Answers to fantasy baseball questions (and much more) since 1996
Rotoman WSI’s White Sox Interactive: Comiskey Prices
I often wonder what the price of things used to be. For instance, a friend told me the other day that the inflation adjusted price of a gallon of gasoline in the mid-seventies was $7 per gallon.
This site, which is rather chockablock with White Sox features, also has this nifty list of ticket and concession prices at the old and new Comiskey, since the forties.
ESPN.com – MLB – Billy Koch’s disaster
He enters in the ninth up by three. The save situation that shouldn’t be. Homers to Carlos Beltran and Mike Sweeney aren’t an embarrassment in and of themselves, especially if he was working on a long run of good appearances. But he isn’t. If he’s throwing hard, as reported, and has his sinker working, why does the ball keep flying out of the yard?
Baseblogs – Obsessive fans track the national pastime on the Web. By Josh Levin
Excellent survey of baseball blogging. Fun to read, good links, leading to more links, leading to…
SI.com – Writers – Verducci’s Mailbag: Indians stood their ground – Thursday April 8, 2004 6:13PM
I was just reading the Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview Issue, with it’s big Stats takeout. The problem is that so much of the info is so 1984, which is when Bill James invented much of this stuff, that it’s hard to take seriously.
But then you read Verducci’s story about clutch hitting and realize he’s evaluating the ability to hit in the clutch by using batting average! That’s so 1983!
I don’t know that using SLG or OPS would change the results (the way they did disputing Voros McCracken’s contention that pitchers don’t control batter outcomes on balls in play), but if you’re going to spend many pages talking about the validity of OBP and OPS and SLG and their advantage over AVG, don’t you think you should use them to look at clutch hitting?
TOUT WARS: Battle of the Idiots
One of the reasons we play in the so-called experts league Tout Wars is to provide actual draft 5×5 prices before the season starts. But we keep playing after the season starts, in part because we’re competitive and we’re playing for expert bragging rights, and also to provide claims and roster move information each week. For those following along at home our weekly claims and transaction deadline is Friday at 5pm.
It’s not posted yet but each week there will be posted at the Tout Wars site a listing of FAAB moves.
Yesterday was our first claims period and there was a very big fish available: Milton Bradley. Our FAAB is 100 units and the Game claimed all of Roger Anderson’s beans. The problem with this is that Anderson was in the sixth or seventh draft position, meaning that five or six teams did not go all in. And the fact that Roger did is a little insulting, since going in was so clearly the right thing to do.
It would have been the right thing to do for three reasons: Firstly, there is unlikely to be another player to come over to the NL during the course of the year who will make as large an impact as Bradley. Better players may come over, but not play for as long a time. Secondly, in Tout Wars we allow $0 bids, so just because you spend all your FAAB you can still acquire players. Thirdly, in Tout Wars we allow the trading of FAAB, so just because you’re out of it now doesn’t mean you’ll never have FAAB again.
The only reason not to go all in on Bradley would be if you had a team of killer hitting and no pitching. But even then, Bradley would have more value as trade bait than all the FAAB in the world would.
At this early point in the season my team is in 12th place (that’s next to last), and for some reason that I cannot fathom now I bid $81. That was idiotic. I was an idiot. I have no excuse. Roger Anderson’s insult hits me squarely, full force.
If you have a chance to get Bradley this week you should spend whatever it takes. In a league that doesn’t allow $0 bids it may not be all in, but I’d say even then it’s probably best to go for it. Adding a fulltime hitter at the start of the season is a huge advantage.
My advice is: Don’t be an idiot.
Major League Baseball : Ask Rotoman
The new one came out yesterday, with tips about how to keep the panic relfex under control. And an inconclusive look at pitchign rotation order. Batting order and cheap steals are on the menu, too.
Feel free to ask a question, too.
ESPN.com – MLB – Angels-Seattle in fourth inning
It’s only two games, but the Angels are playing the pitching rich Seattles in a pitchers park and have clubbed wunderelder Jamie Moyer and youthful ace Joel Pineiro. It is too early for even Steve Trachsel acolytes to freak out, but if Garret Anderson is healthy the Angels have a powerful lineup. And good pitching.
Note also that Troy Glaus stole a base, as good a sign for his fans as any I can imagine.
ESPN.com – MLB – Report: Twins rookie Mauer needs knee surgery
Does this feed the fire of those who say that Mauer is too tall to survive as a catcher? I should say so. I haven’t looked at the issue closely enough to have a strong opinion about it, but it seems likely to me that there will always be room for exceptions to such broad conclusions. So maybe most tall guys don’t become catchers because there are better roles for tall guys than crouching, but that doesn’t mean that a tall guy couldn’t do the job.
Or that all those previous tall guys who didn’t catch didn’t catch because of the wear and tear of catching.
Mauer out for three weeks isn’t a big deal. Mauer need surgery after two big league games is. Henry Blanco will see more playing time and with Matt LeCroy behind the plate more Mike Cuddyer will get more time at DH. But three weeks seems way longer at the start of the season than in July, so Mauer owners shouldn’t panic.
Not yet, anyway.
Rafael Palmeiro joins Jay Gibbons and Paul Konerko on the AL leader board for stolen bases. Weird.
ESPN.com – MLB – MLB GAME LOG:
“KANSAS CITY 9TH
-Bottom of the 9th inning
-J Randa walked.
-J Randa to second on passed ball by S Alomar Jr.
-K Harvey walked.
-B Koch relieved C Politte.
-B Santiago doubled to deep left, J Randa scored, K Harvey to third.
-A Guiel struck out swinging.
-M Stairs hit for T Graffanino.
-D Marte relieved B Koch.
-M Lopez hit for M Stairs.
-M Lopez homered to center, K Harvey and B Santiago scored.
-A Berroa singled to left.
-C Beltran homered to left, A Berroa scored.
6 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors
Chicago Sox 7, Kansas City 9
”
The key thing is that Koch was removed before the go-ahead run was on base, simply to avoid the matchup with Stairs. It isn’t that Koch can’t get lefties out so much as that Stairs can’t hit lefties at all.
Mendy Lopez showed new power last year and the trend continues. It’s too soon for White Sox bullpen followers to panic, but this was a frightening beginning.