Murray Chass wonders why so many players who received Hall of Fame votes last year saw their vote totals drop this year: How does a writer put an ‘x’ in the box next to a player’s name last year, silently saying he belongs in the Hall, and then this year declaring with an empty box this… Continue reading The Case of the Missing Votes – Solved!
Comparing Replacement Level for Starters and Relievers
There was a discussion at Tom Tango’s blog which led to an interesting question: what’s the difference in effectiveness between a replacement-level starter and a replacement-level reliever? To answer this, you’d need to have some way of estimating replacement level for starters and relievers. Since I have a database with boxscore data since 2010, I… Continue reading Comparing Replacement Level for Starters and Relievers
More on Instant Running HOF Playing
Yesterday I talked about simulating Tom Tango’s idea for doing instant runoff voting for the Hall of Fame, and using prior year public ballot data to simulate his ranked ballots. In the comments in his blog, he asked about assuming all voters draw the line at 4 players (so long as they have at least… Continue reading More on Instant Running HOF Playing
Instant Runoff Voting for HOF
Tom Tango proposed a form of instant runoff voting for the Hall of Fame: he suggested that voters be forced to rank 10 players on their ballot, but add a line at the point where they thought players deserved induction. So if I think only 3 players get my vote (under the old system), I’d… Continue reading Instant Runoff Voting for HOF
What's on Second? How about Derek Jeter?
Now that the Mariners have signed Robinson Cano, that opens a hole for the Yankees at 2B. I wonder if it might make the most sense for the Yankees to move captain Derek Jeter there. Let me preface this by saying I seriously doubt this will actually happen, but just as a thought experiment, it… Continue reading What's on Second? How about Derek Jeter?
An Open Letter to Murray Chass
Updated Below Dear Mr. Chass, I read your recent column discussing Jack Morris and his final appearance on the BBWA Hall of Fame Ballot. http://www.murraychass.com/?p=6823 I wonder why you so often are denigrating “new-age statistics” and those who use them to analyze baseball. You describe them in at best unflattering terms, if not with outright… Continue reading An Open Letter to Murray Chass
Initial 2014 NBA Projections – Lillard Stands Out
I’ve completed the first cut NBA projections for 2013-2014, and was surprised to see second-year Blazers point guard Damian Lillard rank 4th in overall RotoValue for both an 8 category and 9 category format. Last year’s rookie of the year was a good player, but not even in the top 20 overall last season. So why is he… Continue reading Initial 2014 NBA Projections – Lillard Stands Out
2013 RotoValue Fantasy MVPs
With the completion of yesterday’s play-in game for the AL wild card slot, the 2013 regular season is now done. So I’d like to take a look at the most valuable players in five different fantasy formats. While Miguel Cabrera didn’t repeat as triple-crown winner, he was the clear fantasy MVP in all three formats with AL… Continue reading 2013 RotoValue Fantasy MVPs
Week 25 Fantasy Stars
Paul Goldschmidt is fantasy MVP for the penultimate week of the season, hitting .370 with 3 HR, 6 R, 9 RBI, and 1 SB, earning $58.97 in the 5×5 Mixed League rankings, $50.59 in the deeper 4×4 NL Only, and $48.67 in the 5×5 NL Only, all comfortably the highest RotoValues in each format. Rays’ starter… Continue reading Week 25 Fantasy Stars
Fantasy Stars Week 24: Giants come up Pence
Giants RF Hunter Pence began the week going 0-4 against the Rockies, but had at least one hit and drove in at least one run in every other game. Indeed in all but two games he homered, winding up with 6 HR, 19 RBI, 8 runs scored, and a .448 average. In the shallow 5×5 Mixed League those numbers… Continue reading Fantasy Stars Week 24: Giants come up Pence