Kuzul

Co-author Alan Hirsch was kind enough to answer and respond to questions and criticisms of his new book, The Beauty of Short Hops: How Chance and Circumstance Confound the Moneyball Approach to Baseball.   Q: Billy Beane didn't/doesn't watch A's games because, in your words, "He can’t bear seeing the damn players muck up what should be a perfectly predictable contest."  Don't all GM's wish their moves would work out as planned and wish the game was predictable in some sense?  And is the wish and goal of GM's and sabermetrics in general actually to make things perfectly predictable or to just gain as much insight as possible into who players are and what they are capable of?    AH:  Yes, GMs are in the business of winning, and when they hire sabermetricians they try to improve their teams’ chances via statistical study. There’s obviously no problem with that.  We were on the Bill James bandwagon ...

  I had the good fortune of connecting with the Milwaukee Brewers 2009 Minor League Player of the Year, Logan Schafer, and asked if he would have time for a quick interview. He didn't at the time but we agreed to connect somewhere around the beginning to middle of spring training. We had originally thought that we could do a phone interview but that had been discussed just prior to Schafer's thumb injury which he suffered during a spring training game. Instead, we decided that I would email him some questions and he would respond in kind. Below are the results of that exchange. Enjoy! -------- Big Rygg: Thanks for doing the interview. I really appreciate your time. The first question I like to ask a professional athlete is always the same basic one and that is: When did you first realize that you were better than everybody else at baseball? Most pros tend to be the ...

I got the pleasure of getting to chat with Darrell Ceciliani today, prospect for the New York Mets. Ceciliani hit .351 with a .410 OBP and had two home runs, 35 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases in 68 games last year for the short A Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Pennsylvania League. He also set franchise records of 95 hits, 56 runs and 12 triples. He was selected as a NYP Mid-Season All Star and won the Mets’ Sterling Award for the Brooklyn Cyclones, which the Mets hand out to a player on each of their nine teams in the minors representing the most improved player. Ceciliani is a player quickly on the rise to the top, and if he continues his hard work and dedication he will be in the majors in a matter of years. Here at EE ...

Going to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York is a place where you can dig your mind into a gold mine of artifacts and have an amazing day in one of the greatest sports-related places in the world. I have gone to the Hall of Fame multiple times, and diehard baseball fans can never leave Cooperstown without new chunks of baseball knowledge. The man that runs sports' most storied Hall of Fame, Jeff Idelson, has been its President  since April 2008 and has been in baseball for almost 25 years. Here's my interview with Mr. Prez: Brad Wolff: How did you get your first job in Major League Baseball?   Jeff Idelson: My first job in baseball was being a vendor at Fenway Park in Boston.  I was a vendor in junior high school, high school and part of college.  My first internship was with the Red Sox in ...

Dave Jauss is a man of few words, but when he speaks, people listen. He has a unique perspective on the game, where neither the past nor the future has any impact on his opinions, and where the here and now are the only things in the world. He's an astute baseball man with more than two decades of experience and know-how to draw from, and he encapsulates the "taking it one day at a time" cliche better than anyone in pro sports. Speaking with him on the field after batting practice on Tuesday, the Mets' bench coach was his usual self, signing autographs for every kid in line and not passing a single person by without smiling and saying hello. I asked him for his impressions of the 2-4 road trip against Atlanta and Philadelphia, the two teams above the Mets in the standings, and without pausing even for a moment as if ...

The New York Mets might be 8.5 games out of first place in the National League East, but the players know that they are capable of turning the deficit around if they're given time. Therein lies the kicker, though. The Mets are more than two-thirds of the way through their schedule and time just isn't something that is on their side. Still, they say, you can't stop believing now.  Ike Davis knows the Mets are still right in the thick of things, but he also appreciates that the club can't continue to drop series, especially to divisional rivals like they did on their last road trip.  "We're trying to get something started right now," the first baseman told me in front of the Mets dugout. "The season's not over and we have time—not a lot, but we have some time—to put something together and see if we can rattle off a couple good ...

Wilmer Flores is one of the Mets' top prospects and one of the top prospects in all of baseball. At just 18 years old, Wilmer has already been playing professional baseball for three years. After a strong performance in Single-A this year, Wilmer was called up to High-A ball to play for the St. Lucie Mets. At 18 years old, Wilmer is the second youngest hitter in the Florida State League. Wilmer's success continued as a member of the St. Lucie Mets. He has a .349 batting average with two home runs and 19 RBI in 29 games. Wilmer was recently kind enough to take some time out of his schedule for an interview with me. At 16, most kids are still in high school and you were already playing in the minor leagues. What was that experience like at such a young age? "You know, its not that easy playing ...

While many baseball fans will get wrapped up in the allure of Evan Longoria playing next to Derek Jeter on the left side of the infield or Hanley Ramirez swinging for the fences in the Home Run Derby, it is former Major Leaguer and longtime Angels broadcaster Rex Hudler who is really going beyond baseball at the 2010 All-Star game by highlighting a cause close to his own heart. The allure of home field advantage, dream lineups, and majestic blasts over the terraced bullpens in the outfield may help craft this week's headlines, but Hudler is in Los Angeles promoting volunteerism and celebrating some very special all-stars among us who don't receive the fanfare they deserve. Hudler's first son Cade was born with Down Syndrome 13 years ago, and it was the Wonder Dog who was on hand to emcee a heartwarming game between youngsters with special needs to kick off All-Star ...

While talk around the baseball world is whether the New York Mets will make a trade for a top-end pitcher like Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt, the players themselves are taking somewhat of a laissez-faire approach to the whole rumor mill circus. While everyone acknowledges what another ace like Lee or Oswalt could do for the rotation, the players on the field are somewhat more muted in their expectations, saying the team will continue to play hard and challenge for National League honors with or without a trade. Just 24 hours after Johan Santana reportedly said he'd like to see the Mets progress a big name hurler to help strengthen the pitching staff, Santana took a step backwards on Tuesday by saying he is happy with the state of the club as it is, and that it's entirely up to the front office. "I never said ...

Carlos Beltran will begin his minor league rehab assignment with the St. Lucie Mets tomorrow, and the atmosphere and expectations within the team can't be any higher. Beltran will have to be activated to the big league roster by the time the season resumes after the All-Star break, and players just know the boost that the outfielder will bring to the team when he is back patrolling centerfield and hitting in the heart of the lineup. The Mets announced Beltran's timetable yesterday, prior to the first of three home games against the Detroit Tigers. As the news spread around the team during batting practice and pre-game warmups, there was a collective agreement that his return would be a massive boost. Jason Bay told me it would be similar to trading for an All-Star, and David Wright called Beltran "special". As much as the Mets can't wait ...