After Mark Cuban was eliminated from the bidding process for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the billionaire offered an interesting explanation for coming up short. “I wanted to buy a baseball team,” Cuban stated, “they were selling a media rights deal”. Cuban’s comment was a reference to the Dodgers’ expiring TV contract with FOX, which currently […]
Archive for January, 2012
If Price Is Right, Could Auction of Dodgers Induce Other Teams to Sell?
Posted in Baseball, Business and Finance, Mets, MLB, Red Sox, Yankees, tagged Frank McCourt, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Cuban on January 31, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Starting Over: Looking at Bullpen Usage from the Other End
Posted in Baseball, MLB, sabermetrics, Statistical Analysis, tagged Fangraphs on January 30, 2012 | 1 Comment »
On Saturday, I posted a follow-up to a recent Fangraphs’ analysis of relief pitchers’ aggregate performance over the last 30 years. Although my findings supported the statistical conclusion of the Fangraphs’ piece (i.e., reliever performance has not changed meaningfully over the period considered), there was a divergence with regard to the implications. However, because both […]
Grabbing the Bullpen by the Horns: What Is the Optimal Strategy for Using Relievers?
Posted in Baseball, Baseball History, MLB, sabermetrics, Statistical Analysis, tagged Fangraphs on January 28, 2012 | 22 Comments »
(The following was originally published at SB*Nation’s Pinstripe Alley; unless otherwise noted, WAR refers to fangraphs’ calculation of the metric) Is it better to maximize the number of times a reliever can be used or the length of his appearances? Yesterday at frangraphs.com, Dave Cameron tried to answer that question by comparing bullpen performance over the last 30 […]
Show Me the Money: A Chronological History of Baseball’s Best Paid Players
Posted in Alex Rodriguez, Arod, Baseball, George M. Steinbrenner, MLB, Red Sox, Yankees, tagged Albert Pujols, Babe Ruth, Prince Fielder, Ted Williams on January 27, 2012 | 4 Comments »
(The following was originally published at Bronx Banter) Alex Rodriguez stood alone as baseball’s only $200 million man for a decade, but now he has company. In the last six weeks, the fraternity has tripled with the addition of Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. However, Arod still remains firmly planted atop baseball’s all-time salary totem […]
Prince Fielder Worth His Weight (just not in projected WAR)
Posted in Baseball, Business and Finance, Hot Stove, MLB, tagged Detroit Tigers, Mike Ilitch, Prince Fielder on January 25, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Every time a player signs a mega-money deal, there seems to be a very common kneejerk reaction, particularly among saber-friendly analysts. The typical response is to run to fangraphs.com for the player’s WAR-based dollar value and then, using projections, conclude that by the end of the contract, the salary commitment will wind up being a […]
Yanks Better Off Welcoming Posada Back Than Saying Goodbye
Posted in Baseball, Baseball History, Hall of Fame, MLB, Roster Analysis, Yankees, tagged Jorge Posada on January 24, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Considering how many great players have passed through the Bronx, one might think retirement press conferences would be a rite of winter for the Yankees, but when Andy Pettitte decided to walk away last February, it was only the third time the franchise had the opportunity to bid farewell to a former great in such a […]
A Look Back at World Series Rematches
Posted in Baseball, MLB, NFL, World Series, Yankee History, tagged Giants, Super Bowl on January 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The Captain’s Blog is not a big fan of the NFL, at least not the mediocrity and gimmickry that have become its ideals, but in honor of the Giants Super Bowl encore against the Patriots, the table below contains every World Series rematch (same participants within a five-year span) since the inception of the Fall […]