Amalie Benjamin & Tim Kurkjian on Scouting

Amalie Benjamin of The Boston Globe wrote a nice piece on Blair Henry, the Northern California and Nevada scout for the Boston Red Sox. Blair Henry was the scout who found Lars Anderson. In her article, she describes not only the Henry's discovery of Anderson, but also gives us a glimpse into the life and travels of MLB scouts, seemingly a dying profession in the aftermath of Billy Beane's Moneyball approach to scouting. She describes the Red Sox's approach to homegrown scouting and it's relationship to filling out the roster with trades and free agents.

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN also told some great scout stories in his book, "Is This A Great Game, or What?" I'll leave you with a passage from that book:

Ellis Clary was an old-time scout for several teams. “He had a heart attack and was basically pronounced dead,” said Farmer. “He was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital when he came to. He asked, “Where the hell are we?” The ambulance guy said, ‘On the way to the hospital in an ambulance.’ Ellis asked, ‘Where is the ballpark?! Get the mileage from the ballpark to the hospital! I’m going to need that for my expense account!”

(Hey, I was a bookkeeper! It was funny to me!)

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Moneyball Meets Health Care

The way to save health care may be by using the same approach small and big market teams used to change their view of stats. In an op-ed to the NY Times; Sox fan and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and A's GM Billy Beane outline a way to take health care from worst to first.

Franchises have used this data to answer some of the key questions in baseball: When is an attempted steal worth the risk? Whom should we draft, and in what order? Should we re-sign an aging star player and run the risk of paying for past performance rather than future results?... America’s health care system behaves like a hidebound, tradition-based ball club that chases after aging sluggers and plays by the old rules: we pay too much and get too little in return. To deliver better health care, we should learn from the successful teams that have adopted baseball’s new evidence-based methods. The best way to start improving quality and lowering costs is to study the stats.

See, baseball can make everything better. You are not wasting a day watching a ballgame, you are improving the lives of Americans.

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Will Coco Be On The Other Side of the Diamond When The Sox are on the Other Side of the World?

According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com the Red Sox are still discussing a trade with the Oakland A's involving Coco Crisp. Billy Beane likes to get players cheap and Coco's $4 million salary for a has to be enticing. It would make for an interesting storyline if Coco were on the opposing team when the Sox open up in Japan on the 25th. The Red Sox still need the a catcher for the future, and you can never have too much pitching. Coco was out again today to go to the dentist (along with resting his groin) but it seems he could have an appointment after the game or could have been given at least 1 AB. Is this a sign of an imminent deal? Tito has to make some roster moves soon so do the Sox carry Kielty, Ellsbury, and Coco? Look for a move soon, unless Jacoby continues to struggle at the plate.

Tito's take on the absence of Coco: “It’s not an issue yet, but we’re trying to make some decisions and (missing almost a week) doesn’t make it any easier, that’s for sure.”

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