Stat-mania may be fun, but it’s also misleading

LATELY statistics seem to be playing a greater and greater role in GAA analysis. Seems every which way you look there are breakdowns of puck-out strategies, numbered accounts of half-forward/half-back clashes, and critical evaluations of one-on-one clashes.

We’re not fingerpointing; we’re as guilty as anyone else.

The fascination with figures recalls the battle in baseball analysis some years ago, which hinged on the performance of the Oakland Athletics, a relatively poor team punching above its weight under a new manager, Billy Beane.