Paul DePodesta is really smart

What evidence do I have for such a bold title? Because he reads THT, and all of our readers are smart!

In his latest straight-from-his-mother’s-basement blog entry, the San Diego Padres executive fills us in on the minor Cha Seung Baek for Jared Wells trade. Says DePo:

Our scouts also believe that he pitched a little better than his ERA would indicate from last year. According to the FIP statistic, a defense-independant statistic developed by Tom Tango and utilized by The Hardball Times, Baek had been getting better in each of his past three ML seasons (2004-2007), which goes hand-in-hand with our scouting evaluations.

He must be talking about xFIP, which normalizes home run rates to a pitcher’s fly ball rate. Baek’s xFIP from 2004-2007: 5.74, 5.08, 4.66.

DePodesta quoting both scouting evaluations and stats!?! This ain’t your L.A. columnist’s Google Boy!

Hat tip: USS Mariner.