SB Nation - Brian Sanches

Two Astros' starts, how the Marlins finish and Being clutch without swinging the bat

HighLeveragePerformer — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:00:13 -0000

The Astros' Mr. Clutch

And Bazardo makes three: With Mike Hampton's injured shoulder holding him back for at least one start, Yorman Bazardo will become the third former Round Rock starter to make his season debut for the Astros in 2009. He is following in the footsteps of Felipe Paulino and Bud Norris. Hampton is going to throw a bullpen today in hopes of returning to the rotation on Saturday.

For what it's worth, isn't this what we all pretty much expected from the Ortiz/Hampton experiment? That at some point, both veterans would step/be pushed aside in favor of younger arms? It was a marriage of convenience for Ed Wade and those two: the Astros would have two fairly cheap replacement level arms to toss out there on the cheap, and Ortiz/Hampton would be able to showcase their arms coming off serious injuries. At certain points it seemed like it could work, that they would at least give the Astros a puncher's chance of winning in the games that they started. At this point though, the experiment has been much more failure than success.

With the deadline to sign 2009 draftees having past, the Astros didn't have to sweat not having their highest draft choices go unsigned. First rounder Jiovanni Mier is no exception. A number of early signees have gotten off to solid professional starts, and Jio is no exception:

Houston has done a very good job of bungling previous drafts to horrific levels, but the organization seems to be making amends with its last two drafts. Mier was selected out of a California high school with the 21st pick of the draft and has performed better than expected. The raw shortstop is currently hitting .302/.406/.504 with nine steals and 15 extra base hits in 139 at-bats. Scouting reports suggest Mier has average to below-average power, but he’s already hit four homers in rookie ball. He’s also showing an encouraging walk rate of 13.1 BB%.

Heading into last week's series with the Marlins I was somewhat optimistic because while the Astros pitching staff doesn't strike out that many batters, the Marlins were a team with a reputation for being a fairly free swinging team. Obviously, they had no problem hitting against the Astros, and worked counts well. In the Miami Herald, I came across an article that detailed how well the Fish were hitting of late. Up and down their lineup, there are no holes. Everyone can hit for extra bases, and guys like Nick Johnson and Dan Uggla will work counts and draw walks.

The other strong suit of the Marlins that really struck me as impressive was their bullpen. They throw hard, limit the long ball and have a top 10 FIP as a group. Matt Lindstrom, their closer entering the season, has been hurt and/or ineffective for much of 2009, but step in closer Leo Nunez, along with unheralded pitchers like Kiko Calero, Brian Sanches and Dan Meyer have filled in the gaps. I wouldn't say that they are the favorites the win the Wild Card, but hot hitting and a strong bullpen can at least help the boat stay afloat until a fourth starter can find his way behind Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco and Chris Volstad.

Say what you will about the Astros, but at least they have a home all to themselves. I tried to find a picture of their "new field", but was unsuccessful. It looks at this point like the A's are a definite afterthought. You can almost picture JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden and the rest of the Radiers tapping their toes and pointing at their watches during A games. Then again, I guess if the Texans and Stros played at the same stadium, the same could be said...God Bless the Juice Box.

Last, there is at least one conflucence of sabermetric thought and traditional baseball thought. I present to you: clutch walking.

Brian Sanches doing it his way

craig — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:55:29 -0000

More photos » by Alan Diaz - AP

4 months ago: Florida Marlins' Brian Sanches pitches against the Houston Astros in the eighth inning of a baseball game in Miami, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009. The Marlins won 9-2. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

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Here is a nice article about Brian Sanches and I want to highlight a part of it but you really should read the whole thing.

(via Joe Capozzi)

In previous stints in the majors, he'd been obsessed with scouting reports and pitching big league hitters the way he was told to pitch them. One of the first things Marlins pitching coach Mark Wiley told him was that the scouting reports were just a suggestion and that he should pitch the way he was most comfortable.

Sanches promised himself he would do exactly that, and even though he was the last player cut in spring training, he believed this year would be different.

"I think it came down to not trusting my stuff," he said. "In the past, I attacked people with my fastballs in Triple A. But I'd get to the big leagues and try to throw curveballs and sliders. I vowed to come in this year and pitch the way I'd been successful in the minor leagues."

He has done that.

Sanches is "off the page", so to speak, and judging by the results, it is working quite nicely. I know there was some discussion of his scoreless record at JRS last night, it now stands at 24.1 innings, according to the article.

Brian Sanches closing in on mark

craig — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:44:20 -0000

Brian Sanches is going for a stadium record.

That he hasn't allowed a run in 21 1/3 innings at Land Shark Stadium doesn't have much, if anything, to do with the venue.

Brian Sanches has pitched well everywhere.

No reliever in Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! history has put together a longer single-season scoreless streak at home. The only starters that have done it are Dontrelle Willis, who had a franchise-best 31-inning run in 2003 and added a 23-inning stretch two seasons later, and A.J. Burnett, who tossed 26 scoreless in 2005.

He has the reliever record and is now going for the all-time one. If he does set it, and we all hope he does, he could get it, assuming everything works perfectly (yeah, like that is going to happen) by the end of August or early September. After that the Marlins start running out of home games.

Brian Sanches Native American

craig — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:58:24 -0000

I didn't know this, but really it doesn't surprise me. Brian Sanches is the only Native American in the National League.

The only American Indian in the National League has the lowest ERA in the majors.

Marlins reliever Brian Sanches is proud of his heritage and pleased with his success.

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Sanches is believed to be one of only three players in the majors classified as American Indian. The others are Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and the New York Yankees' Joba Chamberlain.

Sanches, who hails from Texas, is part of the small and obscure Caddo tribe.

He has dressed up in tribal costume for annual pow-wows and proudly checks the box on registration forms proclaiming him as American Indian.

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The Baseball Almanac lists 50 full-blooded American Indian players who have played in the majors over the years.

Actually the Caddo tribe is fairly well known in Texas. The only natural lake in the state is named after them. Yes, you read that right, Texas has only one non man made lake.

See, I'm useful for something, what that is remains in doubt.

If you have the time read the whole article, it is pretty interesting.

Intentional Walk to Navi

FreeZorilla — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:28:27 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

If not Jaso, more of this please

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Last night in one of the nuttiest managerial decisions I remember, the Marlins decided to intentionally walk the Rays 9 hitter Dioner Navarro with runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs in the bottom of the eight in a tied game to get to the leadoff hitter, right-handed BJ Upton. Upton coincidentally is the reigning American League Player of the Week. Granted they had fallen behind 3-0 on Navi, but it would not have taken much scouting to make the proper decision to challenge Navarro.

Including last night Navarro's splits on plate appearances with 3 balls on him are .133/.278/.167. These are numbers that would embarass Jeff Niemann at the plate. Heading into last night, Navi was 0-3 with a walk in plate appearances where the count reached 3-0.

This season, Navarro's splits batting left-handed vs right-handed pitching are .205/.234/.291. How about BJ Upton's numbers vs right handed-pitching? .264/.323/.418. Upton has OPSed .154 higher vs righties than lefties in 2009.

Well, what about the right-handed Brian Sanches on the mound? Is he a righty killer? Hardly. His career OPS allowed to right handed hitters is .877 vs .895 against lefties. Not to mention Sanches has a BB/9 of 5.6 for his career. Should they really put themselves in a position to have a wild pitcher walk in the go ahead run in the bottom of the 8th inning?

The baseball gods quickly struck with a vengence upon Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez as Upton promptly smacked a bases clearing double, blowing the game open. Let's hope the Marlins continue to fear Navi for the rest of the weekend.

In other Navi hacktastic news, it seems he has developed some real predictable tendencies at the plate. Going back to the beginning of the Mets series Navi has picked up his first strike of a plate appearance looking 13 times, swinging 4 times, and bunting foul twice. Beyond that Navi has accumulated 26 swinging strikes or fouls for strike 2 or beyond. His sole called strike for strike 2 or 3 in that time period was the first game of the Mets series. With that quick a trigger, its no wonder walking is hardly a possibility. Pitchers should be tossing a first pitch strike and straying from the zone for the rest of the at-bat.

Marlins relievers hitting for some extra cash

craig — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:49:37 -0000

The Marlins relief corp are having a competition with one another and they are putting their money on the table.

An overturned call by the official scorer on Wednesday night cost Brian Sanches a hit and some extra pocket change. Well, more like $175.

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It was a costly change. The Marlins relievers -- and there are seven of them -- have come up with a reward system for each time one of them gets a hit.

For a single, they've all agreed to pay $25 each. For a double, the price rises to $50. Triples are worth $75 and a home run is $100.

Unfortunately for Sanches, there is no reward for RBIs.

Yes, they have too much time on their hands.

Earned and Unearned Runs in the Fifth Inning Last Night

TheJay — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:00:19 -0000

The fifth inning of last night's game officially took 51 minutes. The Brewers' half included eleven batters and two pitching changes and lasted 25 minutes. The Marlins' half had only one pitching change and ten batters but lasted 26 minutes. Since there were errors, pitching changes, and runs galore in the Brewers' half, it's worth talking about.

One of the most confusing parts of scoring a baseball game is determining whether or not runs are earned. Just as confusing is determining which pitcher in a multiple-pitcher inning is responsible for each run. Since the top half of the fifth inning contained just about every possible weird situation relating to earned/unearned runs, let's work through it and figure out how the runs were assigned.

First, two basic rules: if a batter reaches base because of an error or stays on the bases because of an error and then scores a run, that run is unearned. Also, if runs score after error-free play would have resulted in three outs, those runs are unearned.

Now, the full play-by-play of the inning:

Brewers fifth.
West pitching.
McGehee grounded out, third baseman E.Bonifacio to first baseman Cantu.
R.Braun safe at first on fielding error by shortstop H.Ramirez.
Fielder singled to center, R.Braun to second.
Penn pitching.
M.Cameron walked, R.Braun to third, Fielder to second.
Hardy grounded into fielder's choice, third baseman E.Bonifacio to catcher J.Baker, Fielder to third, M.Cameron to second, Hardy to first, R.Braun out.
B.Hall walked, Fielder scored, M.Cameron to third, Hardy to second.
Kendall walked on a full count, M.Cameron scored, Hardy to third, B.Hall to second.
Looper walked, Hardy scored, B.Hall to third, Kendall to second.
Sanches pitching.
C.Hart safe at first on throwing error by third baseman E.Bonifacio, B.Hall scored, Kendall to third, Looper to second.
McGehee doubled to left, Kendall scored, Looper scored, C.Hart to third.
R.Braun struck out.

Whew, that's a screenful. Sean West entered the inning having given up three runs already in the game, all earned. His role in this inning is the easy one to analyze:

Brewers fifth.
West pitching.
McGehee grounded out, third baseman E.Bonifacio to first baseman Cantu.
R.Braun safe at first on fielding error by shortstop H.Ramirez.
Fielder singled to center, R.Braun to second.
Penn pitching.

McGehee's groundout is self-explanatory. Braun's at bat is trickier: he should have been the second out of the inning, but he reached base. Remember this for later. Fielder's single is also a simple ending for West's night. He departed the game having allowed two runners to reach base.

Now, when Penn entered the game, there should have been two outs. However, Rule 10.16(i) says

When pitchers are changed during an inning, the relief pitcher shall not have the benefit of previous chances for outs not accepted in determining earned runs.

So even if there should have been two outs, Penn does not get the benefit of the error for determining his earned and unearned runs. It's probably easiest to examine his outing play by play.

M.Cameron walked, R.Braun to third, Fielder to second.

Braun and Fielder remain West's responsibility.
Hardy grounded into fielder's choice, third baseman E.Bonifacio to catcher J.Baker, Fielder to third, M.Cameron to second, Hardy to first, R.Braun out.

This is a confusing play, especially if you see West was charged with two runs in the inning. Since he was responsible for only two batters and Braun was out at the plate, shouldn't he only be responsible for Fielder from this point forward? The answer is no. It's easiest to think of this situation as if Penn came in with no one on base. In that case, Hardy would have come up with Cameron on first. His fielder's choice would then have wiped out Cameron. It's not Penn's fault Braun was on third base to be put out on the fielder's choice. Ergo, Cameron takes Braun's place as West's responsibility.
B.Hall walked, Fielder scored, M.Cameron to third, Hardy to second.

The first of West's runners scores. It's tricky here, too, because of the two perspectives on how many outs there should be. From West's perspective, Hardy's fielder's choice should have ended the inning. Thus the run Fielder scores against him is unearned. From Penn's perspective, Hardy's FC was only the second out of the inning, so he's still on the hook for future earned runs.
Kendall walked on a full count, M.Cameron scored, Hardy to third, B.Hall to second.

Since Cameron took over Braun's role as West's responsibility, this is the second of West's two runs to score. Again, the inning should be over from his perspective, so this run against him is unearned.
Looper walked, Hardy scored, B.Hall to third, Kendall to second.

Hardy is the first of Penn's runners to come around and score. Since from his perspective there should only be two outs, this run is earned against him.

Penn was finally pulled after going to a 2-1 count on Corey Hart. If Hart had proceeded to walk, he would have counted against Penn (see Rule 10.16(h)). Mercifully, he didn't walk, keeping things a little simpler.

Brian Sanches entered the game with the bases loaded and all three runners Penn's responsibility. The same rule that applied to Penn applies to Sanches, namely that from his perspective there should only be two out. Let's break his outing down play by play as well.

Sanches pitching.
C.Hart safe at first on throwing error by third baseman E.Bonifacio, B.Hall scored, Kendall to third, Looper to second.

This error should have ended the inning from both Penn's point of view and Sanches' point of view. Thus Hall's run counts against Penn, but it is unearned. Hart is Sanches' responsibility.
McGehee doubled to left, Kendall scored, Looper scored, C.Hart to third.

Both Kendall and Looper reached because of Penn, so their runs are charged to him. Since the inning should have ended after Hart's at bat, neither run is earned. Both runners are Sanches' now, so close the book on Penn.
R.Braun struck out.

The inning finally ends.

The total damage? West is responsible for two runs, both unearned. Penn is responsible for four runs, only one of which is earned. Sanches gave up zero runs. In total, the team gave up six runs, only one of which is earned, right?

Wait! We're not finished yet. From the team's perspective, the inning should have ended with Hardy's fielder's choice, before any runs scored. So even though Penn got charged with an earned run in the inning, that run is marked down as something called a team unearned run. Marking it down as such avoids penalizing the team for putting in a relief pitcher. Remember how Penn entering the game "reset" the number of outs there should have been? If that was carried over to the team, it would effectively force the Marlins' pitching staff to record four would-be outs in the inning before runs became unearned. In short, team unearned runs undo for the team what Rule 10.16(i) does for a relief pitcher.

This can lead to some interesting "discrepancies" in team pitching totals. For example, examine Baseball-Reference's team pitching totals. Note that Cleveland has given up 284 earned runs this year. If you go to Cleveland's team page and sum up the earned runs for every pitcher, you get 284. Duh, right? Not quite. Take a journey over to MLB.com's team pitching totals. There you will note Cleveland as a team has given up 283 earned runs. The difference is one team unearned run on May 12. In that game Tony Sipp gave up an earned run, but it was a team unearned run. Since Baseball-Reference totals earned runs by summing up the earned runs of each pitcher, they end up off by one in this case, affecting the team's ERA. In this case MLB.com's total is correct and the Indians' team ERA is 0.02 lower than what Baseball-Reference shows. Baltimore is in the same situation.

Baseball's rules can be extremely complicated at times. I feel bad for anyone scoring the game last night.

Phillies vs Marlins: May 25-27

Matt Swartz — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:02:06 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

Chooch wants Marlin! (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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It was a month ago that I wrote that the Marlins, then 11-4, were a fluke and due for a regression. They were in first place and the Phillies were a measly 6-8. The Phillies swept the Marlins and are now 24-18, in first place themselves, and the Marlins have barely won any games at all since then and sit in fourth place at 20-25. This article will not have quite the detail of that article, as I'm in the Baseball Prospectus Idol competition and need to start preparing for next week's submission (don't forget to vote!), but I'll link to that old article here. A number of the players have changed, but I think I have the current rosters right. I've also updated the season stats.

Monday will pit Jamie Moyer against Chris Volstad. Volstad has been solid this year, with an ERA of 3.64. He has had significant BABIP luck (.244) but also been unlucky with homeruns (18% HR/Flyball), so overall he probably should be in the low 4's. That will be the toughest game of the series given Moyer's recent struggles. On Tuesday, the Phillies send Joe Blanton to the mound against Andrew Miller. Miller has been wild this year walking over 5 per 9, without striking out many more than 6 per 9. He's been lucky on homeruns per flyball, and will regress...hopefully against us! On Wednesday, the Phils sent Brett Myers out against Hayden Penn. Hayden Penn has only started one game this year (a disastrous start against the Diamondbacks five days ago), but with Nolasco sent to AAA and Anibal Sanchez on the disabled list, Penn will get another shot.

MATCH-UPS:
Monday, 7:05-- Jamie Moyer (L) vs Chris Volstad (R)
Tuesday, 7:05-- Joe Blanton (R) vs Andrew Miller (L)
Wednesday, 7:05-- Brett Myers (R) vs Hayden Penn (R)

See below the jump for detailed player statistics and splits, as well as updated batter/pitcher matchups.

MARLINS

LINE UP

1) 3B Emilio Bonifacio (S): .258/.296/.311

projection average (proj): .260/.315/.340
projected BB/PA (bb): 6.5%
projected K/AB (k): 21%
career gb% (gb): 56%
career infield flies/flyball (iff): 5%
career infield hits/groundball (ifh): 14%
batting average on balls in play tendencies (babip): He gets a lot of infield hits, so the infield has to play in, so his groundballs and line drives find their way through more. He also avoids infield popups. So he should be able to hit around .330 on balls in play.
swing/contact/zone facts (s/c/z): about average all around
righty/lefty (r/l): thus far he has 16 K's and 1 BB against LHP as RHB.
home/away (h/a): thus far very poor on the road: 5.0 k/bb instead of 2.0.
pull/opposite (p/o): spreads ball around very well from both sides
anything else (other): none

2) LF Jeremy Hermida (L): .271/.383/.387

proj: .270/.355/.445
bb: 11%
k: 25%
gb: 45%
iff: 9%
ifh: 6%
babip: projected pretty high but doesn't seem to profile as such at all
s/c/z: poor eye but average contact
r/l: .793 vs .741; 2.2 vs 3.0 k/bb
h/a: .729/.828: better on road
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: none

3) SS Hanley Ramirez (R):

proj: .310/.385/.530
bb: 11%
k: 18%
gb: 43%
iff: 11%
ifh: 10%
babip: excellent babip on groundballs with speed, excellent babip on line drives since he has power and hits deep liners
s/c/z: good eye and above average contact
r/l: .886/.975; 1.9 vs 1.3 k/bb
h/a: .924/.890
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: better against groundballers and relatively weaker against power pitchers than others

4) 1B Jorge Cantu (R): .276/.335/.487

proj: .275/.325/.455
bb: 6.5%
k: 19%
gb: 39%
iff: 9%
ifh: 5%
babip: average overall
s/c/z: hacks a lot, makes average contact
r/l: not much of a split
h/a: much better at home, especially in terms of power and babip
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: none

5) C John Baker (L): .284/.371/.509

proj: .265/.335/.390
bb: 10%
k: 23%
gb: 50%
iff: 8%
ifh: 4%
babip: projected to be pretty high (.320ish) but he doesn't seem to profile as a high babip guy to me
s/c/z: swings rarely and makes good contact, okay eye
r/l: 1.3 vs 2.5 k/bb, thus far has made weak contact vs lhp
h/a: .908/.763
p/o: pull hitter
other: none

6) 2B Dan Uggla (R): .205/.328/.424

proj: .260/.340/.475
bb: 10%
k: 26%
gb: 37%
iff: 8%
ifh: 9%
babip: pretty good on groundballs, projected to be average
s/c/z: pretty good eye but poor contact
r/l: .854/.761
h/a: .830/.833 but slight improvement in k/bb
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: none

7) RF Cody Ross (R): .239/.292/.426

proj: .265/.330/.485
bb: 8%
k: 24%
gb: 37%
iff: 10%
ifh: 4%
babip: average overall
s/c/z: swings a lot, but doesn't make good contact
r/l: .729/.941; 3.7 vs 2.2 k/bb
h/a: not real splits
p/o: pull hitter
other: none

8) Chris Coghlan (L): .191/.291/.255

proj: .260/.330/.380
bb: 8.5%
k: 15%
gb: 55%
iff: 30% (in first 10 flyballs)
ifh: 6%
babip: high groundball rate but high popout rate; projected around average
s/c/z: not a great eye, average contact
r/l: not much of a split in minors
h/a: not enough info
p/o: seems to be a slight pull hitter but tough to know
other: none

BENCH

C Ronny Paulino (R): .232/.348/.357

proj: .265/.325/.405
bb: 8%
k: 19%
gb: 47%
iff: 6%
ifh: 8%
babip: average overall
s/c/z: good eye and somewhat good contact
r/l: .643/.928 career. 2.9 vs 1.2 k/bb
h/a: .736/.698
p/o: hits to opposite field slightly more
other: struggles against power pitchers

1B Ross Gload (L): .279/.375/.377

proj: .280/.325/.405
bb: 6%
k: 12%
gb: 56%
iff: 10%
ifh: 6%
babip:
s/c/z: good eye and good contact but swings a lot, and he sees lots of strikes.
r/l: does as well against lefties in his experiences against him, but he doesn't bat against them rarely and the lack of splits is probably selection bias as he only gets to face weaker lefties
h/a: .775/.713 but similar k/bb numbers
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: none

IF Wes Helms (R): .212/.276/.250

proj: .255/.320/.400
bb: 7%
k: 24%
gb: 40%
iff: 6%
ifh: 6%
babip: a little above average as he avoids infield flies
s/c/z: okay eye poor contact
r/l: 4.0 vs 2.1 k/bb; .712/.815 ops
h/a: .776/.717 ops
p/o: slight pull hitter but spreads ball around well
other: none

C Brett Hayes (R): 1 for 1 (single)

proj: .230/.280/.350
bb: 5%
k: 21%
gb: about 40% in minors
iff: low 20% range in minors
ifh: ?
babip: seems to hit the ball hard but make poor contact and pop out a lot; probably below average
s/c/z: ?
r/l: not enough info
h/a: not enough info
p/o: not enough info
other: none

DISABLED LIST: UTL Alfredo Amezaga (S): .217/.261/.261

proj: .260/.320/.355
bb: 7%
k: 15%
gb: 49%
iff: 14%
ifh: 8%
babip: speedy but doesn't make really solid contact; average overall
s/c/z: average eye but above average contact
r/l: .692 vs .519; 1.8 vs 3.7 k/bb
h/a: not much of a split
p/o: definite pull hitter as righty; slight pull hitter as lefty
other: none

SENT TO AAA: OF Brett Carroll (R): .143/.217/.143

proj: .235/.290/.400
bb: 6.5%
k: 26%
gb: 42%
iff: 6%
ifh: 14%
babip: not much info to tell; projected below average
s/c/z: free swinger who makes very bad contact
r/l: not enough info
h/a: not enough info
p/o: not enough info
other: none

SENT TO AAA: CF Cameron Maybin (R): .202/.280/.310

proj: .275/.345/.430
bb: 9%
k: 30%
gb: 53%
iff: 5%
ifh: 9%
babip: very speedy so probably above average but not as above average as the projections suggest
s/c/z: average eye, poor contact
r/l: not enough info
h/a: not enough info
p/o: not enough info
other: none

ROTATION

MONDAY OPPONENT: Chris Volstad (R): 3.64 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 7.45 K/9, 1.5 HR/9, 4.64 FIP, 47% GB

proj avg: 4.80 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, 5.5 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 53%
pitches: 67% fb, 24% cb, 9% ch
r/l: not much of a split
h/a: somewhat of a reverse split but not much info

Volstad vs Phillies:

Rollins: 4/9, 1 2B, 2 BB, 0 K
Howard: 2/9, 1 HR, 1 BB (IBB), 1 K
Utley: 2/7, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP
Victorino: 1/10, 1 3B, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 1/8, 0 BB, 4 K
Ruiz: 2/4, 1 BB, 0 K
Dobbs: 0/4, 0 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 0/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Feliz: 0/3, 0 BB, 0 K

TUESDAY STARTER: Andrew Miller (L): 4.94 ERA, 5.3 BB/9, 6.1 K/9, 0.4 HR/9, 4.12 FIP, 50% GB

proj avg: 4.60 ERA, 4.5 BB/9, 7.5 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 48%
pitches: 75% fb, 16% sl, 5% cb, 4% ch, 0.1% ct
r/l: 1.3 vs 1.5 k/bb; .841 vs .699 ops though-- probably selection bias as managers avoided putting lefties against him
h/a: .792 vs .823

Miller vs Phillies:

Utley: 3/9, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 SF, 1 HBP
Rollins: 1/11, 2 BB, 0 K
Howard: 1/10, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 SF
Victorino: 5/11, 1 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 1 K
Ibanez: 0/6, 1 BB, 1 K
Ruiz: 0/4, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP
Feliz: 1/4, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 0/3, 1 BB, 3 K
Coste: 1/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Stairs: 1 BB

WEDNESDAY STARTER: Hayden Penn (R): 6.97 ERA, 7.0 BB/9, 11.3 K/9, 0.9 HR/9, 4.50 FIP, 52.5% GB

proj avg: 5.20 ERA, 3.7 BB/9, 5.5 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 42%
pitches: 67% fb, 17% ch, 15% cb
r/l: 0.8 vs 0.9 k/bb; 1.135 vs .825 ops (151 vs 172 pa)
h/a: 1.1 vs 0.7 k/bb; 1.003 vs .948 ops (127 vs 196 pa)

Penn vs. Phillies:

Howard: 1/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Ibanez: 1/1, 1 BB (IBB), 0 K
Werth: 1/2, 1 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Coste: 1 HBP
Dobbs: 1 BB
Feliz: 1/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Utley: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Victorino: 1/1, 0 BB, 0 K

NOT FACING US: Josh Johnson (R): 2.67 ERA, 2.1 BB/9, 7.9 K/9, 0.5 HR/9, 2.92 FIP, 55% GB

proj avg: 4.00 ERA, 3.4 BB/9, 7.6 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 67% fb, 24% sl, 9% ch
r/l: 2.7 vs 1.7 k/bb; .666 vs .746 ops
h/a: 2.4 vs 1.8 k/bb; .734 vs .676 ops though

Johnson vs. Phillies:

Rollins: 5/20, 1 2B, 1 BB, 2 K
Howard: 7/19, 1 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 3 K
Utley: 5/16, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 SF, 0 XBH
Victorino: 3/16, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
Feliz: 3/12, 1 2B, 0 BB, 6 K
Coste: 4/8, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Dobbs: 2/4, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Werth: 1/4, 2 BB, 3 K
Ruiz: 0/4, 1 BB, 1 K
Ibanez: 1/3, 0 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 0/2

NOT FACING US: Sean West (L): 3.60 ERA, 7.2 BB/9, 9.0 K/9, 0.0 HR/9, 3.55 FIP, 40% GB

proj avg: 6.00 ERA, 6.6 BB/9, 6.6 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 40-50% in minors, 40% higher up
pitches: ?
r/l: seems to have pretty deep split in minors but tough to know
h/a: not enough info

West: has not faced any Phillies

BULLPEN

CL Matt Lindstrom (R): 6.50 ERA, 7.0 BB/9, 9.0 K/9, 1.0 HR/9, 5.09 FIP, 47% GB

proj avg: 3.90 ERA, 3.6 BB/9, 7.5 K/9, 0.6 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 77% fb, 19% sl, 3% ch, 1% cb
r/l: 2.4 vs 1.9 k/bb; .621 vs .714 ops
h/a: .623 vs .704 ops; 3.2 vs 1.5 k/bb

Lindstrom vs Phillies:

Victorino: 2/7, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Rollins: 1/4, 1 BB, 1 K
Werth: 2/5, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Coste: 0/3, 1 BB, 0 K
Dobbs: 1/4, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Howard: 0/4, 0 BB, 1 K
Utley: 2/3, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Feliz: 1/1, 1 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Ibanez: 1 BB
Stairs: 1/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Leo Nunez (R): 3.63 ERA, 4.8 BB/9, 7.25 K/9, 1.2 HR/9, 4.89 FIP, 44% GB

proj avg: 4.00 ERA, 3.0 BB/9, 6.8 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 37%
pitches: 61% fb, 20% ch, 19% sl
r/l: 3.4 vs 1.3 k/bb; .727 vs .888 ops
h/a: 2.0 vs 2.3 k/bb; .731 vs .868 ops

Nunez vs Phillies:

Stairs: 1/1, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP
Bruntlett: 1/1, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Dobbs: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Feliz: 1/1, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Ibanez: 1/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Rollins: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Utley: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Victorino: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 1 BB

Kiko Calero (R): 2.42 ERA, 4.8 BB/9, 11.3 K/9, 0.0 HR/9, 2.39 FIP, 25% GB

proj avg: 4.40 ERA, 5.0 BB/9, 9.5 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 35%
pitches: 66% fb, 29% sl, 5% ch
r/l: 3.4 vs 1.8 k/bb; .597 vs .791 ops
h/a: not much of a split

Calero vs Phillies:

Feliz: 3/6, 0 BB, 0 K
Ibanez: 1/2, 1 2B, 2 BB (2 IBB), 1 K
Dobbs: 1/2, 1 BB (IBB), 0 K
Coste: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Stairs: 1/1, 1 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 1 SF
Rollins: 1 SF
Victorino: 1/1, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Dan Meyer (L): 2.79 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 10.7 K/9, 1.4 HR/9, 3.72 FIP, 23% GB

proj avg: 5.00 ERA, 4.0 BB/9, 7.0 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 26%
pitches: 64% fb, 17% sl, 19% ch
r/l: 1.2 vs 1.8 k/bb; .913 vs .985 ops (selection bias)
h/a: 1.0 vs 1.9 k/bb; .964 vs .908

Meyer vs Phillies:

Ibanez: 1/5, 1 3B, 0 BB, 2 K
Stairs: 1/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Howard: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Rollins: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Utley: 1 BB
Victorino: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Burke Badenhop (R): 5.75 ERA, 3.5 BB/9 ,8.4 K/9, 0.9 HR/9, 3.74 FIP, 50% GB

proj avg: 4.90 ERA, 3.5 BB/9, 5.6 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 55%
pitches: 71% fb, 15% sl, 14% ch
r/l: 4.8 k/bb vs rhb, 0.7 k/bb vs lhb; also had huge splits in minors
h/a: not enough info

Badenhop vs. Phillies:

Coste: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Feliz: 1/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Bruntlett: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Howard: 1/1, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Ibanez: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Utley: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Victorino: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K

Brian Sanches (R): 0.00 ERA, 1.5 BB/9, 6.0 K/9, 0.0 HR/9, 2.81 FIP, 37.5% GB

proj avg: 4.70 ERA, 3.7 BB/9, 8.2 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 35%
pitches: 49% fb, 22% sl, 18% sf, 6% ch, 5% cb
r/l: 1.8 vs 1.1 k/bb; .896 ops both ways
h/a: 1.1 vs 2.1 k/bb; 1.004 vs .745 ops

Sanches vs Phillies:

Bruntlett: 1 BB

Christopher Leroux (R): no major league statistics

proj avg: 5.70 ERA, 4.9 BB/9, 6.8 K/9, 1.6 HR/9
gb: 50% about in minors but just in low minors
pitches: ?
r/l: seems better against righties actually
h/a: not enough info

Leroux: has not faced any Phillies

DISABLED LIST: Renyel Pinto (L): 2.53 ERA, 5.1 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 0.8 HR/9, 4.32 FIP, 30% GB

proj avg: 4.20 ERA, 5.3 BB/9, 8.5 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 42%
pitches: 61% fb, 32% ch, 8% sl
r/l: 1.3 vs 1.9 k/bb; .680 vs .744 ops (selection bias again)
h/a: .675 vs .734 ops; 1.3 vs 1.9 k/bb

Pinto vs Phillies:

Howard: 2/12, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 7 K
Utley: 5/8, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 1 K, 3 HBP
Victorino: 2/9, 1 HR, 0 BB, 3 K
Rollins: 1/5, 0 BB, 1 K
Coste: 2/3, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Ibanez: 1/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Ruiz: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Bruntlett: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 1 BB

DISABLED LIST: Anibal Sanchez (R): 5.79 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 6.9 K/9, 1.65 HR/9, 5.38 FIP, 39% GB

proj avg: 4.30 ERA, 4.0 BB/9, 7.2 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 43%
pitches: 57% fb, 19% sl, 16% cb, 8% ch, 1% ct
r/l: .653 vs .780 ops; 2.2 vs 1.1 k/bb
h/a: .668 vs .782; 1.9 vs 1.1 k/bb

Sanchez vs Phillies:

Utley: 5/13, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 3 K
Victorino: 3/12, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K
Howard: 4/8, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 BB (1 IBB), 1 K
Rollins: 4/10, 1 BB, 2 K
Ruiz: 3/6, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 K
Dobbs: 1/5, 0 BB, 0 K
Werth: 0/4, 0 BB, 3 K
Coste: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP
Bruntlett: 1/2, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Stairs: 1 BB

DEMOTED TO AAA: Ricky Nolasco (R): 9.07 ERA, 2.7 BB/9, 7. K/9, 1.65 HR/9, 4.80 ERA, 32% GB

proj avg: 4.10 ERA, 2.2 BB/9, 7.5 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 39%
pitches: 5% fb, 27% cb, 16% sl, 5% sf, 1% ch
r/l: 5.1 vs 2.2 k/bb! .682 vs .811 ops
h/a: 3.9 vs 2.8 k/bb but .682 vs .811 ops

Nolasco vs Phillies:

Rollins: 5/19, 2 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 2 K
Utley: 6/17, 1 2B, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP
Howard: 3/13, 3 HR, 6 BB (4 IBB), 2 K
Victorino: 3/16, 2 2B, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 Sac
Coste: 3/9, 2 2B, 0 BB, 2 K
Ruiz: 1/7, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
Dobbs: 2/6, 0 BB, 3 K
Feliz: 0/6, 0 BB, 3 K
Werth: 1/4, 0 BB, 2 K

PHILLIES

LINE UP

1) SS Jimmy Rollins (S): .233/.280/.344

projection average (proj): .285/.350/.460
projected BB/PA (bb): 8%
projected K/AB (k): 11%
career gb% (gb): 42%
career infield flies/flyball (iff): 10%
career infield hits/groundball (ifh): 5%
batting average on balls in play tendencies (babip): about average overall, though a little bit high popup rate so slightly below average
swing/contact/zone facts (s/c/z): good eye, pretty selective, but very high contact rate so low walk rate
righty/lefty (r/l): 1.7 vs 1.3 k/bb, mostly because of higher k-rate as lhb. otherwise similar on contact
home/away (h/a): 1.5 vs 1.7 k/bb; .805 vs .739 ops
pull/opposite (p/o): definite pull hitter
anything else (other): stole 47 bases in 50 attempts last year.

2) 2B Chase Utley (L): .297/.434/.580

proj: .295/.380/.525
bb: 9.5%
k: 18%
gb: 37%
iff: 10%
ifh: 6%
babip: distinctly above average historically and for projections too; seemingly strong power leads to high line drive babip rate and reasonably high groundball babip especially for pull hitting lefty; high on flyballs despite high infield fly rate since he hits deep flyballs
s/c/z: pretty good eye, somewhat selective, somewhat high contact rate
r/l: not significant-- only 1.7 vs 2.0 k/bb; .919 vs .865 ops
h/a: similar k/bb home & away; better hr at home-- probably park factors; higher babip at home too
p/o: pull hitter
other: much better against power pitchers relative to other hitters

3) LF Raul Ibanez (L): .352/.412/.739

proj: .285/.350/.480
bb: 9%
k: 17%
gb: 42%
iff: 11%
ifh: 5%
babip: above average, probably because he spreads the ball around pretty well for a power hitter; much better babip with men on-- probably hooks ball in hole well or maybe he was shifted against more so beforehand
s/c/z: definitely a good eye though it's getting worse, slightly above average contact
r/l: .850 vs .733; 1.5 vs 2.8 k/bb
h/a: better k/bb (1.6 vs 1.9) but worse power probably park factors, and probably likely to be better at home
p/o: slight pull hitter but not much for a power hitter
other: none

4) 1B Ryan Howard (L): .256/.333/.512

proj: .275/.375/580
bb: 14%
k: 33%
gb: 40%
iff: 2%
ifh: 4%
babip: low on groundballs over time as he pulls the vast majority of them; very very high on flyballs because he almost never pops out in the infield at all and many of his flyballs are very deep. also since so few of his flyballs stay in the park (only 2/3 or so), a higher percentage of his balls in play are line drives-- which he does well on like many power hitters-- his low contact rate means he sometimes make poor contact though. probably above average overall
s/c/z: swings a lot especially for someone who doesn't see many strikes. however, he is pretty good at distinguishing pulls from strikes despite the consensus on him. he makes terrible contact overall though
r/l: 1.064 vs .786 ops: say it with me "that means he's good against righties, not bad against lefties!" in fact, he's the best hitter against righties in baseball right now probably. his k/bb vs lhp is 3.7 vs 1.6 vs rhp. he has a lot of power against lefties however, but a lower babip. i don't have split data on pull% vs lhp/rhp but observationally i'm pretty sure that's the difference in his babip: .338 vs .309.
h/a: much higher babip on road. very similar hr numbers. 2.0 vs 3.2 k/bb.
p/o: pull hitter, especially on groundballs-- hits more homeruns the opposite way though
other: struggles mightily against power pitchers and groundball pitchers, dominate flyball pitchers (since he almost never pops out, and has 10.3% hr rate) and smashes finesse pitchers (11.8% hr rate); he also does much better on babip with runners on base as defenders can't shift against him-- especially with runners in scoring position

5) RF Jayson Werth (R): .262/.358/.490

proj: .270/.360/.460
bb: 12.5%
k: 29%
gb: 38%
iff: 8%
ifh: 8%
babip: high on groundballs due to high infield hit rate, high on line drives due to power, and hits pretty deep flyballs too; has been historically probably higher than it should be since he's faced more lhp than normal rhb do; overall still seems to be very above average
s/c/z: very selective and pretty good eye; somewhat low contact rate
r/l: .762 vs .919 ops; 2.4 vs 2.0 k/bb; hr rate of 6.7% vs 2.9%
h/a: not much of a split at all
p/o: spreads ball around well for power hitter, but still a pull hitter
other: stole 20 bases in 21 attempts last year

6) CF Shane Victorino (S): .269/.313/.429

proj: .285/.345/.430
bb: 7.5%
k: 13%
gb: 46%
iff: 15%
ifh: 8%
babip: slightly above average due to high babip on groundballs-- partly because infield plays in for him and he spreads the ball around well; not that high due to high infield fly rate
s/c/z: pretety bad eye but high contact rate
r/l: much more power righthanded (1.6% to 3.8% HR rate), but much better k/bb as lefty: 1.65 vs 1.88; higher babip lefty also (.316 vs .286)
h/a: far fewer walks on road but nearly exactly the same strikeout rate, same power, same babip
p/o: pull hitter both ways
other: stole 36 of 47 bases last year

7) 3B Pedro Feliz (R): .295/.367/.410

proj: .250/.300/.420
bb: 6%
k: 15.5%
gb: 44%
iff: 15%
ifh: 5%
babip: very low-- pops up a lot, hits groundballs predictably to left side and is slow so they can play shaded over and deep; not all that much power so not terrific on line drives either, makes a lot of weak contact as he isn't good at making contact so he chops a lot of balls
s/c/z: high swing rate and not terribly good at distinguishing balls from strikes. swung significantly less in 2008, but it was as much of a decrease in balls as strikes, makes average contact
r/l: 3.3 vs 2.3 k/bb; .708 vs .755 ops, more babip and a little more power agaisnt lefties
h/a: much higher k rate on road, similar bb rate; more power on road, higher babip at home. likely not much difference (.725 vs .716 overall ops)
p/o: definite pull hitter
other: defensive numbers dipped last year, had offseason surgery for back, perhaps these are related

8) Carlos Ruiz (R): .302/.421/.444

proj: .255/.335/.390
bb: 10%
k: 14%
gb: 50% (but rose in 2008 to 54% from 46%)
iff: 9.5%
ifh: 4%
babip: was extraordinarily low in 2008, but that seems to be rather flukey. his high groundball rate and solid contact rate and pitch selection indicate he should be a good babip guy, but he does very poorly on groundball as he chops the ball a lot
s/c/z: very good eye and excellent contact skill, extremely patient
r/l: bizarre reverse split despite 0.5 k/bb vs lhp and 1.2 vs rhp; impossibly low .204 babip against lhp, probably flukey and probably much better vs lhp in reality
h/a: similar k/bb, worse babip but higher power at home (park factors)
p/o: slight pull hitter
other: better against power pitchers, currently on DL with strained rib cage, probably longer than 15 days as originally thought

BENCH

C Chris Coste (R): .250/.319/.393

proj: .265/.315/.405
bb: 5.5%
k: 17.5%
gb: 40%
iff: 10%
ifh: 6%
babip: slightly below average, seemingly due to poor eye and swinging and hitting bad pitches
s/c/z: high swing rate, pretty poor eye, average contact
r/l: .747 vs .855; same k/bb rate, much better babip against lhp, similar power but slightly more vs lhp
h/a: .886 vs .679; 5.4% vs 1.5% hr rate
p/o: pull hitter
other: struggles with power pitchers somewhat

IF/OF Eric Bruntlett (R): .118/.179/.235

proj: .240/.325/.335
bb: 10%
k: 18%
gb: 41%
iff: 14%
ifh: 5%
babip: high popup rate leads to low babip, but not that low; also doesn't do all that well on line drives due to lack of power
s/c/z: somewhat above average eye and doesn't swing much; makes very good contact, sees a lot of strikes
r/l: .592 vs .764 ops; 2.5 vs 1.2 k/bb; 5.7% vs 8.8% xbh/ab-- he's actually average if not above average against lhp; he just is terrible against rhb. he should be used as a counterswitch to loogy use against lefty pinch hitters
h/a: more power at home and more walks at home; similar strikeout rate and babip
p/o: opposite field hitter
other: none

IF Greg Dobbs (L): .143/.250/.229

proj: .285/.335/.445
bb: 7%
k: 17%
gb: 36%
iff: 13.5%
ifh: 3%
babip: has been high but probably should not be projected as high-- success derives from impossibly high line drive babip which doesn't typically happen for non-extreme power hitters. given his popup rate, he probably isn't a .320 babip guy and there isn't a .285 hitter
s/c/z: poor eye but very high swing rate; average contact rate
r/l: .761 vs .579 ops despite impossible .481 babip against lhp. in reality, he strikes out in 48% of at-bats against lhp. he should never see them. absolutely no power against lefties also.
h/a: virtually no split at all
p/o: pull hitter
other: much better against finesse pitchers

OF Matt Stairs (L): .286/.474/.536

proj: .255/.340/.440
bb: 11%
k: 22%
gb: 42%
iff: 11.5%
ifh: 5%
babip: average all around
s/c/z: very good eye and slightly below average contact
r/l: .862 vs .748; much more power against rhp; 1.4 vs 2.1 k/bb
h/a: not much of a split at all
p/o: slight pull hitter but not much for a power hitter
other: use stairs in case of emergency

OF John Mayberry (R): .250/.250/.750

proj: .235/.290/.415
bb: 6.5%
k: 27%
iff: around 15-20% in minors
ifh: ?
babip: hits ball hard but pops up a lot; probably a bit average but tough to know; projected below average
s/c/z: not enough info
r/l: batter against lefties, particularly at making contact, in minors
h/a: not enough info
p/o: not enough info
other: none

ROTATION

MONDAY STARTER: Jamie Moyer (L): 7.62 ERA, 3.05 BB/9, 4.6 K/9, 2.6 HR/9, 7.21 FIP, 35% GB

proj avg: 4.80 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 5.5 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 39%
pitches: 41% fb, 30% ct, 24% ch, 6% cb
r/l: virtually no split but that seems to be selection as he sees 24% lefties only compared with 32% league average for lhp
h/a: 2.3 vs 1.9 k/bb; not much difference on contact; slightly better babip at home but not more so than the average starter gets

Moyer vs. Marlins:

Ramirez: 12/34, 1 3B, 4 HR, 3 BB (1 IBB), 3 K
Uggla: 7/32, 2 2B, 1 BB, 12 K
Ross: 6/29, 1 HR, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP
Cantu: 6/21, 3 BB, 2 K
Hermida: 3/16, 1 HR, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP
Helms: 4/10, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 BB, 2 K
Baker: 3/7, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP
Paulino: 4/8, 0 BB, 1 K

TUESDAY STARTER: Joe Blanton (R): 7.11 ERA, 3.45 BB/9, 7.5 K/9, 1.8 HR/9, 5.40 FIP, 40% GB

proj avg: 4.25 ERA, 2.5 BB/9, 5.8 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 45%
pitches: 56% fb, 16% ch, 15% sl, 12% cb
r/l: 2.3 vs 1.8 k/bb; .750 vs .719 ops
h/a: 2.2 vs 2.0 k/bb; .698 vs .776 ops; much worse babip away (.313 vs .282), more power surrendered on road
other: extraordinarily good against leadoff hitters, especially the first hitter of games

Blanton vs Marlins:

Cantu: 3/13, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K
Bonifacio: 2/7, 2 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SF
Baker: 1/3, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 SF
Uggla: 0/3, 1 BB, 1 K
Gload: 2/3, 0 BB, 0 K
Hermida: 0/3, 0 BB, 0 K
Ramirez: 1/2, 1 BB, 0 K
Ross: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K

WEDNESDAY STARTER: Brett Myers (R): 4.34 ERA, 2.95 BB/9, 6.7 K/9, 2.3 HR/9, 6.22 FIP, 48% GB

proj avg: 4.15 ERA, 3.1 BB/9, 8.0 K/9, 1.3 HR/9
gb: 47%
pitches: 48% fb, 23% cb, 18% sl, 9% ch, 1% ct, 0.2% sf
r/l: .788 vs .747 ops despite 3.1 vs 1.95 k/bb; main issue is much higher HR rate vs rhb, slightly higher babip vs them as well; does not seem to be selection bias
h/a: .738 vs .800 ops; 2.7 vs 2.15 k/bb; slightly higher HR rate at home, but that is probably park factors as he surrenders far more doubles on road
other: HR rate is bizarre-- very few pitchers have the HR/Flyball rate he does. My personal suspicion is that statistics that don't exhibit much persistence despite what common sense suggests only do not exhibit persistence specifically because players make adjustments. If you throw fastball after fastball on the outside corner on every 1-2 count, the hitters will respond by hitting singles to the opposite field over and over again and your BABIP will go up. However, pitchers learn to mix up their pitches and BABIP ends up lacking persistence due to the constant game theoretical reaction that pitchers and hitters take. For Myers, his bizarre refusal to use his curveball early in the game leaves him especially vulernable to RHB who know it isn't coming. A little game theoretical mixed strategy would probably allow him to finally live up to his peripherals which suggest a low HR rate and borderline ace stuff.

Myers vs. Marlins:

Uggla: 12/33, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 2 BB, 8 K
Ramirez: 10/28, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 Sac
Hermida: 3/17, 3 BB, 7 K
Ross: 2/13, 1 2B, 1 BB, 3 K
Cantu: 5/10, 2 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Bonifacio: 2/6, 2 BB, 3 K
Helms: 0/3, 1 BB, 2 K
Baker: 2/6, 1 BB, 1 K
Gload: 1/4, 2 BB, 0 K
Paulino: 0/3, 0 BB, 0 K

NOT STARTING THIS WEEKEND: Cole Hamels (L): 4.68 ERA, 1.9 BB/9, 9.1 K/9, 1.9 HR/9, 4.52 FIP, 38% GB

proj avg: 3.45 ERA, 2.3 BB/9, 8.4 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
gb: 40%
pitches: 55% fb, 32% ch, 14% cb
r/l: .680 vs .748, but same 3.6 k/bb both ways; slightly more power vs lhb-- this is probably selection bias as managers withhold all but the best lefties against him (explaining 20% of hitters faced are lefties only)
h/a: 3.85 vs 3.4 k/bb; .676 vs .709 ops-- less of a difference due to higher HR rate at home
other: much higher k-rate at night: 25% vs 20%, which is statistically significant. ERA difference (4.71 vs 3.01 exaggerated by babip difference), as HR rate and XBH rate very similar. most likely he strikes out more at night.

Hamels vs Marlins:

Ramirez: 9/24, 6 2B, 3 BB, 7 K
Uggla: 3/23, 1 2B, 2 BB, 6 K, 1 SF
Helms: 6/18, 2 2B, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 SF
Ross: 4/19, 1 2B, 2 HR, 1 BB, 3 K
Hermida: 4/19, 1 HR, 0 BB, 4 K
Cantu: 3/13, 3 HR, 1 BB, 1 K
Baker: 0/3, 0 BB, 2 K

J.A. Happ (L): 2.60 ERA, 2.9 BB/9, 6.8 K/9, 0.65 HR/9, 3.65 FIP, 38% GB

proj avg: 4.40 ERA, 3.8 BB/9, 7.7 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 29% in majors thus far; 42% in AAA in 2008
pitches: 64% fb, 18% ch, 14% sl, 2% ct, 2% cb
r/l: 1.7 vs 3.0 k/bb in majors thus far; 2.7 vs 3.5 k/bb in AAA in 2008
h/a: not enough info

Happ vs Marlins:

Cantu: 1/4, 0 BB, 1 K
Hermida: 3/4, 0 BB, 0 K
Ross: 2/4, 1 HR, 0 BB, 1 K
Uggla: 1/4, 0 BB, 1 K
Ramirez: 0/1, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 SF
Baker: 0/1, 1 BB, 1 K
Bonifacio: 0/2, 0 BB, 2 K
Helms: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Paulino: 1/1, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K

BULLPEN

CL Brad Lidge (R): 9.15 ERA, 5.5 BB/9, 9.6 K/9, 2.75 HR/9, 6.96 FIP, 36% GB

proj avg: 3.50 ERA, 4.1 BB?9, 11.0 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 41% (though this went up to 46% with increased slider use in 2008)
pitches: 56% sl, 43% fb, 0.4% ch in 2008 (historically 54% fb, 42% sl)
r/l: 3.6 vs 2.8 k/bb; .601 vs .686 ops (tough to tell if that tendency became more or less extreme in 2008 due to limited sample size)
h/a: 3.6 vs 2.9 k/bb; .666 vs .614 ops though due to higher babip away
other: HR/Flyball plummeted in 2008-- probably unsustainably low and his ERA should rise; still rumors of him tipping pitches explain the HR/Flyball spike in 2006 & 2007

Lidge vs Marlins:

Helms: 3/10, 1 2B, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 SF
Paulino: 2/9, 0 BB, 3 K
Cantu: 1/5, 1 2B, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
Ramirez: 1/5, 1 BB, 3 K
Uggla: 1/4, 2 BB, 1 K
Hermida: 2/3, 2 BB, 1 K
Baker: 1/3, 0 BB, 2 K
Bonifacio: 1/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Ross: 0/3, 0 BB, 2 K

Ryan Madson (R): 2.95 ERA, 2.5 BB/9, 9.7 K/9, 0.0 HR/9, 1.83 FIP, 39% GB

proj avg: 3.80 ERA, 2.9 BB/9, 7.2 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 48%
pitches: 58% fb, 24% ch, 15% ct, 4% cb
r/l: 3.65 vs 1.8 k/bb; .714 vs .786 ops
h/a: no major split at all

Madson vs Marlins:

Ramirez: 5/17, 2 2B, 1 BB, 3 K
Uggla: 4/17, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 6 K
Cantu: 2/7, 0 BB, 1 K
Helms: 0/6, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 SF
Ross: 1/5, 1 BB, 3 K
Hermida: 0/4, 2 BB (1 IBB), 2 K
Baker: 0/4, 0 BB, 1 K
Gload: 1/3, 1 2B, 0 BB, 2 K
Bonifacio: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Paulino: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Scott Eyre (L): 3.48 ERA, 7.0 BB/9, 6.1 K/9, 1.7 HR/9, 6.92 FIP, 38% GB

proj avg: 4.20 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 8.8 K/9, 0.9 HR/9
gb: 41%
pitches: 59% fb, 35% sl, 6% ch, 0.2% cb
r/l: 1.5 vs 1.9 k/bb; .815 vs .720 ops
h/a: not much of a split

Eyre vs Marlins:

Hermida: 0/3, 0 BB, 3 K
Bonifacio: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Helms: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Paulino: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Uggla: 1/1, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 SF
Baker: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Ramirez: 1 BB

Jack Taschner (L): 3.66 ERA, 6.4 BB/9, 4.6 K/9, 0.9 HR/9, 5.89 FIP, 35.5% GB

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 4.1 BB/9, 8.0 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 35%
pitches: 57% fb, 30% sl, 13% ch
r/l: 1.45 vs 2.2 k/bb; .754 vs .747-- large selection bias where he faces only very good lefties and not very good righties
h/a: .698 vs .797 ops; 2.1 vs 1.5 k/bb

Taschner vs Marlins:

Cantu: 2/3, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Ross: 0/2, 1 BB, 0 K
Baker: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Gload: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Hermida: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Paulino: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Uggla: 1 BB

Chad Durbin (R): 4.32 ERA, 4.7 BB/9, 7.9 K/9, 1.1 HR/9, 4.99 FIP, 33% GB

proj avg: 4.10 ERA, 3.5 BB/9, 6.5 K/9, 1.0 HR/9
gb: 41%
pitches: 47% fb, 38% sl, 8% ch, 7% cb, 1% ct
r/l: virtually no split
h/a: somewhat of a reverse split but probably just noise

Durbin vs Marlins:

Ramirez: 2/5, 1 2B, 1 BB (IBB), 1 K
Baker: 1/5, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Ross: 1/5, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Uggla: 0/4, 1 BB, 1 K
Gload: 3/4, 0 BB, 0 K
Cantu: 1/3, 0 BB, 1 K
Hermida: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Bonifacio: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Clay Condrey (R): 2.19 ERA, 3.3 BB/9, 5.8 K/9, 1.1 HR/9, 4.53 FIP, 50% GB

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 2.8 BB/9, 4.9 K/9, 0.8 HR/9
gb: 50%
pitches: 59% fb, 17% ct, 15% sl, 9% ch
r/l: 2.1 vs 1.3 k/bb; .761 vs .842 ops
h/a: .703 vs .898 ops; 2.2 vs 1.3 k/bb

Condrey vs Marlins:

Ramirez: 2/9, 1 BB, 0 K
Uggla: 0/8, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP
Hermida: 1/6, 2 BB, 0 K
Cantu: 3/5, 1 2B, 0 BB, 0 K
Helms: 2/4, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Ross: 1/4, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Baker: 1/1, 1 BB, 0 K
Bonifacio: 0/2, 0 BB, 1 K
Paulino: 1/2, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Gload: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Chan Ho Park (R): 6.88 ERA, 4.8 BB/9, 5.6 K/9, 1.3 HR/9, 5.61 FIP, 43% GB

proj avg: 4.50 ERA, 3.5 BB/9, 7.3 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
gb: 45%
pitches: 51% FB, 29% SL, 12% cb, 5% ch, 4% ct
r/l: .666 vs .820 ops; 2.6 vs 1.3 k/bb; .280 vs .301 babip; 2.6% vs 3.6% HR rate-- much better against righties
h/a: 2.0 vs 1.7 k/bb; .708 vs .780 ops

Park vs. Marlins:

Ramirez: 5/7, 1 HR, 2 BB, 0 K
Uggla: 1/6, 1 HR, 2 BB, 1 K
Hermida: 0/6, 0 BB, 1 K
Baker: 4/5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Cantu: 3/5, 1 2B, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Bonifacio: 0/4, 0 BB, 2 K
Paulino: 1/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Ross: 0/5, 0 BB, 2 K

SUSPENDED: J.C. Romero (L)

proj avg: 4.00 ERA, 5.5 BB?9, 7.5 K/9, 0.7 HR/9
gb: 55%
pitches: 58% fb, 25% sl, 17% ch, 0.1% cb
r/l: 1.2 vs 2.2 k/bb; .814 vs. 591 ops
h/a: 1.6 vs 1.3 k/bb; .697 vs .768 ops

Romero vs Marlins:

Helms: 2/6, 0 BB, 0 K
Uggla: 1/1, 1 2B, 2 BB, 0 K
Cantu: 0/1, 1 BB, 0 K
Hermida: 0/2, 0 BB, 0 K
Ross: 1/2, 1 HR, 0 BB, 0 K
Baker: 0/1, 0 BB, 1 K
Bonifacio: 1 BB
Gload: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Paulino: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K
Ramirez: 0/1, 0 BB, 0 K

Marlins Transactions

craig — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:21:26 -0000

In case you missed them over the weekend there have been some changes to roster.

With Alfredo Amezaga tweaking his knee Saturday, the Marlins decided to play it careful, so they have called up Alejandro De Aza from AAA and sent down reliever Carlos Martinez.

The drops them back to 12 pitchers.

Fredi Gonzalez said this way they can get by without Amezaga four a couple games. Consensus is that he will be OK and won't need to go on the DL, but they didn't want to be forced to use him with a short bench.

In order to make room for De Aza on the 40-man roster, VandenHurk was placed on the 60-day DL.

In case you are wondering, why Carroll wasn't recalled, a player who is optioned can't be recalled for 10 days.

In other news:

John Koronka was DFA'd after Sunday's game. I'm guessing he will have no trouble clearing waivers.

The Marlins selected the contract of right-hander Brian Sanches from Triple-A New Orleans, filling the pitching staff vacancy created when the they designated John Koronka for assignment following Sunday's game.

Manager Fredi Gonzalez has said either Burke Badenhop or Hayden Penn will take Koronka's rotation slot and face the Rays Friday. The guess here is Penn gets the call. He's been throwing better than Badenhop of late and has shown consistent glimpses of swing and miss stuff.

As for Sanches, he is deserving of the promotion. In 16 games for the Zephyrs, he went 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA, four walks and 22 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings. Sanches has been the closer there, saving four games and holding opponents to a .206 average.

If you look at Sanches' major league stats, he tends to walk a few too many hitters but he did do a decent job of striking some out.

We will see what transpires. But whatever happens, it can't be worse than Koronka having a spot in the rotation.

Brian Sanches' stats.