Ask Rotoman

Texas Seattle Box Score

When I was growing up newspapers didn’t run box scores with batting averages. I assume this was because of night games and deadlines. But my dad had scrapbooks from his childhood, when there were no night games, in which the box scores had updated batting averages for the New York Giants and whatever team they happened to be playing.

Batting averages in box scores don’t mean much, of course, but a look at the Rangers’ lineup tonight is impressive. Only one hitter below .300 as I write this (Kevin Mench, .267) and six above .333. And those six are the regulars in the lineup. One of the regulars not in the lineup, Mark Teixeira, went on the DL today and phenom Adrian Gonzalez was called up from Triple-A.

At one point Gonzalez was considered as strong a prospect as Miguel Cabrera. Wrist problems that have robbed his bat speed and dubious strkezone judgment have dimmed his star, but he’s still a prospect to become a big league regular. He just not likely to join those Rangers with big batting averages this time.

ESPN.com – MLB – Rockies’ Wilson to undergo knee surgery

There you go. It wasn’t as if there weren’t warnings, but most indicated he’d be able to play through it. I’m surprised they’re being so negative about the length of his rehab, it seems there’s a decent chance he’ll be back in a few months, but that’s probably wise.

Major League Baseball : Ask Rotoman

This week’s column is up. An imaginary conversation with Scott Rolen, info about FAAB, advice about old pitchers gone wrong, and something about vetoing trades.

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.