Saber-Scouting, a relatively new blog I discovered via Hardball Times, uses AB/BB to examine the level of play in various professional leagues. I find this line of inquiry fascinating (I’ve done something similar with defense in the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual), and I look forward to reading more from the folks at Saber-Scouting in the future. Swing by and say hey…

Brock for Broglio interviews Voros McCracken, discoverer of DIPS and author of a blog bearing his name. Among other things, McCracken talks about his time consulting for the Boston Red Sox. Not surprisingly, he is very candid about the affair:
In terms of my work with the Red Sox it was mostly enjoyable but occasionally frustrating. Being able to have the ear of an MLB GM is something most of the people who do what I do aspire to and it was indeed very {searching for a word} exhilarating? On the other hand the money was lousy, and at times I …read more

Another week, another poll. This time I’m wondering whether you consider yourself sabermetrically inclined, “old school,” or both. Me? A little of each. As I’ve mentioned numerous times, I grew up reading Bill James. At the same time, I’m a romantic at heart.
Honestly I’ve never understood why there’s been such a disconnect between the two factions. We’re all baseball fans, right?
Anyway, let me know what you think:
{democracy:39}
As always, feel free to leave a comment if checking a box just doesn’t get it out of your system.

What am I reading this morning? Glad you asked:

Bill James Interview (Hardball Times). Chris Jaffe talks to the man who first popularized sabermetrics (and actually coined the term). James on what kinds of issues sabermetrics might tackle in the future:

League-perspective decision making. Looking at decisions based from the standpoint of the league.

Simple example: the wild card. The National League has 16 teams, and four teams make the playoffs. Sixteen is divisible by four. The natural thing to do, it would seem to me, would be to make four divisions and have four division races.

It wasn’t done that way, and if …read more

BallHype – Indispensable Baseball Resourcesballhype_story_widget_184496(false);
A reader from Belgium emailed me the other day wanting to learn more about baseball. I gave him a few suggestions and then thought, what a great idea for a post. Why not make this information available in one place so that everyone can benefit?
This list is not comprehensive, but it represents some of the finest work I’ve seen covering various aspects of baseball. If you know of others, please feel free to add them in the comments and I’ll update as appropriate. Enjoy!

The good folks at Walk Like a Sabermetrician have posted an article on the trouble with OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) as a statistic (tip o’ the Knuckle Curve cap to Baseball Think Factory). This is a drum I’ve beaten at various points in the past, with limited success, but here is the problem in a nutshell:
What if we think about what OPS looks like if you write it with a common denominator? Now we have:
OPS = ((H+W)*AB + TB*(AB+W))/(AB*(AB+W))
That is a hideous equation that measures, um… what? Anyway, I agree with the overall sentiment:
OPS is a fine, quick …read more