We’ve seen quite a few pitchers make the move from the Japanese league to the MLB with varying success. Kei Igawa, the total flop for the Yankees comes to mind. Hiroki Kuroda, a solid success now joining the Yankees is another. This offseason the Texas Rangers compensated for losing starting pitcher CJ Wilson (and Cliff … Continue reading
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Evaluating the 2011 NL MVP: Marketing Research Collides With Baseball
Congratulations to Ryan Braun, one of my very favorite baseball players, who just won his first MVP award. I had been pulling for him before, but thought Kemp’s strong finish may have swayed voters. Coinciding with MLB’s announcement of the league MVPs, I’m finishing up my final project for econometrics which is more or less … Continue reading
Justin Verlander Wins His Rightful Prize in AL MVP Award
For the first time since 1992 (Dennis Eckersley), a pitcher has won an MVP award. Justin Verlander’s incredible season for an ALCS team was too much to deny as he was crowned the AL MVP on the Monday before Thanksgiving. He won the pitcher’s triple crown with the most wins (24), lowest ERA (2.40) and … Continue reading
With Sabathia Staying In Pinstripes, What’s In Store For The New York Yankees?
With the recent news that Sabathia will remain in pinstripes for at least the next five seasons, Brian Cashman who also just signed an extension (for three years) can turn his attention to other offseason priorities, but those priorities will continue to revolve around the starting rotation (you like that pun there?). With Nova, Hughes, … Continue reading
The Yankee’s CC Conundrum
Big news from RotoWorld.com “CC Sabathia is planning to opt out of his contract by Monday night’s deadline, according to SI.com’s Jon Heyman. Sabathia will forgo the remaining four years and $92 million left on his contract and hit free agency. Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York estimated last week that Sabathia will want a … Continue reading
A First Look at The Hot Stove Season Ahead for The New York Yankees
Beloved Yankee Jorge Posada has likely played his last game in pinstripes. They simply can’t afford to block the DH slot with him and his defense has regressed beyond the point where he can play catcher. Sadly, they’ll have to let the great Yankee walk. As hard to swallow as that might be (made a bit easier … Continue reading
Boston’s Historic Collapse Wouldn’t Be Possible With A Second Wild Card
On September 2nd, the Rays were 9 games behind Boston for the AL wild card. The Braves led both the Cardinals and Giants by 8.5 games. All the ESPN commentators were going on and on about how baseball should add an additional wild card spot in each league to make the races more exciting. They … Continue reading
NL MVP Outlook: Braun and Kemp Up to Upton
Last week I gave you my take on the AL MVP race giving Granderson a very slight over Jose Bautista. Now it’s time to look at the race in the National League. With still over a month left to play, much can change, but here’s the outlook now. Ryan Braun: With 25 home runs and … Continue reading
The Great Restrainers: Brian and Calvin Coolidge
I’d always thought Brian Cashman was a terrible GM. That is until recently, when I realized that ownership was overriding him on a lot of the decisions I didn’t like. Cashman made it obvious he didn’t want to sign Rafael Soriano this offseason and when the expensive signing happened, everyone knew Hank Steinbrenner overrode his … Continue reading
Moneyball: Just Beautifully Applied Market Research
A fellow student in my Master of Marketing Research program told me that the book Moneyball was one of the factors that sparked his interest in marketing research. I just finished the book and enjoyed it thoroughly–as both a baseball fan and a (soon-to-be) marketing researcher. Without getting into the nitty-gritty of the statistics, the … Continue reading
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