The Best of FanGraphs: July 9-13, 2018

by
July 14, 2018

Each week, we publish in the neighborhood of 75 articles across 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 and blue for Community Research.

MONDAY, 7/9
The Sinister Causes of Sudden Stops, 1988 Version, by Steven Goldman
An excerpt: “The Nationals have inherent weaknesses and a talent for injuries. The Mets had few strengths and that same fragility. The Mariners have played 37 one-run games, more than any team except the Rays, who also have played 37. The M’s have won 26 of them. And while one might try to construct an argument that this is a manifestation of a skill that will persist through the conclusion of the season—as opposed to a series of coin flips that has come up “heads” an inordinate number of times—this is one of those “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” situations. You can’t say that whichever quality has helped the Mariners to six walk-off wins and just two walk-off losses will endure until the season is safely in the rearview mirror.”

Mike Trout Was Going Through a Thing, by Rian Watt
Not even the kind of thing that’s solved by a haircut and a day off.

I Think I Love This NL All-Star Outfield, by Jay Jaffe
Love is love, y’all.

TUESDAY, 7/10
Where Have You Gone, Rance Mulliniks?, by Mark Armour
An excerpt: “A Perfect Platoon is a platoon that achieves a perfect score – the two players are properly platooned for every game the entire season. A Full Time Platoon requires a Platoon Score of 80, and further requires that each half of the platoon is employed in 80 percent of the appropriate games.”

American League First Basemen Aren’t Good, by Craig Edwards
It’s okay, guys. Me neither.

Chris Archer Is Probably Right About All-Star Snubs, by Travis Sawchik
Chris roasted the players and us all for All-Star snubs. It was a roast because it was probably true.

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WEDNESDAY, 7/11
The Precedent for a Manny Machado Trade, by Jeff Sullivan
It’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of when and how. So let’s pass the time by looking at the framework that previous trades have set.

The Trade Deadline Matters Less Than Ever, by Travis Sawchik
It’s okay, trade deadline. Me too.

THURSDAY, 7/12
The Mystery Continues: Has the 2018 Ball Been De-Juiced?, by D.K. Willardson
And he would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling FanGraphs writers.

Top-75 Stats-Based Hitting Prospects, by Jeff Zimmerman
Jeff looks at prospects not represented on the top-100 prospects lists.

Kyle Schwarber Bunted With Two Strikes and the Bases Empty, by Jeff Sullivan
Kyle obeys no Gods and answers to no one.

FRIDAY, 7/13
By Date and By Slate: When History Meets the Baseball Schedule, by John Paschal
An excerpt: “Still, this sort of chronological coincidence should be of interest to even a casual student of history. It reinforces a central truth: We, as widely dispersed Homo sapiens, live in both a shared space and a shared time, but while Eastern Siberia will never overlap with Washington Heights, the moments that align with each region can make history within the same midnight-to-midnight frame. More importantly, it emphasizes the relativity of, well, importance.”

On Liking Jean Segura, by Meg Rowley
You are very brave, Meg.





 

Find Mina on Twitter @maddc8.

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