Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Should the Brewers be more aggressive on the bases?
I just saw an article by Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on how the new Brewers manager will be more aggressive on the bases... I find it interesting that new managers always say that (kinda like new basketball managers saying they're going to focus on defense, Scott Skiles). Anyways, I always thought that getting thrown out on the bases was really bad because you not only lose the runner on base, but you add another out to the inning (totally against Moneyball). Since I've been reading a lot of Advanced NFL stats (I love constantly looking back at win probability chart of the Superbowl and seeing the "100% win probability for the Pack at the end of it), and since I've been trying to fill the football void, I decided to try to figure out being more aggressive was the right move or not for baseball.
First thing I did was find out the run expectancy (i.e. how many runs you'd expect to score in an inning with certain runners on base). I found one table here. Taking these numbers, I figured out the "breakeven" probability for taking an extra base. In other words, you'd hafta make it XXX% of the time for it to be worth it. I only did it for a single runner on base, I'll try with more runners on base at a later date. But here's the results:
For going from 1st to 2nd, you had to make it more than 73-75% of the time for it to be worth it. The number of outs didn't really matter too much. This makes sense because 2nd base is scoring position, so it didn't matter if you made the first, second, or third out there, getting to 2nd was the same.
For going from 2nd to 3rd:
0 outs: 75%
1 out: 70%
2 outs: 89%
The adage of not making the last out at 3rd shows up here. You better be 90% sure you'll make it if you try for 3rd with 2 outs.
For 3rd to home:
0 outs: 94%
1 out: 73%
2 outs: 35%
If you think making the last out at 3rd is a sin, making the 1st out at home is a bigger sin. The more interesting thing here is you should go for home with 2 outs if there's a better than 35% chance you'll make it. That means you should be thrown out at home 2 out of 3 times with 2 out. How many 3rd base coaches would get fired if that happened? Granted, this is assuming no other runners on base. So this is for a sac fly with a man on 3rd with 1 out, or a wild pitch opportunity, or even stealing home. What's the success rate of stealing home right now?
Even looking at the other numbers, it looks like it's beneficial to run if you can make it more than 75% of the time. So 1 out of 4 times, you should get thrown out trying to get to 2nd. That definitely feels like a lot, and many players would get benched for that.
So overall, my tune has changed. Apparently going for extra bases is like going for it more often on 4th down. No one gets fired for punting. I guess no one gets fired for not taking extra bases!
First thing I did was find out the run expectancy (i.e. how many runs you'd expect to score in an inning with certain runners on base). I found one table here. Taking these numbers, I figured out the "breakeven" probability for taking an extra base. In other words, you'd hafta make it XXX% of the time for it to be worth it. I only did it for a single runner on base, I'll try with more runners on base at a later date. But here's the results:
For going from 1st to 2nd, you had to make it more than 73-75% of the time for it to be worth it. The number of outs didn't really matter too much. This makes sense because 2nd base is scoring position, so it didn't matter if you made the first, second, or third out there, getting to 2nd was the same.
For going from 2nd to 3rd:
0 outs: 75%
1 out: 70%
2 outs: 89%
The adage of not making the last out at 3rd shows up here. You better be 90% sure you'll make it if you try for 3rd with 2 outs.
For 3rd to home:
0 outs: 94%
1 out: 73%
2 outs: 35%
If you think making the last out at 3rd is a sin, making the 1st out at home is a bigger sin. The more interesting thing here is you should go for home with 2 outs if there's a better than 35% chance you'll make it. That means you should be thrown out at home 2 out of 3 times with 2 out. How many 3rd base coaches would get fired if that happened? Granted, this is assuming no other runners on base. So this is for a sac fly with a man on 3rd with 1 out, or a wild pitch opportunity, or even stealing home. What's the success rate of stealing home right now?
Even looking at the other numbers, it looks like it's beneficial to run if you can make it more than 75% of the time. So 1 out of 4 times, you should get thrown out trying to get to 2nd. That definitely feels like a lot, and many players would get benched for that.
So overall, my tune has changed. Apparently going for extra bases is like going for it more often on 4th down. No one gets fired for punting. I guess no one gets fired for not taking extra bases!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Packer season ticket update - 2010
Just got my postcard in the mail with my latest Packer season ticket update:
And here's the graph:
Latest projection: 85 years until I get my season tickets!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Someone got Packer season tickets!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Front page Yahoo article on Brewers reliever
Nice article on Mark DiFelice on the front page of Yahoo... I don't think I've ever seen a middle reliever featured on the front page before.
Kinda ironic, I saw this article right after he came in last night and gave up a 2 run homer vs. the Cardinals!
Kinda ironic, I saw this article right after he came in last night and gave up a 2 run homer vs. the Cardinals!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Man crush on Trevor Hoffman
This is weird. I'm used to long drawn out, dramatic 9th innings. Where's the fun in just setting them down in 8 pitches?
I bought Hells Bells (the CD, apparently AC/DC and I-tunes haven't reached a deal yet... but I'm just gonna sell the CD back so they would've made more money off me if I had bought it off I-tunes).
Reminds me of his SportsCenter commercial...
I bought Hells Bells (the CD, apparently AC/DC and I-tunes haven't reached a deal yet... but I'm just gonna sell the CD back so they would've made more money off me if I had bought it off I-tunes).
Reminds me of his SportsCenter commercial...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
The best sign ever
Watching the Brewers/Cubs game yesterday...
Aw yeah... one of the best use of acronyms I've seen in a while (this one actually uses the first letter of each word and is grammatically correct... and of course true)
Aw yeah... one of the best use of acronyms I've seen in a while (this one actually uses the first letter of each word and is grammatically correct... and of course true)
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