History: Best of the AL in the 1900s

PBR - Throughout the next few weeks the Review will unveil several portions of a new statistical study that ranks teams relative to league and decade. A formula using seven unique sabermetric categories, combined with regression, resulted in the ranking system. The full formula / study will be unveiled during the summer of 2012 and published on the Review.  

This installment looks at the American League from 1901-1909 and ranked 72 teams.

Best: 1903 Boston Americans, 91-47, .659, World Series Champions 

Led by hurlers Cy Young (28-9, 2.08) and Bill Dinneen (21-13, 2.26), the Americans coasted to the first American League pennant and finished 14.5 games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics. Buck Freeman paced the offense with 13 home runs while driving in 104. Six of eight offensive starters reached double-digits in stolen bases. The Americans  went on to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first ever World Series, five games to three.  

Philadelphia (AL) in the 1900s (rank of 72 teams):  1901 - 18th, 1902 - 4th, 1903 - 10th, 1904 - 17th, 1905 - 2nd, 1906 - 20th, 1907 - 7th, 1908 - 45th, 1909 - 3rd. 

Top Five AL Teams of the 1900s: 1903 Boston, 1905 Philadelphia, 1909 Philadelphia, 1902 Philadelphia, 1906 Cleveland.

Bottom Five AL Teams of the 1900s:  1904 Washington, 1908 New York, 1903 Washington, 1901 Cleveland, 1902 Detroit.

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Roto Challenge: Freddie Freeman, 1B, ATL

PBR - The Review will publicly manage a club this season in CDM's Diamond Roto Challenge.

For those unfamiliar with CDM's Roto Challenge, participants compile a roster of 28 players and a taxi squad of 12 players. All players are given a salary and participants must build a club within the confines of $30,000,000. There is no draft, participants simply select the players they want.

I will be building the Review's roster over the next few weeks and plan to blog about each selection. Salaries can be found here. My selections will be based on projected statistics, relative value compared to other positional players, and sabermetric analysis.

Today's Selection: Freedie Freeman

1B, ATL, $760,000  

Freeman had a strong rookie season and emerged as a potential top-tier first baseman. He needs to improve his plate discipline (see the 37% Eye Rating from last year  (bb/k), but has the tools to hit 20 homers and drive in 90 runs.

Selecting a team in a league like this where the salaries are already defined means you have to search for the best values. I examined the depth charts on Rotoworld and averaged the salaries of all starting first basemen (and a few DH's) and found the value to be near $980,000. At $760,000 Freeman is approximately $220,000 less than an average first basemen.

Given positional scarcity at other positions, I think taking Freeman below the league average makes complete sense. The savings will allow me to spend elsewhere. Bill James's projections are favorable and I think batting in the middle of a quality Braves lineup will enhance his chances to drive in 85-90 runs. Again, plate patience is a concern, but his Eye Rating in the minors was 50% so I think he can improve on taking pitches and limiting strikeouts.

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Some thoughts on the situation surrounding columnist Bill Conlin

PBR - My last communication with Bill Conlin was via e-mail following his induction this summer to the Hall of Fame. I congratulated him and noted how happy I was that a fellow alumnus from Temple University made it to Cooperstown.

With what we know now, I'm not too sure how thrilled I feel about Conlin's enshrinement.

Conlin, 77, was accused of molesting four children, including his niece, in an unsettling investigative piece by Nancy Phillips that ran in Tuesday's Philadelphia Inquirer.

The story is vile. The quotes and memories are haunting. Phillips's story exceeds the Sandusky Grand Jury Report in terms of sheer rawness because it includes names and first-person accounts.

The allegations are a chilling reminder that we truly never know what secrets lay buried in someone's past.

Conlin covered the Phillies beat for more than twenty seasons with the Daily News before becoming a columnist in 1987.

Sharing a profession and degree, I felt a sense of connectedness to Conlin. I never idolized him, but I held him in high esteem.  How can I ever think of him in the same way?

Conlin's bombastic style of writing has been a constant in the Philadelphia media landscape for more than forty years. He became the rare exception where a columnist was more polarizing than some of the very athletes he opined about.

The whole situation is a mess.

I cannot imagine how the accusers felt everytime they heard Conlin's name. I heard the name of a respected sports journalist - they heard the name of a monster. 

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The saga is over: Phillies re-sign Rollins

PBR - According to several reports, the Phillies have re-signed shortstop Jimmy Rollins to a three-year deal with a vesting option for a fourth.

The 33-year-old originally was seeking a five-year deal, but the market for such a contract did not exist.

Terms of the signing have not yet been disclosed.

More to come ...

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Rollins' agent talking with mystery team

PBR - Reports surfaced Tuesday afternoon that Jimmy Rollins' agent Dan Lozano was in communication with a club other than the Phillies regarding a multi-year deal.

Rollins had been seeking a five-year deal, but that was before Alex Gonazalez signed with Milwaukee and Rafael Furcal returned to St. Louis.

As it stands now, the market for shortstops is slim. Detroit is rumored to be the mystery club, but the Tigers already have Jhonny Peralta signed through 2012.

Despite the rumors, the Phillies remain a likely fit with Rollins.

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