The PECOTA projection that has garnered the most attention this year is the one for the Reds’ Wily Mo Pena. Nate Silver breaks down how PECOTA arrived at such an optimistic–and accurate–prediction.
After much dithering about, major league GMs were finally able to cobble together a respectable trade deadline after all. My Prospectus confreres have done an excellent job in deconstructing these deals with regard to how they’ll affect organizations at the major league level. Now I’m going to take a gander at the prospects involved.
Does Nomar Garciaparra have a real Achilles’ problem, or was he just trying to force his way out of Boston? Will Carroll clears the air on that, and provides updates on Mark Bellhorn, Sammy Sosa and Joe Mauer, in today’s UTK.
With no trades and just two games yesterday, Joe Sheehan pauses to catch up on some things. Notes on the Rangers, Barry Bonds and Terry Ryan inside.
But I’ve come to realize that they’re inseparable: Tweaking the rules is a smaller move in philosophy, but in implication and consequence can be just as large as the sweeping one. Which in turn is why this is such a fascinating discussion for me.
Who needs starting pitchers? They’re like the pace car at Indy: They get the thing in motion before the real guys come along to finish up the job. At least, that must be the rationale around Yankee Stadium these days. Only three teams in all of baseball find themselves in the predicament in which the Yankees are in–their best starting pitcher has a lower VORP than their highest-ranked reliever. The Yankees actually go this one better in that their two best relievers are rated higher than their best starter.
Everybody had something to say about the weekend’s biggest trades, from Nomar Garciaparra to Paul Lo Duca to Doug Mientkiewicz. All that, and Felipe Alou’s words of wisdom, in The Week in Quotes.
Division leaders the Twins, A’s and Cardinals all have key players working their way back from or playing through injuries. Will Carroll provides updates on these guys, as well as UTK regulars Andy Pettitte, Ken Griffey Jr., and Austin Kearns.
In a wild weekend of trades, a number of contending teams sat on their hands. Why, and what might change for them in August, in Joe Sheehan’s Monday morning column.
If there’s one thing George Steinbrenner has always been good at, it’s hiding his money. Whether it’s starting his own cable network to keep
his broadcast revenue out of the reach of his fellow owners, as he did in 2002, or paying himself a “consulting fee” to negotiate his own cable contract, as he did in the 1980s, The Boss has always been at the cutting edge of creative accounting, helping him evade attempts by fellow owners to force him to share the bounty that comes from operating the most lucrative franchise in baseball.
With his recently revealed plan to build a new $750 million stadium in the Bronx, though, Steinbrenner may have hit upon the biggest scam of his life.
One young-gun GM made his team better this weekend by focusing on what matters. Another made his team worse by losing sight of the same. Those two teams’ deals, and all the rest of the trades, inside.
The Cubs take a big step toward making the playoffs. The Red Sox make a deal for the wrong reasons. The Expos and Devil Rays land nifty prospects for expendable veterans. The Giants fail to help themselves much. These and many more trade deadline happenings in a special weekend edition of Transaction Analysis.
The Dodgers made big headlines and the Mets made big mistakes, but the real winners on Friday were two teams you’d never expect. Joe Sheehan covers a busy day of trades.
The calm before the storm, as bad teams make minor moves involving players your local beat writer has never heard of. That, and Francisco Cordero gets financial security for life.
Will covers the injury angles of yesterday’s big deals and checks in on UTK regulars Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi and Mark Prior.
Who’s the best prospect in the game: B.J. Upton of the Devil Rays or David Wright of the Mets? A look at their minor league numbers might unlock the answer. Dayn Perry anoints his top prospect in all of baseball in Friday’s Can of Corn.