(enveloping R.Budd Selig’s scatongued voice here) “Murray Chass…you’re on the clock!”
Anyone who knows me understands two things:
First, I am very stubborn in trying to prove my point, sometimes going to great length. Perhaps its ego, but more likely the rush of competition, any competition, brings that out in me. Second, when I believe I am wrong, I have no problem setting the record straight and admitting culpability. That is why I have been taking a harder look at the sabermetric revolution over the last colander year and believe I was hasty in deriding the kind of information available today.
Why am I writing this now? Because Brian Cashman gave me the idea a couple of weeks ago in his interview with Mike Francesa on WFAN. Cashman has discussed at length how sabermetrics was a driving factor in obtaining Nick Swisher after the 2008 season. If not for numbers such as line drive rates, Swisher very well would never be a Yankees, something that clearly would have hurt the offense the last two years. When you factor in what they gave up (Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez, Jhonny Nunez) this might go down as one of the all time steals in Yankees history. The point is Cashman talked about how statistical analysis is one tool in the toolbox, and can’t be ignored. As he pointed out, every industry needs to evolve and sports are currently using the age of information to learn more about itself.
...If anything, a Mike Silva might be the best spokesperson for advanced metrics as an example of “the every man” who can live on both sides of the aisle. So if you don’t want to listen to me, then listen to the godfather and speak the language the masses understand. That’s when you will convert individuals like me.
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1. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: October 31, 2010 at 02:36 PM (#3680383)this article has some holes in it...
That's in addition to "colander," those are just in the excerpt, and I've probably missed one or two! Wow.
(BTW, can anyone tell me why I can't sign in to BBTF on Firefox, but I can on Chrome and IE?)
... or not.
The Buck Showalter/Gene Michael Yankees were very sabermetrically inclined, for anyone who was paying attention. They may not have had line drive percentage at their disposal, but they used what was available at the time.
Check your browser settings...make sure Firefox is set up to accept cookies.
Try deleting all your Firefox cookies.
With their story-telling acumen and "every man" personae, the glorious sabermetric revolution is nigh! (I assume this is what the Mayan calendar predicts for 2012)
Imagine how much the Mayans could have achieved if they'd also had the colander!
Not everyone "gets it" right away. Anyone willing to learn and grow is on the right path in my book.
"The every man," actually.
it was actually the Mayans who invented productive outs
Was that their euphemism for human sacrifice?
Hey! That worked! Thanks.
"Voluntary self-moritition".
My sensory organs did not deserve that, sir.
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