Numbers!

Statistical analysis is a leading feature of most baseball blogs.

Not here at Watching Durham Bulls Baseball.

One reason is that for minor league ball some of the data aren’t available or are hard to obtain (pitch f/x or the constants for FIP, for example).

A more important reason is that I flat don’t understand many of the new sabermetric stats. That’s because, until I got obsessed with the Bulls, I was too lazy to take the time to chase down just what these new stats meant.

To the rescue — Steve Slowinski and The Sabermetrics Library. This is a terrific site that will lead you into the land of tRA, wOBA, UZR, FIP, WHIP, WAR, and all of the rest of Bill James’ children and grandchildren. It ain’t Oz, but sometimes it feels that way.

Do you want to go there? Well, maybe. Some of the new stats and measures are going to eventually become more popular and visible. As an example, the scoreboard in the DBAP is putting up OPS for each player as he comes to bat. (Note: since I’m sitting there keeping score, I get to try to explain OPS to the folks sitting behind me — actually sort of fun). I’m betting that FIP for the pitchers might get to the scoreboard some day as well.

The Sabermetrics Library provides succinct definitions, examples, and lots of links for more in depth work. Obviously a labor of love on Steve's part. Worth a look.