The Captain

.260/.324/.324 - and he's broken.

I know this happens every year, but I increasingly wonder what exactly Derek Jeter would have to do to not be the AL starting shortstop in the All-Star game.

Bad Parenting?

Worth it for an elusive foul ball, surely?

Live Chat as requested - Tonight at 21.00

Do Hot Streaks Exist?

Interesting analysis from fangraphs suggesting that just because a player is in a hot streak, there is no evidence it will continue. However, this analysis looks at aggregated player data - within that there will be some players who continue to be on fire, and some who cool down. No idea how you pick the right ones but maybe you just grab anyone who is hot, and cut them if they start to suck.

Fixing the Yankee problem

Bud Selig's latest genius idea is to expand the playoffs to 10 teams as soon as 2012.

Quoting Da Grizzlies: "Apparently that fool Selig is '“working on” adding two teams to the playoffs and we could see changes as soon as 2012' - ten out of thirty teams is way too many, especially with the stupid spread-out playoff series that allow you to get away with only two good pitchers."

Whilst Bud Selig is a man of terrible ideas, this is a solution to the 'problem' of the AL East being stupidly difficult to win because it contains the 2 richest teams in baseball - at least it would give the team finishing 3rd in the AL East a chance at winning the wild card. Alternatively, we could trust in the abilities of smart people running smaller franchises like the Rays and cheer when they beat the odds to reach the World Series, because it can happen.

Or, we could get radical.

Radical Solution 1:
My first suggestion is to contract the Yankees. This would instantly make the AL East fairer, giving the Blue Jays and Orioles a fighting chance of winning the wild-card. It would also bring about the end of obnoxious Yankee fans, Yankee exceptionalism, Jeter Hagiography, pink Yankee hats, that stupid 'got rings t-shirt, and boring Yankee games on Sunday night baseball. But I guess this solution may not be popular with everyone.

Radical Solution 2: 
Alternatively, the Yankees and Red Sox could play each other 162 times a year to decide home field advantage for the 'world series' (all games broadcast exclusively on Yankee and Red Sox TV). The rest of baseball will continue to play each other for the World Series with the addition of two expansion teams in cool places (Alaska and Hawaii might be fun) taking the place of the AL big two. The winners of the 'world series' can play the winners of the World Series, and should the Yankees or Red Sox win, their fans can pretend they truly are World Champions.

Or, more sensibly, there could be a salary cap, preventing the Yankees and Red Sox outspending everyone else and/or the addition of a Connecticut or New Jersey Team (The Jersey Shore?) to suck up some of the Yankee and Red Sox revenue, along with some kind of re-alignment resulting in 2 NL and 2 AL divisions (or no divisions, just an AL and an NL), with 8 teams making the play offs, as now. Oh, and while we're improving baseball, let's get rid of the DH. And bunting.

Time to replace K/9 with K/Batter faced

An interesting critique of K/9 from fangraphs: http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/index.php/james-shields-and-using-k/. Paraphrasing, you can have a really good K/9 but awful ERA/WHIP if you give up lots of hits and walks, but also strike out everyone who you don't walk or let hit you (e.g. James Shields). So maybe it is time that fangraphs modified FIP/WAR to take this into account?

This is also relevant to these posts

Shoplifters of the World Unite

Reds right-hander Mike Leake was arrested Monday at a downtown Cincinnati Macy's after attempting to leave the store with nearly $60 in merchandise:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/04/19/following-up-on-the-mike-leake-arrest/

Reminds me of this:

'No one could quite believe a bloke like him, with all that money, would be moronic enough to nick a toilet seat'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2007/jan/19/newsstory.sport3