One beam of light in the recent gloom is the continuing ascendancy of Ethier over Pierre. I hope that carries over to 2009.

If so 5 out of the 6 games vs. Johsnon, Webb, and Haren all on normal rest. That could be serious trouble.

Excel has to be the best program Gates ever designed

OPS: .948
APS: .931

I feel like we only have to split with AZ and the schedule actually favors us to make up the three games. So, as long as we don't get swept in AZ and we can have a good showing in WAS, I think the Dodgers should do ok.

Islands!

Now they include fries with the burgers. I went for the first time on Sunday. Those bad boys were delicious. Mmmm... Kilauea is right in my wheelhouse.

Anyway, back to business.

Even if St. Louis was a 70/30 favorite in each game of the series, the chances of a sweep are only 34.3%.

Arizona is 23-29 in games started by the trio noted above.

Not free for the pigs.

"Is it safe?"

"I don't know what you mean. I can't tell you something's safe or not, unless I know specifically what you're talking about."

We would expect to find some college grads who made more than $30,000 more, and some who made less than $30,000 more. We'd also probably find some non-grads who made more than some grads.

By the same token, if we find that a Walk increases Runs Scored by an average of X, we'd find some players for whom a Walk increase Runs by more than X and some less than X.

Okay, I live in nowhereville. I admit it, but I want to move back to the city, I really do. :(

I do think that many old schoolers undervalue walks, but I think many new schoolers over value walks. I have never suggested that "no one ever scores after drawing a walk", that would be an asinine thing to say.

Personally, I don't think combining any of the stats tells us much. In fact, I probably tell us less. I tend to prefer the BA/OBP/SLG approach to evaluating players. I can quickly determine the frequency with which a player walks, the type of hits a player gets, and how often he gets a hit. OPS or APS don't tell me that information. As D4P suggests, there's a whole lot of double counting when you start adding these numbers together, and that blurs the relevant information.

With the exception of the really young "new-school" folks, I would guess that most "new-schoolers" (myself included) have changed their ways. Most of us around here no doubt grew up worshiping BA, RBIs, etc., and changed our minds based on convincing advances in research and analysis that not only look good on paper, but that make sense in theory.

I ended up going to Pie 'n Burger after that discussion to give them one more try. I was really impressed by the burger this time. Great overall package (bun, lettuce, tomato, cheese, excellent meat, and great Thousand Island dressing). However, it is the price that knocks it down for me. It should probably be about $1 less for every item on the menu.

You know, I generally like Islands, but any time I suggest it, I am shot down.

"McCourt, who stays physically active but doesn't run marathons ..."

I had my chance at Five Guys in NY and I blew it. Ah well... I'll give it another shot when I return.

Like RPV?

"Should we put a bar next to this college?"
"Nah, I think a children's dance studio would be way more popular"

But you're adding the same thing over and over. Think about it: in your numerator, if a player hits a single, you add a "1" for BA and a "1" for SLG. If a player hits a double, you add a "1" for BA and a "2" for SLG. Triple = "1" for BA, "3" for SLG. HR = 1 for BA, 4 for SLG. What's the point in adding the 1s for BA? Why not just use the 1, 2, 3, and 4 from SLG? Plus, again, you're ignoring Walks.

I do think that many old schoolers undervalue walks, but I think many new schoolers over value walks.

But the value they place on walks is not abstract or theoretical: it's the result of statistical analyses that reveal the value of walks. They're not making it up. If you want to disagree, you essentially have to show that the analyses they're performing are flawed.

I have never suggested that "no one ever scores after drawing a walk", that would be an asinine thing to say.

But that's essentially what you're saying when you advocate a new stat (BA+SLG) that doesn't include walks over an existing stat (OBP+SLG) that does.

Personally, I don't think combining any of the stats tells us much. In fact, I probably tell us less. I tend to prefer the BA/OBP/SLG approach to evaluating players.

The issue is that OBP*SLG correlates more strongly with Runs Scored than do BA or OBP or SLG by themselves, which when you think about it, makes perfect sense.

OBP is good because it tells us how often a player gets on base, which you need to do in order to score. But it leaves out how far around the base baths the player gets.

SLG is good because it tells us something about how far around the base paths the player gets, but it leaves out how often they get on base in the first place.

Combining OBP and SLG, while not perfect, allows us to some extent to enjoy the benefits of both stats, while filling in some of the gaps in each.

I don't miss those days at all.

My wife used to work in Sylmar. Those are not fond memories.

It sure seems as if we have missed an inordinate number of other teams' best pitchers this year.

If you use BART, you can get a 25 cent discount on MUNI (so it costs $1.25 instead of $1.50) by grabbing a stub from a dispenser right after you get off the escalator from the BART tunnel but before you exit the BART area (ie, before you push the BART ticket through the machine and cross the gate). I think.

You can also transfer to the 5 Fulton bus or 21-Hayes bus or 71 Haight bus and take those along either side of the park (pick up on any Market street BART stop).

--

Okay, here we go Dodgers, time to begin your Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Tour!

And really bad for you; a regular burger with fries there is about 1400 calories.

Still, would be nice to get off the "schneid" against a team we should beat.

Will it ever.

http://deadspin.com/5042040/college-football-previews-3-ohio-state

Then lovely bride got a new job and started commuting to Redondo Beach. As we were figuring out what we were going to do about her commute, I got a new job in Culver City.

We moved to Hawthorne.

He's not back to Golden God status but maybe at least Bronze God.