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FanGraphs | Sheryl Ring: MLB is trying to get themselves included in the 20% corporate tax deduction in the new tax score, and it’s because the law excludes “athletics” from the deduction. They are essentially arguing that their activity is not in fact athletic, and makes up a variety of services. Wild.
Tangotiger Blog | Tom Tango: Looking at Byron Buxton’s compared to a ball’s hang time and distance from landing, sprint speed is a fair proxy for fielding.
The Ringer | Ben Lindbergh: When Dave Roberts or Alex Cora make a decision you disagree with (I doubt the latter has), then maybe you should think twice before second-guessing. That doesn’t mean deferring to authority, but understanding that they have even more complicated batter/pitcher models—now with tunneling and swing plane metrics—to determine how a particular hitter/pitcher will perform against a similarly planed hitter/pitcher. We don’t know as much as we think we do.
The Athletic | Eno Sarris and Joe Schwarz ($): A big part of Rick Porcello’s success is his arsenal, which features both a four-seamer and change which tunnels so well that it finally took off when he added a curve.