Notes and Numbers

DOUGHBOYS · Post by **DOUGHBOYS** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 4:51 am

Ninth place hitters hit .299 vs. Roy Halladay last year. This number can tell us a number(pun not intended) of things. Halladay could let up a little at the bottom of a lineup. Spray hitters fare better against a pitcher like Halladay than more powerful hitters. It could be anything.

But, since Halladay is going to the National League, it is worth noting. That .299 baa could turn into .099 this year. Somebody else will have to tell me what Doc's WHIP would have been with the adjusted numbers.

Dodger fans, however, just cringed. Armed with this information, Joe Torre may be hitting Matt Kemp ninth when the Phillies come to town.

Maple syrup, good. Maple bats, bad.

Tim Lincecum is thought to be the best pitcher in baseball. Especially by NFBC'ers since his adp is well ahead of the likes of Haren, Halladay, and the rest.

Lincecum does have a kryptonite.

Last year, if batters did not get two strikes on them from Lincecum, they hit .324.

Pablo Sandoval would revel in hitting against Timmy if they weren't on the same team. Sandoval swung at the first pitch more than 47% of the time, a full 15% more than the league average.

After seeing the Lincecum stat, I may tell my hitters to be a lot more aggresive against Lincecum and pitch count be damned. Let him throw a complete game, but go down hacking. The other side of the coin is that once Lincecum gets two strikes on a hitter, that hitter hit .107 last year.

Lincecum vs. Joe Mauer would be a highlight matchup on any level, but especially with these numbers. Mauer took the first pitch more than any other hitter in baseball. He's also one of the few hitters that hit close to .300 (.291) after being behind 0-2 in the count.

And, oh, by the way, the 19 times that Mauer DID swing at the first pitch?

Nine for nineteen, with three home runs.

Pace yourself, good. On pace, bad.

Less than Dave · Post by **Less than Dave** » Thu Mar 11, 2010 5:32 pm

Is anybody concerned that Halladay will put up WORSE numbers in the NL, ala Johan Santana? Or do we think Johan has some injury that attributed to his performance? Also, Philly plays in a bandbox and Toronto wasn't exactly a hitter's haven so I don't think park effect will help him either... that said, I still think he has at least one of his best years this year, if not his best.