Tough start, huh? I don’t really see it. We’re 5-5 with 32 runs scored and 31 allowed. Replace one loss with a win and the Padres are playing .600 ball, well above any expectations. Of course, evaluating a team based on 10 games is probably fruitless, and that’s why I’m not really overly concerned with Bell, Edmonds, Hoffman, or the .500 start. If that’s boring, well, so be it. We’ve got plenty of games to see how things play out. And some links ….

GY comes through with a pretty cool look at Trevor Hoffman’s performance in save and non-save situations.

Dex follows up with another analysis of Hoffman’s numbers. Awesome.  

Alex Eisenberg has a piece at THT on prospects to watch in ‘08. Both Chad Huffman and Kyle Blanks are in it:

Huffman makes hard, consistent contact. He shows a plus batting eye and solid contact rate while also displaying above-average power, making him an all-around very solid player.

Bat? Check. Fielding? Not so good, from what I’ve read. Very much a guy to keep an eye on, though.

BP’s Joe Sheehan criticizes Bruce Bochy for a silly move.

Baseball Reference has a bunch of new splits. I’m sure we’ll be using them throughout the season.

Tango started up a “sabermetric moves of the 2008 in-season” thread. Check out the off-season one if you have not. Must-read stuff.

Matt at Detect-O-Vision is tracking his PythagenMatt W% on a daily basis. The Pads are at .513% (same as regular pythagenpat). His method looks at pythagenpat on a per game basis, rather than simply using total runs scored and allowed. The method is a bit controversial in the saber-community, but it’s interesting to keep an eye on (as is all of SABRMatt’s work, as well as that Detect-O-Vision site).

Clay Davenport with a cool look at when players peak:

As a result, pitchers were more than twice as likely to peak at age 22 or younger than hitters (139 pitchers to 66 hitters), and were also about twice as likely to peak at 34 or older (95 to 51).

Mike Fast notes that the algorithm PITCHf/x is using is off quite a bit. Keep that in mind with any of my posts that use it.

The Indians have locked up Fausto Carmona through 2014 (including the option years). I think Carmona is overrated by quite a bit, but it is tough not to like the deal.

MLB.com piece on the internet and how it “forces ballplayers to guard their private life.”

Cell phones. Camera phones. Digital cameras and recorders. Ubiquitous Internet blogs. YouTube and the like. All of them all-too-frequently at the ready to document and display every unflattering photo and verbal slip-up. The Digital Age, which allows people worldwide to stay so connected with one another, is creating a disturbing disconnect between athletes and their fans.

In short, the fairly new wave of technology is prompting players to reconsider how they interact with the public at large.

Of all the baseball blogs I visit, rarely (if ever) do I see that kind of stuff. But that probably doesn’t mean much considering I’m not out there looking for those types of blogs.

MGL was on Richard Justice’s radio show (click on Mitchel Lichtman under Richard Justice’s podcast). If you’re familiar with in-game sabermetric type stuff, you probably won’t learn much, but wouldn’t it be cool to hear that kind of talk on radio more often? Major credit to Justice for his open-mindedness (after this fiasco) and a great job by MGL.