Buy The Book
Not for the Expos, but the next best thing: the Jays. The one you want is probably “Intern - Baseball Operations”, but there are a few other non-tech jobs if you prefer those.
Tell ‘em you heard it from Tango, and it will help.
I didn’t realize how few people actually parked when going to a Yankees game.
Kotchman’s last four teams: Redsox, Mariners, Rays, Indians. Can we say that a team that signs Kotchman is saber-leaning?
What other players have played for at least three teams over a four season period, and we can say was only given a shot because of the saber-tendency of team management?
Ben takes a look at how Scott Boras is a baseball pitchman (no pun intended), framing things in ridiculous ways, to make a point that he hopes knowing spends more than 2 minutes trying to think through. Alot like a politician, actually.
There were 137 teams from 2001-2011 with a Boras-approved closer, so I played around with the statistical cutoffs for second basemen until I came up with a group of similar size. Over the same span, 128 teams had a second baseman with at least eight home runs, an OBP of at least .315, and at least 500 plate appearances. You know, the famous 8-.315-500 club. And guess what? Teams with a second baseman meeting that description went .522. All others went .483.
I don’t know where these Marcels come from, but it’s not from me. That said, since I’ve published the formula, it wouldn’t be hard at all to try to recreate them.
One thing I did want to talk about is the “play-in” game for the Wild Card. As far as I’m concerned, since teams 4 and teams 5 will play only amongst themselves, to have the chance to play for the final 4th spot in the playoffs, I do NOT consider that we have 5 teams in the playoffs, but 4.
Now, how far would I go with this idea? If let’s say we had 12 teams qualify post-regular season, with the first 4 teams having a bye, and then the next 8 teams playing amongst themselves for the final 4 spots, what would I do?
I think I would do the same thing. That those 8 teams each earned “half a spot” for the playoffs. You have to make a distinction between teams who get a bye from those who don’t.
Great post:
Dale Hawerchuk was born in Toronto and played major junior in Montreal. He was drafted by Winnipeg, where he set records for nine years, and then traded to Buffalo. He skated briefly in St. Louis, ended his playing career in Philadelphia, and now coaches in Barrie. And yet it is only in an arena in Arizona that his number 10 hangs, retired, over the ice.
...
The solution to this is (like the Japanese answer to the paradox of Theseus’ ship) to assert that the essence of the team is in its form and its function rather than its substance. A team is not what it is but what it does, defined not by the specific people or buildings or shirts that it uses but by its position in a system of social relations. And in the case of a team, that position is inextricably and fundamentally linked to a place.
Now, I wouldn’t necessarily tie it to a place. After all, if the Jets move from Long Island to NJ (or wherever they came from), that’s not a new thread. What matters is the fan base. Did the fan base follow the team, or not? If so, link them. If not, sever them.
So, you do this on a case-by-case basis, and thinking like an historian, and not trying to fit things into simple slots with simple rules. Rules of thumb by definition don’t work all the time.
Did Jets fans follow the Coyotes? Did they abandon the Coyotes when the new Jets arrived?
There’s no doubt that this applies to the Expos/Nationals:
Surely, a team that has to move is a black eye for the League, but a team that simply ceased to exist would be two black eyes, a broken nose, and a kick in the nuts. Because of this Doctrine, the NHL can say that it has not ‘lost’ a franchise since WWII killed off the New York Americans. Every other failed team has been bought or merged elsewhere, and every time that happens, the NHL manages to avoid taking direct responsibility for an unjustified or unstable overexpansion.
I don’t know how the Dodgers and Giants moving cross-country should be handled. What we need is an understanding of their fan bases, and what happened after the Mets showed up.
Hi Tom - We are hiring an intern for the 2012 season. Our last intern heard about the job on your blog and we have since hired him on full-time. If you have time and see fit for posting this link, I would be grateful. We got outstanding candidates referred by the ITB blog last time.
It obviously took way too long to hire him, but someone finally did. Congratulations to Mike, and Jeff, and Sig.
So says Alex Anthopoulos:
“I have a number where they’d like me to stay in an area,” he says of the budget. “If we want to go above and beyond, there’s a conversation that has to take place, and that’s me with Paul first, and if it’s going to go past Paul, then it goes to Nadir and so on.”
“We’re sitting in the high 80s right now,” he adds, referring to his payroll, in terms of millions.
This has been a great off-season for the job-hunters. Now, it’s the Cardinals’ turn:
Web Developer
Database Programmer/Analyst
Performance-expectation-wise, let’s call it even. So, this is strictly a financial discussion, to make sure it all works out evenly.
Cubs were originally on the hook for 18MM$. Now, they are on the hook for 15MM$, plus whatever Volstad costs them, which is probably 9MM$ over the next 3 years. So, they spend an extra 6MM$ to turn Zambrano into Volstad this year, AND the next two years. That sounds like a pretty good deal, as paying for two more years of Zambrano (sans headache), or someone of his performance level, in 2013-14 would have likely run the Cubs 10MM$.
Marlins were on the hook for 9MM$ for Volstad (though they could cut him after each season naturally), but now they are on the hook for Zambrano for 3MM$ (and they can cut him loose right after). If Z pitches like Volstad over the next 3 years, it’ll cost them 13MM$ (3MM$ for this year, and say 2/10 for Z or someone like him, sans headache). Instead of 9MM$.
So, it looks like the Cubs get a 4MM$ surplus in the deal, but, perhaps Z is better than we’re suggesting. Throw-in the headache effect, and the Cubs looked like they cost as good as they could possibly get here, in terms of flipping one pitcher for another pitcher.
One day, The Sporting News was considered baseball’s bible. How the mightly have fallen:
Headline: Astros’ new GM adds stats guru, ex-cheerleader to staff
Next time someone hires me, you can put:
Blank adds ex-warehouse shipping guy to staff
My first job outside the family business, I worked in the warehouse unloading trucks of retail goods. I was 18 years old, and weighed under 100 pounds. I was VERY thin. I gained 15 pounds that summer, as I ate everything I could find, because I was completely sapped of my energy every day. I never worked as hard as I did that summer, outlasting all the other summer kids, all of whom weighed much more than I did. So, I’ll take that headline as a badge of honor.
Similarly, I presume being a cheerleader is extremely hard work and requires a great deal of dedication.
I am not following the various issues over the past few years. Chass summarizes it as:
The Giants’ position on San Jose is untenable. Although they have refused to acknowledge it, San Jose is part of their constitutionally (baseball) protected area because Walter Haas Jr., the A’s owner, agreed to cede it to them in 1990 before which both teams shared the territory.
Haas made his magnanimous gesture because the Giants were struggling in San Francisco, as the A’s are now in Oakland, and wanted to move to Santa Clara. Now the Giants selfishly hold tightly to the territory, refusing even to concede that they have no legitimate right to it.
Whether Chass represents the situation accurately or not, it seems to me that all the A’s are asking (or could be asking) for is a “land swap”. Let them move to San Jose, and they can cede control of Oakland to San Francisco. Basically, there’s a deal to be done here where you have a fair swap. So, exactly what is the hold up?
Nice idea. Mariners drafted very well.
Glove-slap: Primer.
Many of you are familiar with the new GM of the Astros, Jeff Luhnow. A week or so ago, I linked to his recent chat on one of the Astros Fan sites. Jeff is highly intelligent, innovative, and a great all-around guy. I imagine that the Astros are going to be an exciting organization to work for.
If you are interested in a database/IT job with the ‘Stros, here is a link to their job offering:
http://baseballjobs.teamworkonline.com/teamwork/r.cfm?i=41068
I’m guessing that it will be sabermetric oriented, among other things. If you apply, tell them you heard about it from The Book/MGL.
Plenty of opportunities. Here are some tech jobs, but there’s plenty of other areas if you are looking for a non-tech job.
Oracle DBA
Tech Project Manager
UNIX sys admin
UI Technical Architect
As Crashburn and Colin point out, Madson held out too long, and the Phillies jumped the gun too fast, and both end up the losers.
Great perspective guys!
Thank you Mike Matheny!
Matheny told the @ITDMorningAfter he’s been gathering info from the “sabermetricians upstairs.” It truly is a new era.
***
“If they know us, they won’t vote against us” —Sean Penn as Harvey Milk
Feb 11 15:58
MGL: Today on Clubhouse Confidential
Feb 11 14:01
Reader Mail of the Day: Why do we need X years of fielding data? And what about outliers?
Feb 11 11:54
Who is Jeremy Lin?
Feb 11 10:29
Dwight Evans
Feb 11 02:12
Performance through the ages
Feb 10 23:01
For Your Soul
Feb 10 21:07
Hero of the month: Brittney Baxter
Feb 10 18:32
Moneyball at Villanova
Feb 10 17:00
Psst… wanna intern in Canada?
Feb 10 15:01
New PECOTA
THREADS
February 11, 2012
Clutch analogy
February 11, 2012
Who is Jeremy Lin?
February 10, 2012
Jose Molina
February 10, 2012
Reader Mail of the Day: Why do we need X years of fielding data? And what about outliers?
February 10, 2012
Performance through the ages
February 10, 2012
Hero of the month: Brittney Baxter
February 10, 2012
Win expectancy charts used in football… in 1983!
February 10, 2012
Dwight Evans
February 09, 2012
Psst… wanna intern in Canada?
February 08, 2012
Moneyball at Villanova
Recent comments
Older comments
Page 1 of 320 pages 1 2 3 > Last »Complete Archive – By Category
Complete Archive – By Date