Richard Justice feels the spirit of Spring Training. Deducing that the Astros are in first place at the moment, he writes the traditional "you never know" article about the Astros chances this season.
Justice does not fall into the trap of asking the local team to hire older players he has heard of before, and commends GM Tim Purpura for sticking with youngsters (may he continue to push this on Purpura when Palmiero, Vizcaino, and Ausmus come up for new contracts).
And for most people, youth is the great unknown in baseball. Justice falls into this trap, stating that "Lane and Burke might both be impact players offensively" and that "Taveras has blazing speed."
But a great advantage of Sabrmetrics is that it has reduced the uncertainty of youth, by demonstrating that a player's performance in the major leagues can be anticipated by his performance in the minor leagues.
Over the next few days, I'll look at the young players Justice identified, examining their track record and what Astro fans might be able to expect this season from them.
Justice does not fall into the trap of asking the local team to hire older players he has heard of before, and commends GM Tim Purpura for sticking with youngsters (may he continue to push this on Purpura when Palmiero, Vizcaino, and Ausmus come up for new contracts).
And for most people, youth is the great unknown in baseball. Justice falls into this trap, stating that "Lane and Burke might both be impact players offensively" and that "Taveras has blazing speed."
But a great advantage of Sabrmetrics is that it has reduced the uncertainty of youth, by demonstrating that a player's performance in the major leagues can be anticipated by his performance in the minor leagues.
Over the next few days, I'll look at the young players Justice identified, examining their track record and what Astro fans might be able to expect this season from them.
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