Amazin' Avenue, a New York Mets community

"Looking at his 2008 minor league totals, Cashman noted that Igawa’s QERA or QuikERA — a statistic that estimates what a pitcher’s E.R.A. should be based on his strikeout rate, walk rate and ground ball-to-fly ball ratio — was 4.52."

Tom Tango answers questions at BP. Here's a snippet: 1) What sabermetric advancement do you think is the least-appreciated by a majority of franchises? 2) I like to flatter myself that I'm an 'early adopter' to the sabermetric perspective on the game, even though it's been so many years since its introduction and uptake by those like yourself. Is sabermetrics already 'mainstream' in your mind, or how long do you think it will be til it is? 3) What was / will be the tipping point to #2? 1. Regression toward the mean. 2. Sabermetrics will always be on the leading edge. There's no need for it to be in the mainstream. If the mainstream wants to adopt, they know where to find us. If they want to ignore us, they can. We're there to make sure they don't misuse numbers, that's all. 3. I hope it never happens, actually. You look over to your left and right to make sure that whoever wants to be part of the movement has the tools and knowledge to join in. There's no sense in looking over your shoulder to make sure everyone comes along. They aren't in a burning building they are trying to escape. They are on the beach, and they can decide if they want to come surfing with us or not. But I don't need them to tell me that I'm drowning people with numbers. We're giving out surfboards, and they can decide if they want one. And then we'll be happy to make sure they don't drown.

"One of the key tenets of the new baseball thinking, which I will refer to as "sabermetrics" for the sake of ease, is that teams should try to find market inefficiencies and exploit them to gain an advantage over their opponents. But this concept has not yet trickled down to the managerial ranks in any significant way. I contend that there are significant advantages to be had by MLB teams by having their managers act more "sabermetrically". And I am quite curious as to why general managers have not pushed their managers in this direction. I would argue that they should." Required reading for fans and managers alike.

PITCHf/x heat maps are awesome, but it's very easy to misinterpret them and make oneself look like a fool. Steve Slowinski breaks it down for us.