Stuff....
Posted: Mon May 02, 2016 10:38 am
Before I start on 'Stuff' this morning, I'd like to lend a voice to a topic that has appeared on the Boards lately and has been a topic of discussion in the past.
That subject is American League pitching vs. National League pitching.
Many, many drafters feel that it is an advantage to have National League pitchers. I know a fella that has this as a steadfast rule.
He only lists few A.L. pitchers while showing all N.L. pitchers on his draft lists. This, of course, is going overboard, both in theory and in practice.
The A.L. has long been thought of as the hitters league. The N.L., pitchers league.
In actuality the difference is small. Certainly small enough that A.L. pitchers can be used without the thought of them getting bombed.
What a lot of drafters forget is the ease with which the National League use pinch hitters. Pinch hitting is almost forgotten in the A.L.
Their Managers seem to forget that poor hitters at the bottom of lineups can be replaced. Ryan Goins, Iglesias, and Jackie Bradley Jr can all be pinch hit for, but seldom are. Their defensive prowess keeps them in games. In the meantime, Pitchers batting ninth are tiring in the sixth or seventh inning (I say tiring, they're really not. Pitch count rules Managers minds like never before. Plus Managers are sold on getting a 'fresh' pitcher....even if he has a 5.40 E.R.A.)
So, some pitchers throwing a good game will only see one or two at bats.
We can also argue that better defense is available to American League teams. Players such as Billy Butler, David Ortiz, Even Gattis, Kendrys Morales, ARod and others are on the bench. In the National League, clunky defensive players like Brandon Moss, Chris Carter, Yasmani Tomas, Mark Reynolds, Aledmys Diaz, and David Wright have to play defense to earn their at bats.
By rights, the American League has a large advantage for pitchers with a better defense behind them.
Ok, that is the anecdotal.
Here's some Numerish for this season about the subject....
There have been 39 homers hit from the 9th spot in the lineup.....22 of those have come from the National League.
The Cleveland Indians have zero rbi from the 9th spot....The Yankees have one.
National League teams have more...
The Giants lead baseball with 19 rbi from the 9th spot.
Second?
The St. Louis Cardinals with 17.
Nine teams have more than one homer from the 9th spot....6 of those reside from the National League.
Tampa ninth hitters have scored one run from the 9th spot, least in baseball.
Next in scoring futility from that spot is Miami, Kansas City, and the Yankees with a mere four runs scored.
Half the teams in baseball slug more than .300 from the ninth spot. More than half of those teams are from the National League.
Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters. Six, were against American League teams.
And some regular stuff....
Adam Wainwright has been Waywrong this year.
Wainwright has given up 22 earned runs this year...and only struck out 14 batters.
Here that ticking of the clock Aledmys Diaz owners? Borrowed time.
Diaz has five errors in just 61 chances.
A fella like Brandon Crawford has zero in 94 chances.
While we, as fantasy owners, only look at offense. Teams, especially the Cardinals, look at the whole picture.
Want to beat Boston? Start by throwing a lefty.
In 109 at bats vs lefties, the Red Sox have one home run.
In 778 at bats this year, the Atlanta Braves have zero triples and five homers.
Their 'power' can be compared to that of Dee Gordon.
Gordon had four homers in 615 at bats last year.
The zero triples are Billy Butler-like.
The Braves just got a memo wrong. Instead of going for the speed of Gordon and strength of Butler, they got Gordon's power, Butler's speed.
Hopefully, their farm kids get it right.
I stated how woeful the Yankees are in producing from the 9th spot. Despite that, their batting average from the ninth spot is a healthy .288 and from the eight spot, a good .269
So why aren't the Yankees scoring?
Here is the their batting averages from the top four spots in the lineup...
1- .213
2- .224
3- .129 !
4- .213
If Yankees fans want to look at something good, look to the bullpen.
They are the only team in baseball without a blown save.
Think Toroto's lineup is loaded?
Not really.
The Mariners have three more homers and have scored the same amount of runs...in two less games played.
Jordan Zimmerman has made 123 starts since giving up back to back walks.
Yep, you read that right, 123 Starts.
Zack Greinke gave up 23 earned runs in April. Last year, he gave up 41..... all year.
Last year, David Price's E.R.A was 2.45
Price would have to throw 53 scoreless innings to bring his 6.14 E.R.A. to 2.45
Price is the only starting pitcher with an E.R.A. of over 4.00 to have four Wins.
Jake Odorizzi has a 3.12 E.R.A with zero Wins to show for it.
Aren't Wins fun?
Does Noah Syndergaard have a weakness?
Not only yes, but HELL YES.
Syndergaard is beyond Lester-like in giving up stolen bases.
Syndergaard has had 12 stolen bases allowed.
Speed demons, Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy (2 stolen bases) stole from him yesterday.
Syndergaard's 12 stolen bases dwarfs runnerup totals of seven allowed.
By the way, Lester has only allowed three stolen bases this year.
That subject is American League pitching vs. National League pitching.
Many, many drafters feel that it is an advantage to have National League pitchers. I know a fella that has this as a steadfast rule.
He only lists few A.L. pitchers while showing all N.L. pitchers on his draft lists. This, of course, is going overboard, both in theory and in practice.
The A.L. has long been thought of as the hitters league. The N.L., pitchers league.
In actuality the difference is small. Certainly small enough that A.L. pitchers can be used without the thought of them getting bombed.
What a lot of drafters forget is the ease with which the National League use pinch hitters. Pinch hitting is almost forgotten in the A.L.
Their Managers seem to forget that poor hitters at the bottom of lineups can be replaced. Ryan Goins, Iglesias, and Jackie Bradley Jr can all be pinch hit for, but seldom are. Their defensive prowess keeps them in games. In the meantime, Pitchers batting ninth are tiring in the sixth or seventh inning (I say tiring, they're really not. Pitch count rules Managers minds like never before. Plus Managers are sold on getting a 'fresh' pitcher....even if he has a 5.40 E.R.A.)
So, some pitchers throwing a good game will only see one or two at bats.
We can also argue that better defense is available to American League teams. Players such as Billy Butler, David Ortiz, Even Gattis, Kendrys Morales, ARod and others are on the bench. In the National League, clunky defensive players like Brandon Moss, Chris Carter, Yasmani Tomas, Mark Reynolds, Aledmys Diaz, and David Wright have to play defense to earn their at bats.
By rights, the American League has a large advantage for pitchers with a better defense behind them.
Ok, that is the anecdotal.
Here's some Numerish for this season about the subject....
There have been 39 homers hit from the 9th spot in the lineup.....22 of those have come from the National League.
The Cleveland Indians have zero rbi from the 9th spot....The Yankees have one.
National League teams have more...
The Giants lead baseball with 19 rbi from the 9th spot.
Second?
The St. Louis Cardinals with 17.
Nine teams have more than one homer from the 9th spot....6 of those reside from the National League.
Tampa ninth hitters have scored one run from the 9th spot, least in baseball.
Next in scoring futility from that spot is Miami, Kansas City, and the Yankees with a mere four runs scored.
Half the teams in baseball slug more than .300 from the ninth spot. More than half of those teams are from the National League.
Nolan Ryan threw seven no-hitters. Six, were against American League teams.
And some regular stuff....
Adam Wainwright has been Waywrong this year.
Wainwright has given up 22 earned runs this year...and only struck out 14 batters.
Here that ticking of the clock Aledmys Diaz owners? Borrowed time.
Diaz has five errors in just 61 chances.
A fella like Brandon Crawford has zero in 94 chances.
While we, as fantasy owners, only look at offense. Teams, especially the Cardinals, look at the whole picture.
Want to beat Boston? Start by throwing a lefty.
In 109 at bats vs lefties, the Red Sox have one home run.
In 778 at bats this year, the Atlanta Braves have zero triples and five homers.
Their 'power' can be compared to that of Dee Gordon.
Gordon had four homers in 615 at bats last year.
The zero triples are Billy Butler-like.
The Braves just got a memo wrong. Instead of going for the speed of Gordon and strength of Butler, they got Gordon's power, Butler's speed.
Hopefully, their farm kids get it right.
I stated how woeful the Yankees are in producing from the 9th spot. Despite that, their batting average from the ninth spot is a healthy .288 and from the eight spot, a good .269
So why aren't the Yankees scoring?
Here is the their batting averages from the top four spots in the lineup...
1- .213
2- .224
3- .129 !
4- .213
If Yankees fans want to look at something good, look to the bullpen.
They are the only team in baseball without a blown save.
Think Toroto's lineup is loaded?
Not really.
The Mariners have three more homers and have scored the same amount of runs...in two less games played.
Jordan Zimmerman has made 123 starts since giving up back to back walks.
Yep, you read that right, 123 Starts.
Zack Greinke gave up 23 earned runs in April. Last year, he gave up 41..... all year.
Last year, David Price's E.R.A was 2.45
Price would have to throw 53 scoreless innings to bring his 6.14 E.R.A. to 2.45
Price is the only starting pitcher with an E.R.A. of over 4.00 to have four Wins.
Jake Odorizzi has a 3.12 E.R.A with zero Wins to show for it.
Aren't Wins fun?
Does Noah Syndergaard have a weakness?
Not only yes, but HELL YES.
Syndergaard is beyond Lester-like in giving up stolen bases.
Syndergaard has had 12 stolen bases allowed.
Speed demons, Brandon Crawford and Matt Duffy (2 stolen bases) stole from him yesterday.
Syndergaard's 12 stolen bases dwarfs runnerup totals of seven allowed.
By the way, Lester has only allowed three stolen bases this year.
