Transaction Report: Me

by devil_fingers on Nov 6, 2009 9:47 AM PST in Trade Analysis Comment 42 comments

I put off posting this longer than I should have, as I think on Fridays only 9 of my 23 regular readers come around, but I have a transaction to report, that might be even more thrilling than the Mark Teahen-for-Chris Getz-and-Josh Fields-Royals-White Sox-Utility-Man Blockbuster (did that even go through yet?). I don't want to make too big a deal out of this, but...

The brains behind FanGraphs.

As of Monday, I will be a regular contributor to ~~Cornell~~ FanGraphs (maybe you've heard of it?) on their analysis blog (under a different name, but it'll be easy enough to figure out). It's a great opportunity for me, and I appreciate the Daves (Appleman and Cameron, pictured left) bringing me on board. I mean, I'm assuming they haven't figured out exactly what kind of stuff I do yet. But, you know, I'm sure the Royals might have had misgivings the day after they signed Jose Guillen, but by then it was too late.

Neither FanGraphs nor Driveline are "exclusive," meaning that if I wanted to, I could keep writing the same amount for both. However, I'm already probably spending ~~more~~ about as much time as I should on this hobby, and real life recently got more complicated (and fun) with the arrival of B.L.F. I thought about it for a while, but finally decided that FanGraphs would be the best move for me. So I won't be a regular poster here any more.

Kyle Boddy lures a young blogger-wannabe into a life of nerdy dissipation.

It was a tough decision. Kyle basically found me hanging out on the corner, handing out trivial sabermetric analyses and bitching about trades to anyone who was bored enough to listen. He let me basically do whatever I wanted. My first "real" post here in January was something I'd been kicking around for a while (remember the days before UZR was freely available?), and I obviously couldn't say enough about it... I hope I've learned to keep things a bit more "efficient" since then. Since then, there have been some good and some not-as-good posts, but I've learned a great deal not just about baseball, but about blogging from this experience. I won't go through the highlights now -- this has gone on long enough as it is.

While I won't be posting here on a regular basis anymore, I will still be around here and other SBNation sites, and will sometimes have posts that I'll do here and elsewhere on "bigger" issues. I don't want to be the guy who's already graduated but keeps hanging around campus (alright alright alright), but I'll be around.

Final thank-yous:

Thanks to everyone who read my stuff here, especially those of you who linked to it. I appreciate the time it took. I hope that if any of you aren't FanGraphs regulars yet, you'll come by and check out my stuff there (you can also continue to follow me on Twitter). I know I'll be watching to see new developments here at Driveline as Kyle enters a new era in his business.

Big thanks to Kyle for giving me a shot basically out of nowhere and giving me pretty much complete freedom to write about anything I wanted. You the man.

Thanks to Royals Review, both various users there and especially Will, for putting up with my nonsense in FanPosts and comments there. No, I never "worked" there, I'm just some annoying guy who posted a lot. Without that forum, Kyle probably would never have been tricked into thinking I had something to say.

Thanks to Sky Kalkman for help and encouragement by email and Google Talk.

And thank you Dayton, just for being Dayton.

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congrats!

Looking forward to your fangraphs stuff.

Please hit better, Randy Winn.

by oldjacket on Nov 6, 2009 9:57 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Congrats!

Does this mean we get catcher stats at fangraphs now? :D
-j

I write at:
Beyond the Boxscore | Red Reporter | Basement-Dwellers.com | Twitter: @jinazreds

by JinAZ on Nov 6, 2009 9:57 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

thanks

We’ll see. I don’t think they need me to be able tp do it, though. Didn’t Appleman say something opa few weeks back about it?

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 6, 2009 2:08 PM PST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

If he did, I missed it

FanGraphs is great, but I frankly just can’t keep up over there. Not that I can keep up anywhere these days.
-j

I write at:
Beyond the Boxscore | Red Reporter | Basement-Dwellers.com | Twitter: @jinazreds

by JinAZ on Nov 6, 2009 5:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I thought it was in the thread in my catcher defense post

if they do want my input on it, I’ll have to consult with others to see what we could do given the data available. I don’t know much, but I think they get their data from BIS. Maybe that means, for example, that the WP/PB rates could be figured per pitch, as we discussed there.

Then we’d need to talk about whether to figure the lwts for each even separately for each season, or just go with “close enough” figures.

I haven’t talked with Appleman about it at all, though he did mention something about it.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 6, 2009 7:37 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Good luck d_f

Aaron King is still my homeboy... iffy mechanics and all

McFAQ for all you newcomers out there.

GET THAT VORP AND WHIP SH!T OUTTA HERE!!!

by baetown415 on Nov 6, 2009 9:59 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Congrats and remember the continue with The Process(tm)

Jeff Zimmerman - Protecting the world from RBI's and Wins from my mom's guest house.

by Jeff Zimmerman (TucsonRoyal) on Nov 6, 2009 10:56 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Sorry to see you go

if only for the fact that I refuse to comment on fangraphs.

by lookatthosetwins on Nov 6, 2009 11:10 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

that just means we'll have to make a fanshot of everything here,

then comment away right here.

Congrats!

I used to work with an old man that told me. Son, every workplace has a dumbass, if you don't have one where you work, then I'm afraid you're it.

by Warden11 on Nov 6, 2009 12:01 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Congrats

Great move. You’ll be sexually harassing interns in no time!

The immoderate moderator

by NYRoyal on Nov 6, 2009 11:15 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

at least

I’ll finally fulfill my dream of making the cover of the NY Post.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 6, 2009 2:10 PM PST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Dayton Moore - the gift that keeps on giving

good luck on the Dark Side.

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Nov 6, 2009 11:57 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

It was only a matter of time

…but I’m happy to graduate more writers to the “big time.”

Best of luck!

Webmaster of Driveline Mechanics
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com - An Unconventional Look at Scouting

by Kyle Boddy on Nov 6, 2009 12:00 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

what sort of spinoff?

Are you saying i’m only good enough for the JV?

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 6, 2009 2:12 PM PST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

nah

I was just over reading the “analysis blog” part I guess

by royalsreview on Nov 6, 2009 3:33 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

d_f, congrats on the move to FG

Good luck and I look forward to reading your ranting about Dayton Moore over there.

Marlin Maniac, a Florida Marlins blog
Come attend Intro to Sabermetrics 101!
Check me out at Beyond the Box Score as well.

by SFiercex4 on Nov 6, 2009 12:54 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks. I’m going to try to keep from overdoing the Royals there

As for ranting, I think i’ve moved from anger to resignation with Dayton. Ask me again after the Winter Meetings though.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 6, 2009 2:16 PM PST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Congrats

I don’t post much but I read this place all the time. I’ll be looking forward to your stuff on Fangraphs

by TheFunkle on Nov 6, 2009 1:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Congrats d_f

Holy Shit!!!...Peterson resigned...Am I dead?...Is This Heaven?

by RoyalsFanStuckInCardsLand on Nov 6, 2009 4:45 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

congrats

one of my favorite sabermatricans. i enjoy your stuff, you’ll be a fangraph favorite in no time

by KcMonarch53 on Nov 6, 2009 4:54 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

Glad to hear it

remember to read my signature (which will change slightly on Monday) — I’m just another guy. One thing that I forgot to write above that I want to emphasize is that if I can learn enough about sabermetrics that people actually want me to write for their sites, then it’s a lot easier than people think. I’m really not kidding. Someday I’ll get around to writing an essay on this, but the general gist is one shouldn’t be intimiated by the numbers (not saying you are, but some are, understandably), with a little time, one can see that sabermetrics doesn’t make the game more difficult, but opens it up to a deeper understanding by more people than ever before, before.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 6, 2009 7:40 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

please send this post to GMDM

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Nov 6, 2009 8:02 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

before

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by devil_fingers on Nov 6, 2009 8:04 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Oh Shit!

by vivaelpujols on Nov 6, 2009 11:18 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

GJ_, D_F__!

by marbotty on Nov 7, 2009 12:54 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

Kyle

You realize the everyone who’s written for this site (except for hazel, but he’s only wrote a couple of posts) has been “hired” by FanGraphs or THT? That’s pretty cool – this site must have a good rep.

by vivaelpujols on Nov 7, 2009 3:52 AM PST reply actions 0 recs

True.

Well, Josh Kalk wrote for THT concurrently with my blog and then was hired by the Rays. We also had another writer who contributed a few posts back on the old platform but eventually fell by the wayside. And I’ve been asked to write some articles for THT regarding pitching mechanics (I actually pitched this blog’s idea to THT before I started a Wordpress blog), but I haven’t really had the time to do that, since I barely write here.

That said, I’m proud that our writers do well. It’s sad to see quality like devil_fingers go, but I’ll always keep an eye out for new sabermetricians who want their shot on a blog that gets medium-sized traffic (500+ hits/day).

Webmaster of Driveline Mechanics
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com - An Unconventional Look at Scouting

by Kyle Boddy on Nov 7, 2009 3:57 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs