http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics Economic Thinking about Baseball Wed, 07 May 2008 18:22:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Via MetsBlog, according to speculation reported by John Delcos, Scott Boras is seeking a big payday for Oliver Perez after the 2008 season. Speculation has the starting parameters at five years and $60 million, but whatever it turns out to be, Boras said it is not weighing on Perez. So, I ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/05/valuing-oliver-perez/ Dennis Coates (Professor of Economics at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and President-Elect of the North American Association of Sports Economists) provides a nice survey of the academic literature on the economic impact of sports stadiums in The American. The most basic question about stadiums, arenas, and sports franchises is ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/05/sports-stadiums-and-economic-development-a-summary-of-the-economics-literature/ With the end of April, we are half-way to the first part of the Jeff Francoeur walks contest. In March and April, Francoeur amassed a total of five walks in 27 games, putting him on pace for 30 walks this season and 10 by the end of May. Unless something ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/05/checking-in-on-frenchy/ Looks like some new development near the new Gwinnett Braves stadium will be happening soon. A six-story hotel on Financial Center Way, part of a large complex that will include a conference center, offices and restaurants, has received permission to begin construction. Panorama Hospitality will be building the Hilton Garden Inn on ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/05/if-you-build-it-they-will-comeespecially-if-they-were-already-on-their-way/ This is just a note to those of you who read Sabernomics posts via Blogburst. I will be leaving the syndication network next week, so my feeds will disappear at sites that run Blogburst feeds, but I will continue to post at Sabernomics.com. ShareThis http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/05/leaving-blogburst/ With the celebration of Jackie Robinson Day earlier this month, I read quite a bit of commentary on African-American participation in baseball. This post contains some of my thoughts on the issue. There is no denying that the percentage of Americans-Americans in baseball has declined over the past few years. A ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/04/what-caused-the-decline-of-african-americans-in-baseball/ On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Pirates released veteran right-handed pitcher Matt Morris. This closes a book on one of the hardest-to-understand deals that I can remember. Just before last season's trade deadline the Pirates sent reserve outfielder Rajai Davis to San Francisco for Morris, leaving the Pirates on the hook for ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/04/matt-morris-and-sunk-costs/ I have heard a good deal of chatter lately about rule changes for improving baseball. Stephen Dubner has a post on it at Freaknomics, and the comments reflect a common complaint about the way the game is played: it's too long. I have never minded the pace of the game, ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/04/simple-rules-to-speed-up-the-game/ On Saturday, Tim Hudson had a poor three-inning performance against the Mets. It was his second bad start of the season, and its similarity to the first bad start may be cause for concern. Hudson's velocity was down in that game, which might indicate an injury. The initial ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/04/is-there-something-wrong-with-tim-hudson/ From MLB.com: Reds don't want to rush Bailey, Bruce:Pitcher, outfielder developing, growing at Triple-A Louisville By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com CINCINNATI -- Two-fifths of the Reds' rotation hasn't been getting it done. The offense has sputtered as some hitters have been slow to heat up. Help is only a phone call away at Triple-A ... http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/index.php/2008/04/leave-em-in-the-oven/