pete

I'm not a Ned fan, but don't you have to count on Mench having an awareness of the situation?

C'mon RS, the arrogance of Chicago radio makes it enjoyable as they shift into hate mode on their own teams. How about those Bears? The two weeks will be over soon. I'm one of seven members of the Cuh-LAHW-diooooooo fan club. My guess is Parra will be stashed in AAA to start the season just because its possible. I'm hoping that scrappy Cappy is being groomed for sale in spring training. I certainly hope so. Bush is ok, but not much more than that. Ned talks about him as if the two are carrying on an inappropriate relationship. Nothing would make me happier than watching both of them somewhere else.

Isn't PECOTA, Nate Silver's entrepeneurship? Secret formulas no doubt. How many times does he have to hit drives into the rough before it loses value? IIRC last year's PECOTA prospect report had Braun as high 20s or low 30s and Troy Tulo as 75 or something.

Gee, is describing bringing in Gabe Kapler because "he is a winner" a cliche? Why not talk about his ability to hit, defend, how he is in great shape or something? I give credit to Jim Powell for a good job. He managed to ask tough questions or make observations that might get tense while keeping the whole thing flowing and enjoyable. When some guy asked the Nedster whether he is managing for the job, and he answered "no," Powell pointed out that all managers are managing for their jobs. Kendall sounded positive. Feels like 21 and got laser surgery on his eyes.

Marty's definitely not a Bronson Arroyo fan...

I thought this was an interesting read and the chart did a good job of illustration. The subject nips at the topics of NL/AL superiority and whether there should be a salary cap. http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2008/01/payroll_efficie.php Its also talked about here: http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1859&Itemid=41 If the 2007 season were replayed, what chance does any team have of winning versus the Sox or Yanks? If the WS had changed circumstances such as home field (dang you Ichiro!) or there was no long layoff, would the Rox have been more competitive? Also, I wonder about the revenue side. How much revenue does it mean to go deep into the playoffs? Tickets, merchandise, TV ad sales, franchise value, ability to retain players plus? Maybe the money that makes the jump from being a better team to one that is playoff competitive is a good investment. Just thinking out loud.

Didn't Felix Pie bat something like .215 in the majors and .350 at Iowa? I wonder how that leads to a projection of .289? Averaging? Lee is a year post wrist injury. I wonder what the algorithm is for that.

Didn't Felix Pie bat something like .215 in the majors and .350 at Iowa? I wonder how that leads to a projection of .289? Averaging? Lee is a year post wrist injury. I wonder what the algorithm is for that.

Didn't Felix Pie bat something like .215 in the majors and .350 at Iowa? I wonder how that leads to a projection of .289? Averaging? Lee is a year post wrist injury. I wonder what the algorithm is for that.

Didn't Felix Pie bat something like .215 in the majors and .350 at Iowa? I wonder how that leads to a projection of .289? Averaging? Lee is a year post wrist injury. I wonder what the algorithm is for that.

FWIW, I bet in 5 years someone will make money claiming to have metrics for measuring managers and lots of other things.

I think a couple of things add to the dislike of Yost. One would be how often you yelled at the TV in frustration. One example for me was watching Wise loft his 7th or 8th fluttering high ball in a row. How bizarre. If anything the team should spend money on a sports psychologist or hire a new one. Sometimes the frustration may be misplaced, but it makes you wonder. Another thing is Yost's weirdly acidic manner. A lot of the time he looks like he trying to look calm or unworried, but you're waiting for his teeth to crack as he grits them. I think its nonsense to think you can derive mathematical formulas to determine effectiveness of managing. They do a lot of things. How about managing personalities? The Cubs is one example. They could easily go bad with the stew they got there. Another is calling for bunts and steals. I watched several games where Piniella sniffed out bunts and steal attempts as well as times where he bunted or stole unexpectedly to great effect. There are far too many data points. At best, an attempt could be made after a career.

Yeah, you're right, but its like watching a movie with the sound turned off. You see characters gesturing. You see them come and go. But you have to guess at what's really going on and what's to come. I wonder how good a manager Frank Kremblas would be.

Whether or not Yost is safe or on thin ice, Mark A. couldn't say much else. That gorilla in the room is lost revenues among other things to him. Melvin said something like expectations were higher next season at the end of last. I don't know what level that means, but they might not either. I have this fantasy that Bobby Cox's health forces him to retire and somehow Yost is drawn away. Well, I'm not sure how that would happen, but dreams aren't always logical.

Who remembers what Melvin said after the season last year? It wasn't that he had a short leash, but my recollection is that it was something that could be interpreted that way.

Its the same ol', same ol'. Even before they got KoooooooSKAY, winning the division was gonna be "easy." Now, heck, just bow down baby. There was an article a couple days ago that had the same flavor in a Chicago paper and I thought about starting a thread with the best quote and a url. The articles would pile up and then it could be referred to later if, ya know, lightning strikes and they don't have a glorious overwhelming victory. I got the idea when I came across some ESPN article on Favre on an oddball Bears forum and couldn't later find it again, even on ESPN. He sucked, was old, et cetera. Additionally if you look at national media, often times the media members carry an emotional attachment to their old home team. Bill James is a Bears fan I believe and likely a Cubs or Chisox fan. The Footballoutsiders guys, who are quite in vogue now as heavy stat creation and analysis migrates to football, have a bunch of guys from Seattle. Looking at their comments before the season is hilarious. Having said all that, I listen to WSCR and the ESPN affiliate now and then when the local shows are uninteresting. They do have guys who are more objective.

Sounds more like a tactic to intimidate than a search for information. If they were racist, the results would show on the field. If they were taking bribes, growing pot plants isn't a good indicator. Really, what would pot plants or police activity at the home tell you? IMO there as absolutely no question that they should be able to investigate them financially. Maybe its an ill thought out attempt to get the umpire's union to agree.

I think it all depends on how you define 'superiority.' When you have two teams with giant payrolls, that skews things. Maybe dollar for dollar or some other measure, the NL is better. The AL still has some fat wallets. I don't think the sample size of interleague play is large enough either.

That's a funny commercial. I got a low-res copy off Youtube. Wish I had a better one. Wouldn't you think that if people volunteered to watch advertising, you could do it? He also did Sensodyne (IIRC), some kind of lawn tractors and I saw him in one Bowflex commercial. I'm sure there are others. He did go for years without doing a whole lot.

I love the Moneyball quote. Kind of reminds me of some of the Footballoutsiders guys saying the Packers were going to suck before the season.

The cooking classes became a competition as players were broken up into teams and given a certain budget to prepare a meal for the rest of the camp. The group was judged on creativity and, of course, taste of the prepared food with the winning team walking away with tickets to the Phoenix Suns game. The team of RJ Seidel, Eric Farris, Ulrich Snijders and Wily Peralta was victorious during the first session. Suns game is probably a hot ticket if they're decent seats. I wonder what the winning meal was.

Didn't Hart have a really high average with runners on? Seems like a great fit for the five hole. Plus he steals bases! Move him behind Prince!

The cubs TV guys had the numbers and it was higher at the number one spot, but just slightly. Once upon a time, he refused to play outfield so maybe Lou is working toward a change. The team is definitely a crazy mix of guys. Now they have a Japanese outfielder to join in. Dedication to team and all that combined with a guy who bunny hops when he catches a ball. Fiery ARam versus the reserved Asian demeanor. I just hope Fontenot is still with the team so they can occassionally have the all-French middle infield. Oh, and the big Z breaking bats over his leg, taking giant swings and wearing a batting helmet that looks like the kind you get the cheese fries in.

One reason is that I think they underperformed last year, or perhaps it would be better stated that troubles along the way with SP and BP threw things off. I guess you say pretty much the same thing by describing the SP and BP as better. I'd be surprised if the starting rotation works out like you project though. Might make a good prediction thread. C: I think Estrada was better than one would expect given the howling and hatred directed at the guy. I was struck by how much better he looked at the beginning of the year though, when I watched a Brewers classic game recently. Was he a cancer? I guess he could have been but what is the evidence of that? The weird scuffle in the dugout? I wonder if someone will write a book in a decade or so and tell the truth. I was surprised by Kendall's career numbers after he was signed. They aren't that bad and he seems like an intelligent player if nothing else. I wonder how the fans who were tormented by the low percentage of runners gunned down will accept more of the same. Things could be a little better or worse. It'll be interesting to see who gets number two catcher. Weeks: I'm hopeful as well, especially after how great he was after returning from Nashville. I wonder why he was so very different after returning. Not only did he hit the ball better, but he laid off the exact pitches he would wave at earlier in the year. But why was he so much better? One, it could have been general improvement in wrist health, but that doesn't seem likely to me, as it was such a big change and he never really got a rest did he? Two, it could have shaken him up and been sort of a wake up call. Three, he got coaching in Nashville from Kremblas or the hitting coach down there that got to him somehow. Four, something else? CF: I think Billy played far better by the end of the year than the beginning, but having a great glove in center is a big plus. All the more important when you have a new LF. I heard an interview with him on the radio, and he seemed like a pretty good guy. It'll be interesting to see how much the change from Petco to Miller helps him offensively. LF: I think Braun could maintain his offense or even notch it up. It could go the other way though. When he had his mini-slump last year was right when there was constant yakking about the ROY and comparisons were being made to the greats of baseball history. Now he'll be playing a new position that isn't as easy as some make it out to be. His achilles heel at 3rd was overthrowing when he had a lot of time. That won't be solved by changing position. On top of that he's going to bounce around the batting order and Yost has already talked to him about improving his pitch selection. Good grief. I suppose he didn't achieve what he has so far without dealing with a lot, but there is potential for trouble. I suppose if he doesn't do as well, it will be declared to be a natural regression. I agree with much else that you say, but those were the thoughts that jumped out at me.

is a tall order. More relevant questions would be whether he is highly valuable and whether he matched or outplayed his contract. I really enjoy watching him play and think he is a great talent. Having said that, his defense isn't flawless. He takes a poor line to the ball sometimes although he is usually able to use his arm to overcome it. He definitely had more errors than were scored. One in particular I remember was an easy ball he booted in game 163 that wasn't scored an error. If you really want to be un-PC, you could bring up the fact that the Rockies grow their infield grass longer than most. That's a significant benefit to fielders and a detriment to hitters, some more than others. It would be interesting if his defensive stats had an unbalanced home/road split.