Standardization leads to rigidity, and rigidity causes things to break. Bill James More Quotes by Bill James More Quotes From Bill James I try to take large, general questions that are difficult to resolve and break them down into small, very specific questions that have clear answers. Bill James break answers trying There will always be people who are ahead of the curve, and people who are behind the curve. But knowledge moves the curve. Bill James curves people moving Even if Mays is given every conceivable break on every unknown - defense, base running, clutch hitting - his performance still would not match Mantle's. Bill James defense baseball running I have always been much better at asking questions than knowing what the answers were. Bill James asking-questions knowing answers Well, stealing bases adds some runs but very few, and you lose most of the runs that you gain by having runners caught stealing. Bill James gains running add A chart of numbers that would put an actuary to sleep can be made to dance if you put it on one side of a card and Bombo Rivera's picture on the other. Bill James sleep numbers cards Television is full of fictional and real violence that's turned into entertainment. It's an interesting phenomena and I tried to put it in perspective and tried to think through a few of the real questions that this sometimes unseemly business raises. Bill James real interesting thinking The business of popularizing crime is how we expose the faults in our justice system. It's how we expose police misconduct. Bill James faults police justice Visualizing the movement finally got me over the top after months of practice. Bill James movement months practice I made baseball as much fun as doing your taxes! Bill James baseball made fun Do we need to have 280 brands of breakfast cereal? No, probably not. But we have them for a reason - because some people like them. It's the same with baseball statistics. Bill James cereal baseball people I learned to write because I am one of those people who somehow cannot manage the common communications of smiles and gestures, but must use words to get across things that other people would never need to say. Bill James communication writing people The human race has been in a long struggle to eliminate murder. And we will succeed. Bill James race struggle long Famous crime stories almost always lead to the passing of new laws. There's a great many intersections between this unseemly tabloid phenomena and serious social issues and we never get to that intersection because serious people don't like to talk about that unattractive stuff. Bill James issues law people There are, I believe, many more false confessions to murders than true confessions. Bill James i-believe murder believe There comes a moment during a job interview when you're still talking, but you might as well take off your shoes. Bill James shoes talking jobs We don't genuinely need more literary geniuses. One can only read so many books in a lifetime. Bill James genius book needs When I was a small kid, I grew up in the newspapers. Bill James newspapers grew-up kids You're just too poor to get rich. Bill James get-rich rich poor How easy it is for a fantasy to grab hold of your foot like a rope, and dangle your life upside down while brigands go through your pockets. Deal with the life you've got. Solve the problems you have, rather than fantasizing about a life without them. Bill James rope pockets feet
