Slightly Better than Replacement Level
Russell A. Carleton – Baseball Prospectus ($): Wins Above Replacement is a great statistic. I use WAR, in all its permutations, quite often and will continue to use it in my baseball writing moving forward. However, WAR, no matter the version, is not a conversation ender as far as statistics go. A baseball player isn’t […]
Sydney Bergman – Baseball Prospectus ($): Baseball players form a special relationship with the city they represent. This isn’t true of every player or every city but it happens enough to be a certifiable thing. Part of that relationship is a give and take based on the idea that by earning the cities trust you […]
Allison McCague – FanGraphs: Enjoying Major League Baseball is increasingly difficult these days. With each new scandal or incendiary revelation, it’s harder and harder to want to keep tuning in or paying attention. Baseball itself is fine, but its premier organization is in the middle of a stretch of bad news and decisions that feels […]
Jeff Passan – ESPN: News later in the week cemented a lot of what Passan laid down here. The Houston Astros being punished for using electronic sign-stealing needed to happen. However, the punishment they received was not an actual deterrent to other teams doing the same. The entire situation ended with one person somehow remaining […]
Luis Torres – Beyond the Box Score: The Chicago White Sox signing Luis Roberts to an extension is great for the White Sox and for Roberts’ bank account right now. However, it’s also another example of the methods teams have implemented to try and manipulate a player’s service time. If Roberts ends up being the […]