The Best of FanGraphs: February 1-5, 2016
Each week, we publish north of 100 posts on our various blogs. With this post, we hope to highlight 10 to 15 of them. You can read more on it here. The links below are color coded — green for FanGraphs, brown for RotoGraphs, dark red for The Hardball Times, orange for TechGraphs and blue for Community Research.
MONDAY
Howie Kendrick, Jean Segura, and Arizona’s Latest Mistake, by Dave Cameron
Dave really goes in on this one.
Identifying 2015’s Pop-Up Champion, by Jeff Sullivan
Hint: He was a big part of the above article.
Top 11 SP Eligible Relievers, by Brad Johnson
Not the most motley crew, but this is definitely a good list to keep in mind.
Happy 157th Birthday to Tony Mullane, the First Switch Pitcher, by Alex Remington
This early prima donna proved that being good has nothing to do with being great.
TUESDAY
Innings Limit Tracker, by Paul Sporer
This is going to be a great tool to have at your disposal this season.
Windy City Fans Bid Shoeless Joe Adieu, by Scott Ferkovich
A creative imagining of how things might have ended for Shoeless Joe Jackson had the Black Sox scandal never happened.
WEDNESDAY
Player’s View: Which Current Players Are Future Managers?, by David Laurila
There was a clear choice among the people David polled, and he wrote interviewed him for his next article.
How the Teams Were Built, by August Fagerstrom
The Cardinals are always thought of as the player development kings, but by the projections, the Giants have them trumped — and not by a small margin.
Corey Dickerson’s Value in Tampa Bay, by Justin Mason
This was Justin’s debut post at RotoGraphs. Welcome, Justin!
Seven Men Out: The Stories of the Non-Joe Jackson Black Sox, by Steven Martano
The less famous of the infamous.
THURSDAY
Let’s Define an Ace, by Jeff Sullivan
At least 0.68 percent of readers didn’t take this exercise seriously.
The Slider: A Visual Analysis, by Eli Ben-Porat
A little education on what this wipe-out pitch can and can’t do. Lots of happy visuals in this one.
A More Appropriate Measure of Late-Inning Relievers, by Christopher Rinaldi
Incorporating an old stat for a new idea.
FRIDAY
Searching for the Modern Screwball, by Owen Watson
Owen puts on his Indiana Jones hat.
Super Options For Super Bowl Watching, by Alec Denton
As always, Alec’s got you covered.
Paul Swydan used to be the managing editor of The Hardball Times, a writer and editor for FanGraphs and a writer for Boston.com and The Boston Globe. Now, he owns The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Acton, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @Swydan. Follow the store @SilUnicornActon.