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John Dewan's Stat of the Week
Rafael Betancourt and Dennis Eckersley
December 22, 2010 What do Rafael Betancourt and Dennis Eckersley have in common? Uncommon control. Control that leads to the six best strikeout/walk ratios in the history of the game for relievers. Last week, we highlighted Cliff Lee’s remarkable 2010 strikeout to walk ratio of 10.28, as he joined Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and [...]
The Winner of the Cliff Lee Sweepstakes
December 14, 2010 The wait is over: on Monday night, Cliff Lee agreed to a five-year contract with the Yankees Rangers Phillies. There’s good reason Lee was so highly coveted this offseason, as his 2010 season was one of the most masterful seasons in baseball history. In 212 innings, Lee [...]
How much does Adrian Gonzalez help the Red Sox?
December 09, 2010 The Boston Red Sox made the offseason’s biggest move so far, finally acquiring first baseman Adrian Gonzalez from San Diego for three top prospects. With the move, Gonzalez leaves the cavernous PETCO Park for the cozier confines of Fenway Park, while Kevin Youkilis shifts across the field [...]
MVP and Rookie of the Year – Who Should Have Won?
November 24, 2010 Now that the Rookies of the Year and Most Valuable Players have been announced, which players were most deserving? Josh Hamilton won the American League MVP by a comfortable margin, but Total Runs (see below) and other analytical metrics depict a closer race. While Hamilton sat out much of [...]
Gold Gloves as They Should Have Been
November 16, 2010 Contrary to what some might think, I agree with most of the Gold Glove awards. However, there are a few that I take exception to. Let's compare the Gold Glove winners to the Fielding Bible Awards voting. American League AL Catcher Gold Glove Winner: Joe Mauer Should Have [...]
Good Marmol, Bad Marmol
July 28, 2010 A Cub-fan friend of mine recently said to me that Carlos Marmol is two entirely different pitchers. One day, he comes out of the bullpen and is unhittable, but the next day he is wild and ineffective. He assured me he could predict how well Carlos Marmol would fare in the game based [...]
The $91-Million Set-up Man
April 22, 2010 Chicago Cubs manager, Lou Piniella, has asked his $91-million pitcher, Carlos Zambrano to become an eighth-inning set-up man. How do the Cubs get to the point where they are sending their Opening Day Starter to the bullpen three weeks into the season? Here are the key facts: Ted Lilly, the Cubs [...]
The Tex-Factor
October 28, 2009 In 2008 the Yankees were the second-worst defensive team in baseball based on Defensive Runs Saved. Their defense cost them 38 runs. Only the Royals were worse with 42 lost runs defensively. In 2009 the Yankees improved dramatically defensively. By becoming an average defense overall (with 2 runs saved as a team [...]
The Red Sox Believe in Defense
January 12, 2010 The Boston Red Sox fell from an estimated 20 Defensive Runs Saved as a team in 2008 to second worst in baseball at -52 Runs Saved last year. This, no doubt, was a key contributing factor for the pitching staff’s increased ERA. Mike Lowell played through a hip injury that turned a previously [...]
Aaron Harang's New Year's Resolution
December 30, 2009 I, Aaron Harang, resolve to get more run support in 2010. Harang received the worst run support in baseball last year as the Reds only scored an average of 3.2 runs per nine innings while he was on the mound. Basically, the Reds’ offense hit opposing starters like they were facing Cliff [...]