Friday, August 05, 2005

From last weekend's New York Times Magazine:

"Last December, when Omar Minaya offered Pedro Martínez a four-year, $53 million contract, not everyone in the Mets' front office was convinced he was the wisest investment. The team's statistical analyst, Ben Baumer, a 27-year-old graduate of Wesleyan University with a master's degree in applied mathematics, made the case for Matt Clement instead. Baumer agreed that Martínez would be the better pitcher in 2005, but he marshaled stats suggesting that Clement might well be a better value over the course of a four-year contract. Martínez's walk rate was trending up, while his strikeout rate was trending down, and in 2004, for the first time in his career, Martínez exceeded the league average in home runs per pitches thrown. Clement, by contrast, was still improving. His control wasn't as good as Martínez's, but his 2004 strikeout rate was, and he had held opposing hitters to a lower batting average. In three years, Baumer figured, Clement could be as good or better than Martínez, and he was certainly going to be a lot more affordable."

Thoughts:
1 - Clement was a great signing for the Sox.
2 - Matt Baumer must have been 2 years ahead of me at Wes. When Matt Baumer argues with Omar Minaya about who to sign, the New York Times picks up on it?

No comments: