Somebody pointed out to me that in their 1999 book Rany stated that he viewed PAP as a starting point and not the be all of use evaluation, and there was another quotation that escapes me at the moment with a similar sentiment. I stand corrected. I will however say that
1) There appeared (at the time) to be little effort to back up the numbers that PAP produced with evidence that high PAP ~= high injury levels.
2) This disclaimer didn't discourage the metric and its proponents from pushing it rather vigorously.
3) I'm looking forward to reading Keith Woolner's article on pitcher (ab)use, and you can be sure that I'll post my comments here, and you all will be able to tell me that I'm full of it or not.
Following up an earlier post. Somebody pointed out to me that in their 1999 book Rany stated that he viewed PAP as a starting point and not the be all of use evaluation, and there was another quotation that escapes me at the moment with a similar sentiment. I stand corrected. I will however say that
1) There appeared (at the time) to be little effort to back up the numbers that PAP produced with evidence that high PAP ~= high injury levels.
2) This disclaimer didn't discourage the metric and its proponents from pushing it rather vigorously.
3) I'm looking forward to reading Keith Woolner's article on pitcher (ab)use, and you can be sure that I'll post my comments here, and you all will be able to tell me that I'm full of it or not.
Monday, February 5
How Strong is the Correlation Between Pitch Counts and Injury/Ineffectiveness -- Stat of the Day June 11, 2000 - BBBW
Here I compare two sets of pitchers who debuted from age 20-24. Those with 27+ batters faced per start and those with fewer. I then compare their 20-24 stats with how the two sets did between their 25-30 years as well. Both sets were early debuters, one set was worked less hard than the other.
Here I compare two sets of pitchers who debuted from age 20-24. Those with 27+ batters faced per start and those with fewer. I then compare their 20-24 stats with how the two sets did between their 25-30 years as well. Both sets were early debuters, one set was worked less hard than the other.
Age of Debut and Length of Career (a simple study) -- Stat of the Day June 10, 2000 - BBBW
A look at some data with young pitchers and career length.
A look at some data with young pitchers and career length.
Pitcher Workload over the Past 20 Years -- Stat of the Day April 26, 2000 - BBBW
Note how workloads are more consistent. If you believe that pitchers are injured more often now, this flies in the face of the belief that isolated high workloads affect starters adversely.
Note how workloads are more consistent. If you believe that pitchers are injured more often now, this flies in the face of the belief that isolated high workloads affect starters adversely.
Amazon.com: Editorial Reviews: Baseball Prospectus 2001 (Baseball Prospectus, 2001)
I wonder if this means they admit that there were serious problems with Pitcher Abuse Points? I'm a little surprised there haven't been any mentions of this on the BP website? Also, can they change the name of Pitcher Abuse Points? Calling it abuse simply points out that they are assuming abuse is going on. Pitcher Usage Points would be a much less pejorative term and would would give you a much cooler acronym in my opinion.
Rany Jazayerli's new and improved Pitcher Abuse Points analysis; forecasts of hitter performance using Clay Davenport's exclusive "Wilton" forecasting system; Keith Woolner's pitcher abuse research; (emphasis added by me)
I wonder if this means they admit that there were serious problems with Pitcher Abuse Points? I'm a little surprised there haven't been any mentions of this on the BP website? Also, can they change the name of Pitcher Abuse Points? Calling it abuse simply points out that they are assuming abuse is going on. Pitcher Usage Points would be a much less pejorative term and would would give you a much cooler acronym in my opinion.
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Yankees and Jeter negotiate by phone, break until next week
Is Jeter worth this sort of dough? Is Jeter worth $189m over 10
years? Would I do this deal if I were the Yankees. It is a tough
question and I don't believe there is an easy answer.
Let's look at what Jeter has done so
far. He'll be 27 next year. He is a three-time all star and has
not been MVP, though I believe he was more valuable than I-Rod (and
behind Pedro) in 1999. Four WS rings, about 150 games every season.
1008 hits and a career line of .322/.394/.468. He has been in the top
10 in OPS just once (a fifth place finish). As for his fielding (I'll
tread lightly here), not one metric other than anecdotal portrays him
as an above average fielder. Most have him somewhat below average.
Jeter is not in the same offensive class as Nomar and A-Rod. Nomar is
10th in active OPS, while A-Rod is 16th. I'm guessing Jeter is in the
50's or so. Jeter is a great offensive player, and except for those
two there isn't a shortstop I'd rather have. His defensive numbers
also aren't quite as good either.
I know I'm going to get flamed on the defensive questions, and you can
only bring up anecdotal evidence if you've also seen Rey Sanchez
play 80 games. In 80 fewer defensive innings, Sanchez had 12 fewer
putouts (Jeter's vaunted flyball abilities), but 98 more assistsa and
29 more double plays. Jeter has never had 100 DP's in a season,
(switching gears here) Cal Ripken had over 100 10 of 11 seasons.
A-Rod turned 122 last year, Nomar turned just 65 last year, but is
better on a per game basis for his career. You can wave away the
evidence if you like, but it is out there.
Speaking of Rey Sanchez, I was at Fenway for a Royals game and Jim
Furtado and I had been trying to convince Gary that Jeter wasn't a
great defensive player (of course, a nearby Yankee fan offered his
opinion). Some Red Sox, I don't know whom, smoked a grounder up the
middle for an apparent single. Rey Sanchez somehow reached the ball,
didn't dive and didn't really appear to struggle and easily tossed out
the runner. A great shortstop isn't made by the spectacular plays, a
great shortstop makes the routine plays, he makes a few spectacular
plays, but most of all he makes the tough plays look easy.
I watching a game on TV in person allows a viewer to analyze only a
part of player's defense. A viewer can pretty accurately assess a
player's "hands" and throws. Do they make the plays they get to? The
truly great defensive players are in motion well before your eyes
travel to them. If you have season tickets for a Braves game, watch
the center fielder for the entire game and compare Andruw's jumps to
the opposition. I would guess that he has two or three steps on the
typical center fielder. A fun comparision might be with the Reds in
town. Unless you study the position like that you really can't assess
a player's range. I'm freaking slow and I make some spectacular plays
in slow pitch because of it not because I'm more talented than most.
My theory on Jeter's defense is that he handles the routine plays, so
he doesn't have any obvious flaws like Knoblauch or Jose Offerman, he
is also good at acrobatic plays, so he appears to do more than he
actually does. It would be interesting to find out how many seeing
eye singles the Yankees give up each year.
So what does the future hold? Jeter's offense could go either way.
If he returns to 1999 levels, then he is a top ten player in MLB. If
not, he is somewhere between 20-40. I think 1999 may be his peak
(though it may be my Red Sox blood hoping that is the case). And I
expect the Yanks will move him to third within a few years. It is
going to become more and more obvious that he isn't a great defensive
shortstop. Now you have a top five third baseman, who isn't a
dominant offensive player at that position. I think he will be a Hall
of Famer. The rings, the 2500-3000 hits, etc. will guarantee that,
but I don't expect him to be in Garciaparra's and A-Rod's class
overall.
Right now, the Yanks are bidding against his expectation for free
agency. As I see it they have nothing to lose with letting him play
to free agency. Right now, the Yanks are offering gigantic dollars
for a premier franchise player. If he is in fact that dominant
offensive player, they can give him another year to prove it. If he
turns out to have a so-so offensive year, they may even say a few
dollars as teams decide he isn't quite so attractive a player.
Jeter will give the Yanks a right of refusal on any deal. Given
that, the Mets are the team that would most likely drive up the price
and hey wouldn't back up the money truck for A-Rod, I can't see the
price going much over what the current negotiations are at.
You can also argue that the Yanks have no choice, but to sign Jeter.
He is wildly popular and failing to sign him would blow a hole in
their PR and their team. Still, I think the Yanks can afford to play
a little chicken this year and see what happens.
Is Jeter worth this sort of dough? Is Jeter worth $189m over 10
years? Would I do this deal if I were the Yankees. It is a tough
question and I don't believe there is an easy answer.
Let's look at what Jeter has done so
far. He'll be 27 next year. He is a three-time all star and has
not been MVP, though I believe he was more valuable than I-Rod (and
behind Pedro) in 1999. Four WS rings, about 150 games every season.
1008 hits and a career line of .322/.394/.468. He has been in the top
10 in OPS just once (a fifth place finish). As for his fielding (I'll
tread lightly here), not one metric other than anecdotal portrays him
as an above average fielder. Most have him somewhat below average.
Jeter is not in the same offensive class as Nomar and A-Rod. Nomar is
10th in active OPS, while A-Rod is 16th. I'm guessing Jeter is in the
50's or so. Jeter is a great offensive player, and except for those
two there isn't a shortstop I'd rather have. His defensive numbers
also aren't quite as good either.
I know I'm going to get flamed on the defensive questions, and you can
only bring up anecdotal evidence if you've also seen Rey Sanchez
play 80 games. In 80 fewer defensive innings, Sanchez had 12 fewer
putouts (Jeter's vaunted flyball abilities), but 98 more assistsa and
29 more double plays. Jeter has never had 100 DP's in a season,
(switching gears here) Cal Ripken had over 100 10 of 11 seasons.
A-Rod turned 122 last year, Nomar turned just 65 last year, but is
better on a per game basis for his career. You can wave away the
evidence if you like, but it is out there.
Speaking of Rey Sanchez, I was at Fenway for a Royals game and Jim
Furtado and I had been trying to convince Gary that Jeter wasn't a
great defensive player (of course, a nearby Yankee fan offered his
opinion). Some Red Sox, I don't know whom, smoked a grounder up the
middle for an apparent single. Rey Sanchez somehow reached the ball,
didn't dive and didn't really appear to struggle and easily tossed out
the runner. A great shortstop isn't made by the spectacular plays, a
great shortstop makes the routine plays, he makes a few spectacular
plays, but most of all he makes the tough plays look easy.
I watching a game on TV in person allows a viewer to analyze only a
part of player's defense. A viewer can pretty accurately assess a
player's "hands" and throws. Do they make the plays they get to? The
truly great defensive players are in motion well before your eyes
travel to them. If you have season tickets for a Braves game, watch
the center fielder for the entire game and compare Andruw's jumps to
the opposition. I would guess that he has two or three steps on the
typical center fielder. A fun comparision might be with the Reds in
town. Unless you study the position like that you really can't assess
a player's range. I'm freaking slow and I make some spectacular plays
in slow pitch because of it not because I'm more talented than most.
My theory on Jeter's defense is that he handles the routine plays, so
he doesn't have any obvious flaws like Knoblauch or Jose Offerman, he
is also good at acrobatic plays, so he appears to do more than he
actually does. It would be interesting to find out how many seeing
eye singles the Yankees give up each year.
So what does the future hold? Jeter's offense could go either way.
If he returns to 1999 levels, then he is a top ten player in MLB. If
not, he is somewhere between 20-40. I think 1999 may be his peak
(though it may be my Red Sox blood hoping that is the case). And I
expect the Yanks will move him to third within a few years. It is
going to become more and more obvious that he isn't a great defensive
shortstop. Now you have a top five third baseman, who isn't a
dominant offensive player at that position. I think he will be a Hall
of Famer. The rings, the 2500-3000 hits, etc. will guarantee that,
but I don't expect him to be in Garciaparra's and A-Rod's class
overall.
Right now, the Yanks are bidding against his expectation for free
agency. As I see it they have nothing to lose with letting him play
to free agency. Right now, the Yanks are offering gigantic dollars
for a premier franchise player. If he is in fact that dominant
offensive player, they can give him another year to prove it. If he
turns out to have a so-so offensive year, they may even say a few
dollars as teams decide he isn't quite so attractive a player.
Jeter will give the Yanks a right of refusal on any deal. Given
that, the Mets are the team that would most likely drive up the price
and hey wouldn't back up the money truck for A-Rod, I can't see the
price going much over what the current negotiations are at.
You can also argue that the Yanks have no choice, but to sign Jeter.
He is wildly popular and failing to sign him would blow a hole in
their PR and their team. Still, I think the Yanks can afford to play
a little chicken this year and see what happens.
Yahoo! Sports: MLB - Part II: One-on-One with MLBPA director Don Fehr
Anybody interested in baseball should read the three-part interview with Don Fehr. The end of part two is especially good stuff.
Anybody interested in baseball should read the three-part interview with Don Fehr. The end of part two is especially good stuff.
Saturday, February 3
Amazon.com: buying info: Baseball Prospectus 2001 (Baseball Prospectus, 2001)
I was surprised to see Peter Gammons plugging Baseball Prospectus on Amazon.com. It is a bit ironic that Gammons is plugging their book, given that one of their authors felt the need to rebut every of Gammons's columns four years ago.
They are going to sell a truckload of books this year. I'm happy for them. They have a nice product. I own all five of the previous ones and will own this one as well. I'm never quite sure what to make of their book. It focuses almost entirely on player comments (90%), which makes it difficult for me to consider it a sabermetric book in the Bill James tradition.
As for problems, we are still waiting for some justification that Pitcher Abuse Points are better than average pitch counts for predicting injury, and they seem to ignore the fact that young teams don't win everything they expect them to. They've been predicting the Yankee's demise for three years now, and I'm guessing four. The Athletics essay should be an interesting read as well. All in all, it is a solid book, and you should buy it and Big Bad Baseball if and when it comes out this year.
I was surprised to see Peter Gammons plugging Baseball Prospectus on Amazon.com. It is a bit ironic that Gammons is plugging their book, given that one of their authors felt the need to rebut every of Gammons's columns four years ago.
They are going to sell a truckload of books this year. I'm happy for them. They have a nice product. I own all five of the previous ones and will own this one as well. I'm never quite sure what to make of their book. It focuses almost entirely on player comments (90%), which makes it difficult for me to consider it a sabermetric book in the Bill James tradition.
As for problems, we are still waiting for some justification that Pitcher Abuse Points are better than average pitch counts for predicting injury, and they seem to ignore the fact that young teams don't win everything they expect them to. They've been predicting the Yankee's demise for three years now, and I'm guessing four. The Athletics essay should be an interesting read as well. All in all, it is a solid book, and you should buy it and Big Bad Baseball if and when it comes out this year.
Amazon.com: Big Bad Baseball Annual 2000
I'm selling at least one of my extra copies of the 2000 BBBA on Amazon.com. I'll even sign it for the person buying it. I have a 1998 copy for sale as well.
I know that the reviews are a pretty negative for this book, but I enjoy it. It has studies and information that no one else has, but it just isn't in a very user friendly format. The other big problem with the book is the numerous shots taken by Don Malcolm and a few others at Rob Neyer and the Baseball Prospectus. I don't think it is wrong to critique others work, but Don clearly steps over the line in numerous places from critique to ad homoneim (sic).
I'm not writing for the book this year, because I just wasn't sure where it was going and what it's audience is anymore. I'll still buy the book and perhaps support it in some way, but I didn't want to write for it.
I'm worried about sabermetrics. You can rail from dusk till dawn against the establishment, but people become uncomfortable when you question the work of other sabermetricians. Perhaps it was just the tone and tenor that Don chose to use that led to so much criticism.
Is it considered bad form to challenge the work of other sabermetricians?
And if not how should you go about it?
For instance, if I published a study showing one popular metric wasn't much better than randomly selecting players for predicting an event, would folks thank me for doing the study and focus on the results, or would I be called "jealous" and "vindictive"?
Rob Neyer called for a peer review process. How do we go about doing that?
Some of you will read this post and know exactly what I'm talking about, but most will probably scratch your heads and hope that I go back onto my medication. Either way, I would enjoy hearing comments.
I'm selling at least one of my extra copies of the 2000 BBBA on Amazon.com. I'll even sign it for the person buying it. I have a 1998 copy for sale as well.
I know that the reviews are a pretty negative for this book, but I enjoy it. It has studies and information that no one else has, but it just isn't in a very user friendly format. The other big problem with the book is the numerous shots taken by Don Malcolm and a few others at Rob Neyer and the Baseball Prospectus. I don't think it is wrong to critique others work, but Don clearly steps over the line in numerous places from critique to ad homoneim (sic).
I'm not writing for the book this year, because I just wasn't sure where it was going and what it's audience is anymore. I'll still buy the book and perhaps support it in some way, but I didn't want to write for it.
I'm worried about sabermetrics. You can rail from dusk till dawn against the establishment, but people become uncomfortable when you question the work of other sabermetricians. Perhaps it was just the tone and tenor that Don chose to use that led to so much criticism.
Is it considered bad form to challenge the work of other sabermetricians?
And if not how should you go about it?
For instance, if I published a study showing one popular metric wasn't much better than randomly selecting players for predicting an event, would folks thank me for doing the study and focus on the results, or would I be called "jealous" and "vindictive"?
Rob Neyer called for a peer review process. How do we go about doing that?
Some of you will read this post and know exactly what I'm talking about, but most will probably scratch your heads and hope that I go back onto my medication. Either way, I would enjoy hearing comments.
Friday, February 2
Happy Birthday! Baseball-Reference.com
I feel like I should have a cake or something. I launched Big Bad Baseball Stats on Feb. 1 of last year and then switched over to the current domain, Baseball-Reference.com, on April 1. It's been a pretty good year. We've had a lot of buzz and our monthly page views have gone from
Feb 2000: 51,900
May 2000: 232,438
Aug 2000: 600,711
Dec 2000: 653,007
Jan 2001: 1,012,584
That's right. We hit one million page views last month. The Hall of Fame election was a big help, but I think that making a fast easy-to-use service is the main reason people keep coming back. Overall, in the last year we served well over five million pages and handled around a half million user visits. I thought this site would be a big deal, but I had never imagined this sort of usage.
Will it continue to grow? I don't know. I keep getting e-mails from baseball fans who have just found the site for the first time, so I know there is still a lot of untapped potential out there. I don't have any money for advertising as I'm not making much revenue. However, word of mouth is a strong mover. We've been doubling ever six months, so I'm going to guess that four million page views next year at this time.
What I may be proudest of is this.
Status Code Report
File served properly: 5,519,391
File not found: 7,581
Server error: 840
Sorry for crowing so much here. It just doesn't feel like a year has gone by.
I feel like I should have a cake or something. I launched Big Bad Baseball Stats on Feb. 1 of last year and then switched over to the current domain, Baseball-Reference.com, on April 1. It's been a pretty good year. We've had a lot of buzz and our monthly page views have gone from
Feb 2000: 51,900
May 2000: 232,438
Aug 2000: 600,711
Dec 2000: 653,007
Jan 2001: 1,012,584
That's right. We hit one million page views last month. The Hall of Fame election was a big help, but I think that making a fast easy-to-use service is the main reason people keep coming back. Overall, in the last year we served well over five million pages and handled around a half million user visits. I thought this site would be a big deal, but I had never imagined this sort of usage.
Will it continue to grow? I don't know. I keep getting e-mails from baseball fans who have just found the site for the first time, so I know there is still a lot of untapped potential out there. I don't have any money for advertising as I'm not making much revenue. However, word of mouth is a strong mover. We've been doubling ever six months, so I'm going to guess that four million page views next year at this time.
What I may be proudest of is this.
Status Code Report
File served properly: 5,519,391
File not found: 7,581
Server error: 840
Sorry for crowing so much here. It just doesn't feel like a year has gone by.
Thursday, February 1
The Sporting News: Baseball - Study finds Detroit among smallest baseball fan bases
This is from a while ago, but I was preparing for my intro stats class today and found this interesting. With New York at 21% of citizens interested in baseball (team success might have a strong correlation for this) and with their massive population, another team in New York would not only thrive but would level some of the advantages the Mets and Yankees currently have.
This is from a while ago, but I was preparing for my intro stats class today and found this interesting. With New York at 21% of citizens interested in baseball (team success might have a strong correlation for this) and with their massive population, another team in New York would not only thrive but would level some of the advantages the Mets and Yankees currently have.
ExposReport.com - Messageboard
Whoa, whoa, hold on here. I guess since the fiasco in Florida, democracy is now a dirty word. I most definitely feel that the "democratization of the web" is a very good thing, and meant that comment in a positive way. If it weren't positive, I wouldn't be putting Baseball Reference up and posting comments on other articles. I have no problems with Yahoo and Rivals interacting and I feel it is a positive thing.
My comments following that were not intended to paint all Rivals sites with the same brush, I just intended to point out the problems with this single article. I have no problem with people doing content on Rivals and then on Yahoo, and I want to see more of it. My only real complaint about Rivals is that their web design is bulky, unappealing and often freezes or crashes my netscape on linux browser.
Whoa, whoa, hold on here. I guess since the fiasco in Florida, democracy is now a dirty word. I most definitely feel that the "democratization of the web" is a very good thing, and meant that comment in a positive way. If it weren't positive, I wouldn't be putting Baseball Reference up and posting comments on other articles. I have no problems with Yahoo and Rivals interacting and I feel it is a positive thing.
My comments following that were not intended to paint all Rivals sites with the same brush, I just intended to point out the problems with this single article. I have no problem with people doing content on Rivals and then on Yahoo, and I want to see more of it. My only real complaint about Rivals is that their web design is bulky, unappealing and often freezes or crashes my netscape on linux browser.
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