I’ve been reading Soccernomics in preparation for the World Cup, and it’s basically the Moneyball of soccer. So far, the most interesting part has been about how soccer clubs that help acclimate new, foreign players to the team and region find much more success than letting players fend for themselves.
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The sad state of the AL West
You know things are bad in the AL West when the only team with a winning record just declared bankruptcy. The Texas Rangers, sitting atop the division at 26-20, declared bankruptcy yesterday. The team is expected to be sold to a group of investors led by Nolan Ryan. The Seattle
Continue readingOne-run games are killing the Mariners… or are they?
Seattle’s Tuesday night 10th inning, 1 run loss to Oakland was heartbreaking. It seems like these close losses keep happening, whether it’s the fault of the bullpen or the anemic offense. Typically, you can expect a team to split 1-run decisions. I wondered if Seattle has been the subject of
Continue readingSeattle’s shortcut to getting an NBA team back
There’s no quick remedy for getting an NBA team back in the state of Washington. Fans are angry infuriated, and need time to heal the deep wounds. There’s no stadium suitable for a successful franchise. There are no franchises that are immediately movable to the Seattle area. Clearly, this is
Continue readingNo wonder Griffey fell asleep
Check out the Mariners locker room. What a pad! I’d fall asleep there too. via: bleak.blogspot
Continue readingDetails on the Great Griffey Slumber
I wish the title of this post was “the Great Griffey LUMBER.” But that’s certainly not been the case this season. He’s batting .201, slugging .234, and has 0 HRs and 2 doubles. He belongs in AA (or better, retired). So what happened last week when Ken Griffey Jr. fell
Continue readingMariners win % and errors
Bill James’s “Pythagorean Expectation” for estimating baseball teams’ win percentages is one of my favorite sabermetrics. The formula is simple and powerful: It is also remarkably accurate. It would suggest a 42% win % for the Mariners so far this season, and they’re actually 11-14 (44%). Not bad. However, for
Continue readingBench Griffey
It’s May, we’re a month into the baseball season, and the great Ken Griffey Jr. experiment has failed. There are no bad dogs, but it’s time to move on and place Griffey squarely on the bench (or, frankly, release him). The plan was to have Griffey in a platoon at
Continue readingWhat a Bill Simmons tweet will do to your website
On Saturday, Bill Simmons (aka The Sports Guy) tweeted about my NFL Draft blog post, and the result was an influx of his followers. It was a thrill to have the traffic, and many left thoughtful comments and participated in the discussion. Here’s how traffic has flowed this month… Saturday
Continue readingWhat does the looming 2011 NFL players strike/lockout mean for rising juniors in college football
Mark down 2011 as the year of college football. Nobody’s sure if the 2011 NFL season will actually happen. With the players and owners still miles apart at the negotiating table, there will be plenty of impacts to current players and current college seniors. And when September rolls around and
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