Game 123

Final Score:

Boston Red Sox 5, Toronto Blue Jays 4

Mirabelli was the hero of the night with a three run homer, Timlin seems to be back on his game, Ramiro Mendoza is finally paying off and the loss to two nights ago seems to be related more to the genius of Ted Lilly than anything else. It seems that the Sox are finally turning that corner that Francona likes to talk about...but the entire West Coast still remains to be played, so I'll continue with my one-game-at-a-time philosophy.

Moneyball: Since I've finally read the book, I can offer a slightly more authoratative opinion on its contents. First of all, let me say that I thought that it was a wonderful book. Lewis explained everything very clearly, went into the histories and the philosophical development of the major characters in great and interesting detail, told a few thrilling success stories and created an excellent piece of non-fiction. I came away from it completely satisfied.

As for its philosophy...it has certainly been proven to me that statistical analysis is an excellent way to build a baseball team, or at least attempt to build one. The idea that a science can exist behind something like baseball is immensely appealing to me and I certainly plan to make use of these more scientific methods for my own fantasy baseball exploits. That said, I still don't think it makes a good managerial philosophy - I think you need a manager who understands the statistics and how they work but still knows how to go with a gut feeling, especially in the playoffs which, as Billy Beane himself has said, are a statistical crapshoot because of the small sample size. Whether or not the Sox can pull of a playoff or even a World Series berth (or, dare I say it, win) with their current management setup remains to be seen. GO SOX!