One of the founding notions of sabermetrics has been the emphasis of the walk. Before sabermetrics, in the dark ages, people hardly paid attention to the walk. Teams would pay players based on their batting… Read more »
COMMENTARY
When evaluating baseball players, we tend to look at a variety of statistics which encompass different elements of the game. We care about how a player performs at the plate, how a player performs in… Read more »
I hate spring training. It’s like the calm before the storm. Filled with “coachspeak,” and “best shape of their lives” memes, I find the whole thing quite tedious. So, what is a boy to do? Let’s browse the PECOTA spreadsheet for interesting data to attempt to analyze!
I know it’s Spring Training, and statistically minded analysts and writers generally moan about how they hate Spring Training because nothing means anything and anything means nothing, but as a baseball fan, I love this time of year, because baseball!
In his excellent article on Stephen Strasburg’s contact conundrum, ESPN’s Tony Blengino puts forth a compelling argument for what is holding Strasburg back from becoming a truly elite pitcher of his generation: When he allows… Read more »
Jackie Bradley Jr. is not a terrible baseball player, and honestly he probably didn’t have a terrible 2014 season. Well at least, it wasn’t as bad as what people perceived. That, however, is due to… Read more »
The latest buzzwords are “Effective” and “Velocity.” Effective velocity (EV) is the quantification of the intuitive concept that some pitches seem faster (or slower) to hitters than they actually are if measured by a radar gun.
Yesterday marked nine years since Twins fans lost a legendary player and Minneapolis lost its favorite adopted son, Kirby Puckett. Puckett passed away one day after suffering a massive stroke in a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, far from the public eye but never far from Twins fans’ thoughts. He left a legacy as one of the most huggable players fans will ever see, but his off-the-field problems leave fans struggling to reconcile his bright presence on the field with his dark spiral off the field.
The Padres acquired a lot of talent and kept a lot of young talent. They added some depth in areas where they had been minimal. They have a near replacement level infield, which they did not improve at all (sorry Will Middlebrooks). But most of all, they really do not have a prototypical leadoff hitter.
It’s no secret that Ruben Amaro loves winning. The Phillies don’t ever want to rebuild, and to this end, Amaro seems to demand the moon for any of his major league talent. So, for fun,… Read more »
Ever since Shelby Miller was shipped to Atlanta in the Jason Heyward trade, it has been nearly unanimously accepted in Cardinals circles that Carlos Martinez is in pole position for the fifth spot in the… Read more »
As offense is continually decreasing, a popular solution to increase the offense has been the shrinking of the strike zone. The solution that many have proposed is to reduce the low strike, which has been… Read more »
The Chicago White Sox were slightly below the American League average in runs per game in 2014, but they were the median team. Accounting for their (typically hitter-friendly) home park, that made them something close… Read more »
Last Friday, the MLB pace of play committee announced some initiatives aimed at speeding up the pace of MLB games. The new rules reduce downtime after commercial breaks, reduce delays due to instant replay challenges,… Read more »
In the first installment of this series, I used obesity as an introductory analogy to offensive strikeout propensity. The subject of today’s examination, the fourth of seven pieces this week (check out Parts One, Two… Read more »
Parts I and II in this series, on the Cubs and the Astros, are also worth your time. It’s a peculiar thing to say about the team to whom Giancarlo Stanton belongs, but the 2014… Read more »
Cole Hamels is still a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, although the situation becomes more untenable almost by the day. The Boston Red Sox remain the most-discussed potential trade partner in the market, but with… Read more »
In a widely-circulated interview last week with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Cole Hamels went on record to say that he’s sort of over the Phillies and their “not winning in the near future” ways. Understandably,… Read more »
If you haven’t read Part One of this series, please check it out. Today, we examine the Houston Astros, the second-most strikeout-happy team in Major League Baseball last season, and the fourth-most vulnerable club in… Read more »
Strikeout propensity is to modern baseball as obesity is to modern healthcare. The number of players and teams fighting serious strikeout problems at bat is large, and it’s growing, just the way the number and… Read more »
Andrew Friedman’s bare feet alighted cautiously on the hardwood floor next to his bed, but there was no shock of cold. He stood, fumbled for his slippers, wandered to the kitchen and opened the cupboard…. Read more »
After reading the preview by Ted Berg to begin the chapter on the Mets in the 2015 Baseball Prospectus Annual, it took me back almost 6 years ago to August 15th, 2009, a day that… Read more »
For most of his baseball career, Xander Bogaerts has been an extremely successful player, whether it’s been in the low or high minors. He’s also always been a highly touted prospect, primarily praised for his… Read more »
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that home runs are your favorite part of baseball. Well, at the very least, one of your favourite single occurrences during a game. Do not… Read more »
If you told me at the end of 2013 (5.19 ERA) that Phil Hughes would have a chance to win a Cy Young, I would’ve told you, no way. If you told me in 2012… Read more »
Rickie Weeks going to the Mariners yesterday moved a lot of eyebrows, raising some, furrowing others. Weeks’s deal will be worth $2 million for one year, according to Jim Bowden. To the casual fan, this… Read more »
This might be a scary thought to consider if you’re a Red Sox fan or if you’re a member of the Red Sox front office. Most of us, including me, perceive Buchholz to be a… Read more »
The San Diego Padres agreed to terms with James Shields very late on Sunday night, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation. Shields’s new contract will be worth between $72 million and $78 million over… Read more »
The Baltimore Orioles announced a trade on Tuesday afternoon, sending AA catcher Michael Ohlman to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash considerations. Ohlman was designated for assignment when the Orioles acquired Travis Snider from Pittsburgh… Read more »
As most of you already know, Alex Cobb is a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. He is projected to be their “Ace” in the upcoming season. In fact, many people would argue that he’s… Read more »
