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Wkio sent me an email allowing me to share their new sports blog rankings a day early. We're number two! The rankings are based on number and source of incoming links. In case you haven't figured it out yet, one of my goals for BtB is to build on the community we already have, adding people who find us via one of all those links. If you have any ideas, definitely let me know.
1Deadspin2Beyond the Boxscore3MLB Trade Rumors4TrueHoop5The Big Lead6The LoHud Yankees Blog7MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com8MetsBlog9Kissing Suzy Kolber10AstrosDaily.com's Astrowire11EDSBS12Minor League Ball13Mile High Report14Baseball Analysts15River Ave. Blues16Draft Express17Stampede Blue18Blazers Edge19Bleeding Green Nation20Sactown Royalty Ranking by Wikio.
Daily Box Score 7/4: As American as Baseball
by tbsmkdn
on Jul 4, 2009 12:06 PM EDT
0 comments
Today, we celebrate the independence of the United States of America. Mind you, July 4th was not the day upon which the vote was taken to sever all ties with Britain (that was July 2nd, and the vote was 12-0-1), but rather the day that the language of the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted. Baseball was a ways off yet, but something about baseball has always seemed quintessentially democratic. In the words of Don DeLillo, baseball has a
democratic clamor, a history of sweat and play on sun-dazed afternoons, an openness of form that makes the game a kind of welcome to my country.
Today's box score celebrates the intertwining of the United States and baseball.
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Graph of the Day: UZR Comparisons for 2008 NL Playoff Teams
by Jeff Zimmerman (TucsonRoyal)
on Jul 4, 2009 11:00 AM EDT
2 comments
Here is a quick look at the last season's four NL playoff teams comparing their UZR numbers. First here are the team totals:
| Team | Total |
| Phillies | 69.8 |
| Brewers | 13.9 |
| Cubs | 13 |
| Dodgers | -35.9 |
As it can be seen from for the chart, the Philies were by far the best team with the Brewers and Cubs fairly equal and the Dodgers well off the mark. The Phillies averaged 0.65 less runs allowed per game than the Dodgers.
Here is a positional look at each team's positional values:
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Why it Matters: Umpires, Computers, Wins, and Dollars
by jhmoore
on Jul 3, 2009 9:52 PM EDT
67 comments
Today, I am not very happy. I'm not happy because my team, the Milwaukee Brewers, lost a game to the Chicago Cubs, our hated rivals, on a walk-off walk. I'm not happy, because my team lost on this pitch, ball 4 to Jake Fox.
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BtB Poor Man's Projected Season Standings as of July 3, 2009
by Dan Turkenkopf
on Jul 3, 2009 3:00 PM EDT
0 comments
Welcome to this holiday edition of the BtB Poor Man's Projected Season Standings.
This week we see a lot more movement than in previous weeks with the brightest fireworks coming from the Chicago White Sox who vaulted seven wins from last Friday, and solidly into second place in the AL Central.
The Yankees jump four wins courtesy of their seven game win streak and overall better performance, while the Jays went four wins the other direction. The AL East is still a dogfight with three teams between 95 and 97 wins. If it stays close throughout it's going to be one heck of a September.
The Angels and Brewers take back the top spots they lost last week and are joined by new arrival Philadelphia who took advantage of the slumping Mets (who dropped five games).
In the NL West, the Dodgers dropped below 100 projected wins for the first time in this series, while the Giants continue their climb - reaching .500. The division houses the two best teams right now in LA and Colorado, with San Francisco among the other top teams.
Full standings after the jump...
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Daily Box Score 7/3: Bees, Bans, and the Great Convergence
by tbsmkdn
on Jul 3, 2009 12:04 PM EDT
0 comments
Do we live in the era of the Great Convergence? The age-old battle between scouts and stat-heads seems to be subsiding, little by little. The latest evidence of the shrinking divide are Ned Colletti's comments on a sports radio station:
I think the sabermetrics gets you interested. I think it gives you a chance to seek more information on somebody. But I’d have a hard time trading for a player or drafting a player that I really didn’t know what was inside his head and inside his heart and how he thought and how his priorities were set up and if he aspired for greatness and was willing to sacrifice. I’m not sure you’re going to get that off a stat sheet. But the numbers do tell part of the story.
Ok, perhaps I've spoken too soon. But maybe we're getting closer.
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Graph of the Day: Aroldis Chapman's Fastball
by jhmoore
on Jul 3, 2009 6:00 AM EDT
8 comments
Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman raised eyebrows around the baseball world this spring. Pitching for the Cuban team in the World Baseball Classic, Chapman flashed an incredible fastball and some nasty secondary stuff, despite some poor results (6.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 K, 4 BB). Those who hadn't noticed Chapman prior to this year's classic were certainly struck when he hit 100 MPH on the gun in his start against Japan at Petco Park. Now, at age 21, he may be the most prized prospect in the world. Unfortunately, his aforementioned WBC appearance is all we have in the Pitch F/X database on him. Brooks Baseball's WBC database has Chapman's average fastball at 93.47 MPH, but thanks to Harry's great work on identifying pitches, we can throw out some pitches that were either splitters or changeups and come closer to how fast his actual fastball darts to the plate. Harry's data has the average Aroldis Chapman fastball at 94.6 MPH. Here's how it stacks up to Major League starters.
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Jason Hammel Finds Control With Colorado Rockies
by Tommy Rancel
on Jul 2, 2009 6:01 PM EDT
1 comment
The Colorado Rockies were one of the best teams in June. One reason for that was Jason Hammel just happened to be one of the major's best pitchers in the month. The former Tampa Bay Rays swingman is now a staple in the Rockies rotation. Hammel went 4-0 with a 3.41 ERA in five June starts. His FIP was an even better 3.00.
Even with above average stuff, Hammel hasn't racked up many K's. His K/9 for the season is a meh 6.25, but improved control has put his K/BB at nearly 3.0 (2.95). After his lastest outing, a complete game five-hit one-run performance (loss), he has been worth 1.9 wins above replacement this year.
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