Baseball Viral

Watching Hanley Ramirez stand in LF, no right thinking person could ever call it playing LF, should do more to tear down some of these shibboleths about defensive metrics than all the cock sure assumptions that many statistically oriented types have about the value of numbers that are claimed to be omniscient. The eyetest must never be abandoned. Put the guy out there and actually see what he does. Trey Mancini wasn’t half-bad after being called an absolutely first base only Prince Fielder clone. Who would the computer have put in LF, the former major league SS, who could move easily to another position, pardon me while I laugh, or the player who wasn’t supposed to be able to play anywhere but 1st base. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2CktswI

Outstanding article Rob. I always enjoy your business side of baseball articles. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zX6jKA

Totally agree. An 12th-round pick carves out an 11-year career and produces 23 WAR. Evidently the concept of a bust is VERY subjective. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2ClZl8l

Really great, creative idea; hope you are right, Patrick! from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zVdnro

I am very interested in how we measure defense. I think this is something that everyone should be talking about who claims to have an interest in the subject. To be clear, I don’t think most people care how the sausage is made. I can’t fathom a scenario where it is not flawed in multiple facets. For example, I imagine a machine would reward a player for poor positioning – either that, or positioning is disregarded (which I don’t think it is). For a more complex example, how does the typical Nolan Arenado situation get scored? You know the one where he fields the ball in fair territory, then takes six steps into foul territory and makes an off-balance throw across the diamond to throw out the catcher. Does he get credit for ranging to where he threw the ball from or where he fielded the ball? Does throwing the ball from nowhere near where he fielded the ball matter or not? Is it good or bad? In any case, it is all subjective despite what gets recorded as a fact. from Comments for Bas...

Interesting article. Even though it’s not part of this analysis, I’ve wondered how the greater use of the shift affects defensive measurements. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zW0T2u

I probably told that story when the article was posted the first time, but I can’t tell. I *still* have no access to my comment history. I checked Dusty’s BP page, and there is no link to *either* posting of this article. I finally checked Rob’s author page, and this appearence is there, but not the original. Grr. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2CjUvIn

Back in 2004, I was in Chicago for a few days, so I planned for a game at Wrigley. On a cold, rainy day, I watched Dusty send Carlos Zambrano back out for the 8th inning, with 90+ pitches, in a game the Cubs led 12-4. The man’s original reputation was not undeserved. Fortunately, Z did not suffer adversely from the incident, and, as Rob points out, Dusty has gotten better over the years. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zXwH7b

Found a new issue with the site. Saw Rob Mains’ article on Dusty Baker, presented as a Best of 2017 article. Thought of a comment, but realized I probably entered the same thing when the article was first presented. Still can’t see all my past comments, so couldn’t check it that way. Went to Dusty’s BP page, and the article does not appear linked to him (either appearance of it). Checked Rob’s author page, and the Best Of presentation appears, but not the original posting. So apparently, I have no way to find the original appearance of the article and the comments upon it. Bit of a Fail, that. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2CjUvbl

I never realized that Fernando Rodney was that much of a ground-baller. Hopefully that skill will age gracefully this season, but I don’t know if anything about Fernando Rodney’s career has been graceful. Still, it seems possible that he’s made some sort of positive change lately because his SwStr% has been pretty high the past two years and his GB% has also risen. This was a cool writeup about Duke, who I knew almost nothing about since his excellent rookie season. Those 18 IP last year were serviceable, but that 16.2 K% is pretty terrifying. If he can get swings and misses out of the zone again, then he could be a nice addition to the Twins’ BP. I like that there is virtually nothing to lose in this signing, and I hope that these cheap BP additions can give the Twins more $ to throw at Darvish. I have no idea what might happen with Darvish at this point; I’ve heard nothing except that a number of teams have met with him. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2C09Bij...

Bobby Higginson seems completely random.. He was never in BA top 100 prospects and he had a pretty long and decent career. I do not understand why he would be on this list instead of Ben Greive for example. Greive was BA #10 prospect in 1995, BA #37 prospect in 1996 and BA #18 propesct in 1997. Greive’s career WAR was 8.4 vs 23 for Higginson. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2CbLMrD

Was Ben McDonald more of a bust than Matt Riley? McDonald was the 1st pick in the draft and the BA #2 prospect in 1990. He may not of been as good as he was supposed to be, but he was pretty solid for 1300 innings with a 1.257 whip during part of the steroid era before his career was cut short by an injury. Matt Riley was BA #20 prospect in 1999 and BA #15 prospect in 2000. He ended up throwing less than 100 innings in the majors with a 1.76 whip. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zPK6hs

As for 2007: Yes, Harang was really good that year. And yes, he was considerably worse after Baker arrived. But I’m not convinced of the causality. I’m with you that starting him on 5/28 after the long relief appearance on 5/25 was bad. But over the season, Harang averaged 105.6 pitches per start in ’07 under Narron/Mackanin, 103.2 under Baker in ’08. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zJSH5v

OK, had to look these up. The relief appearance on 5/25/08 was, yes, three days after his 5/22 start. Harang entered the game in the 13th inning of a 9-9 tie. He was the NINTH Reds pitcher on the day. (In that sense–using a bunch of relievers for an inning or less–he was ahead of his time!) Yes, he stuck with him for a long time, but he didn’t have anyone else left. The next pitcher, Edinson Volquez, has started the 5/23 game. He’d run out of pitchers. (I can offer no excuse for then starting him on three days rest) from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2C7QE16

In fairness, he hasn’t always been the easiest guy to understand. Take his statements before the bizarre Strasburg controversy in the ALDS. It’s pretty clear he was covering for his player, which is admirable. It’s also pretty clear that the arc of his commentary was befuddling. In this BP writer’s opinion, though, he learned from his mistakes, and seems to be a good manager of people and a good person. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zKwnZB

Agree with Jim Robbins. Well done, Patrick. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2C5dtlY

A written series like this is why I love replaying seasons playing Strat-o-matic’s window games. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zKwcNV

Any assessment of Baker’s questionable pitcher usage should include his baffling decision to run Aaron Harang out as a relief pitcher to throw 63 pitches on two days rest, after he threw 103 pitches in his previous start and completely out of the blue, and then start him on three days rest. He finished 4th in Cy Young voting the year before Dusty arrived and his career fell off a cliff pretty much right after this mishandling of his arm. from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2C7xZ5A

Ryan Anderson, AKA the “Little Unit” could have made my list. Great until his shoulder fell apart. Sad, especially for me, as he signed an AFL ball for me. Friends look at it and say who was he? from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2zKvY9x

I love both baseball and chess. While the new trends have not impeded my enthusiasm for either, I am knocked out by the authors thought process and grasp of history. This is one of the best articles I have ever read. Well done! from Comments for Baseball Prospectus http://ift.tt/2C5dq9M