A group weblog for Oakland A's fans
Friday, November 14, 2003
The VP of New Ballpark
The A's have hired Lewis Wolff as Vice President of Venue Development.
Wolff has deep connections in the South Bay. Which makes it appear that the A's are looking to build in San Jose, Giants territorial rights be damned.
I think it's a good sign that the A's have hired someone dedicated to working on building a new ballpark in the Bay Area. I'd much rather that they move to San Jose than Portland or Las Vegas.
But San Jose is a long way from my home in Alameda. I have a dream that the A's would build their new ballpark in Alameda, on some free, unused former Navy land right on the water across from Jack London Square in Oakland. Here's some pictures and more information about Estuary Park, as I call it. If someone in the A's organization is listening, check it out.
Wolff may also be in line to take over Ken Hofmann's role as The Other Owner. As long as we have owners who are Bay Area residents, I feel OK about that.
The A's have hired Lewis Wolff as Vice President of Venue Development.
Wolff has deep connections in the South Bay. Which makes it appear that the A's are looking to build in San Jose, Giants territorial rights be damned.
I think it's a good sign that the A's have hired someone dedicated to working on building a new ballpark in the Bay Area. I'd much rather that they move to San Jose than Portland or Las Vegas.
But San Jose is a long way from my home in Alameda. I have a dream that the A's would build their new ballpark in Alameda, on some free, unused former Navy land right on the water across from Jack London Square in Oakland. Here's some pictures and more information about Estuary Park, as I call it. If someone in the A's organization is listening, check it out.
Wolff may also be in line to take over Ken Hofmann's role as The Other Owner. As long as we have owners who are Bay Area residents, I feel OK about that.
Monday, November 10, 2003
Attrition rate
The latest sabermetric toy is Avkash Patel's Attrition rate stat. It a measure of a batter's plate discipline. The stat tells you how many pitches a starting pitcher would throw in six innings against a lineup of that batter. League average was just below 99. It makes 100 a convenient measuring stick: if you're above 100, you show pretty good patience.
Top 3: 147.65 B. Bonds, SF; 126.58 N. Johnson, NYY; 126.17 J. Giambi, NYY.
Bottom 3: 77.75 B. Phillips, Cle; 77.63 C. Izturis, LA; 74.61 D. Cruz, Bal.
Here are the rates for the A's that Patel had on his list:
111.38 E. Durazo, Oak
104.87 S. Hatteberg, Oak.
103.86 M. Ellis, Oak
103.24 E. Chavez, Oak
101.71 E. Byrnes, Oak
101.27 M. Tejada, Oak.
97.38 R. Hernandez, Oak
95.09 J. Guillen, Oak/Cin
92.37 T. Long, Oak
The average of these nine players is 101.24. I don't know where that would put them in comparison to other teams. But it clearly puts them above average.
Two other things stand out for me: (1) the A's have nobody anywhere near the bottom of the list. They avoid those players like the plague. (2) Eric Chavez. Considering that Chavez sometimes hits home runs on pitches that are practically above his shoulders, it's amazing that he is well above average in this stat.
I'm sure there's more fun with this toy to come.
The latest sabermetric toy is Avkash Patel's Attrition rate stat. It a measure of a batter's plate discipline. The stat tells you how many pitches a starting pitcher would throw in six innings against a lineup of that batter. League average was just below 99. It makes 100 a convenient measuring stick: if you're above 100, you show pretty good patience.
Top 3: 147.65 B. Bonds, SF; 126.58 N. Johnson, NYY; 126.17 J. Giambi, NYY.
Bottom 3: 77.75 B. Phillips, Cle; 77.63 C. Izturis, LA; 74.61 D. Cruz, Bal.
Here are the rates for the A's that Patel had on his list:
111.38 E. Durazo, Oak
104.87 S. Hatteberg, Oak.
103.86 M. Ellis, Oak
103.24 E. Chavez, Oak
101.71 E. Byrnes, Oak
101.27 M. Tejada, Oak.
97.38 R. Hernandez, Oak
95.09 J. Guillen, Oak/Cin
92.37 T. Long, Oak
The average of these nine players is 101.24. I don't know where that would put them in comparison to other teams. But it clearly puts them above average.
Two other things stand out for me: (1) the A's have nobody anywhere near the bottom of the list. They avoid those players like the plague. (2) Eric Chavez. Considering that Chavez sometimes hits home runs on pitches that are practically above his shoulders, it's amazing that he is well above average in this stat.
I'm sure there's more fun with this toy to come.
