Lazy Saturday Comparisons

TheJay — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 16:28:52 -0000

Have you ever read a baseball story about a pitcher that says something along the lines of when he's on the mound, he turns opposing hitters into [MLB hitter]? It's a fun way to bring up the pitcher's opposing batting average, OBP, and so on in an easily understandable context. Of course, that does not mean those comparisons are problem free. After all, major league hitters are not the same. Some are more patient than others, some drive the ball a long way, some slap hits all over the field, and some are in the majors for their gloves. No matter what you do, you can't turn Jason Kendall or Craig Counsell into Adam Dunn.

But even though that's the case, there's nothing stopping us from using our Saturday to make those sorts of comparisons. I thought it would be fun to look at the Brewers pitching staff and see who they turn opposing hitters into from the mound. In order to keep things recent and not penalize/reward guys like Jeff Suppan for what he did ten years ago, I have used major league stats from 2006-present both for pitchers and hitters (sorry, Mr. Kendall). In the case of Braden Looper, I used his numbers as a starter. For Seth McClung, I used his time in Milwaukee. Feel free to disagree, but I think that's fair. I've given a couple options for each pitcher so you can take your pick.

Brewers Pitcher	Opposing Hitter
Yovani Gallardo (.226/.298/.364)	Jeremy Reed (.253/.294/.369) Brian Anderson (.227/.289/.370)
Jeff Suppan (.292/.355/.461)	James Loney (.300/.353/.461) Miguel Tejada (.309/.353/.459) Fernando Tatis (.282/.354/.461)
Manny Parra (.281/.361/.425)	Fred Lewis (.279/.356/.424) Michael Young (.306/.354/.435)
Braden Looper (.274/.324/.440)	Garret Anderson (.286/.324/.442) Chad Tracy (.267/.328/.435)
Dave Bush (.259/.312/.447)	Jay Bruce (.240/.309/.457) Eric Byrnes (.261/.318/.446)
Seth McClung (.234/.337/.363)	Juan Pierre (.296/.337/.370) Scott Podsednik (.264/.328/.360)
Todd Coffey (.294/.355/.448)	Mike Fontenot (.279/.356/.446) Lyle Overbay (.278/.355/.453)
Carlos Villanueva (.241/.310/.417)	Kevin Mench (.265/.312/.418) Ivan Rodriguez (.283/.312/.418) Tony Clark (.226/.315/.415)
Mark DiFelice (.202/.244/.350)	Jason Smith (.205/.244/.352)
Mitch Stetter (.155/.308/.270)	Abraham Nunez (.220/.309/.276)
Trevor Hoffman (.210/.252/.332)	Jason Smith (.205/.244/.352) Adam Melhuse (.210/.267/.321)

If you want to take Carlos Villanueva's time as a starter out of the equation, his comparisons are akin to Yovani Gallardo's. I realize Kevin Mench isn't currently in the majors, but a) it's Kevin Mench and b) I didn't know Ivan Rodriguez hits like Kevin Mench these days.

Jason Smith shows up twice, mainly because it's really hard to stay in the majors for even 250 plate appearances if you make that many outs. I had to use Abraham Nunez, who last had more than a cup of coffee in the majors in 2007, for much the same reason. He played in the Brewers system last year, though, and he's kind of a modern standard for light-hitting infielders so I think it works.

Oh, and today's White Sox pitcher, Jose Contreras? His .277/.335/.424 since 2006 lines up nicely with Billy Butler (.282/.335/.423) and Gary Matthews Jr. (.271/.337/.425).

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:01:29 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

St. Louis Cardinals' Adam Wainwright (50) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run for the fourth consecutive season.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while I finish the last chapter of Help Wanted.

Actually, I probably won't have much time for video games today, as the first pitch for this afternoon's game is already about two hours away. Ryan Braun likely won't be in the starting lineup: X-rays came back negative on Braun's wrist last night (h/t FanShot), but it's still a quick turnaround from a night game to a day game, and resting him today would give him two full days off, with the off day tomorrow. Paul Noonan of Brewed Sports might not have to spend the rest of his life harassing Adam Wainwright after all.

J.J. Hardy, however, is expected to play. Today's game is listed in the top spot in Baseball Musings' Games of the Day.

Adam Wainwright shut the Brewers down last night, and has been lights-out lately. Fungoes credits a change in release point for his sudden dominance. Wainwright's home run last night also gives him one in each of the last four seasons.

Along with the good news, though, the Cardinals got some bad news yesterday: Troy Glaus is being given a 50-50 shot at returning to the lineup in 2009, and Kyle Lohse is expected to be scratched from Friday's start against the Giants.

This week's schedule has been pretty rough for the Brewers, with a road night game on Sunday followed by a day game at home Monday, then a night game last night and another day game today. One would think that would be enough, but Mat Gamel also found time to visit a grade school in Racine before yesterday's game.

Maybe he was campaigning for write-in votes. Ryan Braun and J.J. Hardy are the leading vote-getters at their respective positions in All-Star balloting. In fact, no Brewer position player is lower than second.

Looking back for a moment: The Brewers are 3-1 in 1-0 games this season, but Monday's was the only of the three games to go to extra innings. It was only the seventh 1-0, extra inning victory in franchise history, and just the second since 1989.

For the first time in several days, I don't have a note on Jake Peavy today. I do, however, have Two-Fisted Slopper's argument for Erik Bedard.

I have a handful of draft notes today:

FanGraphs reviews the Brewers' last three drafts and looks ahead to June. They list second base as an organizational need, despite the fact that Cutter Dykstra and Brett Lawrie have both been moved to the position in the last three months. (h/t FanShot)
Andy Seiler has the Brewers selecting Chad Jenkins, a RHP from Kennesaw State, in the first round along with Tommy Joseph, a HS catcher from Arizona, and Brody Colvin, a HS pitcher from Louisiana, in the supplemental round.
Jim Gantner will be the Brewer representative at the draft.

Somewhat related, here are today's minor league notes:

Wily Peralta has been named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week following a week that saw him go two starts without allowing a run with a 17:2 K:BB ratio.
Mike Jones, a former #1 pick who's become a bit of an afterthought, pitched six scoreless innings in his first start in Huntsville and hit 94 on the gun.
Chris Duffy accepted his assignment to Nashville and should join the team today.

Also, Adam McCalvy is looking for mailbag questions, if you have one in mind.

Around the league:

Angels: Placed Scot Shields on the DL with patella tendinitis.
Marlins: Signed Clay Hensley and Gary Glover to minor league deals.
Mets: Placed Jose Reyes (calf tendinitis) and Ryan Church (hamstring) on the DL.
Nationals: Designated Daniel Cabrera for assignment and must add Mike MacDougal to their roster today or lose him to free agency.
Orioles: Placed outfielder Lou Montanez on the DL with torn ligaments in his thumb.
Rays: Jason Bartlett has been placed on the DL with an ankle injury.

Jason Bartlett's DL trip in Tampa opened the door for former Brewer Joe Dillon, who has been called up by the Rays. On top of Dillon (and Gary Glover), here are some other former Brewers in transactions, courtesy of Baseball America:

Former Nashville Sound Abraham Nunez signed with the D-Backs.
The Reds acquired Justin Lehr from the Phillies for future considerations.
The Indians called up Greg Aquino.
The Twins brought Ben Hendrickson off the minor league DL. Hendrickson threw one inning in his 2009 debut, and has now pitched for four teams in the last six seasons in AAA, posting a 3.88 ERA in the process.

Also, Eric Gagne has signed with Quebec in the Can-Am League. Apparently he'll be a starter there, but if he's healthy he probably won't be there long.

Speaking of players who could be available: Ken Rosenthal says the Rockies could be looking to sell, but the Pirates are probably not.

Tomorrow will be a big day in Baltimore, as #1 prospect Matt Wieters is expected to make his major league debut. In a note that's probably not unrelated, the Orioles drew just 10,130 fans to Camden Yards last night, the smallest crowd in that ballpark's history.

The Nationals have the #1 pick in June's draft and have a wide variety of needs, but perhaps they should look for someone who can spell. Roosevelt has two o's and one s.

I'm not sure what's worse, a "Teddy Rossevelt" bobblehead or a Scratch and Sniff Cap.

Oh, and happy birthday to John Jaha, who turns 43 today.

Drink up.

SB Nation - Abraham Nunez

Lazy Saturday Comparisons

Wednesday's Frosty Mug