Overthinking It

Overthinking It: Gio Gonzalez and Max Scherzer are Striking Out Everyone

Two starting pitchers are putting up elite strikeout rates this year, without adding new pitches or heaps of velocity. This is how.

Overthinking It: How Big Papi Got His Bat Back

by Ben Lindbergh 5/18

After looking like he was on his last legs in 2009 and again in 2010, David Ortiz has returned to near-peak form. How did he do it?

Overthinking It: Brett Lawrie Was Framed

by Ben Lindbergh 5/16

Brett Lawrie was right to be upset about the two strikes that got him ejected on Tuesday, but framer extraordinaire Jose Molina had as much to do with the calls as umpire Bill Miller.

Overthinking It: The Rangers’ Secret Weapon

by Ben Lindbergh 5/14

He's no Josh Hamilton, but Rangers outfielder Craig Gentry might be better than you think he is.

Overthinking It: A Fond Farewell to the Fake to Third

by Ben Lindbergh 5/11

A proposed rule change could eliminate the fake-to-third, throw-to-first pickoff attempt as soon as next season, which makes this a good time to answer the age-old question: Does it ever work?

Overthinking It: Finding the Perfect Imbalance

by Ben Lindbergh 5/10

Being weak on one side of the field hasn't doomed teams like the Nationals and Braves.

Overthinking It: Bryce Harper Takes the High Road

by Ben Lindbergh 5/07

Bryce Harper has already impressed with his play, but on Sunday, he made a similarly strong statement about his much-maligned makeup.

Overthinking It: Spoiling the Bunch

by Ben Lindbergh 5/03

Albert Pujols says he's not worried about his homerless streak because "home runs come in bunches." But is there any truth to the cliche?

Overthinking It: Five Interesting Things from Yesterday’s Games

by Ben Lindbergh 5/02

Dee Gordon hits his first home run, two bench players push the limits of bad batting, Chris Davis keeps hitting, Clay Hensley exposes the unearned run, Derek Jeter hits cleanly in three of his five at-bats (or does he?), and more.

Overthinking It: The April Anomalies That Matter

by Ben Lindbergh 4/27

Some of this year's great starts are tied to dramatically changed approaches.

Overthinking It: The No-Hitters That Almost Weren’t

by Ben Lindbergh 4/24

Philip Humber's perfect game ended with a controversial call, but close plays to preserve no-hitters are the norm, not the exception.

Overthinking It: Washington’s Gas Policy

by Ben Lindbergh 4/21

The Nationals rotation throws harder than any staff in baseball has over the past few seasons, and that just might win them the NL East.

Overthinking It: Man in the Box

by Ben Lindbergh 4/16

Ben reports from the ballpark on Saturday's Yankees-Angels game and explains how and why he stopped worrying about working for a team and learned to love writing about baseball.

Overthinking It: The Best Pitcher in Baseball?

by Ben Lindbergh 4/11

Josh Johnson might actually be better than Verlander and Halladay, but it won't matter if he's hurt again.

Overthinking It: Seven Things You Didn’t See Last Season

by Ben Lindbergh 4/10

Events that have happened already this season after not happening for all of 2011 help explain why we're still hooked on baseball.

Overthinking It: It Could Happen

by Ben Lindbergh 4/04

For baseball's underdogs, why not here, why not now?