:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/10364881/150948493.0.jpg)
It's tough to decide what's been more interesting to follow this spring: Biogenesis being sued by Major League Baseball with Commissioner Bud Selig leading the charge, or the New York Yankees dropping like flies. Regardless of how either of those situations play out, I'm just happy that we are now a mere six days away from Opening Day.
Previously on Beyond the Box Score
-
DISC+: Quantifying the game's most disciplined hitters - By Max Weinstein - Beyond the Box Score
Max has taken the time to actually quantify plate discipline in a way that's a good deal easier to comprehend than some of the other plate discipline metrics available. -
Labels, Rebuilding Franchises, and Revenue Sharing - By Ben Horrow - Beyond the Box Score
For those of us that are active in the baseball Twitterverse, you may have already read the tweets by Peter Gammons stating that he dislikes the way that certain teams choose to rebuild and reap the rewards of high draft picks AND revenue sharing funds. He even went so far as to say that he believed they were spitting on the integrity of the game. Ben does a good job of going through and elaborating on these statements. -
MLB sues Biogenesis, but to what end? - By Ben Horrow - Beyond the Box Score
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and company (MLB) have officially filed a lawsuit against Biogenesis and Anthony Bosch. Ben does a great job of covering the topic and helping us all figure out what MLB and Selig's real goals are. I actually believe this tactic to be a smart one on the part of MLB and am very curious to see where it takes us, if anywhere. -
2013 Team Preview: Houston Astros - By Nathaniel Stoltz - Beyond the Box Score
That's right, an all Texas team preview edition of SaberSphere as Nathan breaks down the Houston Astros winter and talks about their prospects of not being so bad this upcoming season. For what it's worth Astros fans, I think you'll be fun to watch this season. -
2013 Team Preview: Texas Rangers - By Lance Rinker - Beyond the Box Score
The Texas Rangers were, once again, early favorites to contend for a World Series championship in 2012. Instead they left their fans disappointed and have had a very questionable offseason. What will the 2013 bring for this team and their fans?
Around the Sabersphere
-
Sabermetrics, Scouting and the Science of Baseball 2013 | Sabermetrics Scouting and the Science of Baseball – Summer, 2013
For anyone who enjoys Sabermetrics and loves research then you definitely want to get in on this. If you have original research you've done recently or are currently working on something then this seminar would be great for you to help spread the word about it. -
Is Bill James Right about Ground Ball Pitchers and Injuries? By Bill Petti | FanGraphs Baseball
There has been some chatter concerning ground ball pitchers, extreme ground ball pitchers, and whether they are more prone to injury as well as any better than fly ball pitchers. Bill (Petti) does a great job of looking at the data and coming up with a conclusion that, based on his research, says quite a bit. -
The True Dickey Effect - Graydon Carruthers - Community Research – FanGraphs Baseball
I found this to be a very interesting read as Graydon researches whether there is a "Dickey" (R.A. Dickey that is) effect or not, based on how pitchers who follow after him perform, and how pronounced of an effect it is. I'd definitely be curious to see this applied to this upcoming season for him to see if these findings remain relatively constant now that he's moved to the American League East.
Around SB Nation
-
Biogenesis PED scandal: At least 90 players named in records - Blaine Blontz - MLB Daily Dish
The hits keep coming as there are reportedly at least 90 players named in the records linking them to Tony Bosch and whatever he was providing people. Commissioner Bud Selig may not be able to suspend people for not having failed a drug test but he can suspend players for being "uncooperative" during their interrogation. -
2013 MLB Mock Draft Version One - By John Sickels - Minor League Ball
I love my mock drafts, especially when it's really too early to tell who could go where, what their actual value is, and all sorts of other variables that come into play as we get closer to June. It's still fun though because it allows us to get more familiar with the prospects. -
Rookies can't succeed as backups: Myth or reality? - By WTM - Bucs Dugout
This is an interesting piece that looks at whether the Pittsburgh Pirates are handling their bench properly by relying far too much on veterans. I, for one, believe one of the better ways to find out more about prospects or rookies is to let them get their feet wet coming off the bench, but that's just me. The writer also gets bonus points for some properly placed sarcasm throughout -- love me some sarcasm. -
All’s Not Well for Yankees as Team Looks to Angel in the Outfield - By William Juliano - Pinstriped Bible
The New York Yankees have decided that the answer to their problems in the outfield, as well as their lineup, that has been ravaged by injuries -- and not in a romantic novella kind of way -- is to trade for Vernon Wells. William Juliano does a good job of outlining how exactly the Yankees got themselves to this point and doesn't bother making any excuses for the team -- kudos.
Outside the Sabersphere
-
Daniel Hudson’s baseball card is from game when he blew out elbow - By David Brown - Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports
This is incredible. Not for Hudson but just in general that Topps chose to go with a picture of a player who just experienced one of the worst things you can experience on the field -- an injury. I wonder what the Topps folks were thinking when deciding between this photo and another? -
'World War Z' new trailer - Movies News - Digital Spy
For those of you that don't know me all that well it'll become fairly obvious that I'm a bit of a movie buff. I love the escape, especially for great thriller or horror flicks. I also love great books but I'm picky so if you have any suggestions for some great fiction then please let me know.I've already read this book and I'm curious about how well the movie will live up to how good the book was. There has actually been just one book where I felt the movie was actually better and it was Fight Club. Brad Pitt was in that one too. #mancrush
