Since I didn't get any of you (?) to read "Moneyball," I don't know if last week's Society for American Baseball Research convention in Denver will be of interest, but... I briefly met Michael Lewis and Rob Neyer, saw 2 Rockies games (Bonds' 640th in a Giant loss) and one Sky Sox AAA contest in Colorado Springs, and got to hear some drunken nelly ex-Marine threaten a go-go boy at a bar called the Brig ("I know where your jugular is") -- not part of the SABR program... There were also a few dozen oral presentations by the membership on topics ranging from the statistically appropriate times to walk Bonds; "Raceball: Baseball as Neocolonialism;" how teams are built (the 1917 Chisox and 1971 Angels used as the 2 examples); and the etymologic origin of "fan"! (It's far from clear that it's a shortening of "fanatic.")

There were also panels on Baseball at Altitude (at which Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd cut a very sympathetic figure -- he'd tried most "solutions" to Colorado's home/away problems that the audience raised), relief pitching (with late '50s Yankee legend Ryne Duren), and scouting (Toronto GM Pat Gillick and longtime exec Roland Hemond made some skeptical comments about the Beane / "Moneyball" approach to talent evaluation).

And since the only thing wrong with Coors Field is the air, it made a good impression on me: they *don't* play #@*^% "God Bless America" in the 7th inning!


SABR website

Rob Neyer on the convention (espn.com)

Yet another article that refers to us as \"stat geeks\" (Denver Post) :mad:

[ July 15, 2003, 01:05 PM: Message edited by: Bill W ]