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Five Pitchers Bound To Decline in 2012
2012-01-07 02:17:00 Joe Mays. This is the name that forever springs to mind when the subject of decliner candidates is brought about. More specifically, his name comes to mind when discussing individuals (i.e. me) who can't recognize pitchers who are obviously going to decline. This was the case with Mays, back in 2001, and from his example, I learned some hard lessons in how to pick out pitchers who are simply in the middle of one-year-wonder seasons. In '01, Mays, then a 25-year-old starting pitcher with Minnesota, finished up a terrific, Cy Young-worthy campaign, going 17-13 with an ERA of 3.16 (he led the league in ERA+). His breakthrough year led me to my first fantasy championship and the halo effect surrounding him, and my then-complete misunderstanding of pitcher peripheral numbers, led me to at one point refuse to include him in a trade for...wait for it...Randy Johnson. Yes, typing those words will probably result in added months of therapy. Naturally, Mays's fantastic year was a complete ...
By: The RotoFeed
Cubs pitchers stymie Reds to end losing streak
2011-06-09 15:00:00 The Chicago Cubs snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
2011 Draft Preview: Pitchers
2011-06-06 15:00:00 It's always difficult to try and predict which players are going to go where in the draft, even in the first few picks, so when your team doesn't pick until #47, as the Sox do this year, predicting who they will take is more or less impossible. I will however be looking at a few of the plausible names that the Sox could be interested in, based on rumors and past drafting tendencies. I'll be focusing on college pitching primarily, but also a few toolsy hitters who shouldn't cost a fortune.
And then there were two (regular starting pitchers left)
2011-05-24 22:54:00 The baseball gods have struck again. According to a Tweet from Paul Sullivan, Matt Garza has been placed on the DL. He may only miss one more start since the Cubs can backdate his DL stint all the way to May 17. Make it stop....
White Sox System Breakdown: Starting Pitchers
2011-03-31 01:40:00 The conclusion of this series is about the lifeblood of any minor league system, starting pitching. You can never have enough pitching as the saying goes. The White Sox don't have to worry about having too much starting pitching in the minors though. Most of the top pitching prospects in the system either profile as relievers or are veteran minor leaguers that have limited ceilings. There are few new and exciting names to talk about, but that's not to say there isn't hope.
White Sox pitchers and catchers finally report
2011-02-17 09:35:00 We jog only as fast as our slowest guy // Phil Velasquez, Chicago TribuneFor some reason, baseball has a monopoly on their pre-season period generating excitement. NBA and NHL pre-season is lightly reported on, and the NFL is significantly more popular but splits things up between OTAs, minicamp, and actual training camp, so that they lack the definitive date that is "February 17th, White Sox pitchers and catchers report".Now, it's not like things become a big barrel of interesting now. Pitchers will be going through throwing sessions until the position players arrive on the 22nd, whereupon everyone can start doing group jumping jacks together before actual games are played beginning on the 28th. While games bring forth the first real...
A tale of 2 pitchers...
2010-08-01 22:13:00 Today's matchup was really fascinating. 2 pitchers going against each other...both of whom were once traded for Freddy Garcia, who happens to be a teammate of one of them. Both pitchers...fastball/curveball pitchers. One of them the White Sox held onto, one of them they traded away twice. Gavin Floyd versus Gio Gonzalez.Not only was the matchup fun on paper, but they started off the game matching each other pitch for pitch. Gavin didn't have the "amazing" curveball that we've seen the last few weeks, the "there's no hitter in baseball who thinks that's fair" curveball, but he was good anyway. Gio had a very, very good breaking ball going, the one we heard about the whole time he was in...
Draft Preview: High School Pitchers, Part 2
2010-05-14 19:00:00 Wrapping up part 2 of the high school pitching preview for the 2010 Draft with players ranging from the huge upside, freak athlete, Tyrell Jenkins to Massachusetts lefty Kevin Ziomek.
Draft Preview: High School Pitchers, Part 1
2010-05-10 19:00:00 Moving onto the pitchers with the high school pitching preview, part 1. Some very interesting names here from the fast risers like Mike Foltynewicz to the hugely projectable A.J. Cole.
Cubs Draft Preview: Pitchers
2010-05-08 20:18:00 By Dan CupplesEd. Note- Following this week's draft primer, we'll continue our draft coverage by looking at players who may be available when the Cubs pick at 16. We'll have a hitter preview soon, and look for more good stuff to come over the next couple weeks.Much remains to be seen how new ownership will allow this years draft to be run. As it's been pointed out by Matt and myself, the Cubs ranked 26th in money spent on the draft in 2009. Of the 4 teams ranked behind the Cubs, 3 did not have a 1st rounder and the other did not sign their 1st round pick. One of the main things to watch this year will be the amount...
White Sox Pitchers with 15+ Wins Since 1980
2010-05-02 21:04:00 Taking a look at the White Sox pitchers that have won 15 or more games since 1980. Before 2009, The Sox had a 15+ game winner in every season going back to 2000....
ESPN Zone's Pitchers and Sliders
2010-04-29 04:59:00 So there are two things I could do right now, I could try and play off this entry like no big deal, or I could really just be myself and freak out a little bit. I.AM.ALMOST.FAMOUS. Ok, well not really but my delicious tasting at ESPN Zone Chicago the other day was pretty close. Me and my partner-in-crime, Andrew, met Brian Hanover the marketing manager over at EPSN Zone for a tasting of their new sliders. bbq pulled pork sliders, buffalo chicken sliders, mini hot dogs, BLT sliders and traditional slidersHanover took us to a private "sky box" glass seating area where we had the whole room and two tables to ourselves...boy did we end up needing them. The chef...
Opening Day Rosters- Pitchers
2010-04-06 00:43:00 The Cubs affiliates in Iowa, Tennessee, Daytona, and Peoria have all announced their opening day rosters, making official all the speculation over where guys will start.In my previous post I looked at where the hitters are going, and now we'll turn our attention to the pitchers.Shown below are the pitcher assignments, with rough guesses as to who will be in the starting rotations. It was done quickly, so forgive any mistakes or oversights. They're listed in no particular order, and I made some comments below....
Plate Discipline Correlations for Pitchers.
2009-09-23 09:37:00 I decided to go back to researching pitcher strikeout correlations today, which has been one of my favorite topics of research lately. Now that I have MINITAB, I can generate this stuff a little easier. The interface is nice as well. So, here are a few graphs and correlations. Again, same rules as before: qualified pitchers from 2008. Today we'll look at some strong correlations and the regression equation I produced for projecting strikeouts. First, here's the graph for actual strikeouts versus the regression equation. It's R-squared is .84. It was generated using Fangraphs.com's plate discipline statistics. There are a few interesting points. The two I liked most were the highest expected strikeouts (C.C. Sabathia: .2659 exp. K percentage, versus .2455 actual K%) and the highest actual strikeouts (Tim Lincecum, .2399 expected K%, .2858 actual K%). Lincecum's outlandish strikeout totals make him an easy pick for an outlier or a player with substantia...
By: The RotoFeed
A Tale of Two Pitchers
2009-09-01 23:56:00 A couple of games ago I watched Brett Cecil’s start against the Texas Rangers where he and some Jays relievers combined to almost squander an 11 run lead. This shaky behaviour is not atypical of Cecil and it got me to thinking about a conversation I had with Kman not too long ago. It went ...
By: Mop Up Duty
Eight pitchers = one win and other random thoughts
2009-06-19 18:25:00 Eight pitchers = one win Can’t beat that. I’m usually against the Jays carrying this much organizational bullpen depth (trade for a bat is my logic) but it certainly came in handy yesterday. HR City A grand total of 11 combined HR by both teams in the past two games. That was fun Back on track I’ll admit, I ...
By: Mop Up Duty
Pitchers and Catchers Report
2009-02-15 01:16:00 Spring Training 2009 has officially begun for the Giants as pitchers, catchers and various other position players reported to camp on Saturday. There wasn't much going on as today was just the reporting date and the first official workout isn't scheduled until Sunday, but there were a enough tidbits to come up with a small post on reporting day.Apparently Noah Lowry isn't 100 percent healthy after all as he has reported some shoulder stiffness upon arriving in Scottsdale. The lefty was supposed to be on schedule to take part fully in pitchers workouts on Sunday, but his recent set-back will likely limit any throwing he may do. However, Lowry thinks he'll be fine in due time and also adressed the the questions regarding the starting rotation. He hinted that he would expect a move of some kind if everyone is healthy come April, even a possible trade. There have been whispers of Lowry possibly starting the year off in Fresno as he still has a minor league option left, but I wouldn...
Second String Pitchers Doom Red Sox, Who Are Officially The AL Wild Card Te
2008-09-27 11:20:00 Well, it had to happen sooner or later, but it happened Friday night at Fenway Park. The New York Yankees demolished the Boston Red Sox by a score of 19-8. David Pauley, starting in place of Daisuke Matsuzaka because of a pesky rain delay, was ineffective, and the bullpen, summoned in the third inning, continued his bumbling and stumbling. The less said about this one, the better. Because of that rain, though, Daisuke Matsuzaka will start in this afternoon's contest in place of Josh Beckett, who will make an abbreviated go at it on Sunday. But there was real bad news that was much worse than a lopsided meaningless game against the out-of-it Yankees. Mike Lowell reagravated his hip injury with a third inning swing and is a definite maybe from here on out. Here's what he and his manager had to say..."I would defer to we'll see what time says," Lowell said. "By no means do I think I'm owed a roster spot just because I've played here. If I'm not going to do anything that can help ...
Aces up: Three top NL pitchers get job done (AP)
2008-08-18 13:56:00 Johan Santana was looking to give the Mets’ bumbling bullpen a break. Houston’s Roy Oswalt was matched up against Randy Johnson. Cole Hamels was just trying to keep the Phillies close in the NL East. All three aces were up to the task Sunday, turning in their best performances of the season. Santana pitched ...
By: MLB News Blog
TigsTown?s July Pitchers of the Month
2008-08-07 07:46:00 With the newcomers to the organization starting to filter themselves throughout the clubs, did any newbies take home the hardware in their first month as a pro pitcher? Read the full story.
By: MLB News Blog
TigsTown?s May Pitchers of the Month
2008-06-09 02:46:00 Which pitchers stepped for their respective team this May? Find out inside which pitchers took home the monthly awards for May! Read the full story.
By: MLB News Blog
Underserved Media Market Teams Throw Non-Descript Pitchers
2008-06-04 08:10:00 The Yanks start Joba Chamberlain. The Mets start Pedro Martinez. The Red Sox start top prospect Justin Masterson. You probably didn’t know any of that because traditional media is obsessed with Radhames Liz’s earning a win in his first Orioles start and Ross Gload’s struggles at winning back the Royals starting 1B position. ...
By: The RotoFeed
Minor League Pitchers To Watch
2008-06-03 20:44:00 Which hurlers are bringing the goods in Double and Triple A? I'm looking for those who've whiffed a batter per inning or close. Let's take a look. David Purcey, Blue Jays. He has a 2.14 ERA, 9.3 K/9, and 3.0...
By: The RotoFeed
Gammons On Available Pitchers
2008-05-28 12:01:00 ESPN's Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months. We'll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series. Gammons' trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood. Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season. Sowers and Duke are the kids. Harden is the oft-injured ace. Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts. Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios. He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.
By: The RotoFeed
Gammons On Available Pitchers
2008-05-28 12:01:00 ESPN's Peter Gammons names ten starting pitchers who could be available in the coming months. We'll try to devise a comprehensive list when we get to the position in our Trade Market series. Gammons' trade possibilities: Paul Byrd, Jeremy Sowers, Derek Lowe, Rich Harden, Odalis Perez, Brett Tomko, Jarrod Washburn, Zach Duke, Vicente Padilla, and Kevin Millwood. Byrd, Lowe, Perez, and Tomko will be free agents after the season. Sowers and Duke are the kids. Harden is the oft-injured ace. Washburn, Padilla, and Millwood bring burdensome contracts. Gammons also five "unlikely, but not impossible" scenarios. He suggests A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Joe Blanton, Greg Maddux, and Ben Sheets could be moved under the right circumstances.
By: The RotoFeed
MiLB Recap Blog: Starting Pitchers Dominate
2008-05-25 05:16:00 Each morning, check in for the Minor League Recap Blog. Get all of the results from the games, the latest standings and the daily blog recapping the previous day’s action. Read the full story.
By: MLB News Blog
Expected BABIP for Pitchers
2008-05-23 01:09:00 Recently on FanGraphs, we’ve been referring to a stat called xBABIP or Expected Batting Average on Balls in Play to help justify a pitcher’s current BABIP. There’s been a few questions about what this stat means, so I thought it’d be as good a time as any to try and explain the ins and ...
By: The RotoFeed
Position Review: Relief Pitchers
2008-05-19 13:54:00 Please note: This post does not include data from yesterday's games [5/18]. To download the Excel sheet with the valuation data, click here. RP MVP: Joakim Soria [$22.74] - 17.3 IP, 1.04 ERA, 0.40 WHIP, 0 W, 11 SV, 20 KAverage RP With Positive Value: [$8.59] - 20 IP, 2.11 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 1 W, 4 SV, 18 KReplacement Level Player: Octavio Dotel [$1.00] - 17.7 IP, 3.05 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 2 W, 0 SV, 27 K Best W Source: Jose Valverde & Jorge Sosa [4]Best SV Source: George Sherrill & Francisco Rodriguez [17]Best K Source: Carlos Marmol [37]Best ERA Source: Billy Wagner [17 IP of 0.00 ERA]Best WHIP Source: Joakim Soria [17.3 IP of 0.40 WHIP] Thoughts: Joey Devine [$15.04]: Buy.Wins: He's been a big W beneficiary, getting 3 already. You can't bank on those to continue at that pace, though. Saves: With Huston Street there, Devine probably won't be in line for SV opps. Strikeouts: Devine is a great strikeout pitcher, with a career 13.11 MiLB K/9. His current 11.19 K/9 isn...
By: The RotoFeed
Position Review: Starting Pitchers
2008-05-19 13:01:00 Please note: This post does not include stats from yesterday's games [5/18]. To download the Excel sheet with the valuation data, click here. SP MVP: Cliff Lee [$47.06] - 53.7 IP, 0.67 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 6 W, 44 KAverage SP With Positive Value: [$11.91] - 49 IP, 2.89 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 4 W, 38 KReplacement Level Player: Jesse Litsch [$1.00] - 49 IP, 4.22 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 5 W, 31 K Best W Source: Brandon Webb [9]Best K Source: Tim Lincecum [63]Best ERA Source: Cliff Lee [53.7 IP of 0.67 ERA]Best WHIP Source: Cliff Lee [53.7 IP of 0.67 WHIP] Thoughts: Shaun Marcum [$30.23]: Buy.Wins: Marcum's 4 Ws thus far are the only real knock against him. It's not his fault, but it still affects his value. The Jays are only scoring 3.85 runs per game; only KC is worse. Strikeouts: He's currently at a 8.11 mark this season; his career rate is a 7.22. Even if his K rate regresses to his career average, he's still a good K source. ERA: Marcum's 2.50 ERA is 1.08 lower than h...
By: The RotoFeed
Top K/BB Pitchers
2008-05-19 11:27:00 Here is a list of the Top 20 K/BB pitchers. For those familar with Ron Shandler's Basbeall HQ, he calls it "Command Ratio." It is done without regard for the number of innings pitched so that you could find a possible sleeper like Darrell Rasner or Glen Perkins. PitcherTeamK/BBCliff LeeCLE9.2Jon LieberCHN7Scott BakerMIN5.8Roy HalladayTOR5.7Kevin SloweyMIN5.33Jason BergmannWAS5.25Josh BeckettBOS5.09Darrell RasnerNYA5Javier VazquezCHA4.83Wandy RodriguezHOU4.8John SmoltzATL4.5Glen PerkinsMIN4.5Dan HarenARI4.5Jesse LitschTOR4.43Paul ByrdCLE4.4Hong-Chih KuoLAN4.22Johnny CuetoCIN4.08John LackeyANA4Mike MussinaNYA4Ervin SantanaANA3.85
By: The RotoFeed
Indians will fill closer?s role with four pitchers
2008-05-17 01:02:00 Rafael Betancourt has lost his job as interim closer for the Cleveland Indians, who plan to use several relievers at the end of games until Joe Borowski returns from an arm injury. Manager Eric Wedge made the decision Friday, a day after Betancourt had to be replaced in the ninth inning of a 4-2 win over ...
By: MLB News Blog
Weekly starters: Rays pitchers a good bet
2008-05-16 21:27:00 How about them Rays, huh?! Read the full story.
By: MLB News Blog
Tribe pitchers stay hot, shut down A?s
2008-05-16 00:12:00 It wasn’t even a bad pitch that ended the Cleveland Indians’ scoreless streak. An unearned run against Aaron Laffey on his own throwing error halted the starting rotation’s run of 44 1-3 consecutive shutout innings, but didn’t interrupt their string of dominant outings. Laffey pitched the Indians to a 4-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday, ...
By: MLB News Blog
Brita water filtration pitchers
2008-05-15 12:15:00 "Last year 16 million gallons of oil were consumed to make plastic water bottles."
By: Did U Hear That?
Starting Pitchers Slumping Bigtime...Baltimore 5 Boston 4
2008-05-14 11:38:00 The starting pitching rotation, which was so hot a week and a half ago, is anything BUT that right now. In four of the last six games, the pitching has allowed at least seven runs and ten hits. That won't help to win many ball games. And Josh Beckett, the Red Sox ace, was not even spared Tuesday night in Baltimore. The Orioles, after staking Boston to a 3-0 lead, their second in two nights, won the game 5-3. Josh Beckett allowed all five earned runs and surrendered a season-high eleven hits, the most of any starter this season. It was certainly not a vintage Beckett outing. He threw 97 pitches in only 5 2/3 innings and had this to say after the game..."The loss definitely goes in the right man's hand tonight," Beckett said. "It's pretty simple. I just didn't execute pitches tonight."That's a good wrap-up, Josh...pure and simple. The bullpen was just fine, thank you, but Boston just couldn't score when they needed to. Manny Ramirez came to the plate in the top of the seventh in...
Mets designate two pitchers for assignment (PA SportsTicker)
2008-05-14 01:23:00 The New York Mets on Tuesday designated righthanders Jorge Sosa and Nelson Figueroa for assignment. Read the full story.
By: MLB News Blog
TigsTown April Pitchers of the Month
2008-05-12 22:16:00 The month of April was highlighted on the mound by a seven inning no-hitter for Luis Marte - but was that enough for him to take the Pitcher of the Month award in Lakeland? And who else took the hardware at the rest of the stops? Read the full story.
By: MLB News Blog
Home/Road Splits - Pitchers
2008-05-11 08:00:00 While we start guys like Peavy, Santana, Webb and Lincecum (that's right, Lincecum) every week regardless of whom they play against, some pitchers enjoy the confines of their home and others like pitching on the road.Start 'Em Next WeekJonathan Sanchez - His ERA on the road is close to 10.00. In friendly San Francisco his ERA is 1.16. Start him next week when he gets the DH-less White Sox.John Danks - Two starts and both are on the road where John finds his success. Despite on overall 3.18 ERA, Danks' ERA at home is 4.64 while on the road it is 1.47. John Lannan - Now here's a real testament to risk. Lannan shows a 1.40 road ERA, where he has one start. His one start is against the Mets. However, his struck out 11 Mets in his last outing. Do you play the numbers game or do you play the logic game?John Maine - He's got on start... against Lannan. Maine has a 2.55 home ERA. Could this be a 1-0 event?John, I mean Shawn Chacon - After all those Johns it was becoming first nature. S...
By: The RotoFeed
Lee beats Wang in duel of perfect pitchers (AP)
2008-05-08 04:40:00 Cliff Lee threw seven sharp innings Wednesday night to beat Chien-Ming Wang in a matchup of unbeaten starters, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 3-0 victory over the New York Yankees. Lee became the first Indians pitcher to win his first six starts since Greg Swindell in 1988 and lowered his major league-best ERA to ...
By: MLB News Blog
Starting Pitchers: Good Luck & Bad Luck
2008-05-07 12:33:00 I have spent the 2008 fantasy baseball season trying to avoid cavalierly throwing around the term "Sell High" about a players performance because it is usually just an euphemism for "sucker another owner into taking this ticking time bomb." However, there is one statistics in the early season that I feel perfectly comfortable applying the "sell high" label to - Wins. Even the best pitchers win only 50% of their starts. Over a full 34-start season, that equates to 17 Wins. When I see a pitcher win six or seven games in his 1st seven starts of the season, I am comfortable saying this pitcher is a "sell high" pitcher. This does not mean I believe that pitcher's ratios will fall apart. it just means I do not believe the pitcher will maintain a 25+ Win pace. Can Ervin Santana provide an additional 140-160 innings of good ratios from May 7th through September 28th? Yes. Can he win more than 10 more games over the final 4.5 months? Probably not. That means the team buying Santana had bett...
By: The RotoFeed
Use K:BB Ratio To Help Find Dominant Relief Pitchers
2008-05-05 21:00:00 One of the first statistics that I look for when deciding on a trade or a free agent acquisition that involves a relief pitcher is strikeout to walk ratio (K:BB). The ratio is easy to calculate as it’s just K/BB, but it goes a long way in showing how dominant a pitcher is over the ...
By: The RotoFeed
Position Review: Relief Pitchers
2008-05-04 12:04:00 To download the Excel sheet with the valuation data, click here. Best W Source: 8 Pitchers [3]Best SV Source: Francisco Rodriguez [12]Best K Source: Carlos Marmol [28]Best ERA Source: Chad Qualls [16.7 IP of 0.00 ERA]Best WHIP Source: James Johnson [15.3 IP of 0.46 WHIP] Thoughts on the Top 10: Jonathan Papelbon-$25.59-Just Papelbon being Papelbon. Buy. Mariano Rivera-$25.06-I must have pissed him off when I sold on him last week, as he's gained $6.21 of value in the past week thanks to 3 scoreless IP with 4 K and 2 SVs. I'm kind of torn on buying on a 38 year old closer, but if I had to, I'd take the gamble on Rivera. Buy. Joakim Soria-$24.92-Easily the best surprise RP of the season, he hasn't allowed a run in 12 IP, struck out 15 batters, and logged 7 SVs. He's poised to become one of the elite closers in the game; one hell of a Rule V draft pick. Buy. Carlos Marmol-$21.23-A little shocking to see a non-closer this high, but looking at his produ...
By: The RotoFeed
Position Review: Starting Pitchers
2008-05-04 11:40:00 To download the Excel sheet with the valuation data, click here. Best W Source: Brandon Webb [7]Best K Source: Jake Peavy [46]Best ERA Source: Cliff Lee [37.7 IP of 0.95 ERA]Best WHIP Source: Cliff Lee [37.7 IP of 0.56 WHIP] Thoughts on the Top 10: Cliff Lee-$50.80-Lee gave up 3 ER in 6 IP against the Mariners on Wednesday, his first outing allowing more than 1 ER this season. The good sign was that he did not give up a walk in the start, lowering his BB/9 to 0.48 on the season. Regardless, he won't maintain this value all season. Sell. Brandon Webb-$30.86-7 Ws in the bank already for Webb. Pitching with the D-Backs offense behind him, there's no fluke in the W category. Webb is flashing his usually dominant numbers, and appears to be on his way to receiving many Cy Young votes. Buy. Jake Peavy-$29.87-Just another season in the office for Peavy. The only knock on him thus far is the Padres offense, which has and will continue to affect Pea...
By: The RotoFeed
Insider: These pitchers have earned the right to bear arms
2008-04-30 21:29:00 Pitchers can't hit, right? Wrong. Micah Owings leads a stable of young arms across the National League who are giving new meaning to the term 'power pitcher,' Scott Miller says in his MLB Insider.
By: The RotoFeed
Arizona pitchers win with arms and bats
2008-04-30 13:56:00 The Arizona Diamondbacks are working on an uncommon trifecta. Their hitters can hit, their pitchers can pitch … and their pitchers can hit, too. Not only do the D-Backs lead the major leagues in runs and ERA, their pitchers lead in virtually every offensive category — hits, doubles, RBIs, batting average, OPS (on-base average plus slugging percentage).D-Backs pitchers are hitting .273 with 15 hits, nine doubles and nine RBIs. Micah Owings is the leader, hitting .389 with a double and an RBI, and teammates understand that his 2007 Silver Slugger award is safe.At the same time, Haren had an RBI double Monday for his second RBI of the season, Webb has four RBIs, Doug Davis has two hits in three at-bats and Edgar Gonzalez has an RBI double. Webb still has one more RBI than regulars Josh Bard of the Padres and Willy Taveras of the Rockies. The D-Backs are 9-2 when their pitchers get a hit.
By: The RotoFeed
The Unluckiest April Pitchers
2008-04-30 02:39:00 When discussing the early season productivity of a player it is important to remember that the barometric statistics analyzed by those on television often have better evaluative indicators beneath the surface. Many of these indicators deal with luck, or a lack of luck, and provide a more telling window into what should be expected ...
By: The RotoFeed
Orioles recall pitchers Olson, McCrory (AP)
2008-04-30 00:16:00 The Baltimore Orioles expanded their pitching staff to 13 players Tuesday, recalling Garrett Olson and Rob McCrory from Triple-A Norfolk after a stretch in which the team played four games in three days. Olson started Tuesday night’s game against Tampa Bay and McCrory was sent to the bullpen. To make room on the roster, the ...
By: MLB News Blog
Evaluating Pitchers: My checklist
2008-04-28 19:35:00 Guys like Aaron Cook, Cliff Lee, Zack Greinke, and Brian Bannister come along every year. They overperform expectations by an order of magnitude, are quickly snatched off the waiver wire, and, if they have a track record of mediocrity, they typically return to it when their owners realize that lightning in a bottle doesn't tend to last an entire season.Here's the checklist I go through when evaluating SPs with whom I not overly familiar.1.) Rotation spot: It's fun to pick up the latest commodity, but it's not a lot of fun when they get sent down. Using waiver selections, particularly if you're in the first or second position, on players you know won't be in the majors for long is not a very good idea. Before adding a player, I always check to see if there's some reason why he won't be on the roster for a while. Almost always, there isn't, but it happens. 2.) K-rate: It all starts with K-rate. I ignore everything else until I check the K-rate. If a guy isn't somewhere close...
By: The RotoFeed
Position Review: Relief Pitchers
2008-04-27 21:55:00 To download the Excel sheet with the Valuation data, click here. Best W Source: 4 Pitchers [3]Best SV Source: Francisco Rodriguez [10]Best K Source: Carlos Marmol & Joel Hanrahan [21]Best ERA Source: Chad Qualls [14.3 IP of 0.00 ERA]Best WHIP Source: Billy Wagner [9.0 IP of 0.22 WHIP] Thoughts on the Top 10: Joakim Soria-$23.17-I'm still thinking he's going to look like the RP steal of the draft. Dude is flat-out filthy. Buy. Billy Wagner-$19.93-Another consistent season coming together for Wagner. He'll give up a run eventually, but hasn't done so yet. Buy. Jonathan Papelbon-$19.52-A great start for a great closer. Buy. Mariano Rivera-$18.85-So far, so good, but I'm still looking for regression with the ageless wonder. Sell. Troy Percival-$18.79-Percival is one of the more amazing stories of the past few years. He is as dominant now as he was last year with the Cards, but cash in here if you can. Sell. Aqulino Lopez-$17.85-Su...
By: The RotoFeed
Position Review: Starting Pitchers
2008-04-27 21:23:00 To download the Excel sheet with the valuation data, click here. Best W Source: Brandon Webb [5]Best K Source: Aaron Harang [37]Best ERA Source: Cliff Lee [31.7 IP of 0.28 ERA]Best WHIP Source: Cliff Lee [31.7 IP of 0.41 WHIP] Thoughts on the Top 10: Cliff Lee-$54.96-Simply amazing. Rany Jazayerli with BP notes how historic Lee's pitching is so far. He's obviously not going to keep this up, but enjoy the ride while it lasts...as an Indians fan, I sure am. Sell. Ben Sheets-$35.50-The injury bug is already creeping up on Sheets. You want to think that he'll be able to over come it for the rest of the season, but there's just too much history here. Sell. John Smoltz-$30.47-Smoltz left today's game with "soreness" in his right shoulder, and is considered day-to-day for now. Regardless, he has this insane ability to keep logging the IP, causing a friend of mine to consider him a witch. The K rate is absolutely obscene. Buy. Brandon Webb-$28.81-A l...
By: The RotoFeed
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