The ALCS is a Sabermetrician's Wet Dream

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 8, 2008 4:36 PM EDT

Don't believe me? Here's a tale of the tape:

	Red Sox	Rays
GM	Theo Epstein	Andrew Friedman
"Saber Guy"	Jed Hoyer	James Click
Big Time Author	Bill James	James Click
Inefficiency	High Priced Players	Discarded Former Top Prospects
Defense	Strong	Even Stronger
Closer	Conventional Usage	Relief Ace (Balfour)

Consider this the LCS predictions thread.

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Comments

Rays/Phillies.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 8, 2008 4:41 PM EDT reply actions

Sox generally use Papelbon well

At least in the playoffs.

by Peter Bendix on Oct 8, 2008 4:51 PM EDT reply actions

this saber-crap will be out of style in three years, mark my words

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Oct 8, 2008 5:02 PM EDT reply actions

Baseball is played by humans, Sky.

Not on calculators. Or whatever.

The sooner GMs realize that the sooner we can move on and play THE GAME again.

by philkid3 on Oct 8, 2008 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions

jerry manuel...

is catching what youre throwing.

watch out nl east!

by EWS1532 on Oct 8, 2008 5:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Rays/Dodgers.

All season long I’ve thought the Red Sox were the better team, and I think that even R.J. would agree that luck played at least a small part in the Rays winning the AL East.

At this point in time, however, I think Tampa Bay is the better team. Losing Lowell is pretty huge, because the Red Sox go from well above average at 1B and and above average at 3B to below average at 3B and well below average at 1B.

I’d love to see the Phillies win (and they’re not that far apart, so it’s well within the realm of possibility) but Manny is on a different planet right now. I don’t want to speculate about the reasons for his post-trade resurgence, but it’s real and quantifiable. I think the edge is slight, but the Dodgers are the better team.

J.K.L.

by Aaron Campeau on Oct 8, 2008 8:30 PM EDT reply actions