Muchas gracias very much, Rooster... appreciate your taking the time bro'...
Baseball like life is full of nuance that statistical analysis alone will fail to appreciate.
The tide seems to have shifted somewhat on that, especially locally.
Three years ago, a stats-only (WAR/$) rip of an Ibanez contract not only would have been the last word, but people would have been intimidated to even discuss it other than "attaboy, terrific writeup."
Bill James has been cautioning us, for 35 years, that the problems are complex, that carbon-based :- ) systems cannot be captured with a 6-variable formula.
And there are domino sequences to consider ... A causes B causes C causes D, unto 10 or 30 or 100 effects in the chain. These domino strings aren't going to be captured with math, either.
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With the Josh Bard move, we're hopeful (not dogmatic) that the hard-to-measure benefits will cascade.
My favorite hard-to-measure benefit: less stress on the SP's in the second half, as they face fewer rallies and 20-25 pitch innings.