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I read this headline and really couldn’t believe it.   ComputerWorld of all places has this story today: Pirates tap BI tools to forecast, boost attendance.  Notice there is no mention of improving on field performance as a means to improve attendance.  They just want to narrow in on what poor folks are still willing to sit and watch another losing season.
Hey, I’m all for applying wonkery in all the weird corners of the world, but there is something perverse about that story and the Pirates endless losing streak.  Moneyball is about how Billy Beane used some fundamentally econometric techniques to actually improve Oakland’s performance on the field.  The Pirates’ version of that skips the box score and focuses entirely on squeezing more efficiency from the box office.  I think that article says it all.

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