SB Nation User Blog: Voltaire

LGFT! [pause] F?

Voltaire — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:03:40 -0000

LGFT! [pause] F?

Hey, he counts.

All-Star Ballotting Has Already Started

Voltaire — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:53:18 -0000

All-Star Ballotting Has Already Started

We are roughly 15% done with the pre-All-Star break portion of the season.

Link to larger image Here is an updated version of the season standings chart. New additions...

Voltaire — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:42:47 -0000

Link to larger image

Here is an updated version of the season standings chart. New additions include the proper scale for a full season and 20-game increments on the Y-axis. The gray lines along the x-axis indicate the first of each month.

This is current as of this moment - it includes today's Indians game but nothing else (as no-one else in the Central has played yet today).

I am open to suggestions on improvement and/or additional features y'all would like to see.

Because I'm sure you all want to see the suckitude of the season so far represented...

Voltaire — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:52:59 -0000

Because I'm sure you all want to see the suckitude of the season so far represented graphically.

Y-Axis is games over/under .500.

Larger Image

Barfield demoted; Laffey promoted

Voltaire — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:29:32 -0000

Barfield demoted; Laffey promoted

Karma.

Game 2 Overflow Thread: Look, and Despair

Voltaire — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 02:02:05 -0000

This is simply ugly. Feel free to use this as an intentional over-reactions thread as well.
This is simply ugly. Feel free to use this as an intentional over-reactions thread as well.
This is simply ugly. Feel free to use this as an intentional over-reactions thread as well.
This is simply ugly. Feel free to use this as an intentional over-reactions thread as well.
This is simply ugly. Feel free to use this as an intentional over-reactions thread as well.

link to larger image Turn to page 76 of your Indians Annual. There you'll see the 2008 AL Central...

Voltaire — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:14:00 -0000

link to larger image

Turn to page 76 of your Indians Annual. There you'll see the 2008 AL Central Pennant Race feature. I was delighted when I saw this in the Annual - and then crushed. I'm a fan of baseball graphs myself and was elated to see their inclusion, but the two styles shown are vastly inferior to what I present here.

The reasons are thus: the "Winning Percentage" graph is crazy and meaningless near the start of the season - note that the graph doesn't even begin until April 30 - and the rest of the season is "compressed" together, as more games played means the more resistant the percentage is to change.

The "Cumulative Wins" graph is just five lines with minutely different slopes. I think the weaknesses of this format speak for themselves.

Shown above is the 2008 AL Central presented in the "Games Over/Under .500" format. It looks like a pennant race. Everyone starts out at the same spot - zero. A win will change your position on the graph just as much in September as it will in April. The teams diverge noticeably, and it's easy to tell why one team changes places with another in the standings. Why did Detroit pass Cleveland for third place in June? It wasn't an Indians collapse (yet); Detroit was just red-hot.

Some notes about the graph: the x-axis is rendered in days, not games played. Double-headers are compressed into the day played. This unfortunately means splitting a double-header looks the same as a day off. I could fix this if I wanted to be precise.

Full disclosure: the above is my personal summary of a chapter from John Davenport's fantastic (out-of-print book) Baseball Graphics (1979).

Wood has minor back problem

Voltaire — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:25:35 -0000

Wood has minor back problem

Wedge stresses the issue is minor. Many hands are wrung.

UPDATE: Per Castro again, Wood had a full workout today and expects to throw a full bullpen session tomorrow. [Jay]

A-Rod Tested Positive

Voltaire — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:18:42 -0000

A-Rod Tested Positive

Wow.

Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance (PEBA)

Voltaire — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:50:17 -0000

Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance (PEBA)

Offseason got you down? Looking for a fantasy baseball league where you can care about VORP instead of RBI? Give another look at the PEBA, a fictional fantasy baseball league originally formed from members of the LGT community. The PEBA has grown up since you may have last heard about it - we're currently looking to add a second human-run league to the universe by turning our currently AI-run Japan-based league over to human GMs. If you like the idea of running your own team, have grown tired of the simplicity of fantasy baseball, or just can't wait for pitchers and catchers to report, check out the PEBA. You won't be disappointed!

The league is run by LGT poster Corsairs, a dedicated lurker. I run the West Virginia Coal Sox franchise and recently completed a fire sale of epic proportions. My fans may never speak to me again. Come join the fun!