THE BOOK--Playing The Percentages In Baseball

Looks like it’s not on google reader :(

Can you explain to me how to use google reader to read this article?  I’m way back in the dark ages on this stuff.  It’s frustrating, because I paid my 4 dollars but have to wait to get insider access, and both you and R.J. write articles about Joe Mauer in the same day. 

Anyway, I have a google account, and I can get the articles to pop up, but they just have one paragraph under the title.  If I click the heading, it goes to ESPN.  Thanks for your help!

The RSS feed has been blocked.

"But what if a team decided to scrap its entire player development system, put an extra $10 million into player salaries, and tried to build a roster for under $100 million, using only players who’d sign one-year deals?”

That team was essentially the San Francisco Giants, circa 2004.  It worked very badly.

Well, thankfully because of the recession, I got myself a pretty good team.  Probably around .500 once I go through it.

How do we know which players would sign one year deals?  And are you using 2010 free agents only, or can any player qualify?
vr, Xei

I used players who actually signed one year deals this past off-season.

This is an interesting idea.  This team would still have draft picks and the ability to trade those draft picks for *better* one year contracts even. If they didn’t have scouts, they could have some schlub reading baseball america and making reasonable first round picks.

J, this is exactly what I was thinking. 

Ideally, draft picks will be permitted to be traded with the new CBA.  Otherwise this one-and-done team will need to pay for the signing bonuses, and then trade the player in return for some player and cash.  And I think you have to wait a year before trading a draft pick (or some such rule).

And yeah, just go with some consensus list, and this is a team perfect for a maverick like Mark Cuban to hire some saberists to cull throw the free agent list and make a team.

It could be though just the sign of the times that you could have such a quality team at low prices.

"It could be though just the sign of the times that you could have such a quality team at low prices.”

I can’t remember when - maybe the 1991 Baseball Book?  Possibly earlier.  Bill James put together a team made up entirely of minor-league free agents, which he figured would win 75 games.  And you could argue that the late 90s A’s were assembled without the multi-year free agent market having any impact.