Stuff

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 5:02 am

I'll relax on "Stuff" after this one. A combination of the first slo draft and getting the Christmas season out of the way has got the juices going...

I saw an article featuring the 'take rate' of some ballplayers. The take rate being the percentage of balls that players take in the strike zone.

Chris Young took an incredible 40% of strikes last year. Let's factor in another 20% of swinging at bad pitches or pitches he has no chance at because he is a young, undisciplined hitter. Right off the bat (baseball metaphor), the pitcher is already at a 60% success rate before even throwing a pitch!

A new approach may be helpful for Young. He wouldn't have to go far for that new wave of thought. Teammate Mark Reynolds has taken John Daly's theme, "Grip it and rip it" very well. This kind of aggressiveness may be just what Young needs.

I've been getting PM'ed, criticizing that I've veered from fantasy stuff to real stuff, let's get back on track and have a look at some lefty/righty splits. Here are some oddities that you probably did not know...

Yuni Betancourt had more home runs(4) vs. lefties than Ryan Ludwick(2)...Yeah, the Cards need Matt Holliday. Oh wait, Holliday only had three home runs vs. LH pitching. If we throw in that Rick Ankiel's home runs all came vs RH, we see that the Cards were virtually POWERless vs LH. The word 'virtually' being used there because Albert is still Albert and had 13 home runs off LH.

Milton Bradley's splits were slanted to one side, only one of his 12 home runs were from the right side. Another switch hitter was trying to keep it as even as he could. Chipper Jones extra base hit line is 11/1/9 vs LH, 12/1/9 vs RH. Even this is slanted though, when considering that Jones had 170 more at bats vs RH.

Ryan Braun and Derek Jeter both hit .395 vs LH and both still hit over .300 vs. RH.

Pitchers may as well throw grenades to Ichiro, Mauer, or Pujols, and it doesen't matter which hand they use. Ichiro, Mauer, and Pujols all hit at least .324 no matter which side of the rubber the ball came from.

Tampa Bay has to be like a Circuit City customer who bought an expensive HDTV last year and would like to return it because it doesen't work well. Pat Burrell had gone eight straight years with at least 20 home runs. Not only did he just hit 14 last year, zero were against LH.

Nick Markakis had a whopping 263 at bats vs LH last year, 40 more than any other player.

Two switch hitters (Figgins and Roberts) had 200 at bats vs. LH, no pure right handed batters had that many.

Before considering Will Venable a sleeper (#%$$^$$#!), I can't do it, lets start that sentence over....

Before considering Will Venable a value at a later round, consider this:

Will Venable had 71 at bats against LH, a double was his only extra base hit.

Skip Schumaker had two doubles in 100 at bats vs. lefties. His only extra base hits.

Julio Borbon had just two hits (singles) in his 16 at bats vs. lefties.

Michael Cuddyer led all of baseball with 15 home runs off LH. Jayson Werth led the NL with 14.

Chase Utley was the only player with a double double. Utley hit 11 home runs and stole 11 bases off southpaws.

Carl Crawford was only successful four of nine times when stealing off lefties.

Austin Kearns had one rbi vs. left handed pitching in 2009. This would make him a good platoon candidate for your local slo pitch team.

Luke Scott hit 10 of his 25 home runs vs. lefties, backing up his statement that he should not be a platoon player.

Russ Martin had 26 extra base hits last year.

Total. Against RH AND LH.

He should be backhanded for the underhanded way he treated fantasyers that took him early in the draft last year.

Finally, there are some matchups that don't translate to numbers. Larry Walker vs. Randy Johnson at the All Star game for instance.

One lefty on lefty matchup that amuses me is Kelly Johnson vs. Oliver Perez. If you haven't seen this or can view it on a computer, do. It's worth the laughs.

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 5:42 am

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

One lefty on lefty matchup that amuses me is Kelly Johnson vs. Oliver Perez. Johnson brings his bat to a gunfight. If you haven't seen this or can view it on a computer, do. It's worth the laughs. Looking it up, Johnson is 1-9 vs. Perez, with seven strike outs.

[ December 28, 2009, 11:49 AM: Message edited by: DOUGHBOYS ]

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 5:16 am

Doughy, one question: How does this kind of information on splits help the fantasy player/forecaster? It seems to me that if a guy was completely impotent against left-handers, he is just as likely to improve from that side as he is to lose his stats from the right side. In other words, just because a guy was bad against lefties in 2009, why should that lead me to believe that his overall stats will slide in 2010?

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:35 am

Originally posted by bjoak:

Doughy, one question: How does this kind of information on splits help the fantasy player/forecaster? It seems to me that if a guy was completely impotent against left-handers, he is just as likely to improve from that side as he is to lose his stats from the right side. In other words, just because a guy was bad against lefties in 2009, why should that lead me to believe that his overall stats will slide in 2010? Isn't this like saying, 'Just because Jason Bartlett had a good year in 2009, it doesen't mean he'll match it in 2010'.

Personally, I don't think Pujols, Mauer, or Ichiro will ever care with which arm a pitcher is throwing. I can't say the same for a Granderson or a Chris Davis. That may be in my mind before possibly picking them in a draft.

It's all up for the reader to decide what is relevant and what is not, Brian.

Navel Lint · Post by **Navel Lint** » Tue Dec 29, 2009 8:08 am

Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

I've been getting PM'ed, criticizing that I've veered from fantasy stuff to real stuff, let's get back on track......I don’t know why people wouldn’t want to learn something new or interesting about this sport, fantasy or real. As far as I’m concerned, keep writing and I’ll keep reading.

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:20 am

Thanks Russel, I appreciate it.

It looks like I'll be in your neck of the woods this March.

Glenneration X · Post by **Glenneration X** » Wed Dec 30, 2009 2:56 am

Originally posted by Navel Lint:

quote:Originally posted by DOUGHBOYS:

I've been getting PM'ed, criticizing that I've veered from fantasy stuff to real stuff, let's get back on track......I don’t know why people wouldn’t want to learn something new or interesting about this sport, fantasy or real. As far as I’m concerned, keep writing and I’ll keep reading. [/QUOTE]I also enjoy Dan's posts on both the baseball & football boards....whether fantasy relevant or not.

They're an enjoyable read, they often come from an angle that most of us don't bother to look from, and many times are facetious enough to provide a chuckle or two.

Anyone who takes the time to provide information or analysis or points of view for the rest of us to enjoy is OK in my book.

Keep up the good work Dan & Happy New Year,

Glenn