There was an interesting story in the Wall Street Journal written by Brian Costa about one of the catchers for the Tampa Bay Rays – Jose Molina. In a variety of baseball statistics, Mr. Molina is not high of the list for an everyday player, but he excels at a little known statistic – when he is catching more strikes are called, than when he is not catching. If more strikes are called, more players are out at the plate or have to change their strategies at the plate sooner, this allows the Rays to win more games. The reason why Mr. Molina gets more strikes is the way he frames the pitch for the umpire who although the strike zone is defined, there is judgement when the umpire makes the call. In a game filled with statistics, the framing statistic is getting more attention. Every year it seems there are more methods to measure what ball players do and the value they give to the team.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, fortunately the key statistic is a simple one – does the company make profits to pay its dividend? if yes, worth keeping; if no, move to alternatives. Every year, there are people trying to find better statistics to gain insights into making money. In dealing with billions of dollars being traded daily, there is a great demand for these numbers. If you are dealing with less than billions, trying to keep it simple is helpful. Start with has the dividend been paid for a number of years? Is there a reason why it will not be paid? Is management not making too many mistakes, but seems to get it right? Other questions will come up, other analysis can be made, but worrying about the quality of the dividend will help ensure the long term price of the stock is upwards.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to asking questions