I’m not really sure if this is indicative of anything really. More than anything, I just wanted to post it because it is kinda funny. However, “stats geeks” are mentioned specifically as a group to be derided. I guess I could maybe say that the deployment of the stats geek as a trope does show that there is some kind of critical mass where a writer thought that it could be included in a skit for a comedy sketch show for an nationally televised show. I could also say that the use of “stats geeks” does fall in line with the dichotomy set up by the media that pits what Howard Cosell called the “jockocracy” against “eggheads”. Furthermore, I could say that this shows how the general public has misapprehended what sabermetrics is all about. The vast majority of sabermetricians that I talked to, just don’t give a flying crap about steroids. For whatever reason, this skit decided to paint “stats geeks” as the people who are to blame in making an issue out of steroids. I doubt that the writer actually thinks this, but the point is, he or she relied on the jocks vs. nerds trope and felt that it was ok to substitute the nerds with sabermetricians, even though it actually doesn’t make any sense to here.However, it is just a Saturday Night Live skit, so I doubt I’ll be using this in the dissertation. Still though, it’s funny.

OK, obviously, I’m way behind in the blogging department, so apologies for that first off. In any case, a bit of news came out today that really floored me and I think has obvious implications for my work. Roger Clemens released a 45 page report today that supposedly uses statistics to show that his sustained greatness over time is not due to steroids but rather due to him being as good as Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. OK, those aren’t the words he used, but the clear intent of this document is to exonerate himself from the recent steroid charges from the Mitchell Report.

Now I haven’t had time to go through the report in depth, but upon flipping through it, it looks like the writers of the report use some basic sabermetric ideas. It talks about the effect of run support on Clemens’ won-loss record, it talks about the effects of injuries on his number, and from what I can tell it attempts to use statistics to draw comparisons to Ryan and Johnson. Like I said, I haven’t had time to read it in depth and determine how good the statistical conclusions are (not that I’d be able to anyhow), but more than anything, I think this could be seen as an example of the transition of sabermetrics into legitimate knowledge.

There are a couple of interesting things to think about I think in relation to my work. Read the rest of this entry »