The first thing you need to do when evaluating a baseball player is measure the ratio of guts to height as a percentage of clutchiness*, which results in Scrappiness. *Note: clutchiness is an inverse measure whereby 1 = total clutch and 10 = Alex Rodriguez.

Scrappiness is then divided by the total number of 'grin & bear it' opportunities, adjusted for park and era, of course. The result is "Weighted-Average Scrappiness Over Replacement Player" (WASORP). WASORP can be used to rank any baseball player, no matter what position, what team or when they played.

Don't bother looking up these stats on ESPN.com or baseball-reference.com. You have to feel the numbers. You can improve your ability to "feel it" by reading your local newspaper's baseball beat-writer or watching various Billy Crystal movies.

Yes. He can be used at any position he is eligible for. If he usually plays 3rd, but you have another 3rd baseman who is a better hitter, it is advantageous to use him in your lineup at short, with no penalty to you for his not regularly playing the position.

Thanks kyleg.

And thanks a LOT mullacc.

Yeah, what kyleg said. So long as they have a spot in your active lineup, you'll get stats, including if they DH for the day (or year, as some of those cats do)or pinch-hit for somebody.

You're welcome. Feel free to email me if you'd like more unhelpful nonsense.

mullacc, you *know* you can't talk about WASORP unless you also factor in Weighted-Average Scrappiness Over Replacement Players Against Left-Handed Hitters on Sunny Days, Weighted-Average Scrappiness Over Replacement Players Against Right-Handed Hitters on Cloudy Days, and Weighted-Average Scrappiness Over Replacement Players Agaist Pinch Hitters When the Park is Half Empty Because It's About To Rain. Sheesh.

Puts occhiblu's last post in personal Post Hall of Fame.

OMG, occhiblu, you're such a girly girl. Next you'll be talking about whose uniform colors are prettier.

*I* am not the member of my household who continually brings up uniform colors and their effects on winning records.

I am, however, the one who's often pleased when teams with complementary colors play each other. I suspect that baseball announcers have numbers on the statistical probabilities of primary-color teams winning against secondary-color teams, on cloudy days and on windy days and on days when the sun is hitting the field at just the right angle such that we are all reminded of our idyllic childhoods in the Midwest, when we played pick-up games in the fading afternoon light until our mothers called us home to dinner.

I love baseball. It is such a math-geek game.

occhi: I feel sure he already knows about it, but, just in case: Uni Watch.

Puts occhiblu's last post in personal Post Hall of Fame.

What, no credit for the setup? Anyway, occhiblu may write some impressive comments but does she do the intangible things well? You know, spitting and getting dirt on her uniform? That's what counts!

Hustle.