Some things to tide you over until the game tonight...
In the Star-Tribune, Patrick Reusse offers a BloggerChass-ian takedown of the uselessness of modern statistics in baseball, combining strawman arguments and non-sequitors in a way that is truly remarkable. Some highlights:
"What most people don't understand is that statistical analysis has been used in baseball since I started in the game," Fregosi said. "I knew what my on-base percentage was in the low minors in 1959.
"What we didn't do was take percentages for two different things, like on-base and slugging, and say this one number tells you more about a hitter's value to a team than anything else.
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"There are too many things that can't be seen through statistics -- how does a player react to a situation, how does he fit in the game, fit with a team. You can't just look at OPS. You need a total picture before you're going to sign a player, or trade for a player."
Fregosi said the stats that get on his nerves the most involve those that try to put a number on player's fielding range. One of those is UZR (ultimate zone rating).
"I can watch any player for three days and tell you if he has range -- and I'll tell you more accurately than a chart in a computer," he said.
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"I give the Twins a lot of credit on Delmon," Fregosi said. "After that first season he had for them, there are clubs that would've moved him. The Twins hung with him. Worked out OK for them, I'd say."
And it took real baseball men -- not dweebs married to OPS and other phony numbers -- to read the bat speed and understand Young was worth the wait.
Read the whole thing. It is amusing.
Beyond the Box Score has a cool spray chart showing where Josh Hamilton hit balls at TBIA last year. If you want a Hamilton HR ball, go sit in right-center.
Can someone explain why I should be angry at Jake Fox for swinging away on 3-0 in a blowout in a spring training game, given that he's fighting for a job and trying to show that he can hit? This is just more evidence of what kind of a person Buck Showalter is.
Kellin Deglan is in a lawsuit with his alleged pre-draft "advisor."
Chris Jaffe looks at the original A.L. expansion teams, the Angels and the (now) Rangers.
ESPN's staff predictions for the season are here. THT's predictions are here.
The Phillies have cut newly-signed second baseman Luis Castillo, clearly paving the way for a last-minute Michael Young acquisition.