In the Land of Make-Believe, every lineup is composed of young, cost-controlled, five-tool players full of grit and hustle. Alas, this is no land of Make-Believe - this is Mr. Amaro's Neighborhood. It's a smug place where a rumbling Blackberry is more apt to interrupt your cardigan-and-sneakers-change than a toy trolley. It's a place where basement-dwelling data jockeys dig deep into facts and figures and blog them up for all to see. There's nowhere here for sloppy GMs or over-the-hill FAs to hide. We have your numbers and we know how to graph them. Really. There's a graph.
When we last met, we took a look at the Phillies batters and pitchers and how much WAR they earned in 2010 versus their respective salaries. We ordered them by the Bargain Value (BV), or the difference between their Fangraph WAR values and their Baseball-Reference salaries. Now we move on to the mean streets of Mr. Amaro's Neighborhood - the NL East.
First up? Los Bravos!
| Name | Batting | Fielding | WAR | Dollars | Salary | Diff |
| Jason Heyward | 28.5 | 4.8 | 5 | $19.90 | $0.40 | $19.50 |
| Brian McCann | 19.2 | 4 | 5.3 | $21.30 | $5.70 | $15.60 |
| Martin Prado | 17.4 | -3.6 | 3.9 | $15.60 | $0.44 | $15.16 |
| Omar Infante | 8.5 | -1.1 | 2.7 | $10.60 | $2.23 | $8.37 |
| David Ross | 6.9 | 1 | 1.6 | $6.50 | $1.60 | $4.90 |
| Yunel Escobar | -6.9 | 5.6 | 1.3 | $5.00 | $0.44 | $4.56 |
| Eric Hinske | 5.8 | -3.9 | 1 | $3.80 | $1.00 | $2.80 |
| Brooks Conrad | 5.4 | -5.2 | 0.7 | $2.70 | $0.40 | $2.30 |
| Alex Gonzalez | -6.4 | 0.3 | 0.7 | $2.90 | $1.38 | $1.52 |
| Rick Ankiel | -2.8 | 2.6 | 0.5 | $2.10 | $0.91 | $1.19 |
| Troy Glaus | 4.9 | -8.2 | 0.5 | $1.90 | $1.75 | $0.15 |
| Matt Diaz | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.7 | $2.60 | $2.55 | $0.05 |
| Derrek Lee | 6.7 | -1.1 | 0.8 | $3.40 | $3.40 | $0.00 |
| Chipper Jones | 12 | 0.1 | 2.7 | $10.70 | $14.00 | ($3.30) |
| Melky Cabrera | -10.1 | -15.9 | -1.2 | ($4.90) | $3.10 | ($8.00) |
| Nate McLouth | -8.2 | -14.3 | -1.3 | ($5.00) | $5.00 | ($10.00) |
| Tommy Hanson | 4.3 | $17.20 | $0.44 | $16.76 | ||
| Jonny Venters | 1.7 | $6.90 | $0.40 | $6.50 | ||
| Kris Medlen | 1.4 | $5.60 | $0.41 | $5.19 | ||
| Jair Jurrjens | 1.2 | $4.90 | $0.48 | $4.42 | ||
| Mike Minor | 0.6 | $2.40 | $0.40 | $2.00 | ||
| Billy Wagner | 2.2 | $8.60 | $6.75 | $1.85 | ||
| Takashi Saito | 1.2 | $4.90 | $3.20 | $1.70 | ||
| Tim Hudson | 2.7 | $10.70 | $9.00 | $1.70 | ||
| Eric O'Flaherty | 0.5 | $2.10 | $0.44 | $1.66 | ||
| Jesse Chavez | -0.1 | ($0.60) | $0.42 | ($1.02) | ||
| Peter Moylan | -0.1 | ($0.30) | $1.15 | ($1.45) | ||
| Derek Lowe | 2.7 | $10.90 | $15.00 | ($4.10) | ||
| Kenshin Kawakami | 0.8 | $3.20 | $7.33 | ($4.13) | ||
| Totals | 44 | $175.60 | $89.72 | $85.88 |
Cost-controlled and efficient, these guys could prove to be troublesome, what with their vat-grown arb-eligible pitchers.
Next? The Fish:
| Batting | Fielding | WAR | Dollars | Salary | BV | |
| Dan Uggla | 32 | -7.6 | 5.1 | $20.40 | $7.80 | $12.60 |
| Mike Stanton | 10.6 | 7.1 | 2.7 | $11.00 | $0.40 | $10.60 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 25.3 | -10.2 | 4.4 | $17.40 | $7.00 | $10.40 |
| Gaby Sanchez | 12.4 | -0.1 | 2.4 | $9.50 | $0.40 | $9.10 |
| Cody Ross | -1.3 | 4.9 | 2 | $7.80 | $3.45 | $4.35 |
| Logan Morrison | 10.9 | -7.2 | 1.1 | $4.30 | $0.40 | $3.90 |
| Ronny Paulino | -8.1 | 1 | 1.1 | $4.40 | $1.10 | $3.30 |
| Emilio Bonifacio | -3 | 3.7 | 0.8 | $3.20 | $0.42 | $2.78 |
| Chris Coghlan | -0.1 | -1.6 | 0.8 | $3.20 | $0.48 | $2.72 |
| Cameron Maybin | -5.9 | -2.4 | 0.4 | $1.50 | $0.40 | $1.10 |
| Brad Davis | -4.2 | 0 | 0.2 | $0.90 | $0.40 | $0.50 |
| Chad Tracy | -3.5 | -0.7 | -0.1 | ($0.20) | $0.90 | ($1.10) |
| Wes Helms | -8.6 | -4.4 | -0.3 | ($1.20) | $0.95 | ($2.15) |
| Jorge Cantu | -2.8 | -8.3 | 0.2 | $0.70 | $6.00 | ($5.30) |
| Josh Johnson | 6.3 | $25.10 | $3.75 | $21.35 | ||
| Anibal Sanchez | 4.3 | $17.30 | $1.25 | $16.05 | ||
| Chris Volstad | 1.8 | $7.10 | $0.42 | $6.68 | ||
| Ricky Nolasco | 2.5 | $9.90 | $3.80 | $6.10 | ||
| Clay Hensley | 1.5 | $6.10 | $0.43 | $5.67 | ||
| Alex Sanabia | 1.2 | $4.90 | $0.40 | $4.50 | ||
| Leo Nunez | 1.5 | $5.80 | $2.00 | $3.80 | ||
| Burke Badenhop | 0.5 | $2.10 | $0.41 | $1.69 | ||
| Jose Veras | 0.2 | $0.80 | $0.55 | $0.25 | ||
| Brian Sanches | 0.2 | $0.60 | $0.41 | $0.19 | ||
| Jorge Sosa | -0.2 | ($0.60) | $0.40 | ($1.00) | ||
| Andrew Miller | -0.3 | ($1.20) | $1.79 | ($2.99) | ||
| Nate Robertson | 0.6 | $2.40 | $10.00 | ($7.60) | ||
| 40.9 | $163.20 | $55.71 | $107.49 |
Another efficient organization, if a bit lighter on the WAR side than the Braves.
Que paso con los Mets?
| Name | Batting | Fielding | WAR | Dollars | Salary | BV |
| Angel Pagan | 12.2 | 15.1 | 4.9 | $19.60 | $1.50 | $18.10 |
| Ike Davis | 13.3 | 10.1 | 3.4 | $13.50 | $0.40 | $13.10 |
| David Wright | 25.1 | -10.6 | 4.1 | $16.20 | $10.25 | $5.95 |
| Josh Thole | 1.8 | 0 | 1.4 | $5.50 | $0.40 | $5.10 |
| Jose Reyes | 5.6 | -5 | 2.8 | $11.10 | $9.38 | $1.72 |
| Rod Barajas | -6 | -4 | 0.4 | $1.70 | $0.50 | $1.20 |
| Chris Carter | -1.1 | -0.4 | 0.3 | $1.20 | $0.40 | $0.80 |
| Henry Blanco | -7.6 | 3 | 0.3 | $1.40 | $0.75 | $0.65 |
| Jesus Feliciano | -5.8 | 1.2 | -0.1 | ($0.50) | $0.40 | ($0.90) |
| Ruben Tejada | -10.5 | -3.3 | -0.4 | ($1.50) | $0.40 | ($1.90) |
| Jeff Francoeur | -10.9 | 1.8 | 0.1 | $0.30 | $3.00 | ($2.70) |
| Jason Bay | 6.2 | -1.9 | 1.4 | $5.60 | $8.63 | ($3.03) |
| Luis Castillo | -7.7 | 2.8 | 0.6 | $2.50 | $6.25 | ($3.75) |
| Alex Cora | -10.6 | -0.8 | -0.5 | ($1.90) | $1.85 | ($3.75) |
| Carlos Beltran | 3 | -3.4 | 0.9 | $3.70 | $19.40 | ($15.70) |
| Mike Pelfrey | 2.9 | $11.50 | $0.50 | $11.00 | ||
| R.A. Dickey | 2.9 | $11.40 | $0.53 | $10.88 | ||
| Jonathon Niese | 1.9 | $7.70 | $0.40 | $7.30 | ||
| Hisanori Takahashi | 1.6 | $6.60 | $1.00 | $5.60 | ||
| Bobby Parnell | 0.7 | $3.00 | $0.40 | $2.60 | ||
| Pat Misch | 0.6 | $2.30 | $0.40 | $1.90 | ||
| Dillon Gee | 0.3 | $1.30 | $0.40 | $0.90 | ||
| Manny Acosta | 0.3 | $1.00 | $0.40 | $0.60 | ||
| Pedro Feliciano | 0.8 | $3.20 | $2.90 | $0.30 | ||
| Raul Valdes | 0 | ($0.10) | $0.40 | ($0.50) | ||
| Jenrry Mejia | -0.1 | ($0.50) | $0.40 | ($0.90) | ||
| Elmer Dessens | -0.3 | ($1.30) | $0.70 | ($2.00) | ||
| Ryota Igarashi | -0.3 | ($1.00) | $1.25 | ($2.25) | ||
| Fernando Nieve | -1 | ($3.90) | $0.41 | ($4.31) | ||
| John Maine | -0.3 | ($1.20) | $3.30 | ($4.50) | ||
| Johan Santana | 3.5 | $14.20 | $20.14 | ($5.94) | ||
| Francisco Rodriguez | 1.4 | $5.50 | $12.17 | ($6.67) | ||
| Oliver Perez | -1.1 | ($4.50) | $12.00 | ($16.50) | ||
| 33.4 | $133.60 | $121.21 | $12.40 |
Injuries and poor contracts account for some of what we see here. Those contracts, sadly, may be things of the past.
Lastly, the Natinals:
| Name | Batting | Fielding | WAR | Dollars | Salary | BV |
| Ryan Zimmerman | 33.1 | 13.9 | 7.2 | $28.70 | $6.35 | $22.35 |
| Josh Willingham | 20.7 | -4.4 | 2.7 | $11.00 | $4.60 | $6.40 |
| Mike Morse | 12.6 | -5.9 | 1.4 | $5.50 | $0.41 | $5.09 |
| Ian Desmond | -5.8 | -8.8 | 1.1 | $4.50 | $0.40 | $4.10 |
| Adam Dunn | 30.2 | -3.1 | 3.9 | $15.70 | $12.00 | $3.70 |
| Nyjer Morgan | -15.8 | 3 | 0.9 | $3.50 | $0.43 | $3.07 |
| Adam Kennedy | -5.5 | 2.1 | 1 | $4.00 | $1.25 | $2.75 |
| Roger Bernadina | -3.7 | -2.7 | 0.5 | $2.10 | $0.40 | $1.70 |
| Danny Espinosa | -1.8 | 1.9 | 0.4 | $1.80 | $0.40 | $1.40 |
| Alberto Gonzalez | -9.9 | 6.7 | 0.4 | $1.70 | $0.42 | $1.28 |
| Justin Maxwell | -4.6 | 4.5 | 0.4 | $1.50 | $0.40 | $1.10 |
| Ivan Rodriguez | -14.3 | 2 | 1 | $3.90 | $3.00 | $0.90 |
| Willie Harris | -5.6 | -1.1 | 0 | ($0.10) | $1.50 | ($1.60) |
| Wil Nieves | -11.1 | -1 | -0.3 | ($1.20) | $0.70 | ($1.90) |
| Cristian Guzman | -5 | -2.4 | 0.5 | $2.20 | $8.00 | ($5.80) |
| Livan Hernandez | 3 | $12.00 | $0.90 | $11.10 | ||
| Stephen Strasburg | 2.6 | $10.40 | $0.40 | $10.00 | ||
| Tyler Clippard | 1.4 | $5.80 | $0.40 | $5.40 | ||
| Craig Stammen | 1.4 | $5.50 | $0.40 | $5.10 | ||
| Sean Burnett | 1.4 | $5.60 | $0.78 | $4.82 | ||
| John Lannan | 1.2 | $4.70 | $0.46 | $4.24 | ||
| Drew Storen | 0.7 | $2.90 | $0.40 | $2.50 | ||
| Joel Peralta | 0.7 | $2.80 | $0.40 | $2.40 | ||
| Doug Slaten | 0.3 | $1.20 | $0.40 | $0.80 | ||
| Luis Atilano | 0.2 | $0.80 | $0.40 | $0.40 | ||
| J.D. Martin | 0.1 | $0.50 | $0.40 | $0.10 | ||
| Tyler Walker | 0.2 | $0.60 | $0.65 | ($0.05) | ||
| Scott Olsen | 0.6 | $2.60 | $2.80 | ($0.20) | ||
| Matt Capps | 0.6 | $2.50 | $2.70 | ($0.20) | ||
| Jordan Zimmermann | -0.2 | ($0.80) | $0.40 | ($1.20) | ||
| Miguel Batista | -0.3 | ($1.20) | $1.00 | ($2.20) | ||
| Jason Marquis | -0.3 | ($1.10) | $7.50 | ($8.60) | ||
|
|
34.7 | $139.60 | $60.65 | $78.95 |
One remarkable aspect of the Nationals pitching staff? Their worst performer's salary exceeds those of their top twelve performers combined.
How does the conference stack up as a whole? If the Phillies have an obvious advantage in salary, they only have a marginal advantage in WAR. There appears to be a linear correlation between the WAR and salaries of the Phillies, Braves, and Marlins, but three data points are too few to establish a transfer function.
| Team | WAR | Price |
| Phillies | 46.3 | $140.60 |
| Braves | 44 | $89.72 |
| Marlins | 40.9 | $55.71 |
| Mets | 33.4 | $121.21 |
| Nats | 34.7 | $60.65 |
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