I consider myself to be relatively enlightened when it comes to statistics. I know enough to make a relatively coherent argument when the mood strikes, and enough to know that I don't know all that much. There's no way I could ever call myself a "stathead", though. And when it comes to the world of defensive stats, I'll trot out this snippet every time because there's no better way to support my phobias and ignorance: There are some defensive stats that rank Mo Vaughn as a better fielder over his career than J.T. Snow. Defensive stats, FTL! If it doesn't agree with my preconceptions, it can't be right. Obviously.
That disconnect between data manipulation and sensory evidence is the idea behind Tangotiger's scouting report project. It asks for the opinion -- and only the opinion -- of people who watch far too much baseball, and tries to find where the stats and amateur scouts don't reconcile.
I thought it could make for some lively offday debate. A screenshot of my ratings are in the comments section so as to not shame you with my astutitude, or otherwise influence anything. Which would be a first. Here's the San Francisco page. Happy ranking.
