baseball
Sabermetric analysis of all things baseball - on-and-off the field. Barry Bonds fan club.
J.D. Martinez Would be a Perfect Fit for the Red Sox This Offseason
When the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired J.D. Martinez at the trade deadline, I wrote a short article about how Martinez would thrive playing in the hot, dry weather in Arizona. Coming from Detroit, where he hit 38 home runs in 2015, to a climate where the ball flies. Well, that is exactly what happened: Martinez came to Arizona with 16 homers, and within 62 games with the Diamondbacks, he hit an astounding 29 homers. He was a big reason Arizona even made the postseason in 2017, finishing the season with a .303 average and 45 bombs.
By Quinn Allen8 years ago in Unbalanced
Is It Time to Rethink Hitter's Counts?
Hitters have always lived by the idea that they will try and work the count in their favor to not only get closer to a walk, but to force the pitcher to be more predictable. Limit the pitcher down to just throwing you a fastball, and give yourself a better chance at guessing correctly. Pitchers do not want to walk people and will throw their fastball much more predictably as they fall down in the count.
By Owen McGrattan8 years ago in Unbalanced
Qualifying Offer Part One: First Base
The World Series may have been an incredible finish to the 2017 season, but baseball is a year round business. All 30 teams had until the afternoon of November 6 to issue a Qualifying Offer to any of their pending free agents. The Qualifying Offer is a one year deal with a value equal to the average of MLB’s top 125 salaries in the most current season. This year, the value is $17.4 million.
By Matt Mocarsky8 years ago in Unbalanced
Has the Qualifying Offer Been Worth It?
The off-season is officially upon us, and the ups and downs of the playoffs have been replaced with hushed whispers of trade rumors and the frantic refreshing of Ken Rosenthal's Twitter feed. Free agents officially filed this Monday, and nine players were tagged with qualifying offers — one-year contracts for a league-set salary from a player's former team that, if declined, entitle the former team to a draft pick between the first and second round of the 2018 MLB Amateur draft. Of all of the players who have received qualifying offers, only five have ever accepted them for various reasons. How has each player who took the QO fared after taking the offer?
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Bullpenning and Usage Featuring Brandon Morrow
After a year in which he notched a stellar K-BB% of 24.1 percent, Brandon Morrow fashioned himself into the most trusted reliever in the Dodgers bullpen not named Kenley Jansen. Morrow has appeared in 12 of the Dodgers 13 games this postseason, including every single game of the World Series. If 2016 was the year of bullpen usage in the highest leverage situations, 2017 has been the year of bullpen usage, period. Much has been made of the idea that “bullpenning” games work in the playoffs after Joe Girardi used his bullpen to shut the Twins down in the AL Wild Card Game. While a team with viable pitching depth, such as New York or Houston, can afford to pull their starters after two times through the order, let’s consider the toll bullpenning takes on individuals who are heavily counted on.
By Matt Mocarsky8 years ago in Unbalanced
MLB shows bark, no bite with Gurriel suspension
I'm going to save you the trouble of every other take on the Gurriel suspension that you've already read, and skip over the general talking points. Yes, Gurriel has no excuse for that behavior and his actions, he played in Japan and he should know better, racism is bad, yadda yadda. You've heard it all ad infinitum before. Glad we can all agree that racism is bad. It's far more important to address the MLB's response to Gurriel's actions, because we'll all forget about Gurriel come next spring (hell, Houston fans have already forgotten), but the precedent of the MLB's ruling will linger on for years and possibly decades.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Ken Giles Is Losing It
If you're an Astros fan, odds are Ken Giles nearly put you into a coma or gave you a heart attack during Game 2 on Wednesday night. Regardless, everything worked out for Houston in the end, and the Astros came out on top of one of the greatest World Series games ever.
By Owen McGrattan8 years ago in Unbalanced
Power Breaking Ball Proves McCullers Jr. Could Be the Future of the Astros' Rotation
Lance McCullers Jr. has been absolutely outstanding for the Astros this postseason. The 24-year-old has thrown 13 innings in the playoffs with a 2.08 ERA. This was highlighted by his amazing performance out of the bullpen in Game 7 against the Yankees, where he shut down a powerful New York lineup for four innings in a rare relief role.
By Quinn Allen8 years ago in Unbalanced
The New Home Field Advantage Rules Stink as Bad as the Old Ones
Thanks to years of complaints by fans and media alike, for the first time since 2002, home-field advantage for the World Series was determined not by the All-Star game results, but instead by regular season record. I'm sure everyone out there who lobbied for this change is patting themselves on the back for getting a change that, in their minds, fixed the All-Star game. I'm hesitant about the new CBA, however, because I fear that in fixing the All-Star game, the MLB broke the World Series.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
The Numbers Say Lance Mccullers' Future Is in the Rotation
After stymying the Yankees offense over the course of four shutout innings in the decisive Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, questions have arisen regarding Lance McCullers. Is he durable enough to be a starting pitcher? Is he effective enough over the course of a game to be a starting pitcher? If the answer to either or both of those is no, does that mean McCullers will end up being a reliever who can go multiple innings?
By Matt Mocarsky8 years ago in Unbalanced
The 2017 Chicago Cubs Lacked That 'It' Factor
2017 wasn't necessarily a banner year for the Chicago Cubs. Well, for some teams, it would be considered a good year. But for the defending World Series champions, they fell short of their goal: to repeat. They just slid by the Washington Nationals in the Division series. Then come the NLCS, they weren't any competition for baseball's best team in the regular season: the LA Dodgers.
By Quinn Allen8 years ago in Unbalanced
