Rangers lose, but magic number now 2 (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 22 September 2011 11:37:55 PM. © MLB News Blog

The Texas Rangers are testing their own patience with six games to go. They gave up a chance Thursday to inch closer to a second straight AL West crown. Coco Crisp hit a go-ahead single in the eighth inning, and the Oakland Athletics beat the first-place Rangers 4-3 to avoid a series sweep. The reigning [...]

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Angels lose, drop 3 back for wild card (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 22 September 2011 11:06:52 PM. © MLB News Blog

Edwin Encarnacion hit a game-ending home run in the 12th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Los Angeles 4-3 on Thursday night, dealing the Angels another blow in their chase for a playoff berth. Encarnacion led off the 12th with a drive down the left field line off Garrett Richards (0-2), his 17th homer [...]

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Rays rip Yanks, pull within 2 of Red Sox (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 22 September 2011 11:05:04 PM. © MLB News Blog

Matt Moore struck out 11 in five innings of his first major league start and the Tampa Bay Rays unloaded on the watered-down Yankees for a 15-8 victory Thursday, a night after New York clinched the AL East title. The Rays avoided a four-game sweep and pulled within two games on idle Boston in the [...]

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Moneyball of Today and Tomorrow: What are future
advantages for the Royals

post from Royals Review on 22 September 2011 11:01:45 PM. © Royals Review

At some point during the writing of my dissertation, my advisor mentioned in passing that writing that blank was "a product of its time" was a doleful cliche. And like most cliches, you can immediately see the appeal and the pratfall inherent in the phrase: historical context is often important, especially as we move further into the past, but then again, everything is a product of its time, unless we choose another shopworn phrase and argue that it is timeless.

In any case, the specifics of Moneyball are of their time. There were some appalling levels of ignorance in high places in the world of MLB at the turn of the last century. It's hard to imagine that there was actually a battle of ideas around on-base percentage, but there was. If you weren't around online back then, God bless you, because it was painfully annoying. (Ah, the days of Buster Olney's ill-fated "productive outs" crusade!) Similarly, while it was much maligned at the time, thanks to commonsense measures related to pitch counts and innings counts, we've seen a marked reduction in dramatic pitcher injuries. While the injury rate is still higher for pitchers, the days of seemingly half the young arms in the game being burned out by their mid-20s are behind us.

The player development side has also changed since Lewis's book came out. Changed drastically. The new consensus in layer development is a counter-intuitive one: the best way to get value is to spend big. While teams now have an established appreciation for lower-cost college draft picks, they are only, at most, a portion of a healthy draft diet. While the return of the glorified bonus babies and the importance of scouting has been a vindication of old-school approaches, it is also potentially a poison pill for small-market teams like the Royals. If everyone understands that spending big on the amateur market is actually a bargain, then eventually, won't the Royals be left behind again? I also think we're entering an era of diminishing returns. One of the subtexts of the whole Moneyball era was of an industry maturing, of more or less common management practices from outside of sports finally reaching the game in a profound way. As I wrote last week, the most clueless and dysfunctional front office today would be middle of the pack, if not in the top 10, for 2000.

Of course, there is an avenue of achieving an advantage by doing what everyone else is doing, just doing it better. And this is, by all accounts 100% of what the Royals are about. However, as we move deeper into the 21st century, I wonder what the next new approach or shifting strategy will be.

Here are some possible ideas, new frontiers, that frequently get presented:

Aggressively and creatively using Pitch f/x, Hit f/x, Field f/x, etc. These tools are essentially codified bits of scouting information. There are reports that the Royals are already extremely invested in this type of data. While hitting has always been the easiest aspect of the game to evaluate, the digitized data on fielding and pitching are giving those who want to pay for it absurd amounts of raw data. While much of it is minutiae, the right combination of scouting insight (knowing what to look for) and data mining skill should produce good results.
New international markets and approaches. International scouting and spending still varies greatly from team to team, making this a particularly volatile area. A baseball academy in, say, Brazil, probably won't benefit the GM or owner who builds it, but if it generates one all-star and a handful or organizational guys, it's probably worth it. Or maybe, we go in the other direction. Maybe Team X says, "look, every team has a Dominican presence now, it's over-saturated and too corrupt," we're better off spending elsewhere.
Managing health. It sure seems like aside from a few outliers at each end, 25 or so teams do the exact same thing when it comes to managing and trying to prevent player health. In the grand scheme of things, doubling or even tripling the medical/trainer/etc budget for a professional sports franchise might be a good investment. Baseball, with so many hundreds of players banging around the minor leagues presents a great opportunity for growth. Although I'm a Dr. of Philosophy, I won't try to guess at what training and rehab methods might be beneficial, but surely there are possibilities.
Roster management. Everyone has the same roster now: a five man rotation, way too many relievers (most of whom barely pitch) and a bench that is essentially emergency backups and an extra catcher or two. Whether its a four (or six, who knows?) man rotation, a dramatic innovation in reliever usage, some funky attempts at building platoons or the like, there's room for change. Nobody is going to get fired for being like everyone else, but the entire industry is sleepwalking through the team building aspect of team building.
Major League contracts & spending. Barring a major change in the collective bargaining agreement, there won't be major room for changes in how contracts are structured, but that doesn't mean teams should explore new paths. There's also the possibility that at some point young prospects become over valued in the market and free agent veterans are the best bargains.
The hitting/fielding spectrum. Aside from DHs, all position players hit and field. In recent years, we've seen a decided swing towards valuing defense. Defense is also frequently cheaper to acquire, as the minors are full of guys who can't hit enough to advance. Is the best move to zig where others are zagging?
Creative revenue generation. This is more the business side of the ledger, but would the Royals benefit from barnstorming through the midwest? Would a team generate more money by going to a pay-per-view model? Or building a 100,000 seat stadium? Or a 10,000 seat stadium?

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Game Thread – September 22, 2011

post from LADodgerTalk.com - Daily Dodger Talk, LA Dodger News, Dodger Minor League Reports and Dodger Chatter on 22 September 2011 10:01:16 PM. © LADodgerTalk.com - Daily Dodger Talk, LA Dodger News, Dodger Minor League Reports and Dodger Chatter

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Leo Nunez playing under assumed Name

post from Fish Stripes on 22 September 2011 10:01:07 PM. © Fish Stripes

Apparently Leo Nunez has been playing under an assumed name.

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One of the people said Nunez's real name is Juan Carlos Oviedo and he's 29, a year older than listed in the team media guide.

No wonder he had to return. This could take a while with immigration being what it is. I wonder why this just came out? I mean ~~Leo~~ Juan has been pitching in the Majors for seven years. Who knows.

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Nats hand Phillies sixth straight loss (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 22 September 2011 09:53:46 PM. © MLB News Blog

Brad Peacock, making just his second major league start, pitched 5 2-3 scoreless innings and Michael Morse hit a three-run homer to lead the Washington Nationals to a 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, completing a four-game sweep. Roger Bernadina drove in two runs for the Nationals (76-79), who handed the division champions their sixth [...]

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Colorado Rockies at Houston Astros, Sep 22, 2011
7:05 PM CDT

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 22 September 2011 09:01:22 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

Current Series

4 game series vs Rockies @ Minute Maid Park

Colorado Rockies Purple Row
@ Houston Astros The Crawfish Boxes

Thursday, Sep 22, 2011, 7:05 PM CDT
Minute Maid Park

Alex White vs Henry Sosa

Mostly clear. Winds blowing in from right field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 90.

Complete Coverage >

Fri 09/23 7:05 PM CDT Sat 09/24 6:05 PM CDT Sun 09/25 1:05 PM CDT

Henry Sosa

#65 / Pitcher / Houston Astros

Height: 6-1

Weight: 205

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jul 28, 1985

Alex White

#43 / Pitcher / Colorado Rockies

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Aug 29, 1988

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-sep-22-2011-7-05-pm-cdt

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Marlins Nunez playing with assumed name (AP)

Florida Marlins closer Leo Nunez has been playing under an assumed name, and the issue prompted him to return Thursday to his native Dominican Republic, two people familiar with his immigration status said. Both people said the Marlins have been aware of the issue for several months. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition [...]

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My Joe Morgan Player Collection Is Finally
Complete!!!

My Joe Morgan Player Collection Is Finally Complete!!! When I say the word ‘finally’ it is an exclamation, not a word expressing my exhaustion. And while I have been picking up baseball card that feature Joe Morgan ever since the … Continue reading →

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ally-complete/

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