I used to be a Bill James guy. Not anymore.
Working in the front office for my beloved Red Sox, James, who is obsessed with signing guys with high on-base percentages, is a contributing factor to why, on April 10, the Red Sox led baseball in walks.
But James’s most famous contribution to baseball is his “sabermetrical” analysis, which has popularized the use of new statistics like such as OPS(on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) to determine player value.
It’s getting closer to that time of the year again, when NBA fans(whose numbers are dwindling as we speak) get to play the “NBA GM game.” For those of you unfamiliar with the game, its kind of like Dungeons and Dragons for hoop fans. In this game, I will pretend to be an NBA general manager, and try to conceive a trade that would help my team improve. Unfortunately, given the absurdities of the NBA salary cap, this game is coming dangerously close to requiring an MBA to participate.
And so with great fanfare I present to you a deal whose time has come: Earl Watson (Denver Nuggets) for Ricky Davis (Celtics). This is the proverbial deal that helps both sides.
by Ernie Siciliano
The Boston Red Sox are sick of Manny Ramirez being Manny Ramirez. So sick that according to a recent rumor they offered Ramirez, Matt Clement, and cash to Baltimore for Miguel Tejada. Now that is sick.
For the sake of argument let’s assume Miguel Tejada and Manny Ramirez are equally talented hitters (as I’ll explain later that’s not the case, Ramirez is better). The Red Sox then want to sweeten the deal by adding Matt Clement, their opening day starter last year and a guy who went 13-6, and pay the Orioles cash to ensure that the deal is completed.