Status Update!

I've been off the blog for a month. I wrote a couple of followup articles for my pitcher type series, but never got around to editing and publishing them (yes, I actually edit my work).

As per Dave Allen's suggestion, I created a category for two-seam fastball (sinking fastball) throwing pitchers. Also I did some analysis trying to figure out whether throwing lots of these pitches (ie qualifying for my new category over all the others) is an effective strategy. I had some game-theory ideas about giving up strikeouts for ground balls, etc. Then I just got busy with several other things. So what was going to be a week long delay turned into a month.

I've been in Vegas, playing a few WSOP events. Also, I've been working on a software project, and doing a lot of drawing.

Moreover, I've found that I'm less nuts about baseball that I was a few months ago. Baseball games are undeniably boring to watch in their entirety, and the season is too long for anyone to truly care about the result of any particular game. I still love baseball, but:

1. None of my good friends do. Although they are all big sports fans.
2. I never go out of my way to watch a game on TV.
3. I don't get excited about seeing an MLB game in a new city when I am travelling.

The third point is hard to admit. I was in Chicago a month ago, and I had a free afternoon. I had never been to Wrigley, and the Cubbies were scheduled for a day game on a Friday. I'd have thought I'd jump on the chance to go to the game. But I didn't. I went to the Art Museum instead, and I didn't remotely regret it. If I can't get excited about going to a day game in Wrigley by myself, then I guess I'm not as big a baseball fan as I had thought. Or I'm just more interested in art at the moment.

Maybe I'll get back to baseball soon, maybe I won't. But for now, I would rather spend the afternoon drawing, than spend it writing and revising a baseball article. I'll probably go back and revisit my preseason pitcher projections around the All-Star break. But that would be more for vanity than from an impartial sense of interest.

In other news, I got an invitation to interview for the Diamondbacks statistical analyst job, but I turned it down (despite the fact that I respect their organization, and love the American Southwest). However this has more to do with my software projects than it has to do with my attitude toward baseball. It's a great job, and I hope the DBacks make a great hire. I'm sure they will!