Raising Aces: Os-mosis
The pitching motion is temperamental. Throwing a baseball is physically similar to swinging a golf club, particularly when it comes to timing and sequencing of movement, and anyone who swings the wrenches knows how difficult it can be to find consistency. The slightest mechanical tweak can throw a pitcher’s delivery completely out of whack. I submit for your approval the case of one Tim Lincecum. The reigning 2-time NL Cy Young winner has endured an awful stretch of starts, especially by his standards. He is in the midst of the longest losing streak of his career, and all three of his ...
Column To Be Named Later: Re-Revisiting Schumaker
Last year, Sir David Cameron of FanGraphs, in his infinite wisdom (read: Overreactionary flair for the dramatic), wrote how the St. Louis Cardinals deserved a big "Huzzah!" for their persistence sticking with Skip Schumaker at second base. Now, almost two years through the great Skip Schumaker experiment, the question remains, was the Cardinals move a success? On Monday, the Cardinals dropped a half game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Central race after a 9-4 loss to one of the many below average teams in the division, the Astros. The game was tied in the 8th with the bases ...
Talking about Playoffs?! Trade your Rangers for Reds
If you happen to be a general manager of a fantasy team and your reaction to an imaginary reporter asking you about your league’s playoffs is the opposite of how Jim Mora would respond, then this article is for you. We know Jim Mora’s Colts’ weren’t talking about playoffs, and were “lucky to just win a game!” But if you’re confident that you’re team is ready for the postseason, then you can start looking ahead to those playoff weeks. Knowing now what those playoff schedules look like could give you the extra advantage that might help you advance to your league’s ...
Pacific Perspectives: An Asian response to Ozzie
While a writer can make a career responding to Ozzie Guillen's various rants, I generally refrain from responding to his inflammatory remarks. I know they're largely made either from legitimate passion or cunning manipulativeness, but I couldn't ignore his latest cracks about Latino players playing second fiddle to Asian players. After all, now he's picking on my homies. (Well, or at least the guys on my beat.) For those of you who haven't heard, Ozzie's gripes centered around the fact that Asian players receive preferential treatment, compared to Latino players: "[W]hy do we have Japanese interpreters and we don't have a ...
Raising Aces: Future of the US, Part 2
The flux capacitor is running, and we’re heading back to the Futures Game. The first edition covered the first five pitchers for the US team, and this round breaks down the final five. The opening quintet lasted six full innings, leaving just three remaining frames for the second half of the US pitching staff. The pitch counts get smaller in the late stages of the ballgame, and some players did not throw enough pitches for me to even gain a semblance of mechanical consistency. These pitchers did not receive a grade for repetition, and the measure is not part of their respective ...
Could Danny Valencia Really Be the AL Rookie of the Year?
by Dan Wade ( No Comments )
It’s unlikely that the Twins will boast the AL MVP in 2010—Justin Morneau had a legitimate shot given his first half and Joe Mauer has been among baseball’s best in the second half, but the full-year efforts of Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Hamilton make it extremely tough to believe that a Twin will take the crown. Francisco Liriano will absolutely get a few Cy Young votes, but Felix... [Read more]
Pacific Perspectives: Matsui’s hot August
by Michael Street ( No Comments )
Of all the disappointments on this year’s Los Angeles Angels, Hideki Matsui’s rough start had to be up there. It’s not quite the same as losing your first baseman for the season to a postgame celebratory Hokey Pokey, but it’s still a bummer when your biggest offensive free-agent signing is hitting .249/.329/.393 on July 18, with only 10 HR and 47 RBI. About the only good... [Read more]
Expecting the Unexpected in Florida
by Jeff Lubbers ( No Comments )
Baseball’s latest scandal, the release of financial documents for a variety of Major League teams, could not have come at a worse time for the Florida Marlins. Already having engaged in a prolonged battle with Miami-Dade County over who should pay for their new stadium that is scheduled to open in 2012, the released documents show that the team had more money to pay for the new stadium than they... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: The Scott Barry Show
by Brian Joseph ( 2 Comments )
It’s not the reason the Philadelphia Phillies lost tonight. The fact they managed just 2 runs in 16 innings was. On the other hand, the ejection of Ryan Howard by umpire Scott Barry following a bizarre mocking by Barry of Howard a few pitches before, in the 14th inning of a crucial MLB game in the middle of a playoff race didn’t help. It’s hard to defend Howard’s emotional outbursts... [Read more]
Pacific Perspectives: Rising Asian-American talent, part 2
by Michael Street ( No Comments )
Last week, I looked at the pitching talent among Asian-American MLB players, to find only one real standout. But unlike their Asian-born counterparts, Asian-Americans are better represented in the field, and include two of the top players at their positions. 1. Shane Victorino isn’t someone usually associated with Asian-American talent, despite the “Flyin’ Hawaiian” moniker.... [Read more]
Raising Aces: Os-mosis
by Doug Thorburn ( No Comments )
The pitching motion is temperamental. Throwing a baseball is physically similar to swinging a golf club, particularly when it comes to timing and sequencing of movement, and anyone who swings the wrenches knows how difficult it can be to find consistency. The slightest mechanical tweak can throw a pitcher’s delivery completely out of whack. I submit for your approval the case of one Tim Lincecum.... [Read more]
Not Everything Needs an Explanation, Oakland Version
by Jeff Lubbers ( No Comments )
Despite Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Rays, on the 2010 season the Oakland Athletics are sporting an impressive 29-13 record during day games this year. Even with the loss their day game winning percentage of .695 is an astounding 295 percentage points higher than their night game winning percentage on the year (32-49, .395). During a recent telecast of an A’s game one of the broadcasters remarked... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: The Franchise Nightmare
by Brian Joseph ( No Comments )
Right around the All-Star Break, we called up “Column To Be Named Later” to be a regular feature at BDD and so far it’s mainly been a way for this writer to bring attention to what he has felt has been some poor writing/analysis about today’s game. To be fair, today’s will be used to bring attention to a thought provoking piece written by Dave Cameron at FanGraphs yesterday,... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: The Managerial Turnstile
by Brian Joseph ( No Comments )
Don’t let Carson Cistulli fool you, when you become a manager in Major League Baseball, no matter how short your future is in that position, when you’re in, you’re in. So, to answer the question from Cistulli’s recent post at Mariner fanboy blog U.S.S. Mariner, “Heck yeah!” While a few thousand words could be spent picking apart Cistulli’s dumbassery disguised... [Read more]
Pacific Perspectives: Rising Asian-American pitching talent
by Michael Street ( No Comments )
My column focuses on the exploits of Asian-born major leaguers, but I’m often reminded of the success of Asian-American players, who are just as rare as their foreign-born teammates—but often just as talented. And with the awful year that many Asian players are having, it seems a good time to take a look at MLB’s Asian-American talent pool, and how they’re doing in 2010. This week... [Read more]
Apparently Darin Erstad Was Not Available
by Jeff Lubbers ( No Comments )
Ever since the (non)retirement of Barry Bonds following the 2007 season the easy storyline on the San Francisco Giants has been that they are an all pitch/no hit kind of team. Despite marked improvement from their offense since 2008 (the team finished last in the league in runs in 2008, 13th in 2009 and is currently in 9th place this year) they have not been able to change that general perception. As... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: Dave Cameron Writes A Bad Rebuttal
by Brian Joseph ( No Comments )
To borrow a line from Tommy Boy, I could get a good look at a T-bone by sticking my head up a bull’s ass, but I’d rather take the butcher’s word for it. The same applies to bad baseball teams and Joe Posnanski who grew up in Cleveland and has written about the Kansas City Royals for more than a decade. So, when Poz wrote about this year’s Mariners, after sifting through his... [Read more]
Raising Aces: Mad Caps
by Doug Thorburn ( No Comments )
Much has been made of Stephen Strasburg’s innings count this season, and the fact that the Nats will not allow the phenom to surpass 160 innings (combined majors and minors). The talk quieted when shoulder inflammation sent Stras to the DL, effectively shaving a couple of starts from his 2010 total. Stras was sitting at 109.1 IP before the DL stint, and Tuesday’s start brought him within 46 innings... [Read more]
Column To Be Later: Pink Slip Paradise
by Brian Joseph ( No Comments )
We knew it wasn’t Z’s fault in Seattle hence Don Wakamatsu became the 6th manager to join the ranks of the unemployed this year. Here is a breakdown of who else was canned and how their replacements have done: It’s likely the Mariners managerial change will be the last in-season move unless the Indians give up on Manny Acta 1 year into a 3 year deal, the Mets finally part ways with... [Read more]
Pacific Perspectives: Wak’s Way Out
by Michael Street ( No Comments )
In a move that some had predicted, and few think is truly fair, today the Seattle Mariners fired manager Don Wakamatsu, who had gone from team savior to team goat. Wak had taken a miserable, disjointed Seattle team that had gone 61-101 in 2008, setting a record as the first $100M team to lose 100 games, and turned them into a cohesive 85-77 squad in 2009. Much of that turnaround came from the team... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: Meet the Marginal Mets
by Brian Joseph ( No Comments )
Earlier this week, Pat Andriola of FanGraphs took a shot at explaining the damage done when teams miss out on the concept of marginal utility. Like a Shaquille O’Neal free throw, Andriola’s example clanked off the rim. To be fair to Andriola, he’s a Mets fan. After a 6-run 8th inning from a Phillies’ offense standing on half a stump of a leg, the New York Metropolitans fell... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: Astros And The Pythagorean Mess
by Brian Joseph ( No Comments )
I’ve never been a big fan of Pythagorean W-L as a tool for any sort of analysis. There’s something of taking a cumulative statistic and applying it to game-by-game results for any sort of insight into a team’s ability or inability to achieve on the field. Typically, I will discuss how 20 runs scored and 4 runs against over 5 games is treated the same way whether the results are 20-0,... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: Re-Revisiting Schumaker
by Brian Joseph ( No Comments )
Last year, Sir David Cameron of FanGraphs, in his infinite wisdom (read: Overreactionary flair for the dramatic), wrote how the St. Louis Cardinals deserved a big “Huzzah!” for their persistence sticking with Skip Schumaker at second base. Now, almost two years through the great Skip Schumaker experiment, the question remains, was the Cardinals move a success? On Monday, the Cardinals dropped... [Read more]
Talking about Playoffs?! Trade your Rangers for Reds
by Eric Polsky ( No Comments )
If you happen to be a general manager of a fantasy team and your reaction to an imaginary reporter asking you about your league’s playoffs is the opposite of how Jim Mora would respond, then this article is for you. We know Jim Mora’s Colts’ weren’t talking about playoffs, and were “lucky to just win a game!” But if you’re confident that you’re team is ready for the postseason, then... [Read more]
A-Rod Proves Once and For All His Lack of Clutchitude
by David Wade ( No Comments )
Alex Rodriguez is currently stuck on 599 home runs. With just one more tater, he would become only the seventh player in MLB history to hit 600 of them in his career. But sadly, Rodriguez has long been considered a pretty-boy-choke-artist and he is proving that now as constant updates about his recent troubles are reminding us that when the chips are down, so are his stats. With each passing... [Read more]
Pacific Perspectives: An Asian response to Ozzie
by Michael Street ( No Comments )
While a writer can make a career responding to Ozzie Guillen’s various rants, I generally refrain from responding to his inflammatory remarks. I know they’re largely made either from legitimate passion or cunning manipulativeness, but I couldn’t ignore his latest cracks about Latino players playing second fiddle to Asian players. After all, now he’s picking on my homies. (Well,... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: Where’s The Damn Blueprint?
by Brian Joseph ( No Comments )
…and the Astros are paying most of the money in the deal. Drayton McLane/Ed Wade, you’re doing it wrong! That’s Jason Collette’s recent comment to a Jack Moore piece at Fangraphs about the pending Berkman plus cash to the Yankees deal. And Collette’s an expert on teams that now how to “do it”… he’s a notable member of the Rays’ fan community. If there’s... [Read more]
Raising Aces: Future of the US, Part 2
by Doug Thorburn ( No Comments )
The flux capacitor is running, and we’re heading back to the Futures Game. The first edition covered the first five pitchers for the US team, and this round breaks down the final five. The opening quintet lasted six full innings, leaving just three remaining frames for the second half of the US pitching staff. The pitch counts get smaller in the late stages of the ballgame, and some players did... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: Trade Evaluation 101
by Brian Joseph ( 1 Comment )
Keep it simple, stupid. One of my mentors used to live by the mantra. Nowhere does the KISS principle apply more than evaluating Major League trades. Here’s how simple it is: 1.) Which GM is smarter? 2.) If GMs are relatively close in intelligence (read: both geniuses or both idiots), which organization is more Sabermetrically inclined? The players involved do not matter. The conditions surrounding... [Read more]
Pacific Perspectives: Eastern Relief
by Michael Street ( No Comments )
One of the frequent themes of my column is the success of Asian relief pitchers instead of starting pitchers—unlike the long-running debate on the absence of left-handed catchers in MLB, there are some rather plausible and well-accepted theories for why this isn’t true. The best theory is that Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) is a breaking-ball league; whether this is due to coaching or talent... [Read more]
Hanging On By a Thread in Motown
by Jeff Lubbers ( No Comments )
If ever a July win felt like a season-saving victory, the Detroit Tigers’ Sunday night’s come-from-behind victory was it. For a team that on paper is in the thick of a playoff race but in practicality on the fringes of it, their worst news of the week was not the mounting losses (nine out of their last eleven before salvaging the Sunday night game) but instead the losses of Brandon Inge, Magglio... [Read more]
Column To Be Named Later: What the H… aren?
by Brian Joseph ( 1 Comment )
I remember thinking about how much of an overreaction it was when the mainstream media and Sabermetric community jumped on the “firing Josh Byrnes has destroyed the D-backs” bandwagon. Then I got this text: ESPN MLB – Angels acquire 3-time All-Star P Dan Haren from Diamondbacks for (ham sandwich) Okay, it didn’t read exactly like that but the haul — Joe Saunders, minor... [Read more]
Roto Lunch – July 25
by Rob McQuown ( 4 Comments )
Position Players: ss Yunel Escobar – Doubleheader 1b Lyle Overbay – Doubleheader 3b Edwin Encarnacion – Doubleheader of Coco Crisp – Excellent SB potential against Daniel Hudson/A.J. Pierzynski battery. of Andres Torres of Drew Stubbs 2b/3b Alberto Callaspo ss/2b Asdrubal Cabrera – Wade Davis hasn’t been pitching well this year, though the TB relief corps... [Read more]
