Official 2014 Texas Rangers Spring Training Thread

[jta4437]

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.

Perhaps what you don't understand and that WMW should understand, is I'm very in favor in numbers and always have been, sometimes I like to do the numbers, sometimes i don't, I won't be ridiculed and told my approach is wrong by anyone b/c I choose at a time to do one or another and I don't think others should be criticized for it either, b/c someone thinks "It's not that hard"

by the fact that you 2 have been bantering back and forth about the same crap for a day now makes me glad that I haven't wasted any of my time thinking about it

I'm just saying that it shouldn't have to be broke down into some table and statistical analysis, b/c honestly sometimes that can tiresome and annoying when nobody listens anyway... which used to happen quite often

For example: for years i put forth numbers as to why Michael Young was overrated and typically all I got in return to that was "But... but, he's Mr. Ranger"

 

[Bmurph]

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?

H2H or rotisserie what are you all thinking? I was in a league w Bennie and a couple of espn folks last year and have been asked to play again but think a league with people over here might be a better time!

In other words I'm down!

 

[jta4437]

H2H or rotisserie what are you all thinking? I was in a league w Bennie and a couple of espn folks last year and have been asked to play again but think a league with people over here might be a better time!

In other words I'm down!

I'd be up for a roto league, but not yahoo, someone hacked my yahoo account last year and I was never able to get it working again, and yahoo was zero help, so screw those guys

 

[RevSader]

H2H or rotisserie what are you all thinking? I was in a league w Bennie and a couple of espn folks last year and have been asked to play again but think a league with people over here might be a better time!

In other words I'm down!

Man, I always forget about my baseball teams like a month in.

 

[Bmurph]

I'd be up for a roto league, but not yahoo, someone hacked my yahoo account last year and I was never able to get it working again, and yahoo was zero help, so screw those guys

Prefer roto myself, however someone would have to commit to commish that has done it and has the time. I can find the time to set my teams daily but doubt very seriously I could run the league as I have lots going on w work family and plenty other obligations.

 

[TheRangerDude]

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.

Nice work! I think this is pretty much the approach I was going with last night. Based on what you found I say that your conclusion is pretty safe. To be certain though you might find the average and standard deviation of your BB% data and see how it compares to the range of your BB% vs BA data. If your data all falls in range of the answer I don't think the relationship would have any significance. I think you can just do the same thing by pluging in a few dummy variables.

I would like to see what would happen with a ton more data personally. I was thinking more like 300 players a season for around like 10 seasons, maybe 20, and also see if maybe there is a trend with time. I was also thinking of creating some metrics so that I could divide OBP into components, so that OBP=X+Y+Z, where X =H/(AB+BB+HBP+SF), Y=BB/(AB+BB+HBP+SF), and Z= HBP/(AB+BB+HBP+SF). At that point I think you could just compare X and Y and then also extrapolate things about OBP as well. I have to admit though, I haven't completely thought this last part all the way through yet.

 

[TheRangerDude]

Nice work! I think this is pretty much the approach I was going with last night. Based on what you found I say that your conclusion is pretty safe. To be certain though you might find the average and standard deviation of your BB% data and see how it compares to the range of your BB% vs BA data. If your data all falls in range of the answer I don't think the relationship would have any significance. I think you can just do the same thing by pluging in a few dummy variables.

I would like to see what would happen with a ton more data personally. I was thinking more like 300 players a season for around like 10 seasons, maybe 20, and also see if maybe there is a trend with time. I was also thinking of creating some metrics so that I could divide OBP into components, so that OBP=X+Y+Z, where X =H/(AB+BB+HBP+SF), Y=BB/(AB+BB+HBP+SF), and Z= HBP/(AB+BB+HBP+SF). At that point I think you could just compare X and Y and then also extrapolate things about OBP as well. I have to admit though, I haven't completely thought this last part all the way through yet.

Cancel that last part there... not sure what I was thinking... that should already be the range of your data, you would compare that range to 3 times the standard deviation to see if its significant.

 

[WilltheThrill]

H2H or rotisserie what are you all thinking? I was in a league w Bennie and a couple of espn folks last year and have been asked to play again but think a league with people over here might be a better time!

In other words I'm down!

My other league I play in every year is a H2H points league, so a Roto league would be a nice change of pace.

I'd propose a standard 5x5 Roto league, but whatever everyone here prefers is fine with me. I'll start a thread for people to sign up. We can discuss the league specifics, host site, draft day, etc. over there.

 

[WastinSomeTime]

I am not trying to take anybody's side or upset anyone. But as a Data Analyst and have been for a long time I realize the role data plays and how it can tell a very good and accurate story and also how it can be manipulated in a way to prove a point. But as a player and life long baseball fan I also know that there are things that are common sense and things you learn by observation from watching or playing the game. That being said I do enjoy some of the analytics from time to time. But there are times I feel like I am at work and I would just rather have some good old fashioned banter about the game I love and with other Ranger fans.

 

[fordman84]

I'd like to do play in another H2H league, but I'm opposite JTA. Yahoo is about the only fantasy site I can get to at work, and I'll forget if I have to do it at home.

 

[romeo212000]

Usually we do one Roto and one h2h league. I'm sure we could get some other baseball guys on the board involved. We've always done Yahoo and its worked pretty well.

 

[Xx srs bsns xX]

I can transfer over the 2 that I previously ran (for us/SH) to someone else... i'm cutting down my leagues this year. 5 last year was just too many.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Kevin Kouzmanoff as a right-handed DH and backup at third base? Apparently that is a possibility:

Kouzmanoff could fill role of righty bat off bench | texasrangers.com: News

Excerpt:
"So the Rangers are still looking for a right-handed hitter for that role, and they have the perfect player in camp if Kevin Kouzmanoff can be the player he once was with the Padres and Athletics. Kouzmanoff was the starting third baseman for those two teams in 2007-10, hitting .259 with 75 home runs and 317 RBIs over those four seasons. He hit .283 with a .463 slugging percentage against left-handers."

 

[romeo212000]

I can transfer over the 2 that I previously ran (for us/SH) to someone else... i'm cutting down my leagues this year. 5 last year was just too many.

Come on man. You did a great job.

 

[romeo212000]

Kevin Kouzmanoff as a right-handed DH and backup at third base? Apparently that is a possibility:

Kouzmanoff could fill role of righty bat off bench | texasrangers.com: News

Excerpt:
"So the Rangers are still looking for a right-handed hitter for that role, and they have the perfect player in camp if Kevin Kouzmanoff can be the player he once was with the Padres and Athletics. Kouzmanoff was the starting third baseman for those two teams in 2007-10, hitting .259 with 75 home runs and 317 RBIs over those four seasons. He hit .283 with a .463 slugging percentage against left-handers."

That would be nice.

 

[The Commish]

I'm going with over.

 

[romeo212000]

[MEDIA=twitter]438726515509837824[/MEDIA]

I'm going with over.

Me too. Way over.

 

[gregrey972]

yeah im going with the over...posted that in the baseball main forums

 

[DT LUNA]

Me too. Way over.

With you Commish and Gregrey

 

[Justinkm83]

Over, 91.