baseball
Sabermetric analysis of all things baseball - on-and-off the field. Barry Bonds fan club.
Betrayal, Thy Name Is Dottie
During the battle for America’s independence, when George Washington’s army ate horse meat and Betsy Ross sewed up the continental army’s guns (or something,) general Benedict Arnold held clandestine meetings with British leader Sir Henry Clinton (EMAILS! sorry, force of habit) which resulted in the surrender of Arnold’s forces at West Point.
By Jared Wheeler8 years ago in Unbalanced
It’s Time to Rethink Lineups
Terry Collins sighs, sitting alone in his office. An empty lineup card sits before him. He’s spent the past hour puzzling over who to bat today, and where — should Cespedes bat cleanup, or would he fit better in the 3 hole? Does Jose Reyes deserve to lead-off? And where on Earth does Jay Bruce fit into any of this?
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Eduardo Nunez’s Versatility Has Helped Him Thrive In Boston
Eduardo Nunez hasn’t exactly stuck with one team in his major league career. The 30-year old infielder has played for four different organizations throughout his seven year big league career, but despite that, he’s a lifetime .282 hitter. He’s been a solid player both offensively and defensively in the majors. For the Red Sox, Nunez was a great acquisition on July 25th because he adds depth to their lineup as a guy who can move around and play all over.
By Quinn Allen8 years ago in Unbalanced
The Chicago Cubs Are the World Series Favorites
Make no mistake: the Dodgers are a great team. They have Clayton Kershaw, the pitching equivalent of Mike Trout. They have Corey Seager and Justin Turner, two of the best infielders in the National League. They have Kenley Jansen, a lights out closer who has been nothing short of dominant throughout his career. And yes — as my colleague Dylan Svoboda pointed out — they’re predicted to be better (though by a fairly slim margin) than the reigning WS Champs, the Chicago Cubs.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
To Sell or Not to Sell?
Baseball has reached the two month mark. Teams are 50+ games into the season, and we’re rapidly approaching the 1/3rd mark. We’ve seen Michael Conforto, Aaron Judge, and Miguel Sano emerge as some of the best hitters in baseball, we’ve seen Justin Bour and Scott Schebler duke it out for the NL HR lead, and we’ve seen the Cubs flounder like a fish out of water.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Wilmer Flores, DLM (Designated Lefty Masher)
We’re all familiar with the LOOGY, the “Lefty One Out Guy”. He’s a left handed relief pitcher whose entire job is to come into a game in a high leverage situation and get a single left-handed batter out. It’s a very niche role, but some players, like Jesse Orosco and Randy Choate, made entire careers out of it.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Matt Harvey: Version 3.0
How appropriate that, during this week of Easter, we talk about a ballplayer seemingly twice resurrected —SP Matt Harvey, who has had to bounce back from not just one, but two of the biggest surgeries a pitcher can undergo — both Tommy John and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Breaking Down the Longest Dingers of 2017 (So Far)
In baseball, the scorer doesn’t give a damn how far you hit that sucker. As long as it clears the fence on the fly, you receive credit for a home run, an RBI, and RBIs for however many players were on base. Real baseball isn’t that video game The Bigs where the further you hit a home run, the more score multipliers you’d rack-up — a home run only counts for as many runners that were on base, plus one, in the eyes of the scorer.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
It’s Time to Shake up the Yankees’ Front Office
The biggest story from the arbitration hearings this offseason was undoubtedly the newly-emerged feud between RP Dellin Betances and the Yankees’ front office. For those unfamiliar with the events of the past few days, the gist of the story is this: Betances and the Yankees had gone to salary arbitration, with Betances asking for $5 million and the Yankees countering with $3 million. The Yankees won the case, largely because of how dated the arbitration system is.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
Leave OBP Alone
Concession number 1: The term “On Base Percentage” is a misnomer. OBP doesn’t truly measure all the times a player is awarded a base. It doesn’t include the times a player reaches base due to fielders choices/errors, dropped third strikes, obstruction, or catcher’s interference.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
