Showing posts with label Statistics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Statistics. Show all posts

Friday, February 19, 2010

Spring Training is Here!


Photo from fOTOGLIF

Despite the bitter cold winds and the snow still on the ground, it feels like spring. Baseball is back. Not that it actually goes anywhere for those of us who are really into this stuff. I haven't posted as much as I would have liked to the last few weeks but trust me that I have a lot of work almost ready to go. So make sure you have subscribed to the RSS Feed, signed up for the free e-mails (check the sidebar), or just keep coming back everyday. You won't want to miss the sleepers, the mounds of draft prep I have for you, an article on calculating inflation and lots more.

Check out these cool sites that can advanced your fantasy prep immensely:

RotoBase.com (All the stats you need on a player in one place)

MLBDepthCharts.com (All the roster news and information you need)

RotoJunkie.com
(The ultimate Fantasy Baseball Message Board)

Friday, December 12, 2008

2008 Team Defensive Ranking by UZR

The chart below is a ranking of every Major League Baseball team by UZR. UZR is one of the best statistical measurements of defense yet created. Please note however that defense statistics stil have a long way to go. Still, examining this chart and ones like it that you can find on sites like FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and others when your ranking your potential pitching selections can be quite valuable when it comes to guessing on potential breakouts and sleepers.

A team that has dramatically improved it's defense is more likely to findpitching breakouts than the other way around. For those of you unfamiliar with UZR I've borrowed a description from Baseball Think Factory (this link is a good one to read) :

UZR rate is expressed as a fraction of 1, the same as a simple ZR (ZR). A UZR rate means essentially the same thing as a simple ZR � namely the number of balls fielded (turned into at least one out) divided by the number of chances; however, UZR rate is a weighted average of a player�s ZR in each of several zones.

As you will see, UZR rate is really a by-product of UZR runs, and UZR runs is the heart of the UZR system. It represents the value of a fielder�s performance expressed as runs saved or cost, in comparison to an average fielder (actually in comparison to the mean performance of all fielders) at that position, in that player�s league, and during that particular year. UZR runs is the defensive counterpart of Palmer�s offensive linear weights (lwts); thus it can be combined with lwts (among other things) to give you an estimate of a player�s total offensive and defensive value. Any player with an average defensive performance will, by definition, have exactly zero UZR runs.



Team G E DP FP UZR
Rays 2080 90 429 0.985 70.6
Phillies 2181 90 380 0.985 48.5
Red Sox 2146 85 399 0.986 44.3
Athletics 2126 98 467 0.984 31.5
Astros 2125 67 379 0.989 30.8
Cardinals 2297 85 430 0.986 30.4
Nationals 2160 123 387 0.98 29.1
Brewers 2002 101 425 0.984 21.7
Giants 2216 96 341 0.984 21.3
Royals 2124 96 431 0.984 19.2
Blue Jays 2042 84 366 0.986 19
Mets 2194 83 344 0.986 14.8
Cubs 2180 99 311 0.983 9.8
Indians 2010 94 498 0.985 6.2
Marlins 2221 117 328 0.98 0.8
Angels 2030 91 441 0.985 -0.5
Braves 2161 107 404 0.983 -0.8
Orioles 2126 100 441 0.983 -2
Padres 2097 85 401 0.986 -14.5
Pirates 2092 107 504 0.983 -17.8
White Sox 2134 108 427 0.983 -18
Twins 2078 108 465 0.983 -25.5
Diamondbacks 2073 113 374 0.981 -25.8
Mariners 2075 99 430 0.984 -32.8
Dodgers 2205 101 376 0.984 -35.8
Rangers 2107 132 528 0.979 -35.8
Tigers 2122 113 466 0.981 -38
Yankees 2143 83 366 0.986 -39.4
Reds 2204 114 414 0.981 -41.7
Rockies 2122 96 466 0.985 -70.9

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

Favorite Statistical Sources

Everyday there is another great site pops up that presents the baseball team and player statistics. The sites linked below are my favorites. They are not only great, they are free, so please support them in whatever fashion possible.

TheBaseballCube.com
When I want to get a quick sense of a player thebaseballcube.com is the first place I go. Not only do I get the basic stats that count for fantasy but key bits of information such as birthdate, age at each level, college stats, honors and awards that have been granted the player and a bunch more.

FanGraphs.com
When I need to understand where a player is going statistically or when I want to know why they rose or fell, this is the site I check. Fangraphs has tons of great stats that you rarely find on other sites - wOBA, IFFB percentage, HR/FB, IFH%, WPA and tons more. Plus, this site has a great blog that Dave Cameron --one of the best baseball bloggers on the planet -- contributes to frequently.

HardBallTimes.com
Sometimes I just need someone else to do the heavy lifting for a whilw and that means a trip to hardballtimes.com is in my future. Everything is here -- the news, the stats, the analysis, the fantasy spins, and the great reads. These guys also produce one of the very best baseball annuals in the business. Their annual has everything that the Baseball Prospectus Annual and the Baseball Forecaster are always missing.

FirstInning.com

When I need to study a prospect there is only one source for advanced stats (that won't cost you an arm and a first born) and that is FirstInning.com. All of the stats you want when you're studying up on major leaguers are here for minor leaguers. Plus - prospect lists, charts, graphs, park factors, league factors -- everything you need to seriously examine prospects is here.


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