ESPN Search

Andrew Bailey has filled the closer's role well, but will he stay there?

One of the first major impacts Bill James made as a sabermetrician was pointing out the huge effect that ballparks had on statistics. I mean, people always knew that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field were good hitting parks, or that the Astrodome was a l...

A few days ago, I linked to a post about a column Bill James had written on Bill James Online, where he suggested ground ball pitchers get injured more often then fly ball pitchers. Bill admittedly hadn't studied the issue but tossed out a list of gr...

Rob Neyer of SB Nation has an interesting post on a column Bill James wrote for Bill James online, where James sort of suggests we're all overrating groundball pitchers a little bit. Here's the link to Rob's piece, and the link to Bill's original pie...

In writing about stealth MVP candidates earlier today, I'm reminded of something Bill James wrote 25 years ago. In 1987, Andre Dawson won the National League MVP Award. Playing for the last-place Cubs, Dawson led the league in home runs and RBIs, but...

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Good morning from the Fort, where further proof of Xander Bogaerts's great promise arrived in the mail this week. John Sickels, a Bill James protege who said his talent evaluations are a blend of sabermetrics and traditional sc...

If Bill James knows anything, the Sox might be better than you think.

From Bill James Online, lowest OBP allowed versus a hitter leading off an inning: 1. Johnny Cueto, Reds, .234 2. Bartolo Colon, A's, .236 3. Homer Bailey, Reds, .236 4. Bronson Arroyo, Reds, .244 5. Jered Weaver, Angels, .255 I don't know i...

Who is the greatest pitcher ever? There are different answers to that question, I suppose. When Bill James ranked pitchers a decade ago in his "New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract," he had Walter Johnson at the top of his list, followed by...

From Bill James Online, an interesting takes that relates to the Hall of Fame, in an article Bill writes "is about finding likenesses in things unlike -- hence, the title." In many cases punishment must be linked immediately to the offense, or it ...

Came across this on a post on Bill James Online: Highest first pitch swing percentage in 2012: 1. Josh Hamilton, 47.0 percent 10. Bryce Harper, 38.1 percent Lowest first pitch swing percentage in 2012: 1. Martin Prado, 6.9 percent 4. Mi...

Just like the regular season, the offseason has its rhythms. Free agents file, somebody signs early, guys get non-tendered, and the Hot Stove goes from its faint, rattling simmer to explosively boiling over without all that much warning. But as we wa...

If you're following the election, you've probably noticed a shooting war involving Nate Silver, whom sportswriting lost to politics back in 2008. The issue at stake is similar to the one sportswriters slogged through around the time of Moneyball &#82...

The Bill James Handbook 2013 reveals the Mets took the fewest extra bases in the majors in 2012 and were the fourth-worst baserunning team. Write the authors: The New York Mets were the fourth worst baserunning team in baseball in 2012, with a ...

In "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract," author Bill James has a section titled "Miracles" on the three 1960s surprise pennant winners: the 1961 Cincinnati Reds, the 1967 Boston Red Sox and the 1969 New York Mets. The Reds improved by 26...

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Boston Red Sox president/CEO Larry Lucchino did not want to comment when asked about manager Bobby Valentine's colorful interview Wednesday afternoon on sports radio station WEEI. In town to visit the club's Triple-A affiliate, ...