The Bill James Handbook 2009 was just released yesterday.

I’ve had a chance to review it – just as I have reviewed some past editions of it. (For my previous reviews of the Bill James Baseball Handbook, click on the years that follow: 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.)

If you’ve seen my reviews of these past editions, you know that I’m a raving fan of the Bill James Baseball Handbook.

And, the Bill James Handbook 2009 does little to change that position. Once again, I highly recommend this book.

This year’s edition has everything that you would expect from the Bill James Baseball Handbook – plus some new wrinkles, including: career post-season stats (through 2007) and a new section on relief pitching.

Over the next week or so, I’ll be pulling some facts and figures from the Bill James Handbook 2009 that will interest Yankees fans – and will publish them here.

For example, did you know that Joe Girardi had Yankees runners moving with a pitch 173 times in 2008? That was tops in the majors – and the tops in the A.L., by far.

Yet, this past season, the Yankees were 62/230 in terms of going “1st to 3rd” on the bases – and 110/192 going “2nd to home.”

For a point of comparison, the Rays were 60/199 going “1st to 3rd” and 105/185 going “2nd to home.” And, the Angels were 85/235 going “1st to 3rd” and 121/202 going “2nd to home.”

And, in terms of “manufacturing” a run – in terms of producing a run where a stolen base, bunt, or pinch-runner was involved, the Yankees “manufactured” 52 of these types of runs in 2008.

For a point of comparison, the Twins had 95 of these runs, the Angels had 65, the Red Sox had 57, and the Rays had 62.

O.K., that’s just a taste of the sort of stuff that you can find in the Bill James Handbook 2009. As promised, more will follow.

Again, as usual, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys baseball stats. You can sit with it for hours and enjoy it. I know that I will…in fact, that’s why I’m not writing more about it now…as I’d rather be reading it at this moment that writing about it.