How did you begin writing for Baseball Daily Digest?

I began writing my own general sports Tumble blog awhile back.  After expressing interest in expanding my writing my colleague, Joe Hamrahi introduced me to BDD.

What is your favorite team?

The Chicago Cubs.  I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and both my parents were Cubs fans, so I grew up rooting for the Cubbies.

What other teams do you follow/root for?

I am also an avid Yankees fan.  This may seem to be a bit of a conflict of interest, but it has not been an issue as of yet.  The cynic in me tells me that I won’t have to worry about a Yankees/Cubs World Series for some time.

Who was your favorite player growing up and who is your current favorite player?

My favorite player growing up was Mark Grace.  He was the first individual baseball player to grab my attention and expanded my appreciation for the sport beyond just the teams.  My favorite current player is Robinson Canó.  He is just a fun player to watch.  He had a fairly solid year at bat, aside for a bit of small stretch of trouble with runners in scoring position and I excited to see how he does this year.  The thing that I appreciate about his style of play the most is that he is one of those players who always looks like he’s having a good time which sometimes gets lost in professional sports.

What baseball writer do you consider “can’t miss” material?

I don’t really have a specific writer that I go to for everything.  I’m typically all over the place with my search for material.

Do you own any baseball memorabilia? Tell us about it.

I have a ball that was actually in play at a Yankees game their last year in the old stadium.

What’s your favorite baseball memory (from an event you attended)?

My favorite memory is actually a fairly recent one.  I attended the second ALCS game at Yankees Stadium against the Angels.  The Yankees won in a 13 inning heart-stopper in the rain and I don’t know if anything will ever top that feeling of exuberance.

What is your favorite ballpark?

Wrigley Field, hands down.

What is your favorite baseball movie?

A League of Their Own.  A little cheesy I realize, but I have got to represent for the ladies.

Do you play fantasy/roto/Strat-O-Matic/Scoresheet/video game baseball?

I haven’t as of yet, but plan on playing in a fantasy league this season.

Did you play baseball as a kid/for how long?

I didn’t play as a kid aside from in gym, but I do play intramural softball during the summers now.

What is your “dream job”?

I would love to be an on-field broadcast reporter for any sport, but especially baseball or football.

If you were allowed to run ESPN for a day, what would you change?

I think that ESPN has become a little bit sensational at times.  There are some moments when it almost seems like entertainment sports.  I would like to see a return to some more hard-hitting delivery of sports news.

I would also give more women more serious reporting roles.  They have done a bit of this so far, but I would like to see more.

How do you feel about the Baseball Hall of Fame?

I think that in theory, the Baseball Hall of Fame is a terrific thing.  As I think many people will agree the execution is a bit off.  Recent voting seems to demonstrate that many are not looking past traditional statistics.  I feel that if we have additional data available with which to evaluate players, it should be incorporated more.

Tell me one player who should and one player who shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame?

There are hundreds of arguments for various players who should or shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame.  Strictly speaking from looking at all the walks he gave up, I think there could be an argument made that Nolan Ryan wasn’t quite the ace that everyone said he was.  One player that I would like to see in the Hall of Fame is Bert Blyleven.  He was certainly snubbed this year, hopefully next year will be different.

Who is the best GM in baseball and why?

My pick of the moment would be Jack Zduriencik.  He’s just coming out of his first year in Seattle, not to mention his rookie year as a general manager and the Mariners look good!  Building the team defensively has proven to be successful to date and if the Mariners do as projected for the season, it will certainly demonstrate Zduriencik’s ingenuity and foresight.  He was great in Milwaukee and has proven great so far in his new role.

How long would it take you to get the Kansas City Royals to the playoffs and what would your first three moves be?

I think they need a solid three years or more.  They have already amassed some good future talent, now they need to develop that further.  I can’t say what my first three moves would be , but I think that for now they need to find or develop a more well-rounded pitching rotation.  Grienke needs to have another stellar year and Gil Meche needs to stay healthy, but they need to find more consistently solid people to round-out the rotation.

Do you consider yourself a Sabermetrician and how can Sabermetricians and “traditional” baseball followers better communicate?

I consider myself a student in the school of Sabermetrics.  I enjoy studying Sabermetrics to better understand the sport and the abilities of various players, but I am not solely devoted to it. I have always been from the school of thought that the more ways there are to look at the situation the better and believe that Sabermetrics provides this.

The two schools of thought can better communicate through understanding.  Rather that looking at which is better or worse overall, perhaps it would be better to accept that both has its place in baseball and let the situation dictate which makes more sense.

What aspects of baseball analysis do you find interesting and want to study further?

I’m particularly interested in Pitch f/x. I’m also excited to see what Bloomberg Sports does with its foray into analytics.

What can BDD readers expect from you this year?

I think that BDD readers can expect writing that provides the analytics that they look for, but also demonstrates a love for the game.  I hope to deliver detailed information in a fresh and exciting way.

How did you begin writing for Baseball Daily Digest?

The story began when I entered BP Idol last spring, and my submission was forwarded to BDD as an honorable mention. Bossman Joe Hamrahi informed me that I had earned an opportunity to contribute to the team at BDD, and I wasted no time before signing on the dotted line. So far, the rookie hazing has been surprisingly gentle.

What is your favorite team?

Oakland Athletics. I grew up in an area dominated by Giants fans, but my allegiance was always with the green n’ gold. I even spent half of my Little League career playing for the A’s.

What other teams do you follow/root for?

I tend to play the geography card, and follow the western teams a bit closer than the rest, if only because they are on my schedule.  I am also a diehard fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, so I’ve become a bit calloused due to repeated disappointments in the postseason.

Who was your favorite player growing up and who is your current favorite player?

As a kid, I worshipped at the altars of Mark McGwire and Rickey Henderson, and modeled after Rickey as a player. I didn’t have much choice, as a left-hander that hit from the right side. In today’s game, I follow players like Tim Lincecum, Cole Hamels, Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, Brett Anderson, and Justin Upton.

What baseball writer do you consider “can’t miss” material?

Joe Sheehan is at the top of the list, and I miss the passionate and insightful rants of Prospectus Today. I will read anything that is written by Peter Gammons, Rob Neyer, Kevin Goldstein, Jim Callis, or The Sports Guy Bill Simmons. My all-time favorite is Gary Huckabay; “he could write about lint, and I would find it interesting” (that’s Gary’s line, not mine, and he was talking about Sheehan at the time).

Do you own any baseball memorabilia? Tell us about it.

I collected baseball cards as a kid, and still cherish my Rickey rookie cards and McGwire Olympic card. I have some autographed stuff, my favorite of which is an A’s helmet that is signed by everyone from the 2000 roster.  I have a relative who is way more interesting, though. He likes to personally procure various memorabilia from ballparks across the country, whether it’s a piece of concrete from the demolished Kingdome, an armrest from old Tiger Stadium, or dirt from Coors Field. It makes for an awesome trophy wall.

What’s your favorite baseball memory (from an event you attended)?

I have been very lucky, having attended some momentous games during my 10 years in San Diego. There are three that stand out:

In 2001, I attended the final game of Tony Gwynn’s career, on the last day of the 2001 season. Leading off the first inning, my man Rickey slapped a flare to the right side that stopped, dropped, and rolled like it was on fire. He ended up on second base with a double, followed by a standing ovation for the 3000th hit of his amazing career. As it turned out, this was the only game in Major League history that featured a pair of teammates with 3,000 hits, and I left the stadium feeling satisfied that I had just seen the single greatest moment that I would ever witness on a baseball field.

In 2006, a good friend hooked me up with a ticket to the final game of the inaugural World Baseball Classic. We were sitting down the third-base line, and I had a great view of Daisuke Matsuzaka’s unique delivery as he led Japan to a historic victory over Cuba. It was an incredible match-up between two countries with a deep tradition of baseball, each with a unique style of play that was easily distinguishable from the American game. The win set off a huge celebration, highlighted by the players from Team Japan throwing manager and national legend Sadaharu Oh into the air like they were auditioning for the closing credits to RBI Baseball.

In 2007, a friend and I got tickets for a mid-summer Giants-Padres series as Barry Bonds chased Hank Aaron for the homerun record. We were sitting right behind the sandbox in right-center field at Petco on the night of August fourth, in a great position to not only witness history, but to potentially become a part of it. Barry wasted no time, leading off the second inning with record-tying homer #755 in his first at-bat, though he went opp-o to deliver the winning lottery ticket into the left field stands. Bud Selig may have been subdued at that moment, but my friend – a Giants fan in a Bonds jersey – and I were going nuts.

What is your favorite ballpark?

AT&T Park is amazing, and is probably responsible for 10-20% of the A’s attendance decrease all by itself. That, and where else can you get clam chowder with a sourdough bread bowl on the concourse?

2nd place: I’ve never had more fun than at Rosenblatt stadium in Omaha, where the bleachers have a life of their own during the College World Series.

What is your favorite baseball movie?

It’s close, but I give the nod to Bull Durham. I started to overanalyze this question, but then I remembered Crash’s lesson #1: “Don’t think; it can only hurt the ballclub.” So I went with my gut. Major League is “juuuuuuust a bit outside,” and a close second to BD.

Do you play fantasy/roto/Strat-O-Matic/Scoresheet/video game baseball?

I’m a big fan of fantasy baseball, and I am really attached to a few leagues with my college buds that have been going on for almost a decade. I am always down for some video game baseball, and nothing beats the original NES games like RBI or Baseball Stars.

Did you play baseball as a kid/for how long?

I was a 1B/CF/P for about 12 years, but a blown shoulder ended the pipedream at 18. It’s too bad, because I had wheels and a mean splitter, and I could have been a dangerous pinch runner/ groundball-inducing LOOGY… for the UCSD club baseball team.

What is your “dream job”?

My goal is to help a team with talent evaluation and player development, especially a club that emphasizes pitching mechanics and utilizes motion analysis. I would like to get involved with R&D, and help to build an organizational model for developing talent. In the meantime, I’ll be living the dream by writing for BDD, and will sleep easy as long I can forge a career writing about this spectacular sport.

If you were allowed to run ESPN for a day, what would you change?

I would give Rob Neyer a regular column again. The blogs are great, but I miss the in-depth analysis of his feature articles.

I would change the poker coverage, hiring Bob Uecker to take over for Norman Chad in the announcer’s booth.

I would sign BDD to a ridiculously lucrative contract as a strategic partner. I’m fired the next day anyway, so I might as well take care of the family.

How do you feel about the Baseball Hall of Fame?

It’s an honor for the players, and the museum is a monument to the greats of the game, commemorating its unique history. I’ve never been to Cooperstown, but it is near the top of the To Do list. There is a bit too much drama over selection for my tastes, though I do have my own opinions about what deserves enshrinement.

Tell me one player who should and one player who shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame?

I think that Tim Raines should be in, and he deserves to be getting way more support than he has received. I’d say Blyleven, but he’s a virtual lock to get in next year. I’m not going to throw any one player under the bus, but the Veteran’s Committee has voted in a number of questionable candidates.

Who is the best GM in baseball and why?

A lot of folks have jumped off the Billy Beane bandwagon, but I’m still riding shotgun. One of his key skills is a willingness to adapt his strategy, and Beane’s current challenge is to address the team’s recent catastrophe in the training room. Injuries have crushed the team in recent years, and the A’s needs to restore the level of health and performance that was a trademark of the last contending squad. There are a lot of great GM’s out there, and Billy’s extensive track record on a perennially limited budget puts him among the upper tier. Or maybe I’m just a homer.

How long would it take you to get the Kansas City Royals to the playoffs and what would your first three moves be?

I would need a 5-year plan for contention, and it starts with identifying the keepers and the dumpers. We are gunning for 2015, so only the young foundation players have a secure spot on the roster, and there will be some tough decisions down the road.

1) Dump any short-term asset that starts the season strong. This includes salary dumps like Guillen and Kendall, as well as players that could bring back a prospect or two. Wait until summer, and see if there is a market for Meche, Ankiel, or veteran relievers Farnsworth and Cruz.

2) Gauge the market on Soria, and make the move for a legit package of prospects from a team desperate for bullpen help at the deadline (there’s always a few, and his contract is team-friendly). Decide the future roles for Gordon and Ka’aihue, providing them with the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of keepers beyond 2010.

3) Invest in a motion analysis system to study both hitting and pitching mechanics, and to develop an organizational model for evaluation. Use this approach to create an atmosphere of baseball education for the young players in the organization, from Butler to Moustakas, Hosmer, Crow, Montgomery, and Melville.

Do you consider yourself a Sabermetrician and how can Sabermetricians and “traditional” baseball followers better communicate?

I think that stats are absolutely necessary for objective evaluation of performance, and the more advanced metrics are extremely useful tools. Stats also have their limitations, and there are a lot more tools in the shed. Subjective assessment has more than its share of merits, and all good objective analysis begins with the eyes. Before someone could invent a stat, they had to watch games and decide that it was worth measuring. There are also many ways to objectively analyze performance that go beyond the box score, such as hi-speed motion analysis. When running motion analysis at the NPA, we guided our theories, our experiments, and our measurements based on the subjective experience of professional players and coaches. I think the next generation of sabermetricians will successfully integrate the benefits that are derived from scouting, coaching, and statistical analysis.

What aspects of baseball analysis do you find interesting and want to study further?

I am all about functional stats, and want to further study actual game measurements. I want to know how fast Franklin Gutierrez ran to track down that ball in the gap, where he positioned himself before the pitch, and how quickly he reacted after contact. I want to know the velocity of a Rafael Furcal throw from short, and how quickly he transfers from glove to release point. And I want to know the distance from release point to the plate on every pitch that Tim Lincecum throws. Technology has brought pitch f/x and motion analysis, and we aren’t far from having this data at our disposal.

What can BDD readers expect from you this year?

They can expect to read a lot more about pitching mechanics, including breakdowns of prime pitching duels throughout the season. I also like to sound off on trades, signings, the draft, fantasy baseball, and any other rants that come to me.

How did you begin writing for Baseball Daily Digest?

I contacted Joe Hamrahi a few days before the New Year, and asked if it might be possible for me to come on board. I was really impressed with the stable of writers that BDD had, and I was looking to expand my horizons a little bit past the mostly fantasy-based writing that I do at Fangraphs and Rotoworld.

What is your favorite team?

The Pirates. Some people fall in love with the game watching the home town team win a World Series. Me? I really got hooked watching “The Freak Show,” the 1997 Bucs team that went 79-83 but nearly won a mediocre NL Central Division. That club’s collective payroll was about the same as Albert Belle’s salary! Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon tossed a combined no-no against the Astros that year, too. Good times.

What other teams do you follow/root for?

I have a strange affinity for the Kansas City Royals. I have no rational explanation for that. Morbid curiosity? Commiseration?

Who was your favorite player growing up and who is your current favorite player?

My favorite player growing up was Brian Giles. I’m not sure many people realize how dominant he was in the late nineties and early aughts. According to Sean Smith’s Historical WAR data, Giles has 42.7 career WAR, and that’s after a relatively late start as a full-time player. Jim Rice’s career WAR? 41.5.

Currently, my favorite player is Justin Upton. He’s a monstrous talent, a true five-tool talent. It’s hyperbolic to say such a thing about a 22 year-old, but I think we’re watching the early stages of a Hall of Fame career.

What baseball writer do you consider “can’t miss” material?

Wow, there are too many to list. I’m a huge fan of the Pitch F/X guys, like Harry Pavlidis and Dave Allen. Sky Andrecheck always seems to make me say, “huh, I didn’t think of that.” Joe Posnanski is great for his ability to weave numbers and narrative together. Russell A. Carleton (AKA “Pizza Cutter”) has that same gift. The list just goes on- Dave Cameron explains difficult concepts concisely, Carson Cistulli makes me laugh, and Eric Seidman hurts my brain (in a good way).

Do you own any baseball memorabilia? Tell us about it.

I used to hoard baseball cards back in the day, but I couldn’t tell you where most of them are right now. I don’t have a ton of memorabilia. But my favorites are a painting of Josh Gibson and Babe Ruth having a light-hearted conversation about hitting, and a signed picture of Willie Mays making “The Catch” at the Polo Grounds in the 1954 World Series.

What’s your favorite baseball memory (from an event you attended)?

That would have to be a double-header at PNC Park back in May of 2004. Rob Mackowiak hit a walk-off homer against the Cubs in the first game. In the second, the Pirates trailed late into the game. But Mackowiak (whose son was born that day) smacked a game-tying dinger, and Craig Wilson followed up a little later with a walk-off of his own. I was hoarse from cheering for a week.

What is your favorite ballpark?

PNC Park. It’s probably been said 10,000 times by now, but the view of the city skyline is majestic.

What is your favorite baseball movie?

“Major League.” Great cast, kooky story lines.

Do you play fantasy/roto/Strat-O-Matic/Scoresheet/video game baseball?

I play fantasy baseball. It’s fun to try and assemble your own team, though it does occasionally create a conflict of interest when one of your fantasy stalwarts squares off against your favorite team.

Did you play baseball as a kid/for how long?

I played up until Colt League. I came to the realization the last summer I played that, with a Pedroia-sized frame and decidedly less-than Pedroia-type skills, I had reached the end of the road.

What is your “dream job”?

My “dream job” would be to land a full-time gig as a baseball writer. If I were to attain that goal, I feel like I would never really work another day in my life.

If you were allowed to run ESPN for a day, what would you change?

I would try to make better use of the staggering amount of information available these days. Instead of hearing a broadcaster say, “this guy is a great curveball hitter,” and leaving it at that, I would like to see some proof. Nothing mind-blowing, but the broadcaster could say, “John Doe has an X slugging percentage against curveballs, compared to the Y league average.” Little tidbits like that are useful, informative and pretty easy to understand.

How do you feel about the Baseball Hall of Fame?

I like the robust discussion that takes place regarding a player’s Hall worthiness, but I have a hard time getting worked up about the selections. It’s easy for me to say, without a vested interest in the outcome, but I don’t feel that guys like Bert Blyleven, Bobby Grich or Tim Raines are somehow lesser players because they haven’t been inducted.

Tell me one player who should and one player who shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame?

These are lay-up choices, but Blyleven deserves induction, and Jim Rice certainly seems like a questionable choice to make the Hall.

Who is the best GM in baseball and why?

Theo Epstein. Yes, his club has deep coffers. But the Red Sox have built, as Epstein envisioned during his introductory press conference, a $100 million player development machine. The farm system is fertile, and while Boston does make splashy free agent signings (like John Lackey), the organization also does a tremendous job of identifying undervalued talents (like Adrian Beltre and Mike Cameron). The team entered the off-season with one glaring weakness: defense. And they aggressively attacked that weakness, making it into a strength.

How long would it take you to get the Kansas City Royals to the playoffs and what would your first three moves be?

Oh boy. 2032? My first three moves would be:

1.) Tell Yuniesky Betancourt that the 2010 season has been canceled.

2.) Stop signing marginal veterans on their last legs, and identify some disfavored prospects (say, a Chin-lung Hu or a J.R. Towles) as trade targets.

3.) Take a hard look at how my organization quantifies both offensive and defensive performance. Kansas City has shown an alarming tendency to sign guys with shiny RBI totals (Jose Guillen, Mike Jacobs) and an allergy to walks. Those two deals, plus the Betancourt trade, also seem to indicate a flaw in evaluating defense. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I get the feeling that RBIs and fielding percentage hold way, way too much value in K.C.

Do you consider yourself a Sabermetrician and how can Sabermetricians and “traditional” baseball followers better communicate?

I don’t consider myself a sabermetrician. I consider myself a journalist who desires to learn as much as possible about baseball, whether that involves reading a scouting report or an article on SIERA.

I’m not sure if there’s really all that much antagonism between “traditional” baseball followers and more saber-slanted fans. Ultimately, we all want to understand the game as best as possible. I think one area where sabermetrically-inclined types could do a better job is telling a story through the numbers. In other words, explain to the reader, “So what? What does it mean?” Baseball is rife with narratives. The numbers illuminate those narratives.

What aspects of baseball analysis do you find interesting and want to study further?

Pitch F/X fascinates me, and it seems to hold the potential to shed light on pitch sequencing and possibly injuries. Analysts have done a fantastic job of using the data-in a few short years, they have gone from displaying graphs showing pitch movement to giving some in-depth, highly useful information, like linear run values. Hit F/X and Field F/X could do the same kinds of things for hitting and defense. I’m particularly interested in Field F/X because of its potential to improve our understanding of what makes a good defender. Can you imagine being able to quantify something like, “what angle did the right fielder take to the ball, how long did it take him to get there, and how does that compare to the average right fielder?” How cool would that be?

What can BDD readers expect from you this year?

Lots and lots of Pirates tangents.