The Friday links are getting a bit unwieldy, so I thought I’d try a different approach. Rather than dumping a boatload of links at the end of the week, I’m going to post shorter lists… well, whenever. This should make them less daunting and more timely. We’ll see how it goes; if you have thoughts on the matter, please keep them to yourselves… er, let me know…
- Looking at Some Games with My New Score Card (Baseball Analysts). Before the season, Dave Allen developed a new way to keep score. Now, he shares some real-world examples, including a couple of Padres wins.
- Time to Worry About Peavy (FanGraphs). Dave Cameron notes that Jake Peavy has gotten off to a terrible start for the White Sox and suggests that four starts is enough for fans to be concerned.
- Platoon splits 2.0 (Hardball Times). Max Marchi continues his work on pitch classification.
- More “Planning to Fail” (IIATMS). Jason asks some fascinating questions: “How do teams strategize to climb the ladder, in the face of a vastly different economic reality? Teams, I am guessing, do not bemoan their ‘small market fates’ like the fans; rather they devise plans to be better, smarter, nimbler. Will these plans work? Who knows, but the inherent strategy within each, to me, is where the essence of the game lies.”
- These Questions 3: Josh Wilker (SweetSpot). Rob Neyer chats with the author of Cardboard Gods, who says, among many other things: “I’ve never counted my cards, or even done any kind of a rough estimation… I actually don’t really want to know. I’ve decided to write about every card I own, and I think if I find out exactly (or even roughly) how many cards I have, it might be like knowing how many days I have left to live.”
- And with the 9th pick… (Padres RunDown). Peter begins his coverage of the June draft and offers some possibilities for the Padres.
- Bryce Harper’s makeup (Hardball Times). Pat Andriola notes that one of the players Peter mentions has come under scrutiny of late, quoting Kevin Goldstein: “It’s impossible to find any talent evaluator who isn’t blown away by Harper’s ability on the field, but it’s equally difficult to find one who doesn’t genuinely dislike the kid” due to, among other reasons, “a disturbingly large sense of entitlement.” The “E” word led one commenter to invoke the name of Ryan Leaf. It burns, burns, burns.
- The Science of Playoffs (Baseball Analysts). Sky Andrecheck asks a good question: “What is the point of having playoffs?” As several commenters correctly note, it’s to generate revenue.
- The Padres Are Who We Thought They Were (Friar Forecast). According to Daniel, “The Padres are still the same team we thought they were prior to the season. They just happen to temporarily be occupying first place.” Maybe, maybe not. The truth is, it’s too early to tell.
here’s to temporarily occupying first place.
if we make it a drinking game (a six pack for every day the Padres are in first place), how long before we have to get sober?
maybe, first in the league for stolen bases, or manufactured runs, or base-running…and so on, this can really be a game within the game.