Comments on: Dollar Bill, Y’all

By: Biscuit Pants

Biscuit Pants — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:58:43 +0000

For those looking for more of Bill James the essayist, the Bill James Gold Mine is more like the original abstracts:

By: Rich Lederer

Rich Lederer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:29:54 +0000

Thanks for the link, Alex. As for whether Bill James belongs in the Hall of Fame, the short answer is “yes.” His candidacy has little to do with his writing prowess or ability and everything to do with the fact that he has been the most influential person with respect to how we think about baseball since Branch Rickey.

James developed statistical innovations (Runs Created, a much better stat than either RBI or runs scored; Secondary Average, which looked beyond batting average as a metric to evaluate hitters; Range Factor and Defensive Efficiency Rating as better tools to measure fielding than the traditional assists, putouts, errors, and fielding percentage; and Win Shares, an uber stat designed to evaluate players by their overall contributions to winning games) and concepts (Defensive Spectrum, an ingenious way to think about players, defensive positions, talent, and the aging process).

If Henry Chadwick is in the Hall of Fame, I don’t see why James shouldn’t be enshrined as well. In fact, I believe he is a “no brainer” candidate.

By: Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO

Mr. OK Jazz TOKYO — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:14:48 +0000

[4] That’s a god comparison.

By: ms october

ms october — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:33:00 +0000

[3] po should be claiming his rightful place from yadier immediately

By: Alex Belth

Alex Belth — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:30:23 +0000

Marvin Miller, I can see, but Bill James? I don’t get that one. Obviously, a hugely influencial writer and critic. And you can argue that as a thinker he had a bigger impact than Roger Angell or Roger Kahn–he’s not nearly as good a writer as them or many other guys but he didn’t really write the same kind of prose did he? Maybe in terms of the impact he had on the game, maybe…

By: Yankee Mama

Yankee Mama — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:27:38 +0000

I wonder how Posada ranks among baserunning catchers. He’s scary sometimes.

Cano’s lack of maturity in his approach towards batting, fielding and baserunning can be frustrating at times. He shows lapses in concentration, no doubt about it. I still see him as an asset in the long run. He has a great arm. When on his game, he’s a great play maker and when he isn’t hitting into dps (and draining the energy out of the stadium), he can put the ball in play.

By: Diane Firstman

Diane Firstman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:06:59 +0000

Bill James (and Marvin Miller) for Baseball HOF …

By: jonnystrongleg

jonnystrongleg — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:43:23 +0000

There’s Cano taking his spot amongst the worst base runners in the game. Man, Robbie can fill up both sides of pro/con list faster than any player I’ve ever seen.

If I had 2 buttons in front of me while watching him play and one was labeled “keep forever” and the other said “cut immediately” I can imagine pounding them both repeatedly in the same game.