A year ago, a horrible atrocity occurred which will never be forgotten. We at Prospectus Entertainment wish to extend our condolences to the families and friends of those who were lost on September 11, 2001. Our thoughts and encouragement go out to those people still gamely working their butts off to get better, and our gratitude goes to all who have given so generously of themselves to help others during this very difficult year.
With due respect, let’s get down to baseball…
This is a strange time for me personally. I find myself rooting for the Giants. This is a similar feeling, I suspect, to finding yourself cheering for influenza, spoiled shellfish, or for a victor in the California Gubernatorial Race.
A year ago, a horrible atrocity occurred which will never be forgotten. We at Prospectus Entertainment wish to extend our condolences to the families and friends of those who were lost on September 11, 2001. Our thoughts and encouragement go out to those people still gamely working their butts off to get better, and our…
Assorted thoughts on 2002 pitching
Certainty changes everything. Baseball’s exciting, if for no other reason, because the Devil Rays–an abjectly bad franchise–can beat the Yankees every couple of times they meet. Unlike in football, the outcome of a single contest between a defending champion and a perennial cellar-dweller is relatively uncertain, thus every game has the ability to provide a legitimate sense of drama. It’s the lack of certainty that makes it the greatest sport in the world.
Among the many responses I got to the Bert Blyleven Hall of Fame article on ESPN.com, one of the most interesting was from Dan Kelley of the Boston Metro and yankees-suck.com (a completely objective, non-partisan web site, I’m sure). While my article argued that Blyleven is by far the best pitcher not in the Hall, Dan raised the complementary issue of the best hitter not in the Hall.
Hi, everyone. I hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend.
Of course, I’m an A’s fan, so every weekend’s been good to me lately. And yet, even with the continuation of The Streak, I’m beginning to get the same feeling in the pit of my stomach that I did when Jeter made the flip to nail Giambi last year. Yeah, 19 in a row is tremendous, but if Oakland can do it, so can Anaheim or Seattle–and there’s still plenty of time. Sure, it’s better to be in first, but I’d feel considerably better if they could shred out another four or five wins immediately after this run ends.
“Now I’m kind of wondering what’s next. I went to sleep with `Karate Kid’ and woke up to Peter Gammons, which was a little frightening.” –Doug Mientkiewicz, Twins infielder, on falling asleep in front of his TV Thursday August 29th
[Just after midnight Eastern time Friday morning, the Prospectus staff starts discussing the coming agreement]
Derek Zumsteg: It appears that if the owners gave in right now, just said “sure, we’ll take your last offer”, they’d have won more in this negotiation than in any previous one since free agency. Why did the players move so far? Are they that afraid of the NLRB and implementation? Do they believe that if they give in this time, they’ll be able to win it back in four years when it’s apparent none of this did any good for competitive balance?
I’m baffled.
To wrap up our series on the merits of the four-man rotation, let’s look at some of the ancillary benefits of making the switch:
The four-man rotation simplifies a starter’s between-start schedule. Most teams have their starters throw on the side once between starts, but no one really knows whether it’s better to throw on the second day after a start, or the third. It’s not even clear whether starters should throw only once. In Atlanta, Leo Mazzone has had continued success doing things his way: he has his starters throw twice on the side between starts instead of once. (He does this because he feels it gives the starter the same increased sharpness that comes from working on three days’ rest.)
This week’s question comes from Sam Grossman, who writes:
What percentage of “quality starts” results in Ws, Ls and NDs for the starting pitcher? What about Ws and Ls for the team?
Has this been consistent across time (effect of bullpens, etc.)?