Sabersphere 1/18: Caught Stealing Calculus, How the Nationals Were Built, and Jimmie Foxx

Bradley Woodrum at Fangraphs looks at which teams were best at stealing bases efficiently in 2012: The Changing Caught-Stealing Calculus

Leafing through an old Sports Illustrated, I recently happened upon this stellar article by Mr. Albert Chen entitled "Revenge Of The Base Stealers," in which Chen analyzed the league’s continued shift towards base-pilfering over base-trotting.

Zachary Levine of Baseball Prospectus looks at some crucial trades that led to the Nationals' success: Washington's Winning Way with Trades

Draft well, scout well internationally, develop players well, and when the time is absolutely right, go all in for that big free agent—the last piece of your World Series champions. Or at least the last piece of the best team in baseball that will still have to win three near-coin-flip series to lift the hardware.

Frank Jackson at The Hardball Times looks at Jimmie Foxx the pitcher: Foxx and mounds

A memorable exit is a great way to cap off a memorable career. Going out Ted Williams-style, a home run in one’s last plate appearance, would be the ideal.

A former teammate of Williams, a renowned batsman himself, also had a memorable coda to his major league career. But it was not so much the culmination of his career as a departure from his previous accomplishments.

Jeff Long of Baltimore Sports and Life looks at Orioles' reliever Troy Patton and what to expect from him in 2013: 2013 Projections: Troy Patton

In December of 2007 the Baltimore Orioles sent Miguel Tejada to Houston, a trade which netted the O’s 5 young players in return. Some of those guys have already come and gone (Matt Albers, Luke Scott) while others never truly made a significant impact on the O’s organization (Dennis Sarfate, Mike Costanzo). One player has been with the Orioles the entire time however, and is just now starting to add some significant value to the major league club.

If you would like to make a submission for a future version of Sabersphere, please email me at SpencerSchneier22@gmail.com.

Today's BtB Retro continues Dan Turkenkopf week here, with his first post ever for BtB: Catcher's Block Percentage: With or Without You (3/25/08)

First off, I'd like to thank R.J. for inviting me to join Beyond the Box Score. I hope to be able to contribute some interesting information and insight to a great site. Some topics I plan to examine in the next few months include game calling, pitch framing and clutch performance, as well as commenting on any studies that strike a chord.