SB Nation User Blog: helen

Sabathia stats and projections

helen — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:38:26 -0000

There's been a lot made of Sabathia's record in his nine starts for the Brewers, and rightly so, what he's done is quite remarkable. However, after his *fifth* complete game, one in which he threw 130 pitches, I started to wonder about the possibility of over use. So, I went looking for some info on his career averages and compared them to what he's done so far with the Brewers, through the whole season, and what he can be projected to do the rest of the year.

Sabathia 's career averages:

Innings Pitched: 201
Pitches per season: 3209

So far this year he's thrown 195.1 innings (73 with Milwaulkee), and if Yost doesn't juggle the rotation he can be expected to make seven more starts. He's averaging 8.1 innings per start so if that holds he's gonna log another 58.1 innings for a total of 253.2 innings pitched. That's over 50 innings more than his season average, and 12.1 more than he pitched in 2007. (Not including the postseason.)

Sabathia has thrown 2948 pitches this season (1015 with the Brewers) and is averaging 112 pitches per game since coming to the NL. If he keeps up with that average he'll throw another 784 pitches (or close to it) and will end up with 3732 pitches for the 2008 season. That's more than 500 pitches above his career average, which is the equivalent of throwing five additional games this year over his average. (Last year he threw 3581 pitches, not including the postseason, a career high.)

He may be able to handle that workload, he hasn't had much of an injury history over the years. However, if he starts to show signs of tiring at the end of the year, I for one won't be surprised. And I'd hope that any team who is considering picking him up this offseason would take a look at how much he's been used the last two years.

Zambrano's Cy Young chances

helen — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 06:30:30 -0000

Well, tonight's events have greatly increased Z's chances for winning the Cy Young. Here's what happened:

Chris Carpenter took the loss tonight for St. Louis (vs. the Padres). His ERA went up to 3.09. Carpenter is now 15-8.

Brandon Webb got a no decision against the Giants. His ERA is 2.88. The interesting thing here is that Webb was taken out for the bottom of the ninth in a tie game after throwing 86 pitches. I was watching, and the announcers mentioned it was a cool, pleasant night. I have no idea why Melvin took Webb out, but sure enough Mo Alou homered to end the game in the bottom of the 9th. Webb is now 16-7.

Brad Penny has been mentioned, mostly on the basis of his W-L (16-9) but with an ERA over 4 he is not regarded as a front runner. I saw his last two starts and they weren't pretty. (One was the four back-to-back homers game.)

Z, for comparison's sake, is 16-6 with a 3.43 ERA.

Webb is, I think, the favorite to win the Cy Young. However, each man has one more start to go, and it's possible that these last starts will determine the Cy Young. Another factor may be strikeouts, but I'm not sure how highly the Cy Young voters value the different stats.

Poll

What are Zambrano's chances of winning the Cy Young?

Zero. It's all practice for next year.

7 votes

Small. But we're Cub fans, we live on hope and water.

24 votes

Good, but Webb's got to falter in his last start.

8 votes

Excellent. The voters know Z would have 20 wins with a decent team.

2 votes

It's a lock. The voters are Cub fans.

2 votes

43 votes | Poll has closed

Adam Greenberg success

helen — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 07:36:16 -0000

Adam Greenberg was picked up by the Dodgers' AA Jacksonville Suns last week. Since then he's done really well. This from 6-4-2:

"And, oh, yes, new recruit Adam Greenberg is hitting .400/.471/.667 after six games with the Suns, and has himself a little four-game hitting streak, including the homer he popped off today, his first all season long."

Courtesy of: www.6-4-2.blogspot.com

Odd happenings with Giants, Angels

helen — Wed, 17 May 2006 08:20:58 -0000

Last night two very strange things happened in baseball, neither of which had much to do with the Cubs. (Except that one of them involved the Astros losing.)

First, Astro's pitcher Russ Springer threw five consecutive pitches at Barry Bonds. He was warned after his first pitch, a slider, went behind Bonds. The next three were all very much inside, with Bonds having to get out of the way a time or two. One of the pitches hit the handle of Bonds' bat for a strike, and so on a 3-1 count, Springer plunked Bonds. Both Springer and Garner were ejected at this point. The weirdest part is that no one has offered an explaination why. I saw the at-bat while in a restaurant, so I didn't get any audio, but it seemed clear Springer was trying to hit Bonds. Anyone got any ideas as to why?

The next odd thing was far more lighthearted. In the bottom of the 6th inning at Angel Stadium, with two outs and Scott Schoenweiss (former Angel) pitching, Jose Molina stole second. Now, first thing, Jose is slow, I mean, slow for a catcher. Second thing, the guy behind the plate? Former Angel Benji Molina, Jose's brother. Everyone got a good laugh when it happened. Then we all got an even bigger laugh in the top of the 7th when, with two outs Benji (who I've thought for years is the slowest man in baseball, though Bonds gives him a "run" for his money this year) gets a hit and then steals second while Jose is behind the plate. Both Molina brothers scored after their steals, too.

So, as for the other odd thing, has anyone ever heard of two brothers stealing bases in the same game when their brother was behind the plate?

Nomar on DL

helen — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 22:44:54 -0000

Well, the inevitable has happened again:

http://tinyurl.com/o3v7b

"Garciaparra said he felt tightness in his right side during pregame warmups for Sunday's Freeway Series finale, felt it grab fouling off a pitch in his first at-bat and felt worse yet in his second and final at-bat. He was treated during and after the game, but discomfort persisted overnight and when he awoke Monday. Olmedo Saenz replaced him in the starting lineup for Monday's opener.

"I kept swinging and kept feeling it," said Garciaparra. "I was hoping it would feel better today, but it's still pretty sore."

Garciaparra said he has never had a similar injury. "

(That's a partial quote, full article at the link above.)

Possible for Right Field

helen — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 19:33:08 -0000

Well, I haven't heard his name mentioned, so I thought I'd point out that Tim Salmon will be looking for a job this spring. I'm hoping the Cubs are gonna be watching, he'll be right down the road in Tempe, and if healthy, could be a nice add.

Salmon's had bad knee problems the last couple of years, and had surgery last year to correct them. He's reportedly crushing the cover off off the ball now, but really there's no place within the Angel organization for him since Vlad is in right.

Salmon's a dying breed: a one team guy. He's been given a non-roster invite to Spring Training with the Angels as a thank you for a great career, but has no illusions about his chances of making the team. He knows that part of his spring will be determining if he can actually play, if his knees will hold.

Full story, LA Times: http://tinyurl.com/aarl3

So, I figure he might be a good pickup this spring, if he's healthy, for a one year contract. If a Cubs scout can spend a day or two a week in Tempe, they can get a good idea of how realistic him playing again might be.

The guy really can hit, though his range in right is suspect. A platoon with Jones might work, but my fear is that if we get another outfielder, it'll be Murton who sits.

Your thoughts?

Milb Cubs Organizational Review

helen — Fri, 07 Oct 2005 18:27:37 -0000

Minor League Baseball (.com) has started doing year end reviews of different organizations. The Cubs review is here. I haven't read it yet, I just thought folks would like to know before they went home and had to read it on their own time. ;-)

Okay, so since it won't accept this entry with less than three hundred characters, I'll type a bit more. Comments and your opinions on the article are welcome.

To the Veteran's Committee

helen — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 03:00:36 -0000

Well, at Al's urging, I'm posting this here. It's the email I sent to the Hall of Fame after the Veteran's Committee failed to admit anyone for the second election in a row.

Just fyi, one of the things my mom, a pretty amazing woman, taught me is that people take your concerns far more seriously if they intersect with their own. So I tried to put this in terms that will appeal to the desires of the folks who run the Hall. In doing so I assumed that they value at least one, if not both of the following things: 1) their image, and 2) customers coming through their doors.

And yeah, maybe it's harsh. But maybe they deserve harsh, y'know?

Subject: Veteran's Committee

Well, another Veteran's Committee election has come and gone, and again they've done nothing. Why is it they exist again? It's certainly no longer obvious.

I was under the impression the purpose of the committee was to address omissions and oversights by the writers. This doesn't seem to be what's happening. Instead, where the old Veteran's Committee was too lax in letting friends in, this one seems to be on a mission to maintain their own exclusivity. Sadly, the system is still broken, only in a different way than it was before. I urge you to fix it.

Personally, I believe the omission of Ron Santo, demonstrably one of the top 10 third basemen of all time, lowers the credibility of the Hall's claim to represent the best in the sport. I won't be visiting the Hall until he's in, and if this means that I die without seeing Cooperstown, well, perhaps my time is better spent in places that maintain their credibility with more care.

But, worse than the omission of Santo is the fact that the Veteran's Committee can be stopped in accomplishing it's goals by a few selfish members. Mike Schmidt should be publicly denounced for his comment that he won't ever vote for anyone else to be admitted. The lack of action by the committee clearly implies that they are more interested in maintaining their own images than with representing the best in the sport. Members who are truly interested in what's best for the Hall should step forward and take action to set up a new voting system whereby it is actually possible for the Veteran's Committee to achieve their stated purpose and let some deserving players in. The Hall itself is what suffers most here, as do those men who are members and who act with conscience, honor, and a sense of responsibility.

For what it's worth, my husband and I are the types of people who travel for baseball. As a family we've gone to minor league games in other states, made trips to Spring Training, and caught flights to Chicago just to be at Wrigley Field. We've talked longingly about a vacation that involves going to several major league parks. We spend significant amounts of money on baseball every year, and have helped to enchant others with baseball's magic, creating new fans, young and old. The idea of taking a trip to the Hall appeals to me, but not until I feel that it's gone back to being something more than a selfish old men's club.

I'll be talking to my baseball friends again all summer, and I'll urge them not to go to the Hall of Fame until it can regain some of the credibility it has lost in recent years.

Sincerely,
Helen Simmins-McMillin
Baseball fan, Orange County, California