1
Thanks for the link. I just signed up.
I will follow-up with SSI afterwards.
Brooks Baseball Seminar
Brooks asks for a link to its charity fund-raising seminar. Here y'go amig-O's.
Those guys have a friendly, "mi casa su casa" attitude, they make Truth and open discussion of it --- > more fluid, and their hearts are in the right place. Excellent information and excellent attitude.
The more sites like Brooks on the internet, the better off is the human condition. The internet may save the world some day, but that will depend on the proliferation of sites with Brooks' attitude.
Alternatively, you might simply enjoy following a Harvard-level discussion of what happens in a baseball game. :- ) If you know somebody who can get to Harvard, ask them to drop something onto SSI afterward.
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BTW, the painting is from the guy who painted The Son of Man (the apple in front of the face of the bowler hat man).
Magritte's explanation of the above painting (technically, of a very similar 1933 version) is interesting:
"In front of a window as seen from the interior of the room, I placed a painting (canvas and easel) that represented precisely the portion of landscape blotted out by the painting. For instance the [sea] represented in the painting displaced the [sea] behind the painting outside the room. For the viewer the [sea] was simultaneously inside the room, in the painting outside the room, in the real landscape, in thought."
Magritte continues, "Which is how we see the world, namely, outside of us; although having only one representation of it within us. Similarily we sometimes remember a past event as being in the present. Time and space lose meaning and our daily experience becomes paramount."
"This is how we see the world. We see it outside ourselves, and at the same time we only have a representation of it in ourselves. In the same way, we sometimes situate in the past that which is happening in the present. Time and space thus loose the vulgar meaning that only daily experience takes into account."
Best,
Jeff
Comments
2
Comments re Laffey reminded me that Drayer thought Bedard was extra-sharp due to the extra day of rest.
And, historically, in 25 G with 6 days of rest he's 10-5 with a 2.94 ERA compared to a 42-40 record and 3.96 ERA on 4 or 5 days. http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?id=bedarer01&year=Ca...
At least in terms of ERA, the relationship is "monotonic" (if I recall the right word) -- more rest, better results. Not sure if it's statistically significant, but it's thought-provoking.
3
We can definitely find Bedard rest the way our current rotation is constructed.
Every time there's an off day, Wedge puts King Felix on his normal five day spot, not the rotation order spot...and so far, the extra day off has consistently benefited both Pineda and Bedard (Pineda we're protecting this year from too many innings, Bedard needs the extra rest to stay healthy).
We can't ALWAYS give Bedard 6 days, but we can try to work that in there as often as possible by moving him around the rotation depending on when the days off appear. Our next day off is Monday (we travel home and then face the Rangers for three and the White Sox for three). King Felix is pitching today, but the offday means Bedard and Pineda get their extra day of rest anyway...followed by...I'm guessing...Fister (not Vargas, who's pitched a lot worse) in the series finale against the STRangers then King Felix/Vargas/and here you have a choice of Pineda or Bedard before the next off day...so someone can get SEVEN days of rest...and someone would only get six.
Wedge is using his ace the way he should be used. Precisely every five days. Doing that saves a few starts and helps rest the rest of his rotation.
4
Looking forward to the report.
5
Thanks Spec. We'll chant and thump pitchforks the rest of the year. ;- )
6
when he had SP's who were best on shorter rest, or longer rest, he'd constantly shuffle to exploit. James was a fan of both the Royals and Cardinals, and he'd count the times that pitcher X got his extra day and pitcher Y got his regular turn (or even short rest) and the numbers were real high.
Am encouraged, because Wedge has shuffled a few times already.
7
Nice pic. Although a roller coaster would have sufficed.
8
The seminar was great fun. Great presentations. Fantastic discussions. A bit like spending an entire weekend reading nothing but a slightly more nerdy version of SSI.
Note from the seminar are available at:
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It was all very interesting. My favorite moment was listening to Dan Duquette discuss hitting philosophy and Manny Ramirez (please see the notes).
I was reminded of an interview that Jay Buhner gave after hitting a walk-off home run. Jay explained that he was looking fast ball, and swung once he received it. The interviewer asked whether he should have been looking for a breaking ball given that the pitcher had thrown two for strikes to start the at bat. Jay replied, no, explaining that he wasn't able to hit the pitcher's breaking ball.
I am told that the slides may be made available at some point, as well as a recording of the seminar. Dan Brooks gave a really nice discussion of how to use Pitch F/X to identify leaps in pitcher performance. If someone has time, a comparison of the 2010 and 2011 versions of Vargas and Fister may be warranted.
9
Anybody who hasn't clicked Jeff's hyperlink will be glad they did so.
You da man! and LOL on the first line - muchas gracias very much.
.........
I liked Duquette on this: "How much saber vs scouting?"
Duquette said: If you are talking major leagues and investing significant value for an established players, 80% stats, 20% scouting.
Anybody ever hear that before? Vary the ratio by situation, but use saber the most when spending $100M.
Good stuff.
.
10
That Manny story is...awesome.
“I’m up there looking for a ball I can hit. If I don’t find one, the umpire will tell me when it’s time to take a base.”
Don't count strikes until you get to 2, don't count balls at all. That is just so...I dunno - serene? Love that.