When we last left the question on Park Factors’ effect on ERA estimators we found that the estimators performed the best in hitters’ parks when looking at starting pitchers. FIP and xFIP performed better than tERA or SIERA when predicting the next year’s ERA for this group of pitchers. For the other park types, the pattern looked similar to what we generally see — SIERA generally performs best, while all estimators provide better leverage over a pitcher’s YR2_ERA.

But what if we want to predict how pitchers with certain batted-ball profiles (fly ball vs. ground ball) will perform in different parks? If we’re trying to predict how C.J. Wilson (lifetime 1.68 GB/FB ratio) will perform moving from Texas to Anaheim — or Michael Pineda’s (0.81 GB/FB ratio) move from pitcher-friendly Safeco to hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium will turn out — in which estimator(s) should we have more faith? That is the focus of Part III.

I used the same methodology as Part II to determine park type. I then coded each pitcher as ground ball or fly ball based on their GB/FB ratio. A pitcher’s GB/FB is one of the most consistent metrics (for starter pitchers, the year-over-year correlation is 0.87, which is highest for all outcome metrics), so there was little concern about a pitcher changing their batted-ball profile between seasons. A GB/FB greater than 1 was coded as ground ball; less than 1 was coded as fly ball. In the end, 1,387 season pairs were included in the analysis:
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Introduction and #31

Beginning in late November, we’ve spent much of the offseason asking readers to rate the television broadcast teams (on a scale of 1-5 for charisma, analysis, and then overall) for all 30 major-league clubs — with the intention, ultimately, of determining which broadcasts might best reflect the sorts of inquiry and analysis performed here at the site. (Click here for more on this project.)

Below are the 30th- through 21st-ranked television broadcast teams, per the FanGraphs readership. (Note: teams ranked in ascending order of Overall rating. Other note: Overall ratings are not merely averages of Charisma and Analysis.)

30. Los Angeles Dodgers (Away)
Broadcasters: Eric Collins and Steve Lyons
Ratings (Charisma/Analysis/Overall): 2.2, 2.1, 2.1

Three Two Reader Comments
• “Steve Lyons while calling a Dodgers/Cubs game in May 2010 said ‘Xavier Nady literally has no throwing arm.’ I’m still laughing about that comment today.”
• “Eric Collins is always busy asking questions to Lyons. I’m not sure if they’re disingenous because at times they are seem incredibly rudimentary. To the point where I wonder, ‘Why/how is he broadcasting a baseball game if he doesn’t know THAT?’ Perhaps it’s just Collins indirectly attempting to educate the layman viewer at home by asking Lyons these questions.”

Notes
There were only 22 votes submitted for the Dodgers away broadcast, and two of those were (obviously, given the reader comments attached to them) for Vin Scully, and thus not counted. As a result, it was only really possible to find two — as opposed to three — publishable reader comments.

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After spending more than 14 years donning the tools of ignorance, Jason Varitek is calling it a career. The veteran backstop will announce his retirement on Thursday according to The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham, and he’s expected to remain with the organization in some non-playing capacity.

Varitek, 39, was the homegrown Red Sox player that didn’t actually grow up in their farm system. He was originally drafted 14th overall by the Mariners in 1994 and spent more than two years in their minor league system before being traded to Boston along with Derek Lowe in exchange for Heathcliff Slocumb at the 1997 trade deadline. That has to be one of the most lopsided deals of the last 25 years or so. Unlike Lowe, Varitek never played a game for the Mariners, instead topping out at Triple-A.

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Salvador Perez just joined a very exclusive club. By signing a five year, $7 million guaranteed contract — which includes three additional option years — with the Kansas City Royals, the 21-year-old catcher joins Evan Longoria and Matt Moore as players who have signed significant extensions before accumulating a year of major-league service time. While Longoria’s and Moore’s contracts are considered major steals for the Tampa Bay Rays, the Perez deal is a bit more uncertain. With the Royals starting their build a competitive team, they need to be sure they’re extending the right players.
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Episode 146
After a fortnight of luxurious vacationing, managing editor Dave Cameron has returned home — and to his Monday podcast timeslot, as well. Topics discussed: the Sean Marshall extension, what it means for the Reds; the Ryan Zimmerman extension, what that means for the Nats; in what order Cameron would rank Bryce Harper, Matt Moore, and Mike Trout at the top of his prospect list; and Justin Morneau’s ongoing difficulties with concussion symptoms.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 39 min. play time.)

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Sean Marshall is not going to be a rental for the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds, who own Marshall’s last arbitration year at $3.1 million for 2012, pulled the trigger on a three-year extension that will pay the 29-year-old left-hander $16.5 million over the next three seasons.

As unpredictable as relievers can be, Sean Marshall has been one of baseball’s best bets over the last two seasons. Over the past two seasons with the Cubs, Marshall has thrown 150.2 innings with a 60 ERA- and 169 strikeouts to just 42 walks. He might be under the radar because he isn’t racking up the saves, but make no mistakes: Marshall has been in the elite as the Cubs setup man. Check out his ranks over the past two seasons among relievers with at least 100 IP:

2.45 ERA: 20th
60 ERA-: 15th
2.07 FIP: 1st
51 FIP-: 1st
4.02 K/BB: 15th
0.24 HR/9: 3rd
5.0 WAR: 1st

Marshall had success keeping runners off the bases and runs off the board despite the poor defenses routinely set behind him in Chicago. His fielding independent numbers speak for themselves, but the question remains, particularly with a move to Cincinnati: can he continue to keep the ball in the yard? Prior to 2010, Marshall had never posted a HR/9 below 1.0; since, he has allowed all of four home runs in 150 innings.

Not every pitcher is equally affected by the transition from starter to reliever (or vice-versa). In the case of Marshall, it may have saved his career. Marshall allowed 45 home runs in 311 innings as the Cubs first tried him as a starter. Even as Chicago continued to experiment with him in both roles, Marshall emerged as a far superior relief pitcher. Although he struggled in 2008, allowing four home runs in 26.2 innings, he would calm down in 2009, allowing just three in 39 frames (0.69 HR/9) before bursting onto the scene as a full-time reliever in 2010 and posting the 0.24 HR/9 over two seasons as noted above.

Particularly as a left-handed pitcher in front of Great American Ballpark’s incredibly short porch (having sat in the front row in left field, it’s even shorter than it appears on TV), it is likely too much to expect that he allows just one or two home runs per season as a Red. As such, he won’t be the single best relief pitcher in the league with Cincinnati, but that’s not what the Reds are paying for. He has the ability to be a very effective setup man who can move into the closing role should Ryan Madson depart after the season, and at a cost of just $5 million per season, the Reds are getting a fine deal on that skill set.

When the Washington Nationals and Ryan Zimmerman began negotiating his $100 million extension, Zimmerman was already bound to the team for 2012 and 2013 seasons. Even still, the Nats decided to give him a $100 million guarantee this weekend in exchange for his services from 2014 until 2019. Zimmerman’s performance through his 34th birthday is now the property of the Nationals. Washington had two years to decide whether to make such an investment in Zimmerman’s health and extended performance — but they decided to take the risk now.

The deal’s critics already pointed out Ryan Howard’s questionable extension in April 2010 — also two years before he became free-agent eligible — but there are a number of recent contracts that may be better comparisons for Zimmerman’s. While Howard’s deal appears that it will be a major overpay, it turns out these contracts generall work out quite well for teams. Instead of being unnecessary risks, they are usually hedges against spending even more money in the future.

Utilizing all contracts of players with at least six years service time from 2007 to 2011, I searched for deals that were signed at least two years before the player was eligible for free agency and that bought out at least three free agency years. I included deals that bought out arbitration years as well — though these  obviously are different than Zimmerman’s new contract — and found 11 contracts that met these criteria. To quantify these contracts’ values, I looked only at performance and pay from 2007 to 2011. This excluded six years of these deals that started before 2007, and 14 years of these contracts that ended after 2011.

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The always-excellent John Perrotto recently reviewed some of the Spring Training position battles in the American League. He helpfully includes comments from scouts on each situation. One quote that caught my eye was with respect to the Angels’ third base situation:

This is very interesting. Callapso is a pretty good hitter, but he doesn’t profile as a third baseman. Trumbo has holes in his game, but he does have pop and I think he’ll play a passable third base. It would be hard to take a kid that hit 29 homers last year, send him back to Triple-A, and try to sell that to the fans. But I know Mike Scioscia, and I know Callapso is his kind of player, so I’d be really surprised if he started Trumbo ahead of Callapso.

What struck me was the idea that Callaspo does not “profile” as a third baseman, apparently (judging from the context) because of his offense. The scout is probably thinking of power. Callaspo had a .086 ISO last season (.108 career), while Trumbo had a .223 ISO and 29 home runs while playing first base for the Angels and coming in second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.

The scout thinks that Mike Scioscia will prefer Callaspo, probably largely based on fielding, as Trumbo has no professional experience playing third. But does Trumbo’s offensive “profile” really gives him any edge over Callaspo?

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A few weeks ago, I announced that I’d be hosting an Ottoneu league to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The generosity of the baseball community helped us raise over $8,000 in three days, which is frankly amazing, and I never cease to be amazed at how great the people in this community really are.

If you’re interested in joining the Cancer Sucks Ottoneu league, there are still a few days left to donate at our Team in Training page. Remember, the top 11 donors who express interest in a spot in the league will get a spot. One spot has already been claimed with an amazing $2,500 donation, but there are 10 more up for grabs. Any size donation will get you in the running – just donate through the TNT page with your real name and then drop me an email at dave.cameron@fangraphs.com and let me know you’re interested in being part of the league. Even a $25.00 donation could get you a spot in the league and a chance to play fantasy baseball to help wipe out blood cancers.

Thanks again for your support, and I look forward to returning to fantasy baseball with a great group of generous folks who also hate cancer.

I have some concerns over the future of the Marlins organization. Management has given fans a reason to get excited with the recent signings of veterans Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle. What the club has not done, though, is focus on rebuilding from within at the same time. The Marlins organization has some interesting names but the depth is thin because of a lack of focus with both signing players on the international market and with acquiring high-ceiling talent through the amateur draft. The above signing of Reyes will also cost the Marlins a second round draft pick in 2012.

1. Christian Yelich, OF/1B
BORN: Dec. 5, 1991
EXPERIENCE: 2 seasons
ACQUIRED: 2010 1st round, California HS
2010-11 TOP 10 RANKING: 4th

Yelich was the Marlins’ first round pick in 2010 and he started to blossom into a potential star player in ’11 during his first full season in the minors. Just 20 years old, he posted a wRC+ of 146 in 122 games at the low-A level thanks to a full-field approach with the bat. He projects to hit for both average and power. His frame suggests at future strength that could lead to 20-25 home runs once he matures as a hitter and learns to pull the appropriate pitches. Originally a first baseman, Yelich has taken well to the outfield, playing both left and center field. His arm strength is a little below average so left will likely be his permanent home and his above-average speed will allow him to provide excellent range. Yelich could eventually make Logan Morrison, another first-to-left conversion project, expendable. For now, though, he’ll move up to high-A ball but could see double-A by the end of the season.

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