April 02, 2011

MIT Professor Picks Red Sox over Yankees: Using quantitative models based on player analytics, MIT professor Dimitris Bertsimas predicts the Boston Red Sox will win 101 games this season, 8 more than the New York Yankees. "A player is a vector of numbers and from that, we can forecast overall team statistics," said Bertsimas, director of MIT's Operations Research Center and a Sox fan.

posted by rcade to baseball at 08:33 AM - 7 comments

Should read 8 more than the NY Yankees.

posted by apoch at 08:01 AM on April 02, 2011

I've seen quite a few people predicting the same thing. Don't think it takes a MIT professor to figure it. My model involves looking at both lineups, side by side. It's fairly obvious Boston has what appears to be a stronger team.

posted by dyams at 03:12 PM on April 02, 2011

I thought yesterday's red sox game was a microcosm of where their season is headed. They will hit, I have no doubt. Their pitching, I have doubts.

posted by justgary at 03:20 PM on April 02, 2011

Justgary, what I didn't understand was why they moved Lackey up to #2 to pitch in Texas, where he has been statistically horrible his whole career. It seems like they shot themselves in the foot because now everyone can speculate how close to 0-162 the Red Sox are going to be.

posted by dfleming at 09:05 AM on April 03, 2011

I don't know, I bet there's an NYU professor who picked the Yankees. And I think a brilliant mathematical manipulator at the University of Toronto who can clearly show how the Blue Jays are going to pull it off.

posted by tahoemoj at 10:59 AM on April 03, 2011

It seems like they shot themselves in the foot because now everyone can speculate how close to 0-162 the Red Sox are going to be.

Yeah, but for some folks, the freakouts are part of the fun of being a fan.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:57 PM on April 03, 2011

what I didn't understand was why they moved Lackey up to #2 to pitch in Texas, where he has been statistically horrible his whole career.

I think it was seen as a vote for lackey after a mixed first year in boston. But now he faces the yankees in the home opener (I believe), which, after his first start, is a lot of pressure.

But I think pitching rotations, like batting lineups, are over-rated.

On the bright side, I expect both Lester and Lackey to return to form soon (one very good, one mediocre).

posted by justgary at 07:53 PM on April 04, 2011

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