Offensive Replacement Level By Position

Sur le même thème que "Offensive Replacement Level By Position"

MLB Embraces Replacement Level

Over the last decade, there has been a significant shift within baseball front offices to evaluate players differently. While OPS was making its way into the general lexicon, teams have been accepting more analytical approaches to things and taking consultation from the statistical community. The concept of probability has become more well received, and major league teams have adjusted accordingly. However, one of the main beliefs of the sabermetric crowd had simply not been adopted, and that was the concept of replacement level. Along with many others (notably among them Keith Woolner, one of the founders of the replacement level theory, now working for the Cleveland Indians), we’ve talked quite a bit about the idea that there is a vast talent pool of players who are capable of giving you performances that are only about two wins per season worse than a league average player. [lien] [EN]

2009 Position Players

One of the first tasks the new GM will have to do when taking over is do a real analysis of what he can expect going forward from the players already here. Since I’m a helpful kind of guy, I figured I’d just do it for him, using win values (as explained here) to gauge the true talent levels of each player on the roster and their relative value to the club. Also included is a comparison of their free market value compared to their current salary. Let’s just go right to the spreadsheet, with a tip of the hat to Colin Wyers for making this process much easier than the last time I did it. To answer what should be the most popular questions ahead of time: 1. I included Ibanez in order to give context to whether the team should re-sign him or not. The answer is clearly no. 2. If you didn’t read the explanation in the linked post. [lien] [EN]

Canon Digital Rebel XS/1000D Entry-Level DSLR Specs (Like an XTi + Live View) [Rumor]

More supposed info on the supra-entry level Rebel XS (1000D) DSLR Canon's rumored to be cooking up as a replacement for the XTi: The specs are just like the XTi, but with Live View tacked on. A 10.1MP sensor with a Digic III processor, 7-point AF, 3FPS bursts, 2.5-inch LCD (what, no screen love?), XSi-esque menus and Live View. And of course a "cheap price." We're thinking it'll go toe-to-toe with Sony's a300 on price (less than $700 for the kit), if not a bit lower, since the specs and positioning are comparable—XSi to a350, XS to a300 and D60. If this thing is real, expect more at Photokina in a few months. [Kamerabild via Photography Bay] [lien] [EN]

EqA and our Offense

Player EqA Position Avg EqA Hinske 0.304 RF 0.272 Longoria 0.301 3B 0.27 Upton 0.299 CF 0.263 Floyd 0.287 DH 0.257 Navarro 0.281 C 0.252 Riggans 0.277 C 0.252 Aybar 0.277 3B 0.270 Gross 0.274 RF 0.272 Pena 0.272 1B 0.276 Crawford 0.263 LF 0.269 Iwamura 0.262 2B 0.262 Gomes 0.261 DH 0.257 Bartlett 0.221 SS 0.249 The players colored in gold are the ones performing above their expected averages, the rest are either borderline or within .006 points with the exception of Jason Bartlett. Hinske being that good was a bit of a surprise to me, I suppose his .877 OPS has crept past me. Longoria, Upton, Floyd, and Navarro were no surprise, but having two catchers above average? At no time prior in Rays history have we really had one above average catcher. [lien] [EN]

An Uncertain Position(s).

Extra Bases: "First baseman Sean Casey...has been battling a stiff neck." "J.D. Drew (back)...his sixth straight game on the bench." "David Aardsma and Julio Lugo...MRIs today in Boston." "Mike Lowell (oblique) is scheduled to speak with medical director Dr. Thomas Gill today to get approval to head to New York." Walking wounded. Injured. Crap Festival. This list didn't even include Josh Beckett, whose return is very much up in the air. There are some who might say that this opens the door for a Yankee/Red Sox-free playoff picture. Our rotation is decent enough for now (Wake, Daisuke, Lester, Byrd), but we've been severely weakened in other areas by this recent ravage of injuries. We're operating with two players on the roster (Casey and Drew) who can't play. This means that Coco, Bay. [lien] [EN]

Who will replace Ed Johnson?

With Big Ed smoking his way off the roster, the question now becomes, Who will replace him? Daniel Muir is the only under tackle currently on the roster. Using someone like Raheem Brock or Eric Foster as a starting caliber under tackle is inviting the runner across the line of scrimmage, letting him have tea in your second level, and allowing him to crap on your secondary as he waltzes into the endzone. Knowing this, what options are out there? Here are some: · Re-sign Anthony "Booger" McFarland, who was himself replaced by Ed Johnson. McFarland has been out of football since failing a physical earlier this year with the Steelers. · Re-sign Colin "Not the Irishman" Ferrell. Ferrell was very good in pre-season, and Dungy likes him. · Trade with Buffalo for John McCargo. It's a long shot. [lien] [EN]

The Lakers and Trendy NBA Offense

Starting last season, Phil Jackson loosened the reins some on the triangle offense — not only was the team encouraged to fast break more, but within the first seven seconds of the clock they are allowed to freelance before setting up the offense. Maybe the biggest beneficiaries of this have been Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, who run down and get deep early post position and some easy baskets. But the Lakers are not alone in this, a lot of coaches are promoting some freelancing, and a great story in the NY Times yesterday talked about the level of scouting in the NBA, which led Kevin over at TrueHoop to add on more: Jonathan Abrams deftly explains something I’ve heard a lot in recent weeks: “…the prevalence of video, the proliferation of advance scouts roaming from city to city and the encyclopedic memories of most coaches have dramatically reduced the actual surprise of what teams see from the other side. [lien] [EN]

Experimenting With The Offense

Nomuskles called it a “lopsided polygon,” but whatever term you want to use what the Lakers have been running on offense of late is not the triangle. The off the ball movement is minimal (particularly with the starers) and the passing that made this team a joy to watch late last year has been replaced with more isolation and relying on talent rather than the offense. Bill Bridges, one of the smartest members of the family around here, broke it down in the comments, and his thoughts deserved a broader audience and discussion: If the first half of the season can be devoted to experimentation such as determining the rotation and the best fit combos, we are now a fifth of the way through this stage. I would strongly urge that Phil devote the second fifth toward a different set of lineups and rotations. [lien] [EN]

AppWeek: level editing

AppWeek - level editing: I created the levels for my AppWeek game using Paint.NET and a variant of the TerrainProcessor from the Heightmap Collision with Normals sample. I wanted hills and valleys in specific places, so I drew a crude approximation in Paint.NET. I started with a circular gradient fill to make my landscape higher in the middle and lower toward the edges. I drew a couple of white peaks using the pencil tool with a giant brush, and some valleys in black. After a Gaussian blur to smooth this out: [image] This is roughly the contours I wanted, but it's terribly boring! I made a second layer, and pasted this noise pattern (copied from a sample) into it: [image] I can't remember how this noise was originally created. We might have used some kind of fractal or plasma cloud filter. [lien] [EN]

News: Jets Working on Wedge Replacement Formations

With the change of rules this year on the wedge, it sounds like the Jets have been busy trying out some new formations to replace the wedge, according to Dan Leberfeld. What does this mean? Look for the Jets to get called on some penalties on this in the next few weeks. If they’re smart (and they are) they are going to try and play a game of cat-and-mouse with officials in the preseason so they know what they can (and can’t) get away with on special teams once the regular season starts. Always underrated, Special Teams is going to be even more important for the Jets this season. If the defense is as good as they are advertising, and the offense is going to be the unit that needs to find it’s rhythm early this season, then the team is going to need to get as many positive yards as they can from Jim Leonhard on punts and Leon Washington on kicks. [lien] [EN]

Study shows altering fatty acid levels in diet may reduce prostate cancer growth rate

UCLA researchers found that altering the fatty acid ratio found in the typical Western diet to include more omega-3 fatty acids and decrease the amount of omega-6 fatty acids may reduce prostate cancer tumor growth rates and PSA levels. Published in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research, this initial animal-model study is one of the first to show the impact of diet on lowering an inflammatory response known to promote prostate cancer tumor progression and could lead to new treatment approaches. The omega-6 fatty acids contained in corn, safflower oils and red meats are the predominant polyunsaturated fatty acids in the Western diet. The healthier marine omega-3 fatty acids are found in cold-water fish like salmon, tuna and sardines. “Corn oil is the backbone of the American diet. [lien] [EN]

Positivity: Sunni, Shia March Together in Baghdad for Peace

From Baghdad: Sunday, 23 December 2007 Approximately 1,000 Iraqi citizens, of both Shia and Sunni religions, joined together on the sectarian fault line in Rawaniyah, the Karkh District of Baghdad, to march with one another in what they called a “Peace March”, Dec. 19. It was an Iraqi initiative to ease sectarian tensions, solely driven by Iraqi Neighborhood Council (NAC) and District Advisory Council (DAC) leaders and Sheiks from both religious sects in the area, said Capt. Marcus Melton, commander of Pale Horse Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). With Iraqi Army and Iraqi policemen maintaining the security on the streets and within the crowd during the event, they were able to successfully complete the march for united peace among all Iraqis. [lien] [EN]

Mercedes-Benz to introduce entry-level SL280

With the introduction of the facelifted SL convertible Mercedes-Benz will be launching a new entry-level model powered by a 231hp six-cylinder engine. The facelifted SL range will now kick off with the new SL280 variant and top out with the V12-powered SL600. Other models include the SL350 and SL500/550 models. Of course the AMG prepped models will also be included but the current SL55 will be replaced with a new SL63 and the sledgehammer SL65 will remain as the flagship. Another addition to the SL range is the addition of the Airscarf heating system from the smaller SLK, as well as an optional active-steering system. The current model has had some tough competition in the form of Porsche's 911 Cabrio range, BMW's 6-series and Jaguar's XK but the stylish Benz still managed more than 140. [lien] [EN]

Getting Positive Again on Garmin

Notable Calls submits: Morgan Stanley is out positive on Garmin (NASDAQ:GRMN) this morning, after meeting the company's management. Firm notes they came away more positive about current business conditions and believe the stock can continue to rally from oversold levels, potentially reaching $80-85 near-term. Complete Story » [lien] [EN]