Slip slidering away
Bill Chuck - Managing Editor | Friday, September 13, 2013 at 4:28PM
Pitchers who love the slider
| P | |
|---|---|
| Yu Darvish (TEX) | 1169 |
| Madison Bumgarner (SF) | 1108 |
| Ervin Santana (KC) | 1143 |
| Bud Norris (BAL) | 995 |
| Ryan Dempster (BOS) | 810 |
| Ricky Nolasco (LAD) | 832 |
| Kyle Lohse (MIL) | 747 |
| Mat Latos (CIN) | 726 |
| Kevin Correia (MIN) | 715 |
| Matt Cain (SF) | 748 |
Throwing it doesn't mean throwing it well
Half of the top 10 have a higher BAA| P | AVG | OBP | SLUG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yu Darvish (TEX) | 1169 | .151 | .212 | .236 |
| Madison Bumgarner (SF) | 1108 | .215 | .282 | .321 |
| Ervin Santana (KC) | 1143 | .170 | .204 | .307 |
| Bud Norris (BAL) | 995 | .259 | .295 | .378 |
| Ryan Dempster (BOS) | 810 | .275 | .357 | .468 |
| Ricky Nolasco (LAD) | 832 | .181 | .208 | .295 |
| Kyle Lohse (MIL) | 747 | .263 | .297 | .410 |
| Mat Latos (CIN) | 726 | .182 | .207 | .268 |
| Kevin Correia (MIN) | 715 | .267 | .306 | .462 |
| Matt Cain (SF) | 748 | .194 | .234 | .325 |
| P | PA | AVG | OBP | SLUG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hisashi Iwakuma (SEA) | 505 | 131 | .288 | .313 | .520 |
| Dylan Axelrod (CWS) | 515 | 137 | .288 | .350 | .512 |
| Ryan Dempster (BOS) | 810 | 252 | .275 | .357 | .468 |
| Homer Bailey (CIN) | 464 | 131 | .273 | .290 | .414 |
| Lance Lynn (STL) | 444 | 134 | .273 | .331 | .430 |
| Dillon Gee (NYM) | 495 | 139 | .272 | .288 | .412 |
| Jason Hammel (BAL) | 429 | 121 | .268 | .322 | .491 |
| Kevin Correia (MIN) | 715 | 225 | .267 | .306 | .462 |
| Kyle Lohse (MIL) | 747 | 231 | .263 | .297 | .410 |
| Jason Marquis (SD) | 578 | 193 | .260 | .344 | .414 |
Then there are slider aficionados
These pitchers are having very good seasons and you can see how the slider has helped them| P | PA | AVG | OBP | SLUG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Justin Masterson (CLE) | 792 | 220 | .110 | .183 | .180 |
| Patrick Corbin (ARI) | 666 | 217 | .121 | .190 | .201 |
| Jhoulys Chacin (COL) | 486 | 166 | .123 | .170 | .221 |
| Chris Sale (CWS) | 865 | 217 | .140 | .207 | .235 |
| Max Scherzer (DET) | 546 | 141 | .141 | .177 | .200 |
| Sergio Romo (SF) | 418 | 123 | .144 | .171 | .220 |
| Francisco Liriano (PIT) | 786 | 239 | .150 | .232 | .215 |
| Yu Darvish (TEX) | 1169 | 358 | .151 | .212 | .236 |
| Tyson Ross (SD) | 541 | 179 | .152 | .223 | .177 |
| Adam Ottavino (COL) | 570 | 162 | .158 | .217 | .226 |
No report on Sliders would be complete without the Indians mascot
Bill Chuck Files, Pitchers, Slider, pitching | tagged Hisashi Iwakuma Patrick Corbin, Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Dempster, Yu Darvish, sliders
Red Sox getting less than expected from Ryan Dempster
Bill Chuck - Managing Editor | Friday, August 2, 2013 at 1:48PM
From 2009-13, Ryan Dempster has had one half of one good season.
That's it.
Which is why, Red Sox Nation should not have expected very much from him.
Yet even with these low expectations, they are getting less.
| ERA | WHIP | W | L | IP/G | GS | AVG | SLUG | OBP | HR | HR/9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-13 | 4.02 | 1.346 | 54 | 51 | 6.16 | 149 | .254 | .412 | .325 | 110 | 1.08 |
| 2013 | 4.54 | 1.496 | 6 | 8 | 5.77 | 22 | .259 | .441 | .343 | 21 | 1.49 |
There are only 10 starters with an ERA over 4.50 and WHIP over 1.450
| ERA | WHIP | HR | HR/9 | GS | IP | IP/G | AVG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Dempster | 4.54 | 1.496 | 21 | 1.49 | 22 | 127.0 | 5.77 | .259 |
| Edinson Volquez | 5.56 | 1.591 | 11 | 0.78 | 23 | 126.0 | 5.49 | .281 |
| Joe Blanton | 5.52 | 1.563 | 24 | 1.82 | 20 | 119.0 | 5.41 | .313 |
| Scott Diamond | 5.52 | 1.551 | 16 | 1.34 | 20 | 107.1 | 5.38 | .311 |
| Lucas Harrell | 5.24 | 1.645 | 16 | 1.20 | 20 | 120.0 | 5.01 | .281 |
| Jason Hammel | 5.20 | 1.512 | 20 | 1.46 | 21 | 123.0 | 5.86 | .290 |
| Barry Zito | 5.09 | 1.680 | 12 | 0.97 | 21 | 111.0 | 5.30 | .313 |
| Yovani Gallardo | 4.91 | 1.481 | 13 | 0.91 | 23 | 128.1 | 5.58 | .276 |
| Joe Saunders | 4.65 | 1.496 | 16 | 1.11 | 22 | 129.1 | 5.89 | .298 |
| Wily Peralta | 4.57 | 1.462 | 13 | 0.90 | 23 | 130.0 | 5.65 | .271 |
Obviously, this is not great company.
But it wasn't like this last season.
Ryan Dempster started off great for the Cubs last season
Dempster was a Cubs hero last season.
- Batters were hitting .210 against him.
- His ERA was 2.25 and his WHIP was 1.038.
- In 104 innings he allowed nine homers, a rate of 0.78 HR/9.
He was so good that at the trade deadline on July 31, 2012, Dempster was traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Texas Rangers for Christian Villanueva (minors) and Kyle Hendricks (minors).
Briefly, the 23-year old Hendricks this season pitching for Double A Tennessee is 10-3 with a 1.85 ERA and a 1.053 WHIP and Villanueva, playing on the same team, has 14 homers.
The Cubs couldn't ask for anything more.
Unfortunately, the Rangers could
Dempster was 7-3 with Texas after the deal, but there is a reason why more and more people are ignoring W-L records as a measure of pitching efficacy.
Dempster had a 5.09 ERA and a 1.435 WHIP.
So when the Red Sox offered the now 36-year old pitcher a two-year, $26.5M contract, I'm sure the Rangers responded with a hearty handshake.
When he signed with Boston last December, Boston Globe national baseball writer Nick Cafardo wrote:
One National League GM cautioned about Dempster’s ability to handle strong AL lineups. He had a 11.20 ERA in three starts against the Angels last season, and he was hit hard by the Yankees and A’s.
“If he’s your fifth starter you can be a little bit more picky who he pitches against,” said the GM. “Obviously, Texas didn’t re-sign him feeling he was more suited for the National League. But if you’re careful and pick your spots, he’ll do a great job. He’s a competitor.”
Cafardo's source was correct.
Since the deal
- Batters are hitting .265 against him.
- His ERA is 4.73 and his WHIP is 1.474.
- In 196 innings he has allowed 31 homers, a rate of 1.42 HR/9.
No magic
On a team that has been producing miracle games, there has been no magic for the Red Sox from Dempster.
So as the Red Sox wait for the prodigal son Clay Buchholz to return. And hope that Jon Lester has regained his mojo. And hope that John Lackey has something left in the tank (in his last three starts he has a 5.49 ERA, a 1.475 WHIP, and a .333 BAA). And hope that Felix Doubront continues to thrive (in his last eight starts he's allowed as many as three runs only once). And hope that Jake Peavy has something left in the tank.
In the meantime, Dempster remains in the rotation, probably a littled dinged, but then again we're getting to the time of the season where many pitchers may be hurting.
But in all honesty what you see is what you get from Dempster.
And probably a little less.
Pitchers | tagged Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Ryan Dempster
One and D'oh!
Bill Chuck - Managing Editor | Saturday, June 8, 2013 at 3:06PM
Al Michaels has always been one of my favorite announcers, and while many of you may think of him as a football announcer or asking the immortal question, "Do you believe in miracles?", I always loved his work in baseball.
Like many announcers, the Brooklyn-born Michaels has certain tells in their speech as to their background. With Michaels, I would always wait for the first pitch of an at bat to a batter to hear Michaels channel his inner not-yet-created Homer Simpson state, "The count is one and d'oh."
Here's a look at that first pitch ball.
The 1-0 pitch
Pitchers don't want to go 1-0. It's better than giving a hit on 0-0, but that's it. Everything else is worse. You fall behind and immediately give an advantage to the batter as a result.
The difference between 0-1 and 1-0
| Split | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | TB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-0 Count | 4589 | 4439 | 751 | 1444 | 308 | 37 | 188 | .325 | .326 | .538 | .864 | 2390 |
| 0-1 Count | 6106 | 5867 | 808 | 1836 | 347 | 29 | 166 | .313 | .320 | .467 | .787 | 2739 |
Who are the best 1-0 pitchers?
There are 10 pitchers who have held batters to under a .200 batting average against on 1-0 pitches.
Doug Fister has been incredible only allowing one hit, an infield single to Mark DeRosa on 4/11 in the midst of a Tigers blowout of the Jays.
Clay Buchholz has been equally effective only allowing a Vernon Wells single in a Red Sox victory over the Yankees on 4/3.
The Tribe's Zach McAllister has permitted just two hits on the 1-0 count.
|
|
Name |
G |
PA |
AVG |
OBP |
SLUG |
OPS |
|
1 |
Doug Fister (DET) |
12 |
21 |
0.053 |
0.143 |
0.053 |
0.195 |
|
2 |
Clay Buchholz (BOS) |
11 |
12 |
0.083 |
0.083 |
0.083 |
0.167 |
|
3 |
Zach McAllister (CLE) |
11 |
21 |
0.100 |
0.143 |
0.100 |
0.243 |
|
4 |
A.J. Griffin (OAK) |
12 |
17 |
0.118 |
0.118 |
0.118 |
0.235 |
|
5 |
Travis Wood (CHC) |
12 |
20 |
0.150 |
0.150 |
0.200 |
0.350 |
|
6 |
C.J. Wilson (LAA) |
12 |
18 |
0.176 |
0.222 |
0.353 |
0.575 |
|
7 |
Nick Tepesch (TEX) |
11 |
17 |
0.176 |
0.176 |
0.529 |
0.706 |
|
8 |
Jon Niese (NYM) |
11 |
16 |
0.188 |
0.188 |
0.313 |
0.500 |
|
9 |
Lance Lynn (STL) |
12 |
17 |
0.188 |
0.188 |
0.250 |
0.438 |
|
10 |
Jason Hammel (BAL) |
13 |
22 |
0.190 |
0.182 |
0.286 |
0.468 |
The pitchers who struggle on 1-0
There are 24 pitchers who have a .400+ batting average against them on 1-0 counts.
These are the seven worst.
|
|
|
G |
PA |
AVG |
OBP |
SLUG |
OPS |
|
1 |
Kris Medlen (ATL) |
12 |
13 |
0.667 |
0.667 |
1.000 |
1.667 |
|
2 |
Dillon Gee (NYM) |
12 |
26 |
0.654 |
0.654 |
0.962 |
1.615 |
|
3 |
Ubaldo Jimenez (CLE) |
12 |
15 |
0.571 |
0.533 |
0.714 |
1.248 |
|
4 |
Ryan Dempster (BOS) |
12 |
12 |
0.545 |
0.500 |
1.455 |
1.955 |
|
5 |
Marco Estrada (MIL) |
12 |
22 |
0.545 |
0.545 |
1.091 |
1.636 |
|
6 |
Adam Wainwright (STL) |
13 |
30 |
0.483 |
0.483 |
0.621 |
1.103 |
|
7 |
R.A. Dickey (TOR) |
13 |
26 |
0.480 |
0.462 |
0.960 |
1.422 |
Nine to Know
- R.A. Dickey has thrown 166 1-0 pitches, Mark Buehrle 159, James Shields 148, constituting the three most 1-0 counts on batters.
- R.A. Dickey has thrown 104 1-0 strikes, Mark Buehrle 107, and Jon Lester 100
- Kevin Correia has had 39 1-0 plate appearances.
- Dillon Gee has has surrendered 17 1-0 hits.
- Marco Estrada and Kevin Correia have each allowed four 1-0 homers.
- Cliff Lee has produced 17 foul balls 1-0 counts.
- After 1-0, Jordan Zimmermann has gone 1-1 51 times, the most in the majors.
- After 1-0, R.A. Dickey and Edinson Volquez have gone 2-0 62 times, the most in the majors
- After 1-0, Jason Marquis has walked the batter 29 times, Tim Lincecum, Dickey, and Lucas Harrell 28 times each, the most in the majors.
There you go, my "one and d'oh" salute to the great Al Michaels.
1-0, Pitchers, Pitching appearances, pitching | tagged A.J. Griffin, Al Michaels, AlMcCallister, Clay Buchholz, Dillon Gee, Doug Fister, Kris Medlen, Ryan Dempster, Travis Wood, UbUbaldo Jimenez, Zach Well