It’s all about the money! Seems everyone is convinced that not making an offer to Jose Reyes is the smart play. I question that thinking because an offer not made is merely an offer that can not be accepted, Nothing more. If the fear is another team is going to outbid you well they are going to do that on the very first dollar offered so all you really managed to accomplish is ensure that [...]

While the Mets embark upon a future that may not include all-star shortstop and fan favorite Jose Reyes, I can’t help but notice how oddly familiar this all seems. The drama of potentially losing the face of the franchise and the intense media build-up leading up to his final moments, is something that many of us old-timers have seen before. I know that most of you reading this were not even born yet on June 15, [...]

Having explained more precisely what the central GOAL of Moneyball is (Save Money) I thought it might be good to talk about what it actually says it did and why it did what it did from the Statistical Analysis point of view. Moneyball, as was stated previously, used Statistical analysis to find an UNDERVALUED METRIC that was then used to hunt for and create a MASTER LIST of players who exhibited that quality for consideration [...]

I think it is time to talk about what Moneyball ACTUALLY means and to show some of those who claim to have read the book what the book is all about. Apparently, reading doesn’t always lead to UNDERSTANDING. I have read the book, it was interesting to learn about the little known “behind the scenes” process of team building and how a front office operates. It is for THAT reason the book sold so well not because [...]

I’m sure regular readers here are familiar with the debate between XtreemIcon and me regarding the relevance of On-Base Percentage (OBP) and Slugging Percentage (SLG) compared to Runs Batted In (RBI) as it correlates to Runs Scored (RS). Now that the season is done I thought it was worth looking at the actual data to see what really correlates better to scoring runs: OBP, SLG, OPS(OBP+SLG) or RBI. 2011 (Click to enlarge) The above chart shows the average [...]

For the purposes of my little demonstration, former Mets GM Omar Minaya will be cast in the role of Pinky, while world-renowned genius Sandy Alderson assumes the role of The Brain. Sandy Alderson – Last six seasons as a GM New York Mets 2011 – 77-85 Oakland A’s 1997 – 65-97 1996 – 78-84 1995 – 67-77 1994 – 51-63 1993 – 68-94 Total 406 Wins and 500 Losses – 94 games UNDER .500. Six losing [...]

Many a little leaguer has heard that phrase after a tough loss or season. Is it just the platitude of an overprotective adult, not wanting to see kids in pain and trying to shield them from the disappointment that real life often brings-  or is it actually true? Some folks will simplistically look at our record, compare it to last year and say the Mets were worse. As far as a Win/Loss record they would [...]

I recently made a joke in the comments to a piece that Brandon Butler did about what our priorities should be in the offseason after settling the Reyes Issue which will be front and center. I thought I should expand on what I said and show the facts to justify my opinion. Basically I said the offseason focus should be: 1 – Pitching 2 – More Pitching 3 – Even More Pitching 4 – While you’re at it better [...]

There is a great deal of discussion about the Met and Wilpon financial situation. Unfortunately most of the discussion is uninformed and based on erroneous supposition.  Let’s get those facts out of the way! 1 – The Wilpons and other Sterling family members claim that they had about 500Mil still invested in the Madoff fund under PERSONAL accounts (not the Mets or Sterling but maybe a few sterling employees). This number claimed is probably debatable as [...]