Imports are receipts and exports are payments. How, as a nation, can we expect to better ourselves by diminishing our receipts? Is there anything that a tariff could do, which an earthquake could not do better?--Keynes on protective tariffs, before he changed his mind
Somebody named Conway does not like Trump and his opinion was the lead story on Yahoo news.
There is a big debate over the proportion of labor and capital in the economy. One problem is how to define the working entrepreneur. A suggestion is decriminalized pushcart vending!
Are gender differences reflected in the relatively stable self-selections of different college majors especially over the most recent 20 years? Further if these stable trends in college majors since 1997 reflect the voluntary “revealed preferences” of millions of college students selecting majors that best suit their interests and abilities, why are some of these outcomes selectively considered to be a problem in higher education, e.g., the “shortage” of women in certain STEM fields (Engineering and Computer Science, but not Biology or Health Sciences)? Why such massive efforts and devotion of campus resources, funding, and scholarships to “socially engineer” outcomes that be unnatural, undesirable and un-achievable, i.e., coercing more women to major in Engineering and Computer Science? And where’s the equivalent concern about the significant female over-representation in nine of the college majors?--from Perry
The International Monetary Fund already expects Chinese growth to slow to 6.2% this year and to 6% in 2020. That would be the weakest since 1990, but analysts believe real growth has already dipped below those levels.
Of all its destructive tendencies, Trumpism’s most destructive is misunderstanding the world and its economic relations as a zero-sum game. A richer Mexico would be a blessing to the United States, and a poorer one would represent an expense, a diminished market, a lost opportunity — and a danger. Compared to the rest of North America, Mexico is both weak and poor. Even if President Trump’s tariffs worked, the result would only be to leave Mexico even weaker and even poorer. And that would leave the United States weaker and poorer, too, even if there are a great many people in Washington who are too ignorant and blinkered to understand the fact.-- from Kevin Williamson’s National Review article “Invest in the Neighborhood“
Based on the result of the investigation, Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit moved to freeze the accounts in Mexico of the 26 individuals and entities that are believed to have helped fund the migrant caravans or contributed to human smuggling organizations. Mexican authorities were able to trace the source of the funds to the U.S., England, Cameroon, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The U.S. and England.
All sports are threatened by the ancillary technical add-ons that enhance the game at home and seem to be discouraging attendance in favor of home viewing. But baseball has a special problem: The growth of power.
Baseball is a game of nuance, of shading. The battle between the batter and the pitcher is exciting, but, for all their interest in the chess game of baseball, the fan wants the ball in play, the game to be in motion. And the game has slowed down; it is less in motion.
MLB has identified a culprit, a defensive system that regularly absorbs the impact of its more fearsome hitters: the shift. In a typical shift, three infielders crowd into one half of the field to cover the areas where a given batter is most likely to hit the ball—almost invariably the pull side. The maneuver has a long history, famously tormenting Ted Williams, but has become more popular in the last half-decade.
But there is more going on than just "the shift." Strikeouts, not shifts, are the real issue.
Since 1993, batting average on balls in play (BABIP) has stayed within a narrow range from .293 to .303, with no particular trend. Despite the perception that batters are seeking to hit more fly balls, there’s been no discernible movement in fly-ball rates. There is also no obvious change in the propensity of hitters to pull the ball. There is a steady decline in hits, but the reason is that players simply aren’t leaving the batter’s box as often. The strikeout rate in 2000 was 16.5 percent, but in 2007 it began a steady upward climb. Last year, it reached 22.3 percent.
Home runs made up 10 percent of the hits in the 2014 season. That percentage spiked in ensuing years, rising to 11.7 percent in 2015, 13.3 percent in 2016, and a stunning 14.5 percent last season, which had a record number of homers. This season, home runs account for 13.6 percent of hits (through Wednesday.)
Now the shocker: In 2018, strikeouts exceeded hits for the first time ever. Ever. And strikeouts, walks and home runs totaled 1/3 of the at bats; one third of the time the ball is not in play.
Here the blue is hits, the red strikeouts, from 1980 to 2018.
Now the power. Since 2002, average fastball velocity has increased from 89 miles per hour to 92.8 mph, according to Baseball Info Solutions. Managers have also increased the number of pitchers they use each game, from 3.63 per team in 2002 to 4.36 last season. Starting pitchers aren’t expected to throw as many innings and can pitch closer to the limits of their velocity for more of their time on the mound.
And what about the fastball itself? Believe it or not, those numbers are available. The number of fastballs over 100 mph pitched in 2008: 65. In 2016: 1269. In 2018: Over 2000. This year the estimate will be over 2200. What is a batter supposed to do with a guy like Felipe Vazquez, nee Rivero, who regularly throws 101 mph with a slider of 93 mph and an excellent change?
What to do? MLB has lowered the mound before—exactly 50 years ago, after the 1968 season, causing an immediate jump in offense. A taller mound allows pitchers to gain velocity as they step downhill, and increased velocity is the most obvious correlate to the rise in strikeout rate over the last decade. Lowering the mound would likely give hitters a substantial advantage compared to today’s game. Whether that advantage manifests as more contact or more power on contact is an open question, but it’s fair to assume that offense would spike.
Another secret plan: The Independent League is moving the pitcher's mound back 2 feet.
Somebody named Conway does not like Trump and his opinion was the lead story on Yahoo news.
There is a big debate over the proportion of labor and capital in the economy. One problem is how to define the working entrepreneur. A suggestion is decriminalized pushcart vending!
Are gender differences reflected in the relatively stable self-selections of different college majors especially over the most recent 20 years? Further if these stable trends in college majors since 1997 reflect the voluntary “revealed preferences” of millions of college students selecting majors that best suit their interests and abilities, why are some of these outcomes selectively considered to be a problem in higher education, e.g., the “shortage” of women in certain STEM fields (Engineering and Computer Science, but not Biology or Health Sciences)? Why such massive efforts and devotion of campus resources, funding, and scholarships to “socially engineer” outcomes that be unnatural, undesirable and un-achievable, i.e., coercing more women to major in Engineering and Computer Science? And where’s the equivalent concern about the significant female over-representation in nine of the college majors?--from Perry
The International Monetary Fund already expects Chinese growth to slow to 6.2% this year and to 6% in 2020. That would be the weakest since 1990, but analysts believe real growth has already dipped below those levels.
Of all its destructive tendencies, Trumpism’s most destructive is misunderstanding the world and its economic relations as a zero-sum game. A richer Mexico would be a blessing to the United States, and a poorer one would represent an expense, a diminished market, a lost opportunity — and a danger. Compared to the rest of North America, Mexico is both weak and poor. Even if President Trump’s tariffs worked, the result would only be to leave Mexico even weaker and even poorer. And that would leave the United States weaker and poorer, too, even if there are a great many people in Washington who are too ignorant and blinkered to understand the fact.-- from Kevin Williamson’s National Review article “Invest in the Neighborhood“
Based on the result of the investigation, Mexico's Financial Intelligence Unit moved to freeze the accounts in Mexico of the 26 individuals and entities that are believed to have helped fund the migrant caravans or contributed to human smuggling organizations. Mexican authorities were able to trace the source of the funds to the U.S., England, Cameroon, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The U.S. and England.
Major League Baseball and the Speed Problem
All sports are threatened by the ancillary technical add-ons that enhance the game at home and seem to be discouraging attendance in favor of home viewing. But baseball has a special problem: The growth of power.
Baseball is a game of nuance, of shading. The battle between the batter and the pitcher is exciting, but, for all their interest in the chess game of baseball, the fan wants the ball in play, the game to be in motion. And the game has slowed down; it is less in motion.
MLB has identified a culprit, a defensive system that regularly absorbs the impact of its more fearsome hitters: the shift. In a typical shift, three infielders crowd into one half of the field to cover the areas where a given batter is most likely to hit the ball—almost invariably the pull side. The maneuver has a long history, famously tormenting Ted Williams, but has become more popular in the last half-decade.
But there is more going on than just "the shift." Strikeouts, not shifts, are the real issue.
Since 1993, batting average on balls in play (BABIP) has stayed within a narrow range from .293 to .303, with no particular trend. Despite the perception that batters are seeking to hit more fly balls, there’s been no discernible movement in fly-ball rates. There is also no obvious change in the propensity of hitters to pull the ball. There is a steady decline in hits, but the reason is that players simply aren’t leaving the batter’s box as often. The strikeout rate in 2000 was 16.5 percent, but in 2007 it began a steady upward climb. Last year, it reached 22.3 percent.
Home runs made up 10 percent of the hits in the 2014 season. That percentage spiked in ensuing years, rising to 11.7 percent in 2015, 13.3 percent in 2016, and a stunning 14.5 percent last season, which had a record number of homers. This season, home runs account for 13.6 percent of hits (through Wednesday.)
Now the shocker: In 2018, strikeouts exceeded hits for the first time ever. Ever. And strikeouts, walks and home runs totaled 1/3 of the at bats; one third of the time the ball is not in play.
Here the blue is hits, the red strikeouts, from 1980 to 2018.
1980
Fifteen years ago, only seven qualified pitchers averaged 8.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Now, 8.4 is the major league average. Collectively, batters are hitting .248, the lowest average since 1972, the year before baseball introduced the designated hitter.
And it’s not because defenses are more effective. Hitter success once the ball is in play has changed little since the early ’90s. If we pretended the 5.8 percent increase in strikeouts hadn’t happened and redistributed those plate appearances using league average rates for walks, home runs, and BABIP, we suddenly recover two decades of lost baserunners. Jayson Stark of the Athletic, working with Sports Info Solutions, found that banning the shift would create just under three extra hits per team per month, most of which would be singles.
And what about the fastball itself? Believe it or not, those numbers are available. The number of fastballs over 100 mph pitched in 2008: 65. In 2016: 1269. In 2018: Over 2000. This year the estimate will be over 2200. What is a batter supposed to do with a guy like Felipe Vazquez, nee Rivero, who regularly throws 101 mph with a slider of 93 mph and an excellent change?
What to do? MLB has lowered the mound before—exactly 50 years ago, after the 1968 season, causing an immediate jump in offense. A taller mound allows pitchers to gain velocity as they step downhill, and increased velocity is the most obvious correlate to the rise in strikeout rate over the last decade. Lowering the mound would likely give hitters a substantial advantage compared to today’s game. Whether that advantage manifests as more contact or more power on contact is an open question, but it’s fair to assume that offense would spike.
Another secret plan: The Independent League is moving the pitcher's mound back 2 feet.
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