With their three biggest needs already filled, the news is going to moving like a glacier around here. I'll do my best to provide some original content in the future. But right now, let's just rehash some stuff that happened this weekend.
Friend of South Side Sox, Studes, got not just a mention, but a quote in the New York Times.
"It isn't realistic to compare a player to zero - you want to compare him to an easily available player from the Triple-A level," said Dave Studeman, a 50-year-old former health-care executive from Evanston, Ill., who has all but retired to run the Hardball Times. "This gives you a better idea of the player's actual incremental value."
The whole article is a great read. In fact, if you don't read Schwartz' columns each week, you're missing out. He does a great job condensing a singular sabermetric principle into an easy to read 1000 words.
The article also brings to light that, yes, the Sox do have a hint of an analytical approach.
The World Series champion Chicago White Sox use a different popular method to assess their expected victories. Rick Hahn, their assistant general manager, tracks the number of runs his lineup should score and his pitching staff should allow. Several studies have shown that any 10-run swing in that differential equates to about one victory.
Work-a-holic Ken Rosenthal is one of the many in the media who love the Macquisition.
Best unsung trade of the meetings: The White Sox's acquisition of super-utility man Rob Mackowiak from the Pirates for left-handed reliever Damaso Marte. Mackowiak, a blue-collar sort, was a perfect fit for the White Sox, while Marte added to the Pirates' bullpen depth from the left side, creating the possibility for future deals.
Finally, I never addressed this quote from earlier in the week. Though I think it should speak for itself.
"I keep reading that we have problems defensively now that Aaron is gone, but I think ultimately Brian will show everyone why we were comfortable in making the move," Williams said. "That's not to say we won't miss Aaron. Everyone knows how I feel about Aaron,but we believe we're not going to miss a beat.
"As a matter of fact, we'll probably gain a bit in some respect. And we have some guys behind Brian who can come out and provide a little different dimension for us."
Now it's just waiting to lock up the arbitration eligible guys to long-term deals. Oh, I finally upgraded to Firefox 1.5, which of cource made me lose my spellchecker extension... So please bear with the typos for now. I'll do my best.
