So I was handed a copy of the New York Times today (yes I hate trees), and flipping to the sports section the top article on its front page was entitled "A New Generation of Statistics Redefines Baseball". It's basically all about WAR and how its gaining an increasingly large following in both the media and fanbase. It's also got a Dave Cameron quote and basically is one of the better or at least most heartening articles you'll read in a (very) mainstream newspaper al year. I found the article under a different name online and I suggest you take a look. Some notable awesomeness:

A WAR of 10 does not have resonance as a hallowed number in a sport with so many others. But it will be a goal for Greinke next season, whether or not the Royals contend.

“I think, whether the traditional baseball community wants to acknowledge it or not, the fan base and the media have finally embraced and immersed themselves in advanced statistics,” Bannister said. “I think you’re going to see more and more people brought up with that influence. I really just think that the future of the game is in the numbers.”

Remember when Felix kicked ass in 2005 and we were all disappointed that he failed to win the Cy Young award the next year and seemed to be only above average following that? I think a lot of time people lose track of the fact that Felix is at about the age where a lot of solid pitching prospects have just entered the majors and how kickass he's really been over his entire career, not just this year.  Even the elite prospects and young pitchers like Liriano, Price, Hamels, Lincecum, you name it, aren't really even close to how much Felix has done at such a young age. Here's a list of historical WAR totals through age 23. I had to use the totals at Baseball Projection for those players who played before 2002, and though I'm not sure how the calculation differs methodologically from Fangraphs, Tango uses the historical list too and I think its accurate enough for the point to get across.

This list isn't all-encompassing, but what you'll see is players' career WAR through age 23 with their career rank and total for WAR in parentheses:

Kid Nichols: 39.2 (102.3 - 6th)

Bob Feller: 35.6 (66.0 - 31st)

Bert Blyleven: 29.3 (90.1 - 13th)

Dwight Gooden: 28.6 (47.6 - 80th)

Walter Johnson: 25.1 (127.7 - 3rd)

Felix Hernandez: 21.0

Fernando Valenzuela: 18.2 (38.2 - 144th)

Tom Seaver: 13.9 (105.3 - 4th)

Roger Clemens: 11.9 (128.4 - 2nd)

Pedro Martinez: 10.2 (75.1 - 23rd)

Greg Maddux: 9.8 (96.8 - 8th)

Tim Lincecum: 3.2

Bob Gibson: 1.8 (85.6 - 15th)

Cy Young: 1.7 (146.0 - 1st)

Randy Johnson: 0 (91.8 - 12th)

Pete Alexander: 0 (104.9 - 5th)

Lefty Grove: 0 (98.3 - 7th)

Phil Niekro: 0 (96.8 - 9th)

Curt Schilling: -0.1 (69.7 - 28th)

Gaylord Perry: -0.7 (96.3 - 10th)

Warren Spahn: -0.9 (93.4 - 11th)

Christy Matthewson: -0.9 (87.7 - 14th)

* * *

Now its pretty clear from this list that a hot start by age 23 doesn't necessarily correlate much with one's career total. However the bottom line, Felix is pacing some damn impressive company so far and there's a relatively significant non-zero chance that 50 years from now he'll be remembered as one of the best to throw the ball. I don't think anyone thinks he's near to his peak yet either. Cherish it.

Side note: I had no idea Blyleven was so awesome so young. He's also the only HoF-eligible pitcher in the top 29 all-time for WAR that's not in. Sigh.

If he's convicted of the murder he's been charged with.

Angel Villalona, who received a club-record $2.1 million bonus when he was signed by the Giants in 2006, wore a bulletproof vest Monday to his hearing at a court in the city of La Romana. He pleaded innocent to the murder charge.

The 19-year-old Villalona could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty in the Saturday night shooting death of Mario Felix de Jesus Velete. Dominican Republic's baseb…
AP - Sep 21, 9:49 pm EDT

Judge Aranibal Manzano Zapata ordered Villalona jailed for two months while authorities prepare their case in the Dominican Republic. Villalona turned himself in 12 hours after the shooting at a La Romana bar.

“This is a serious case of voluntary homicide,” public prosecutor Jose Polanco said.

Police haven’t said what the motive for the shooting was.

So it looks like Stephen Strasburg will have a fairly talented catcher to work with. From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Bryce Harper, the baseball phenom from Las Vegas High School, has no future in high school. An extraordinary player is ready to make an unusual move.

Harper, a 16-year-old who just completed his sophomore year, has registered at the College of Southern Nevada, where he plans to attend classes in August and play for the Coyotes next season.

 

...

With his combination of power and speed, Harper is projected to be the top pick in the major league draft when he's eligible. That should be next June.

Ron Harper said his son, who turns 17 on Oct. 16, will be draft eligible "in 2010 or 2011. ... There are a lot of rules that people don't know about."

Bryce Harper and his mother, Sheri, recently went to CSN and signed enrollment forms and his letter of intent to play baseball. Harper is aiming to earn his GED test credentials in the fall.

"He was thinking about it. He initiated it," Ron Harper said. "He said, 'Dad, why can't I take my GED and do this?' "

 

The minimum age for major league draft eligibility is 16, upon completion of high school.

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So today I went to Yankee Stadium to help unroll their giant 50-yard long flag for the home opener ceremony.

Practice and prep:

Notes from the game:

-Carl Pavano, who I had forgotten is with the Indians, received perhaps the loudest and longest round of boos I have ever heard when his name was announced, and I've been to a Sox-Yankee game in Boston and various games as Bonds pursued 755.

-After Marte came in this happened to make me incredibly happy:

So not that this hasn't been discussed before, but I decided in my spare time to quantify how important velocity is to RRS's value now that we know he'll be part of the rotation.

I know his velocity has been low this Spring, but hopefully he builds strength  over the course of the season. I don't think anyone expects 90+ mph consistently out of his fastball, but if he can dial it up when he needs to it looks like a legitimate out pitch to go with his curve. Of course this also illustrates why he's so much better as a reliever.

If only Felix's swinging strike % increased at that rate with his fastball velocity...