Official 2014 Texas Rangers Spring Training Thread

[romeo212000]

Hopefully not. However, do keep in mind he's the guy who committed to seriously long contracts at 1st base and LF, and we're still chasing the A's - in my opinion in a big way chasing - so it's not like everything is rosy.

And I'm gonna stop there b/c I do sincerely believe in JD. But his future here ain't etched in stone by any means.

I still say the A's have been riding a shit ton of luck. They'll do exactly what they've always done. Have a couple stellar inexplicable years, then fade into irrelevance for 10. We've got the better team.

 

[donaldson79]

I still say the A's have been riding a shit ton of luck. They'll do exactly what they've always done. Have a couple stellar inexplicable years, then fade into irrelevance for 10. We've got the better team.

I'm sorry, but to me, one of the beauties of baseball is the longevity of it all. 162 games separates the pretenders from contenders. And the last 2 years, you tell me..........Fuck a bunch of luck.

I - so obviously - want the Rangers to rain hell-fire-baseball down on the division. But this said, did the A's get better in the off season? They got an "absolutely perfect" A's player a guy named Gentry.

 

[romeo212000]

We gonna do a fantasy baseball league or two again this year?

 

[DT LUNA]

We gonna do a fantasy baseball league or two again this year?

If Lewis Derek and Harry get back strong it will feel like a fantasy.

 

[donaldson79]

If Lewis Derek and Harry get back strong it will feel like a fantasy.

Ohhhh.....verga, verga, verga sir!

 

[Windingmywatch]

So be it.

Tep will get his opportunity this season due to someone needing rest/injury, etc.

Whoever said, you need 10 starters when the season starts is noted again.

yep

 

[TheRangerDude]

We gonna do a fantasy baseball league or two again this year?

I might be interested, if you are one person short or something at some point let me know. I have never done Fantasy baseball but regulatory play fantasy football on yahoo. I can spend way too much time on that and its only 16 games, I am sort of worried how much time I would spend on 162 games. How often do you set your line up? Daily or Weekly? Head to Head?

 

[Windingmywatch]

I know you are being general and likely just referencing baseball but some people have made careers and millions of dollars by making time to understand mathematical principles and physics. Most if not all of our technological advances as a society are due to scientists that dedicated countless hours of study to these sort of things- many of which might not get that much credit when its all said and done.

Dude... liked what you wrote. Made sense. Understand the enjoyment of building the model that does the math even when as JTA notes a generalized view is going to get you pretty close. I used the BA-OBP %spread between dissimilar measures because it was just a number. Wasn't considering the BB factor in your problem. Should be interesting.

OT -- went out today to try and validate the RHP to LHP 2:1 ratio. Think its quite close to that but nothing easy yet that shows RHP IP versus LHP IP. But came across this economic and business thesis from Colorado College: Left-handed Pitchers in Major League Baseball ... 50 pages. Gerry Fraley cited often.

 

[jta4437]

I know you are being general and likely just referencing baseball but some people have made careers and millions of dollars by making time to understand mathematical principles and physics. Most if not all of our technological advances as a society are due to scientists that dedicated countless hours of study to these sort of things- many of which might not get that much credit when its all said and done.

Don't get all high and mighty, just stating that some people don't want to mess with all that b/c I have a job and a life... nor will I allow some to say my opinions aren't worth anything b/c I won't do it everytime

 

[Windingmywatch]

I'm sorry, but to me, one of the beauties of baseball is the longevity of it all. 162 games separates the pretenders from contenders. And the last 2 years, you tell me..........Fuck a bunch of luck.

I - so obviously - want the Rangers to rain hell-fire-baseball down on the division. But this said, did the A's get better in the off season? They got an "absolutely perfect" A's player a guy named Gentry.

30 books each with 162 chapters ... you can watch life change page by page. That's the beauty of baseball ... 16 football games ... 82 nba or nhl season ... better but the speed makes them too fast to savor. Baseball conversely moves at life's pace.

When I lived full time in Denton County and worked in Frisco there was absolutely nothing better to life than a mid-week night game at Dr. Pepper ... hot ... gotta sit up top in the white folding chairs between the concession stands so the light breeze makes it nice. Gonna be a nice roster at Frisco this year. Bunch of guys looking to get their names in a few of those chapters in one of those books. That's baseball.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Don't get all high and mighty, just stating that some people don't want to mess with all that b/c I have a job and a life... nor will I allow some to say my opinions aren't worth anything b/c I won't do it everytime

you got a sore butt or something?

 

[jta4437]

you got a sore butt or something?

Nope, just letting my opinion be known

 

[donaldson79]

30 books each with 162 chapters ... you can watch life change page by page. That's the beauty of baseball ... 16 football games ... 82 nba or nhl season ... better but the speed makes them too fast to savor. Baseball conversely moves at life's pace.

When I lived full time in Denton County and worked in Frisco there was absolutely nothing better to life than a mid-week night game at Dr. Pepper ... hot ... gotta sit up top in the white folding chairs between the concession stands so the light breeze makes it nice. Gonna be a nice roster at Frisco this year. Bunch of guys looking to get their names in a few of those chapters in one of those books. That's baseball.

My goodness....I smell freshly cut grass, yard barkers a plenty, and feel the warm breezes of the spring blowing in a new and wonderful season for the "Boys of Summer" again.

 

[Nightcrawler]

I still say the A's have been riding a shit ton of luck. They'll do exactly what they've always done. Have a couple stellar inexplicable years, then fade into irrelevance for 10. We've got the better team.

They almost always got timely hits last season to tie the game or win it. "Oakland Magic" even un talented turds like Eric Sogard and Seth Smith were coming thru on a daily basis. I expect theIr lineup to regress a little and not score as many runs this year. DIdnt they almost lose to the Astros at least 10 times only to get a home run in the 8th or 9th inning to win the game? Gotta give the A's credit for kicking our ass in the last series in Arlington last year tho.

 

[Justinkm83]

Boras seems to be getting a little desperate.


Though agent Scott Boras softened his strong words towards the Blue Jays in comments today, he continued to implore the team to open its pocketbooks by saying that Toronto has a "rare opportunity" to add impact free agents because of its protected first-round draft picks, reports Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca (interview via Jeff Blair of Sportsnet 590 The FAN). In addition to its advantageous draft situation, Boras argued that the Jays have the "flexibility in the long term" to backload contracts.
Boras said that client Stephen Drew could significantly upgrade the team's second base position, and that Drew would be willing to shift to the other side of the bag "if the club came and made the position a long-term one for him." Meanwhile, Boras argued that the switch-hitting Kendrys Morales would offer a better option against lefties than incumbent DH Adam Lind, who Boras said could be dealt for pitching. Toronto could recoup a future draft choice via qualifying offer when those players' deals end, the agent added.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

My goodness....I smell freshly cut grass, yard barkers a plenty, and feel the warm breezes of the spring blowing in a new and wonderful season for the "Boys of Summer" again.

I played baseball for many years and I could always tell when it was baseball season by the smell. Love this game.

 

[TheRangerDude]

Dude... liked what you wrote. Made sense. Understand the enjoyment of building the model that does the math even when as JTA notes a generalized view is going to get you pretty close. I used the BA-OBP %spread between dissimilar measures because it was just a number. Wasn't considering the BB factor in your problem. Should be interesting.

OT -- went out today to try and validate the RHP to LHP 2:1 ratio. Think its quite close to that but nothing easy yet that shows RHP IP versus LHP IP. But came across this economic and business thesis from Colorado College: Left-handed Pitchers in Major League Baseball ... 50 pages. Gerry Fraley cited often.

Yeah, I will let you know what I figure out but I'm not sure when I will get around to it.

From the abstract of the paper you attached, it looks like there may be an idea or two for you to help you with your validation. Honestly, I don't have any good ideas for that off the top of my head. One reason that has been mentioned on here in the past is that it is rarer to to face a good lefty or maybe even a lefty at all when you are young and learning the game- simply because odds that you will face a lefty are smaller amongst larger populations. The only real thing I could think of is maybe take a look at how the % of lefties changes from maybe high-school to MLB levels. I'm not really sure where you could mine that data though. I think this method would potentially answer the how it happens question but might not really validate it. There are a ton of possible variables really.

 

[WilltheThrill]

We gonna do a fantasy baseball league or two again this year?

I'm in if you do. Been playing fantasy baseball for about 15 years now.

Maybe start a separate thread for people wanting to sign up?

 

[TheRangerDude]

Don't get all high and mighty, just stating that some people don't want to mess with all that b/c I have a job and a life... nor will I allow some to say my opinions aren't worth anything b/c I won't do it everytime

High and migthy? It seems like maybe you have a chip on your shoulder or something, I had no intent for that comment to self serving, condescending, or degrading to anyone. I was simply pointing out that is it a great thing that we have people that are willing to invest there lives into it... otherwise, me and you couldn't be having misunderstanding across the internet. It's a a great thing we have lots of different kinds of people that have lots of different skills. Where one persons skill set drops off, another;s will pick up. Everyone has their own piece they bring to the table that really makes everything work.

I wish things didn't always have to get so confrontational with us. I am really not trying to attack you. I might not always agree with your opinion but it probabally just because we think about things from different perspectives. People like Winding and I are a little more receptive to quanitative type stuff, which is very useful when it comes to supporting an opinion, testing a hypothesis, or even establishing a fact. I think there are ways you can do similar things with pure logic.

Anyway, I am not trying to force my math homework on you, you don't have to mess with it if you don't want. I was just throwing things out there... in some since just thinking out the process.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Anyway, what I am attempting to answer is if ones ability to walk is dependent on BA.

I find that question interesting enough that I did a bit of research. Specifically, I collected data on the 140 players listed on MLB.com when one searches hitting statistics (Sortable Player Stats | MLB.com: Stats). I then added each of the 140 players' walks to his at bats to get an approximate measure of his plate appearances (PA), realizing of course that information about sacrifices is lost by this method. I then computed each player's walks as a percentage of PA and regressed that on his batting average. Doing so yields the following estimated model:

Estimated Walk Percentage = .073+.046BA.

The model is not statistically significant at conventional levels, however, suggesting -- to me at least -- that a player's "ability to walk" does not depend on his BA.