Archive for August, 2009

John Dewan’s Stat of the Week™

I’ve always wondered how effective those throws were, statistically speaking. Especially the half-hearted lobs that allow the runner to casually stroll back to the bag without a play.  Here’s what John Dewan has to say…   Are throws to first to hold the runner a waste of time? A fast runner is at first and [...]

August 31, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: game of baseball, John Dewan, Stat of the Week, stats  No Comments

Wrigleyville iPhone App

Not being an iPhone owner, I cannot tell you much from a first hand perspective about the Wise Guide Wrigley Field app for the iPhone/iTouch. But from the description, it looks like a great investment at just 99 cents through iTunes:     Here is what the publisher/developer has to say: It seems almost cliche, but for [...]

August 28, 2009  Tags: , , ,   Posted in: Chicago, game day, Wrigley Field  2 Comments

John Dewan’s Stat of the Week™

The Latest Scoop In the previous edition of Stat of the Week, we took a small sample from Baseball Info Solutions’ Enhanced Fielding data to compare Jason Giambi and Mark Teixeira‘s ability to scoop bad throws at first base. We showed that while Teixeira scoops more balls than Giambi, he also plays the field more [...]

August 26, 2009  Tags: , , , , ,   Posted in: book, John Dewan, Stat of the Week, stats  No Comments

Vintage film on Fergie Jenkins review

The National Film Board of Canada produced a documentary on Cubs Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins in 1974. Fergie was a rare Major Leaguer at the time, he was Canadian. This 60-minute film is a fascinating look at the baseball life of Fergie during the 1972 and 1973 seasons as a Cub. The film quality and content [...]

August 22, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: oldschool, players, review, tradition, Wrigley Field  3 Comments

Kevin Gregg versus Kerry Wood

In April I tried to give now former Cubs closer Kevin Gregg a chance to prove himself. But instead by June he validated all of my original concerns – the guy just isn’t a “winning” closer. He has given up 12 home runs in the closer role, for an average of a hefty 1.9 per 9 [...]

August 18, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: game strategy, lineup, Lou Piniella, observations, players, stats  No Comments

Now is the time for the Cubs

With Geovany Soto due back in the lineup tomorrow after his oblique injury, this Cubs team needs to make their move. Finally after an odd season of ups and downs, injuries and Cubs “occurances”, the 2009 Cubs need to put their head down and play baseball to the level they should. I’m a believer in numbers [...]

August 6, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: observations, players, playoffs, rivalries, schedule, standings, stats  No Comments

John Dewan’s Stat of the Week™

How many scoops? The most recent edition of ESPN‘s Wednesday Night Baseball pitted the New York Yankees against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rick Sutcliffe, former major leaguer and current ESPN color commentator, was talking about the Yankee defense in 2009 and made note of the change at first base this year, from Jason Giambi to [...]

August 3, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: John Dewan, Stat of the Week, stats  One Comment