If you haven’t seen it already, this interactive chat that Mets vice-president/Moneyball-er Paul DePodesta did yesterday at Baseball Prospectus is chock-full of excellence. As you’d expect, there’s plenty of heavy duty statistical and analytical stuff, but it definitely ain’t dry. A couple gems:
Robert (Queens): What are your thoughts on Wilmer Flores?
Paul DePodesta: Two days ago during a minor league game played on Field 7 (a field that is built precisely to the dimensions of CitiField — walls and all), Flores went oppo to deep right center field. Oppo. Right-center. In CitiField. He’s 19. Like him! Seriously, he can really hit.
Demy (NYC ): Do you agree that parts of the Moneyball thesis are outdated, since most organizations are now adjusting for perceived market inefficiencies?
Paul DePodesta: Demy, I think I perceive Moneyball very differently than most people. To me, Moneyball has nothing at all to do with on-base percentage. In fact, it has very little to do with statistics. In my mind, Moneyball is about constantly questioning the efficacy of your belief system and trying to uncover value where it’s not readily apparent. I don’t think that mindset will ever be outdated in any line of work.
Read on for more on the inner workings of the Mets, some under-the-radar prospects, and DePodesta’s side-tracked tightrope-walking career.