Anyway, U.S.S. Mariner ensnared me with its criticism of Jose Vidro. I had felt the entire season that he was not hitting as well as his traditional numbers bore out, and Dave and Derek agreed. I kept returning, eventually read the USSM Orientation materials, and ended up over at Lookout Landing. Now, when I say that U.S.S. Mariner is the best coverage of a specific topic I have ever encountered, a significant amount of that credit goes to the community that regularly reads and contributes to the site. U.S.S. Mariner is the only blog that I can read through the comments section and not feel dumber, as ignorance is not tolerated. Aiding this is the presence of an extremely educated group of contributers, several of which are the operators of Lookout Landing. Lookout Landing may feel more like a fanboys blog, but the content is extraordinary. The guys at LL are phenomenal at statistical analysis at its most basic level: creating the statistic. The staff of LL essentially created one of the most accurate measures of pitching available in tRA (and tRA*). Browsing these sites eventually led me to FanGraphs, which Dave Cameron of USSM and Matthew Carruth of LL write. FanGraphs is probably the most useful and fan-friendly stats site around, and the writers do a great job of posting interesting and concise entries on a wide variety of topics within baseball. FanGraphs, more than anything, has helped me understand alternative methods to results based analysis.
The sites I described form the basis for my understanding of baseball beyond the traditional model perpetuated by ESPN and the rest of the traditional media. They by no means represent my only influences. Take a look at the links I have posted in the sidebar. A pretty large amount of them are dedicated to the Mariners. Most of the Mariners blogosphere has embraced sabermetrics. However, each blog has its own specialty. USSM has an incredible ability to take a complex problem or idea (such as win values) and present in easy to grasp, everyday terms. LL is incredibly statisticaly proficient and posts at a higher frequency than most. Prospect Insider is Jason Churchills prospect blog, using his experience as a scout to evaluate Mariners prospects.
If you are interested in my baseball thoughts, then start at USSM with their orientation materials. If you enjoy it, check out a few of their posts or head over to Lookout Landing. You might be intrigued.