Beyond the Box Score: FanShots

The Mistake Lottery

2009-11-05T18:43:49Z

The Mistake Lottery

Derek Zumsteg proposes an idea that is either foolish or brilliant. I cannot decide which.

On the Field, the Yankees Are The Team of the Decade. Off It? The Red Sox.

2009-11-05T14:05:30Z

On the Field, the Yankees Are The Team of the Decade. Off It? The Red Sox.

Jayson Stark wrote about this last week, including all of the relevant information: in the '00s, the Yankees have the most regular season wins, the most postseason wins, the most postseason series wins, most World Series appearances, and now, they have tied the Red Sox for the most World Series wins.

So are the Yankees the team of the '00s? They really should be, yet I'm hesitant to fully commit.

When I think back to this decade when I'm older, I think I'll mostly think of the Red Sox.

Image FanShot

2009-11-05T14:01:33Z

Tigers' all-time WAR leaders

2009-11-04T04:34:02Z

Tigers' all-time WAR leaders

Survey on Attendance

2009-11-04T00:17:46Z

Survey on Attendance

This is a survey written by Dylan Jesse, a student at the University of South Carolina. He is attempting to evaluate the causal factors responsible for the decline in sports attendance in 2008, particularly in MLB.

Take a minute to answer the survey. He has promised to provide us with the results at the completion of his project.

BtB on Twitter

2009-11-02T22:14:38Z

BtB on Twitter

Let's let Sky have his Twitter account back. But don't unfollow him! Just follow @BtBScore.

Primer on Runs Created

2009-10-30T16:42:07Z

Primer on Runs Created

Busy week over at Intro to Sabermetrics. I briefly went through the good and bad of Runs Created, using sources such as Patriot's great article as my "text." Hope I got most of the discussion points right. Feel free to correct me where I'm wrong.

How to improve basketball

2009-10-30T14:25:10Z

How to improve basketball

Would playing a best-of-seven quarters contest make basketball more exciting?

LB Keith Bulluck uses a sabermetric analogy to explain the Titans' quarterback situation.

2009-10-30T06:09:37Z

LB Keith Bulluck uses a sabermetric analogy to explain the Titans' quarterback situation.

Alcides Escobar "abandoned his daughter before she was born"

2009-10-30T01:51:00Z

Alcides Escobar "abandoned his daughter before she was born"

at the beginning of the year I saw something like this on a blog but thought it was a lie....after reading this story, watching the videos..... I´m wrong. Mr. Escobar needs to man-up. Omar Moreno is one of my baseball idols its good to see he is helping out his country. Its disturbing to see such talented young man have such low morals.

UZR, Scouting, and the Fans

2009-10-29T20:17:11Z

UZR, Scouting, and the Fans

I attempted to regress UZR data from 2007, 2008, and 2009 using information gleaned from tango's fan's scouting report.

Not-So-Lousy Lineup Optimizer, Playoff Edition: New York Yankees

2009-10-28T17:25:18Z

Not-So-Lousy Lineup Optimizer, Playoff Edition: New York Yankees

Just in time for the series, I got this out. Tomorrow I'll write about the Phillies. See where Derek Jeter should hit vs. RHP. Hint: Not 1st.

"Mars is in Leo, A-Rod is a Leo. It's a supercharged time for him."

2009-10-28T15:54:36Z

"Mars is in Leo, A-Rod is a Leo. It's a supercharged time for him."

If astrologer Andrea Mallis says so, I know where I am putting my money

CC vs. Lee, a WS Game 1 Preview

2009-10-28T15:16:38Z

CC vs. Lee, a WS Game 1 Preview

A take on the pitching matchup in the first game that I haven't read about or heard about elsewhere. Plus, I wrote it.

The Value of Walks and Baseball’s "Clock"

2009-10-28T13:15:33Z

The Value of Walks and Baseball’s "Clock"

I'm laying down the groundwork for evaluating baseball. Last time I talked about runs, here I talk about outs. And now we have the two primary factors of any baseball game.

Player Profile: Chone Figgins

2009-10-26T18:32:53Z

Player Profile: Chone Figgins

This week's profile on Intro to Saber 101 is on one of the more surprising "top free agents" to come around in some time, LA Angels' third baseman Chone Figgins.

2007-2009 Pitch F/X Download Available (.sql)

2009-10-26T15:33:38Z

2007-2009 Pitch F/X Download Available (.sql)

I finally got a shockey monkey to get my brother going and he has the 2007 to 2009 Pitch F/X data ready for download. He has included the scripts which he used to speed up the download process.

Once the retrosheet data is out for 2009, we will make the entire dataset available. Due to its large size, we will hopefully be making a smaller version of just 2000 to 2009 data available this year as some people have requested. It all depends on how well the shockie monkey works out.

Dominican boys imperil themselves for the profit of MLB and somehow MLB is the victim?

2009-10-26T12:10:13Z

Dominican boys imperil themselves for the profit of MLB and somehow MLB is the victim?

Barry Larkin's Case for the Hall of Fame

2009-10-23T17:42:13Z

Barry Larkin's Case for the Hall of Fame

I compare Barry Larkin to BBWAA-elected shortstops already in the Hall of Fame. He compares very favorably--an above-average HoF SS, and probably an average HoF'er overall.

A.J. Burnett, Career: 54.6 average game score, 17.2 standard deviation Andy Pettitte, Career: 51.4,...

2009-10-23T11:36:10Z

A.J. Burnett, Career: 54.6 average game score, 17.2 standard deviation
Andy Pettitte, Career: 51.4, 17.2

A.J. Burnett, Yankee: 53.3, 17.0
Andy Pettitte, Yankee, 2007-2009: 49.8, 16.3

And, for the hell of it:

C.C. Sabathia, Yankee: 58.1, 17.8

A.J. Burnett has a reputation for being wildly inconsistent, throwing three ugly innings in one start and then spinning a shutout the next. That angle has, naturally, been played up in the postseason, as the Yankees "can't be sure what they'll get" out of one of their more shiny investments from game to game.

The people saying that last bit are correct. The point they're missing, though, is that the same thing could be said for pretty much every other pitcher in baseball. Starters are inconsistent. When so much depends on the weather, the opposing lineup, and the defense, it isn't realistic to expect a guy to go out and have the same game every turn.

Lookout Landing - Our Center Fielder Is Better And/Or More Attractive In A Sexual Way Than Yours