Sabermetric Research wrote a blog post yesterday that examines the effects of homefield advantage. They use a formula that was used to measure the same thing with the NBA, and conclude that homefield advantage is generally overblown. The biggest thing that matters is the skill of the team in how good they are. Which makes sense, but the thing that they don't address, however, is the fact that certain teams are built for their home ballparks (the White Sox, Rays and Twins being the best examples). This is a big reason, in my opinion, why so few teams have played well on the road this year.
Two weeks ago, The Book wrote a post criticizing Bill James' estimation of VORP, specifically citing the misestimation of at bats and walks. They revisited the argument today, this time posting a post written by one of their readers (which must be nice), that is definitely worth checking out it you're interested in that type of thing.
Francisco Rodriguez picked up his 50th save for the Angels quicker than any other closer by an eight game margin. At this point, with the Angels playing as well as they are, specifically with the strength in their starting pitching, it seems that Rodriguez will certainly break the record. Which, one would figure, would secure the Cy Young for the free agent-to-be. But Fox Sports says that Rodriguez shouldn't win the award because he isn't having all that great of a season, and also because saves are more situational than anything else (it depends on chances more than skill).
It has long been said that ESPN and other media organizations have an east coast bias. And one can't deny that when the Red Sox or Yankees make news, it's a big time talking point. But this may be justified by baseball's RPI system, which a reader delves into over at The Book. What it says is that the AL East has the five of the best teams in the major leagues.
With the below post dealing with the new Moneyball book from Michael Lewis, I thought it would be interesting to give some news about the pitchers Billy Beane has acquired in the aftermath of the popular book. Specifically, there seems to be a lot of left-handers who have entered the A's farm system, and now the team will start an all lefty rotation.
