We'd like to go to the Playoffs, that would be cool.
By Nicholas Zettel on November 1, 2012
In 2012, the National League was a robust replacement league, which made mid-level performances (and mid-IP performances) more valuable throughout the season. Overall, National League clubs employed 73 regular starters to work 100+ innings in 2012. Those regular starters averaged between 28 and 29 G… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 30, 2012
If any team in the National League epitomizes the league’s shift from stable pitching to replacement haven, it’s the 2011-2012 Milwaukee Brewers. Last year’s Brewers were one of a handful of NL rotations to use eight (or fewer) starting pitchers; this year’s Brewers rotation starred… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 25, 2012
Last night, Paul Hagen reported on MLB.com that MLB and MLBPA set the arbitration mark for the 2012-2013 off-season. In order to gain a compensatory pick for losing free agents, ballclubs must offer their pending free agents at least $13.3 million. Furthermore, in order to… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 23, 2012
During the League Championship Series, some interesting baseball news stories complemented the San Francisco Giants’ compelling performance in elimination games. While the Giants rode one of the best offenses in the National League to the National League pennant — once again, Pitching Need Not Win… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 18, 2012
One of the problems with ranking baseball players is that any stat you choose as the basis for those rankings is going to have some blind spots, biases, or shortcomings that influence the rankings. We saw this problem in the recent arguments about the AL… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 16, 2012
In 2012, the Milwaukee Brewers’ starting rotation featured one notably below average pitcher. While Chris Narveson was not effective in his extremely brief stint prior to (during?) his season-ending injury, it was another notorious southpaw that served as the Brewers’ sole below average arm. Randy… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 16, 2012
I use Fielding Independent Pitching stats rather frequently in my pitching analysis, which can be useful or terrible depending on how transparent I am about how I’m using the stat. So, here it is, all of my assumptions and prejudices about FIP. (1) I prefer… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 11, 2012
When I started my 2012 runs prevented calculations — calculating each NL starter’s expected, park-adjusted runs allowed against his actual runs allowed, I was shocked to learn that Bronson Arroyo had such a strong season for the Reds. After serving as a near-replacement pitcher in… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 9, 2012
The 2012 Divisional series between the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds seems a fitting, if ironic, match-up. After gaining the reputation of a hitting heavy club without much pitching in the unwelcoming confines of Great American Ballpark, the Reds won 97 games while scoring… [More]
By Nicholas Zettel on October 4, 2012
So, here we are. The 2012 MLB season officially closed yesterday, of course, not without some drama. Unfortunately for Brewers fans, our Milwaukee nine were far removed from the playoff-shaping drama yesterday. After 2011′s seemingly unstoppable club, after the replacement player and injuries saga, after… [More]
