Welcome to the Derek Jeter Report…I mean, Under The Knife. I want to start today by thanking everyone for stepping up and helping with the Velocity Project. Heck, one great reader, Josh Plotkin, even sent in some great pictures! We’ve already had several reports come in–including one on Mark Prior today that made me giggle–and several more people have weighed in on potential problems. Yes, there’s a lot of error in the sourcing, but it we get enough of a sample, we should be able to come up with something workable. If the data from this phase works, I’ll find a way to get people at games with radar guns. Since today’s UTK is almost all about pitchers breaking down, even a small step toward figuring things out–or even figuring out that velocity doesn’t work–gets us closer to true knowledge.
Joe Sheehan spots two underdogs making early noise, grabs Ronnie Belliard, Jay Payton and Endy Chavez at bargain-basement prices in roto, and starts saber-rattling for a new cause with Erubiel Durazo justly freed.