SB Nation User Blog: kosmo99

The best baseball sites in the whole world

kosmo99 — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:32:49 -0000

OK, we're on the cusp of the baseball season, so here is a blog post where I have reviewed what I consider to be the Best Baseball Sites In The World. Some of these are pretty well know (um, such as MLB.com) some are not particularly well known.

I stumbled across the college summer ball blog while I was writing the article. Enjoy - hopefully there's one or two good sites that you weren't aware of.

Crazy fantasy leagues

kosmo99 — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 03:15:22 -0000

Is any one involved in any crazy fantasy leagues?

I wanted something completely unconventional last year, so I created the Alphabet Soup League. The gist is that you can only start one player for each letter of the alphabet (i.e. if you start A-Rod, you can't start Manny Ramirez - you have to choose between the R guys).

This really puts a strange twist on player values. Chris Iannetta is very popular, because he is a catcher at a very shallow latter (get beyond Iannetta, Ibanez, and Iwamura, there there's not much left.

You can download a PDF of the rules from my blog. If you're looking for something new, crazy, and challenging, give this a spin.

I'm also in a keeper league where we keep every single player. I drafted a team that was almost entirely prospects. Year 1 (2007) was dreadful, because I got killed in the counting stats. 2008 was first place ... and I nabbed Fowler and David Price during their September callups, when everyone else was snoozing (or waiting for football)

I'd be curious to hear about other crazy formats. I'm always looking for something new and different..

Manny signs with Tigers

kosmo99 — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:46:07 -0000

This is taken ver batim from my blog- The Casual Observer

Hope you enjoy it. It is a satire (i.e. fiction)

[Disclaimer: this is a satire. It is a work of fiction. The author has taken dramatic liberties with the personalities of any real person portrayed within this story.

Note: when reading this, keep in mind the fact that the exchange rate is roughly 100 yen per 1 US dollar]

The Casual Observer has had some well placed sources eavesdropping on the Manny Ramirez situation. As a result, TCO is the first media outlet to bring you this breaking news – Manny Ramirez has signed with the Tigers.

No, not those Tigers. The Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Central League. TCO sent our Chief Observation Officer, reporter Scoop Chevelle, to the Ramirez compound to get the inside information. When Scoop arrived on the scene, Manny was dressed in a kimono, resting in his Lazyboy and sipping some red sake.

Scoop: Manny, I must say that I am shocked at this news, as is the rest of the sports world. It really seemed to come out of nowhere. Why did you decide to sign with Hanshin?

Manny: Well, Scoop, they offered me a three year deal at thirty million yen per year. Thirty million! I was having a lot of difficulty getting the Dodgers to give me even twenty five, and then Hanshin drops in with an initial offer of thirty. Needless to say, I was very impressed. I was able to negotiate the deal myself – I didn’t even involve Boras in the deal.

Scoop: Are you sure that it was wise move to negotiate the deal without an agent?

Manny: Yeah, I saved a few bucks cutting Scott out of the deal. He takes a big chunk of the money.

Scoop appears to be on the verge of making a comment, then thinks better of it and remains silent.

Manny: Also, they’re naming the stadium after me. Very cool.

Scoop: How familiar are you with the Japanese culture? Do you expect to have any difficulty adjusting to a new country?

Manny: Me, have trouble adjusting? No, way, man. I’m like a chameleon. Manny the chameleon is what they called me in Boston. I blend in wherever I go. I’m really looking forward to experiencing the Japanese culture. I love egg rolls and fortune cookies, and I’m anxious to see that wall that everyone is always talking about.

After wrapping up that interesting interview, Scoop jumped on TCO’s private jet and flew across the Pacific Ocean to talk to Hanshin manager Akinobu Okada.

Scoop: Congratulations on signing Manny Ramirez, Mr. Okada.

Okada: Thank you Scoop. We were actually pleasantly surprised at how quickly we were able to negotiate a deal with Mr. Ramirez. We think we have a deal that is fair to both sides.

Scoop: Manny mentioned that Hanshin will be naming the stadium after him. Is that really true?

Okada: That’s not quite true. We’re actually naming the field after him. We will play on Manny Ramirez field at Koshien Stadium. You might say that we’re taking a page out of the book of your Los Angeles Dodgers of Anaheim.

Scoop: What do you expect from Manny? Do you anticipate any problems with his adjustment to the Japanese style of baseball?

Okada: We think that Mr. Ramirez can really help strengthen our offense. Hanshin not won a Japan Series since 1985 nor a Central League title since 2005. Our fans deserve a title. We feel that signing Mr. Ramirez gave us the best chance to win. We certainly don’t expect any problems with Mr. Ramirez’s adjustment. The American players typically adjust fairly quickly to the mindset that the players must always follow the orders of the manager. We foresee a quick adjustment for Mr. Ramirez.

Scene shifts to TCO Studio

Scoop: Well, there you are, folks. After months of wooing Manny, the Dodgers had him stolen away at the last minute by Japan’s Hanshin Tigers. The addition of Manny should put Hanshin in a position to battle Central League juggernaut Yomirui for the league title.

Why the Rockies hit better at Coors (data)

kosmo99 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:34:49 -0000

I have been trying to determine if the Rockies have a significantly different LD rate at home vs. road. To me, this would indicate a Coors Hangover with breaking balls (they would break more sharply on the road, and the Rockies would need to adjust for that after seeing flat breaking balls at home).

I found what I needed in baseball-reference.com's PI section (pay). I took the raw data and massaged it to force it to give up its secrets.

Here is the data. Strikeouts, bunts, and fielder's choices are excluded from the rates. There were only 8 FC all year, so they are statistically insignificant. Bunts were excluded because the hitter is not trying put good wood on the ball. Since I only included at bats, sac flies are not included (they are PAs, but not ABs)

Without further ado:

5557 total at bats.
Overall
4270 full swing BIP
Ground: 1861 - 43.6%
Fly - 1499 - 35.1%
Line: 910 - 21.3%

Home:
2153 full swing BIP
Ground: 906 - 42.1%
Fly - 751 - 34.9%
Line - 496 - 23%

Road:
2117 full swing BIP
Ground: 955 - 45.1%
Fly: 748 - 35.3%
Line: 414 - 19.6%

Analysis:
3.4% more balls in play are hit for line drive in Coors than on the Road. Line drive are very commonly hits (I haven't calculated BA for the various types yet) so the extra LDs are going to boost BA and slugging.

Also, Rockies hitters struck out 651 times on the road vs. 549 on the road. It seems logical that this is due to more sharply breaking moving pitches, although there might be other explanations.

The extra 100 BIP at home (due to the fewer Ks) would result in 30 extra hits (assuming a BABIP of .300) - or an extra 0.4 hits/game.

I have not run the numbers for any other teams, so I'm not sure if this is a typical home/road split of not. I'll probably run the numbers for the rest of the NL West to get a decent baseline.

I'll calculate the numbers for each player when I get time.

Check out my blog (http://somecasualobservations.blogspot.com) for articles on baseball and other subjects.

Where are they going to go?

kosmo99 — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:03:12 -0000

Assuming that the Rockies become sellers, where will the players go?

Everyone should feel free to chime in with their thoughts. Throw in some predictions of the players/prospects you think the Rockies will get, if you feel like it.

Fuentes - Devils. I keep hearing Bo Sox, Yankees, and Devils. The Devils are loaded with prospects, and I can see them pulling off a couple of trades to make a run. After all, how often are you going to have a chance to make a playoff run in a division with the Yankees and BoSox.

Holliday - I can see Holliday hanging around until the offseason, and I could also see him getting traded. I wouldn't be shocked to see the A's grab him for a playoff run, and cash him in for compensatory picks at the end of 2009.

Atkins - Haven't heard any rumors in a while, and I've mostly been hearing Cleveland. So I'll say that Atkins goes to the Indians.

Shouse baseball cards

kosmo99 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:56:58 -0000

First, I'll admit that I'm an interloper in this forum - I'm a Rockies fan.

However, I am a big fan of one particular Brewer - reliever Brian Shouse. Brian's brother is a friend of mine (we work for the same company).

Anyway, I've been looking to acquire some of Brian's baseball cards. At this point, I have 0 cards, so I'd be happy to obtain any run of the mill cards. I'm willing to pay for the cards (a small premium - I won't pay $1 a card or anything crazy like that). Or I'd be willing to trade Brewers cards for Shouse card. I think I even have a few Pilots cards for those who are really interested in the history of the franchise.

I'd prefer to work with folks who might have a few dozen cards of Shouse (to avoid pay $1 postage for a 5 cent card).

The cards don't necessarily have to be of Brian with the Brewers - any cards would be great.

Championship collectibles

kosmo99 — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:49:27 -0000

Does anyone have extras of the trophy and ring that they are looking to sell? I'm trying to find one on eBay, but it would be nice to buy one from someone here and cut out the eBay and Paypal middlemen (eliminating the ebay and paypal fees for the seller). I'm guessing that there are several other Rockies fans who want to buy one of these. Why not keep the trophy "in the family"? :)

NL West

kosmo99 — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:45:34 -0000

On April 28th, the Rockies were 10-16, 9 games behind the front running Diamondbacks (19-7)

After struggling mightily and recording a 12-22 record in games since April 28th, the Rockies are 22-38.

10 games behind the first place Diamondbacks (32-28).

While it is true that we have missed a golden opportunity to make up ground on the snakes, we're really not in much worse shape than we were on April 28th ... except that 5 weeks have fallen off the calendar (and the injuries).

Hopeless optimism - perhaps. But if we can't make the playoffs, hopefully we can at least rally to finish within a respectable distance of the first place team in the division.

Let's keep the wins coming and make a run!

Alternate Rockies news

kosmo99 — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:09:14 -0000

I participate in a simulation baseball league (fake players, the computer simulates the games, player development, etc). There are 32 people in the league (we have expanded to Vegas and Indy), spread widely across the US and Canada - literally from sea to shining sea.

I spent 1.5 years as the Braves (somebody left and there was an opening, so I jumped in). Then the Rockies became available and I immediately jumped ship - in the middle of the season.

Under my leadership, the Rockies quickly righted a meandering ship and made the playoffs in 2028 and 2031 and narrowly missed in 2030 (lost a tiebreaker) and 2032 (missed by 1 game). We're currently in the midst of the 2033 season (we play 5-6 seasons in a calendar year). We're 3.5 games back of the front running Dodgers. We have a shot, but our ace (Travis Wolf) just went down with an injury and will be out for a couple of months.

Last night was the draft. I submitted several Rockies related names to the commish. Roy Tulowitzki, a good hitting, slick fielding SS, went #1 overall to the Yankees. SP Maury Wimberly went #19 to my Rockies. RF Jackson Holliday went #26 to the Devil Rays. SP Lane Lindsay went to Cleveland at #34. Rory Wimberly (twin of Maury) went to my Rockies at #41. I actually didn't "reach" for the Wimberlys - they were simply the best available value.

We also picked up SS Brandon Mullins at #20. He's a great contact hitter with decent pop. He will likely be shifted to 2B to replace to aging OBP machine Jamie Caboe.

Just thought some folks might like some positive Rockies news :)