The Hardball Times Live http://www.hardballtimes.com/main en studes@yahoo.com Copyright 2008 2008-11-21T02:55:00-05:00 Position-adjusted stats http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/position-adjusted-stats/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/position-adjusted-stats/#When:01:55:00Z makes a very interesting observation over at Fangraphs. To use Dave's example, when people say stuff like "David DeJesus is a very good center fielder, but his bat makes him just an average left fielder," they're forgetting that DeJesus's defense will increase his "runs prevented" over a replacement left fielder (compared to a replacement center fielder). Dave (Cameron's) point is that the defensive gain often wipes out the offensive loss.

I haven't sat down and figured the math myself, though it strikes me that Dave may be overstating the case. It's still a legitimate general point, however, and one worth remembering. Thanks to guys like Dave, sabermetrics is coming along in its appreciation of fielding impact.


Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Dave Studeman 2008-11-21T01:55:00-05:00 2009 Oliver projections http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/2009-oliver-projections/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/2009-oliver-projections/#When:22:29:00Z 2009 Oliver projections for batters over at Statistically Speaking. His projection system draws its appellation from Tangotiger's suggestion of Oliver the Chimpanzee being somewhat more sophisticated than Marcel the Monkey.

Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Mike Fast 2008-11-20T22:29:00-05:00 CC’s choices http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/ccs-choices/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/ccs-choices/#When:13:54:01Z posted a spreadsheet comparing CC's two offers. I hope this is the sort of thing agents are doing for their players. The upshot is that $140 million isn't necessarily $40 million more than $100 million, at least not when you account for contracts of different lengths, different costs of living and the present value of money.

Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Dave Studeman 2008-11-20T13:54:01-05:00 Hey, Bobby! http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/hey-bobby/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/hey-bobby/#When:11:10:02Z Eric Seidman rectifies the situation. Really, Abreu's salary demands are outrageous and he will be a good test of how rational or wacky the free agent market is right now.

Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Dave Studeman 2008-11-20T11:10:02-05:00 Life of Boswell http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/life-of-boswell/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/life-of-boswell/#When:19:46:00Z a biting, yet appropriate, critique of Thomas Boswell's position that giving the MVP to Albert Pujols is "nuts." This year's MVP debate is really separating the "gets it's" from the "doesn't get it's" for me. I believe that Howard wasn't even the most valuable player on his own team; once you take fielding, baserunning and position into account, Chase Utley was.

Now I'm willing to concede that's debatable to some extent, because it requires an appreciation of batting splits, fielding prowess and other kind-of-obscure stuff. But Pujols over Howard? Not debatable at all.

Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Dave Studeman 2008-11-19T19:46:00-05:00 Scott Karl interview http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/scott-karl-interview/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/scott-karl-interview/#When:15:36:01Z Brewerfan managed to scoop up an interview with Karl, and it's pretty interesting. You sometimes wonder why and how players start to lose their edge, and Karl provides one example:
...I had developed a genetic condition that limited the elasticity of my ligaments and tendons. I could still throw the ball where I wanted to, and make it move, but my velocity was going, and when that started for me, it went fast. I never had an arm injury in my career, but when that happened, I just lost the velocity.


Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Dave Studeman 2008-11-19T15:36:01-05:00 New Fangraphs stats http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/new-fangraphs-stats/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/new-fangraphs-stats/#When:23:09:00Z looking at the relationship between some of these obscure stats (what is a Z-swing, anyhoo? Shouldn't definitions be included in the glossary and articles themselves?) and pitcher performance. This is good stuff, and understanding how these new stats relate to the more common baseball stats is important.

Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Dave Studeman 2008-11-18T23:09:00-05:00 Who’s embarrassed? http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/whos-embarrassed/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/whos-embarrassed/#When:23:04:01Z Craig Calcaterra picks apart Phil Sheridan's assertion that Pujols' MVP award was an embarrassment to the BBWAA. Some columns just write themselves. The only thing I'd add is that leaving Howard off your ballot altogether isn't that outrageous, in my humble opinion. Makes more sense to me that listing Pujols seventh.

Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Dave Studeman 2008-11-18T23:04:01-05:00 Vote for Cameron! http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/vote-for-cameron/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/vote-for-cameron/#When:18:00:00Z U.S.S. Mariner or more recently at Fangraphs, go vote for Dave in a online contest to receive the $10,000 2008 blogging scholarship. Dave is currently locked in a close race with Texas political blogger David Mauro of the Burnt Orange Report. Mauro would certainly be a deserving choice, but let's give Dave Cameron some support for all his hard work and excellent writing over the years at U.S.S. Mariner. Voting ends Thursday night.

Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Mike Fast 2008-11-18T18:00:00-05:00 The 2009 Marcels http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/blog_article/the-2009-marcels/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-2009-marcels/#When:01:04:00Z are now available from The Book blog. If you haven't heard of them, Marcel projections ("so simple, even a monkey can do them") are very simple yet still effective projections based on each player's previous major league experience. They're pretty good for players with a couple years of major league experience. If you're interested in how Geovany Soto or Joey Votto might perform next year, you might want to look at other projection systems, too.

Order the Hardball Times Annual 2009 today!]]> Dave Studeman 2008-11-18T01:04:00-05:00