Regarding flaws with DIPS, I noticed that last year when BP's stat page was valuing Jo Jo Reyes more highly than Cueto or Hellickson. This was around July or August, when his ERA was 2 or 3 runs higher than those two. My reaction was, "no way that the twice-released Reyes is pitching better than those too guys, and no GM in MLB would take him over either one. It has to be a model error." Not sure if BP has made changes in its pitcher valuing models or assumptions since then.

I am reminded of the last years of Ozzie Smith, Carlton Fisk, Ozzie Guileen, etc. When they became victims of Father Time, they went into denial and blamed their organizations for a lack of respect.

I saw Dunn play around 30 games last year. He was so horrible, and looked so completely lost at the plate, that there is no way I would touch him on my fantasy team. I'll happily let other owners take that risk. People lose sight of the fact that he would have to improve significantly just to reach replacement value. He played in MLB because of his contract and reputation. If you didn't know his history, you'd probably conclude that his level of play belonged somewhere between AA and High A. And people may not be aware that his defense at 1B was almost as bad as his bat.

I grew up in the Quad-Cities in the 60's. The fans were divided among Cubs, Cardinals, White Sox, and Yankees. Sox fans hated the Yankees, but not the Cubs. Cub fans hated the Cardinals, but not the Sox. My son grew up in the Chicago area as a Sox fan, and he absolutely despises the Cubs. Once you declare your loyalties in Chicagoland, the fans of the other team get in your face so much that you wind up hating their team. That seems to be what happened to my son.

Kershaw's comparables include Matusz, Clay Buchholz, and Rich Harden. Wow. PECOTA likes him far less than I do. I think comparables are the biggest issue with PECOTA since Nate left. And that was the key driver behind PECOTA, as it was originally conceived, was it not?

Thanks to those Europeans, North America no longer has sports arenas decorated with the heads of sacrifice victims. Whatever did become of that old world charm?