To read Brian Cartwright’s Unfiltered post following up on one of the audience’s suggested topics, surf here. Former Pirates‘ pitching coach Ray Miller had a simple motto: ‘Work Fast, Throw Strikes, Change Speeds’, but there’s more to not walking batters than just throwing strikes as the rate those strikes get put into play also has…
Mike Ferrin talks with Brian Cartwright in this special edition of Baseball Prospectus Radio. Click to download the mp3. Mike Ferrin: It’s our weekly chat on “On Deck” with Brian Cartwright from Baseball Prospectus, and I’d like to be able to chat with him a little bit about our prospects, and I know Brian, you’ve…
Can a manager cost his team a game? It’s hard to tell, as the players throw the balls and swing the bats, leaving the managers to fill out the lineup cards, give the steal sign, pinch hit, and bring in numerous relievers. We don’t get to mark down a home run or a strike out…
In 2008, Ichiro Suzuki, regarded as one of the fastest players in baseball, stood at first base with second base empty a total of 262 times. From 2006 to 2008, Ichiro has been thrown out by the catcher on only 9.2% of his attempts, one of the best rates in history. Despite this, he only…
The Andrew McCutchen era has begun in Pittsburgh. Since being selected as the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2005 draft, McCutchen has been the most touted prospect in the Pirates farm system. With last week’s surprise trade of Nate McLouth to the Braves, McCutchen was promoted to fill McLouth’s centerfield spot,…
I got started on a life of number crunching playing in and then keeping the records for the summer league in my hometown of Johnstown, Pa. Since 1946, our league has been the host for the All-American Amateur Baseball Association National Tournament (AAABA, pronounced Triple-A-B-A). Each summer, nearly 300 of the country’s best players 20…
Goin’ All Hanley Ramirez Marlins‘ shortstop Hanley Ramirez is probably the most famous example of a breakout in recent history. Considered a great hitting prospect while in the Red Sox minor leagues, Ramirez consistently underperformed expectations, and before the 2006 season the frustrated Sox traded him to Florida. After posting Major League Equivalent wOBAs (Tom…
The new Yankeee Stadium has received a lot of press this spring for the large number of homeruns hit there so far. On April 21, 2009, Buster Olney wrote at ESPN http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4080195 “The New York Yankees might have a serious problem on their hands: Beautiful new Yankee Stadium appears to be a veritable wind tunnel…
Bio: I’ve been a stats-geek since before Bill James started self-publishing Abstracts, and have been a Prospectus subscriber for about ten years now. Recently, I’ve written for Seamheads, StatSpeak and FanGraphs, and am waiting for the call up to the big leagues. My personal interests and writing have focused on statistical analysis, and I must…