With the increased prominence of specialized bullpens, a much heavier reliance on pitch counts than several decades ago and the constant monitoring of health and fatigue, complete games have become somewhat of a rarity. Back in the early part of the 20th century, pitchers routinely finished what they started but nowadays it is considered a spectacular feat to complete five or more games in a season. Which makes yesterday’s action particularly interesting in that three different pitchers all tossed complete game gems.

Josh Johnson burst onto the scene in 2006 with a very solid rookie season. Injuries hindered his availability and progress in 2007 but he returned last season and put up great numbers in limited duty. Against the Mets and Johan Santana yesterday, Johnson showed the ability to dominate and why, when healthy, he can be as good as anyone else in the league. Throwing 113 pitches, 77 of which were strikes, Johnson went the distance, surrendering five hits and one run, walking one hitter and fanning seven. That brings his seasonal total to 15.2 innings, 12 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 15 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, over in St. Louis, Kyle Lohse allowed a leadoff hit to Kazuo Matsui and then proceeded to retire the next 24 batters. Lohse, whose contract extension was largely ridiculed this offseason, finished with the tremendous line of 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K. On the season, Lohse has surrendered just 8 hits in 16 innings and has issued only one free pass.

As dominant as Lohse looked, however, he didn’t best Aaron Harang’s line. On the heels of a first inning 2-run homer from Brandon Phillips, Harang had all the support he would need, giving up just three hits while walking none and fanning nine Buccos. Harang has now given up 10 hits and 1 earned run in 14 innings of work this season, walking three while recording 11 strikeouts.

All three of these pitchers worked efficiently with their pitches which is likely the only reason they were allowed to stay in the game so long. Especially in the case of Johnson given his aforementioned health issues. In terms of WPA, Johnson slightly edged out Harang, 0.571 to 0.569. At 0.460, Lohse clearly dominated his opponent but not necessarily to the same degree as Johnson and Harang, at least via win probability added. Then again, Lohse pitched in the least stressful of the three games, with a pLI of 0.79; Harang recorded a pLI of 0.94 with Johnson at 1.25.

Regardless, all three of these pitchers dominated and it was great to see them finish their games instead of being lifted for setup men and closers simply due to the specialized nature of the positions. Three complete games in the same day is very rare, especially over the last few decades, and I will have more on just how rare it is later tonight, calling my Retrosheet database into action.

The 2009 UZR fielding data through last night’s games is now available. Remember that it’s a really small sample size. UZR should be updated at least every Sunday.

I believe everything is now running pretty smoothly on the site after what was an extremely chaotic first week behind the scenes. Last thing that needs to get done is minor league data and I’m hoping to kick that off starting tomorrow.

All the twitter feeds are now up and running. Hopefully we won’t experience any further issues! Do remember these are still all in beta. For those of you who are hearing about this for the first time, we have twitter feeds available for each and every team that transmit the game state, last play, and win probability.

There’s the full feed (every play) and the quick feed (end of inning, score change, and important plays). Here are the twitter links:

Team:           Full Feed           Quick Feed
Angels:         angels_fg           angels_qf
Astros:         astros_fg           astros_qf
Athletics:      athletics_fg        athletics_qf
Blue Jays:      bluejays_fg         bluejays_qf
Braves:         braves_fg           braves_qf
Brewers:        brewers_fg          brewers_qf
Cardinals:      cardinals_fg        cardinals_qf
Cubs:           cubs_fg             cubs_qf
Diamondbacks:   diamondbacks_fg     diamondbacks_qf
Dodgers:        dodgers_fg          dodgers_qf
Giants:         giants_fg           giants_qf
Indians:        indians_fg          indians_qf
Mariners:       mariners_fg         mariners_qf
Marlins:        marlins_fg          marlins_qf
Mets:           mets_fg             mets_qf
Nationals:      nationals_fg        nationals_qf
Orioles:        orioles_fg          orioles_qf
Padres:         padres_fg           padres_qf
Phillies:       phillies_fg         phillies_qf
Pirates:        pirates_fg          pirates_qf
Rangers:        rangers_fg          rangers_qf
Rays:           rays_fg             rays_qf
Reds:           reds_fg             reds_qf
Red Sox:        redsox_fg           redsox_qf
Rockies:        rockies_fg          rockies_qf
Royals:         royals_fg           royals_qf
Tigers:         tigers_fg           tigers_qf
Twins:          twins_fg            twins_qf
White Sox:      whitesox_fg         whitesox_qf
Yankees:        yankees_fg          yankees_qf

The Detroit Tigers took Rick Porcello at #27 in the first round during the 2007 amateur draft out of Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, New Jersey. The Toronto Blue Jays selected Ricky Romero at #6 in the first round during the 2005 amateur draft out of Cal St. Fullerton. This past Thursday, April 9th, both made their major league debuts despite somewhat drastically different routes to the big leagues.

More interesting is that they made their debuts against one another, which according to the MLB Network happens to be a baseball first, in that this matchup marked the very first time two rookies previously drafted in the first round made their debuts while squaring off in the same game.

Porcello surprisingly earned a spot in the Tigers rotation out of spring training after never pitching above A-ball. On top of that, a strict development program instituted last season specifically called for Porcello to work on his secondary offerings at the expense of some performance based indicators. Though he failed to fan more than six batters per nine innings in a low level of minor league baseball, many scouts remarked that Porcello was merely toying with the hitters, capable of dominating at any point if the Tigers shortened the leash on his throwing program.

In his debut, Porcello lasted five innings, walked one, fanned four, and induced grounders on 64% of his balls in play. Essentially, though his actual pitching line will not earn him the Game Score of the year, Porcello performed as advertised, recording strikeouts, showing solid poise and control, and keeping the ball on the ground.

Romero has a bit more seasoning, having attended Cal St. Fullerton from 2001-05 before spending the next three seasons in the minor leagues. The last year and a half of his minor league career is particularly intriguing in the sense that Romero performed better against tougher comptition. In 2007, after 4.1 innings in High A-ball, Romero posted a 8.2 K/9 and 5.2 BB/9 in Double-A. His first 121.2 innings in 2008 came in Double-A, where the aforementioned rates regressed to 5.8 and 4.1, respectively. 41.2 innings of Triple-A competition later and Romero was striking out 8.0 batters per nine while walking just 4.2 over the same span.

Though his pitching line appears much better than Porcello’s, specifically the 6 IP-2 ER part, both had very similar outings. Romero walked two, fanned five, and induced grounders on 59% of his balls in play. Both even throw their fastballs at very similar velocities. The major difference in their debuts can be found in pitch distribution, as Porcello, perhaps happy to once again have free range with the fastball, threw the pitch 74% of the time. Romero, as is the case with seemingly all Blue Jays starting pitchers, threw under 50% fastballs and incorporated more of his offspeed pitches.

Romero is not likely to have as much wiggle room as Porcello given his age and that the Blue Jays passed on Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Garza to acquire his services. Unfortunately, I fear that even if he becomes capable of holding down #3-starter status in the big leagues–which is no easy feat–Romero may be viewed as a disappointment. Both of these pitchers will forever be linked by the historical nature of their debuts and our eyes should be kept on each as the season progresses.

Juan Morillo is 25-years-old with an average fastball velocity near 97 miles per hour. As far as baseball chances go, the only thing that Morillo could do to make himself more endearing to a long-term career – minus becoming a good pitcher – is to throw left-handed. With that said, Morillo has been designated for assignment by the Colorado Rockies, meaning some team can claim the power arm, throw him into their pen, and attempt to spark the potential for essentially no cost.

So is Morillo worth some burn this season?

In 2008 Morillo threw about 60 innings for the Rockies Triple-A team, striking out an impressive 55 and walking 56. That’s not a typo, he actually walked more than he struck out. In 2007 and Double-A, with about the same workload, Morillo struck 59 batters out and walked 27. As a starter in 2006 (again in Double-A) Morillo fanned 132 and walked 80. Control? Not much here, but velocity! And strikeouts!

Morillo certainly has a live arm, let’s look at some of his stuff through the lens of Pitchfx.

That’s from Morillo’s lone appearance last year so there’s some small sample bias, but this is actually his only outing available. The most noticeable issue here is the lack of movement on his fastball. Vertically the pitch resembles a sinker – in fact Gameday classified a few pitches as sinkers – but horizontally it barely moves. Having little movement vertically and horizontally is not a good mixture, even when you throw extremely hard.

Add in an inconsistent release point and questionable control and Morillo’s only asset is his ability to make radar guns flicker like streetlights.

When the White Sox named Dewayne Wise their center fielder and leadoff hitter, laughter and high-fiving could be heard for miles away in Cleveland and Minnesota. Wise, he of the career .277 wOBA, isn’t exactly the kind of player you want at the top of your line-up if you’re trying to win. And, presumably, the White Sox are trying to win this year.

It didn’t take them long to realize that Wise wasn’t cut out for the job, though. After two games (where Wise went 0 for 8 and struck out four times), they’ve replaced him at the top of the order with rookie second baseman Chris Getz, and are actively shopping for his replacement. Let’s help GM Kenny Williams out and point him in a few directions he might want to look.

Marlon Byrd, Texas

The Rangers have a surplus of outfielders on the roster, and could replace Byrd without taking a significant hit to their team. The 31-year-old is coming off a career best season where he posted a .370 wOBA and was worth 3.6 wins above replacement. He won’t repeat those numbers, but CHONE has him projected as an above average hitter and he’s consistently been rated as average or above defensively in center field. Offering a .340ish wOBA and a defensive upgrade from Wise, adding Byrd to the team could net two to three wins for the White Sox.

Melky Cabrera, New York Yankees

Cabrera is where Byrd was in 2005 – a promising young player coming off a lousy major league season with a questionable future in his current organization. He was essentially a replacement level major leaguer last year, but he’s only 24 and has a strong minor league track record. A switch-hitter and a decent runner to boot, he’s more of a classic leadoff type than Byrd is, and he offers more long term upside. He might only add one or two wins over Wise in 2009, but he’d also be a potential answer in CF in 2010 and beyond.

Ryan Spilborghs, Colorado

The overachieving Spilborghs has gotten the most out of his tools during the last three years, exceeding expectations and earning a right to play regularly for the Rockies. Even adjusting for Coors Field, his offense has been worth +13.7 runs above an average hitter in his 779 major league plate appearances. For a guy with enough range to get by in center, that’s a pretty useful player. However, with Dexter Fowler breathing down his neck, the Rockies already have his replacement in place, and could afford to part with Spilborghs.

The White Sox need a real center fielder, and there are players who should be available and would represent a real upgrade for the team. If Williams is serious about contending this year, he needs to make a move sooner than later.

Last year, the Tigers had high hopes for their team, but those expectations were sabotaged by some brutal performances from their starting pitchers. In 2009, they’ve rebuilt their rotation, adding Edwin Jackson via trade, Zach Miner moving from the bullpen, and Rick Porcello from the farm system.

Jackson and Porcello hae gotten most of the ink, as a hard throwing pair of new guys that a lot of Detroit fans hadn’t seen pitch. However, Zach Miner is quietly going about his business, and there’s reasons to think he might be the best of the three this year.

His fastball averages just over 90 MPH, but he gets good sink on the pitch – his career GB% is 48.4%, and 61% of his balls in play in his first start of the year were hit on the ground. His fastball won’t light up radar guns, but he has enough movement on it to get a decent amount of worm burners. Being a groundball pitcher can help make up for a lack of velocity.

Miner’s second pitch is a change-up that he threw 26.5% of the time in his first start – he definitely has a lot of faith in it, and having a quality change is one of the keys to holding opposite handed hitters in check. In Miner’s case, he has a fairly normal platoon split (LH batters have a 100 point OPS bonus versus RH batters), but the change gives him a weapon to keep LH hitters off balance.

He has both a slider and a curve, though he generally uses one or the other. In his first start of ’09, he went the curve rather than the slider, a flip from his ’08 repertoire. Neither is a knockout pitch, but they’re both useful pitches and give him a legitimate third pitch.

Miner was a decent pitcher last year, splitting time between the bullpen and the rotation. As a full-time starter, he’s not going to rack up the strikeouts like Porcello or throw 95 like Jackson, but his combination of a sinking fastball, a change-up he believes in, and a useful breaking ball might make him the best of the three in 2009.

After the outage yesterday, live data will be up and running again today. We are working on the twitter feeds and expect to have those working again sometime today or tomorrow. Thanks for your patience!

Let’s take a look at some of the notable pitching performances from yesterday. Take the numbers presented with a grain of salt – it is only one game after all – but it was a grand day for pitching storylines.

It might be safe to say Chris Carpenter is healthy, for now at least. Yesterday, Carpenter made his 2009 debut, throwing seven innings of one-hit ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Carpenter threw 92 pitches, inducing swinging strikes on 14 of those, about 15% while using his all of his pitches pretty well. Encouraging processes and results here.

Rick Porcello made his shortly-awaited major league debut. Five innings, 89 pitches, a walk, four strikeouts, and two homeruns allowed. Outside of the homeruns, Porcello did manage to get quite a bit of groundballs. Used his change and curve along with a ton of fastballs. Three swinging strikes, one on a curve.

A.J. Burnett’s first win as a Yankee as they avoid a sweep. Five and a third innings, six strikeouts, a walk, and a homerun. Tons of fastballs (averaged about 96 miles per hour, topped out near 98) and curveballs. A long third inning prevented Burnett from going deeper, although it did allow the Yankees to get Mariano Rivera some work.

Jarrod Washburn(!) went eight, as did Glenn Perkins, both striking out four and allowing five hits. The difference: Washburn gave up no runs, while Perkins gave up one. I guess Franklin Gutierrez and Endy Chavez are paying off already for Seattle.

Matt Garza gained notoriety for his performance in the ALCS against the Red Sox and faced off with them again yesterday. Seven innings, five Ks, and three walks were good enough for the win, as Daisuke Matsuzaka lasted five and a third, yielding three walks and three homeruns.

Kyle Davies and John Danks played dueling banjos through seven and six respectively, giving up three hits each and a few walks. Davies struck eight out, but found himself in the no decision barn right alongside Danks as the Royals edged the Southsiders.

Last night, Carlos Silva returned to his former stomping grounds in Minnesota, trying to resurrect his career after a disastrous 2008 season. Silva represents one of the tests for the predictive power of FIP, which we often use to evaluate pitchers here on the site. Last year, Silva posted a 4.63 FIP, not much different than his career 4.54 mark. However, a .347 batting average on balls in play and a 61.1% LOB% led to a ridiculous 6.46 ERA – almost two runs higher than his fielding independent numbers would suggest.

Based on the fact that his struggles came from two areas that show very weak year to year correlation, and that he posted numbers in both categories that are basically unsustainable, most of us would expect positive regression to the mean in 2009. His walk rate, strikeout rate, and ground ball rate were all basically unchanged, so it seems unlikely that Silva mysteriously lost the ability to get outs on balls in play while holding on to the rest of his skills.

Last night’s performance, however, wasn’t particularly re-assuring to the regression crowd. He got lit up again, giving up six runs in five innings, thanks in large part to allowing a pair of two run homers early in the game. Besides the gopheritis, he was typical Silva – threw a lot of strikes, got a lot of contact, and even found some sink on his fastball that allowed him to get 13 ground balls.

Well, maybe he didn’t get that much more sink on his fastball. Perhaps the ground balls came from a remarkable reliance on his sinker. Here’s Silva’s pitch selection in column form.

That’s 84 fastballs, 10 sliders, and 4 change-ups. For a guy whose fastball averages 90 MPH and doesn’t have that much movement, that’s a lot of confidence in one pitch. Or a lack of confidence in the other pitches, at least – both home runs allowed by Silva came on change-ups, and after the long ball to Span, Silva was reluctant to throw any more.

It’s really rare to see a starting pitcher throw 85% fastballs. It’s even rarer when that fastball isn’t particularly good. Silva’s done this before, though – in his career best 2005 season, 84% of his pitches were fastballs.

Can he get his results to match his FIP? Can he succeed with essentially one pitch? It might not be fun for Mariner fans to watch, but he’s certainly an interesting experiment.