nerds Page 9 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
You're An Enormous Nerd, Charlie Brown
Some brilliant soul has calculated Charlie Brown's pitching statistics based on comic strips from the 1950s (record: 1-25) and 1960s (7-85). Stats from the 1970s are not included due to Charlie Brown's heavy use of amphetamines. [Wezen-Ball.com, via GQ]...
Breaking The Geek Color Barrier
It's been 62 years since Jackie Robinson integrated baseball. Now, finally, a little card with his attributes will integrate tabletop baseball simulations....
Kevin Durant Not A Fan Of Mildly Abstruse Basketball Metrics
Durant responds, via Twitter, to criticism of his oddly atrocious plus-minus rating: "love all the REAL basketball fans who appreciate hardwork, passion and love for the game..and not jus 'plus and minuses'...wateva dat is!" Somewhere, Joe Morgan nods. [Twitter, TrueHoop]...
The Forgotten Man Of <em>Moneyball</em>, Part 1
He calls himself "the pebble that started the avalanche," the man who taught baseball analysis to Billy Beane. Gandhi, someone wrote, sparking MLK's revolution. Today, Moneyball remains a hotly debated phenomenon. Eric Walker is a footnote. Here's the footnote's story....
Baseball Statgeeks, iPhone Dorks Finally Join Forces
FanGraphs has an iPhone app now. "Live win probability and win probability graphs"! "Basic/Advanced/Value stats for any baseball player"! I do believe FanGraphs commenter Kevin S. speaks for all of us: "I just splooged in my pants." [FanGraphs]...
A <em>Star Wars</em> Geek, Randy Wolf Is
Asked, in the best Q&A ever, which Star Wars character would make the ideal baseball player, Wolf responds: "[T]he Emperor is unstoppable. He seems like he could pretty much get it done." It's true. His stuff is electric. [StarWars.com]...
Moneyballhawking: Happy Youngster And Friends Go All Sabermetricky
This web site right here is where the dorkwads of ballhawking and the geekwads of baseball stats meet and do a Vulcan salute. There's enough nerdiness here to power 10 Strat-O-Matic leagues and a new season of Battlestar Galactica....
Our Band Can Beat Up Your Jocks
Some science egghead says that marching band is just as difficult as football: "You get a level of competition and athleticism that is equal to a Division I athletic program." Someone should give that guy a wedgie. [Reuters]...
The Coolest Kids At The National Spelling Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is going primetime tonight, but if you weren't in front of a TV this afternoon then you missed out on the drama, the haircuts, and the soul crushing tween angst that makes competitive spelling such a riveting spectator sport....
The Ravens' Scientific Approach To NFL Draft, Food
Baltimore director of player personnel Eric DeCosta: "We even grade our lunches. If I say it's a 6.2 lunch — all the guys know what that means, pretty good, but not great." [NYT]...
The Internet Is Fed Up With Ed Hightower's Shenanigans
Veteran NCAA referee Ed Hightower is notorious for his foul-calling theatrics. One group of fans had enough and fought back the only way they knew how - via the awesome power of MS Paint....
The 1986 Cardinals Are In The World Series!
Excuse us one more time for the self-indulgence, but we are gleeful to report that our 1986 St. Louis Cardinals Strat-O-Matic team has reached the World Series. We're a little ashamed by how much joy this has brought us, but there it is....
It's A Freebie Week At Baseball Prospectus
If you're not already a subscriber — we are, because it's a tax writeoff, baby — you can check out the Baseball Prospectus merchandise for free over the next week and a half. (The highlight of Sweeps Week is, of course, a chat with A's general manager Billy Beane)....
Those Partying Sabremetricians
Now, we're not saying that the sainted members of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) are complete dorks or anything, but witness these earth-scorching quotes from their announcement that the 2006 SABR convention will be held in Seattle....
Proving Once Again: Best-Selling Authors Are Morons
The book Freakonomics has become a mammoth bestseller, with its askew looks on just about every measure of economic analysis. As would have to inevitably happen, one of those askew looks ended up landing on baseball, specifically Michael Lewis' own bestseller Moneyball and the Oakland A's. Author St...
Clemens Sets Nerd Stat Record
If the sabermetric nerds ran the planet, Roger Clemens would have been carried off the Minute Maid Park field last night. In a 9-0 loss to the Reds, Clemens, according to The Hardball Times' Lee Sinins, set the all-time record in the RSAA (Runs Saved Against Average) statistic. What does that mean? ...
And You Thought The Baseball Prospectus Guys Were Nerdy
Because cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's and Robin Williams have all been cured, scientists are now tackling the big issues: How To Hit A Baseball. (Because you know these dorks were cut from the tee-ball team.) In an article in American Scientist magazine, three eggheads explain the physics of baseball,...