Could Brad Pitt win the Premier League?
You don't get too many Premier League managers who look like Brad Pitt, although Jose Mourinho
did cool and brooding pretty well. But as baseball gets the Hollywood treatment with the UK
premiere of the film Moneyball, based on the book that detailed how Billy Beane used statistics and
analysis rather than gut instincts to turn the Oakland Athletics from nobodies to big players in
the MLB, the same principles are starting to be applied in the top flight.
The Need For Advanced Football Stats - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
As a sports fan living in America, you're bombarded with statistics of increasing complexity
across every sport except football (or soccer, as the US calls it). Media analysis of football
still relies on the same statistics we've seen for years, which are generally cumulative
totals.
The New York Yankees hit three grand slams against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday afternoon.
How rare is this feat? The Yankees became the first time in the history of baseball to hit three
grand slams in the same game!
Who hit the three Yankees grand slams? Robinson Cano hit a grand slam in the fifth inning,
Russell Martin hit a grand slam in the sixth inning and then Curtis Granderson finished the feat
with a grand slam in the eighth inning.
The New York Yankees hit three grand slams against the Oakland Athletics on Thursday afternoon.
How rare is this feat? The Yankees became the first time in the history of baseball to hit three
grand slams in the same game!
Who hit the three Yankees grand slams? Robinson Cano hit a grand slam in the fifth inning,
Russell Martin hit a grand slam in the sixth inning and then Curtis Granderson finished the feat
with a grand slam in the eighth inning.
Every data point (pass, cross, offside, out of play etc) mapped in these two hemispheres (one for
each half) between Man Utd and Barca in the Champions League finals.
Simon Kuper's fascinating article in the FT about how the data revolution is slowly changing the
face of soccer. There might be a time when quants will emerge from their gray shadows and take
their rightful place on the cover of Four Four Two.
I have always been a statistics nut. The love of the numbers behind sports came early for me, as
a young boy "keeping book" for my Yankees (I am now a rehabilitated Yankees fan, firmly rooting for
my local Phillies since the Y2K). I'd laboriously watch the games, scribble down every hit, walk,
error, and out (before DVR made it easier to catch what you missed).
Gary Neville threw the ceremonial first pitch in a game between the Chicago
White Sox's and Oakland Athletics last night as he promoted Manchester United's pre-season friendly
with the Chicago Fire. However it turned out to be a bit of a girlie pitch to be honest.
Gary Neville was invited to throw the first pitch in the Chicago White Sox versus Oakland
Athletics match yesterday.
Wearing a number 2 jersey with his surname on the back, he showed that baseball probably isn't
the sport for him.
"VIDEO: GNev Turns To Baseball" was originally published at The
Republik of Mancunia.
Chicago Fire fans from around the Chicagoland area are gathering together to watch the game as
the Fire travel north of the border to take on Toronto FC. All the watch parties we have
information on are after the break.
The team, Section 8 Chicago, and Sector Latino are all headed to ChiTown Futbol at 2255 S.
Andy Carroll's £35 million move has surprised a lot of people, particularly in the light of the
Liverpool owners' reputations as careful, smarter investors. NESV, as you'll know, famously
took over baseball's Boston Red Sox and won a long awaited World Series, and in so doing used what
were termed "moneyball" principles.
Last year, the Seattle Mariners inked Chone Figgins to a big contract. In his first season with
the Mariners, Figgins was mostly a disappointment. Recently, there has been talks about Figgins
being traded from the Mariners with the Oakland A's being the main destination mentioned. Could
there be some truth to the Chone Figgins trade rumors?
