Episode 254
Dayn Perry, contributor to CBS Sports’ Eye on Baseball and author of two books (one of them serviceable), fertilizes FanGraphs Audio with his words and with his mind.

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 32 min. play time.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. True-Talent Leaderboards: September
2. Today’s Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

True-Talent Leaderboards: September
Regarding What Is a True-Talent Leaderboard
A true-talent leaderboard, in this case, is the sort of board that features league leaders over the past month in regressed and defense-independent batting and pitching.

Regarding True-Talent Leaderboard, Its Use
A true-talent leaderboard, such as the ones that follows, is useful insofar as it allows one to see which players have excelled of late by those metrics which both (a) most directly inform run creation/prevention and (b) become reliable rather quickly.

A True-Talent Leaderboard, To What It’s Similar
It would be entirely fair to say that a true-talent leaderboard is similar to — even, perhaps, the exact same thing as — the SCOUT leaderboards the author has published in these Notes periodically (like, for this year’s minor-league leaders, for example, or for assorted summer college leagues). Click here to learn more about it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 253
FanGraphs author and proprietor of Mariners SB Nation blog Lookout Landing Jeff Sullivan fights baseball with his words.

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 54 min. play time.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Brief Summary: Jeurys Familia’s First MLB Start
2. Other Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Brief Summary: Jeurys Familia’s First MLB Start
What Happened Last Night
Last night, Mets right-hander and noted prospect Jeurys Familia made his first major-league start (after seven relief appearances) — and did so in front of the excellent and straight-on Marlins center-field camera.

Familia’s Line
Here was Familia’s line from the same start (box): 4.0 IP, 17 TBF, 3 K, 6 BB, 3 GB on 8 batted-balls (37.5% GB), 7.94 xFIP.

Jeurys Familia’s Best Fastball
This is what Jeurys Familia’s best fastball looks like (to Carlos Lee in the second):

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Featured Pitch: Luis Avilan’s Curve
2. Today’s Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Pitch: Luis Avilan’s Curve
What Happened Yesterday
Yesterday, left-hander Luis Avilan pitched two perfect innings of relief for Atlanta in the 6-2 victory over the New York Nationals (box).

What Has Happened More Generally
More generally, Avilan, who pitched almost exclusively as a starter at Double-A Mississippi, has been an entirely proficient member of the Braves bullpen for two-plus months. To wit: 35.0 IP, 23.2% K, 7.3% BB, 45.7% GB, 3.15 SIERA, 90 xFIP-, 0.6 WAR, 5 SD, 1 MD.

How Avilan Has Done That
Avilan’s success is based largely on his curveball, on which pitch he has posted a 19.0% swinging-strike rate (relative to a league average of ca. 11%, according to work by Harry Pavlidis). Avilan’s curve has been worth close to four runs above average for every 100 he’s thrown.

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: Boston at Baltimore, 13:35 ET
2. Other Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Game: Boston at Baltimore, 13:35 ET
What a Reader Might Be Saying
It’s possible that a reader, after noting how this game features, in fact, the lowest NERD score of the day — NERD itself being the infallible watchability metric crafted locally and sustainably by the author — that such a reader is saying something like, “This is ridiculous” or “I am outraged” or, if the reader is a woman from a 1930s studio film, “Why, I never.”

What a Reader Might Continue to Say
It’s possible that a reader, after proceeding as described above, might level the charge that NERD — contrary to the bold (foolhardy?!?) claims of its creator — is, in fact, not infallible. Such a reader might go so far as to suggest that NERD is either “quite” or “very” fallible.

Why a Reader Would Say All Those Things
Why a reader might say all those things as printed above is because the upstart Orioles are currently, unexpectedly tied with the despotic Yankees for first place in the AL East with just four games remaining in the season. The stakes are high! So are the emotions! What will happen?

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Nerd Facts: Homer Bailey’s No-Hitter
2. Today’s Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Nerd Facts: Homer Bailey’s No-Hitter
Regarding What Follows
What follows is a brief assortment of information regarding Cincinnati right-hander Homer Bailey’s no-hitter in Pittsburgh on Friday.

Which, In Case You Didn’t Hear
In case the reader was busy with some manner of nerdly venture, or indisposed in whatever way, what happened last (Friday) night is Cincinnati right-hander Homer Bailey threw a no-hitter against the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Bailey’s Final Line
Here’s Bailey’s nerd line from last night (box): 9.0 IP, 28 TBF, 10 K, 1 BB, 10 GB on 17 batted-balls (58.8% GB), 1.22 FIP, 1.87 xFIP.

Read the rest of this entry »

Episode 252
Prospect analyst Mike Newman discusses three players he saw in person this season — catcher Mike Zunino (Mariners), shortstop Brad Miller (also Mariners), and German outfielder Max Kepler (Twins) — and the larger concerns each raises with regard to prospect analysis generally.

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 51 min. play time.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Action Footage: R.A. Dickey Throws a Changeup
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Action Footage: R.A. Dickey Throws a Changeup
A Thing That R.A. Dickey Did Yesterday
A thing that Mets right-hander R.A. Dickey did on Thursday was to tie his career-high in strikeouts, with 13.

Another Thing R.A. Dickey Did Yesterday
Another thing R.A. Dickey did on Thursday was to record his 12th strikeout — against Pirates outfielder Garrett Jones in the eighth inning — was to record it via the changeup, a pitch he throws about one percent of the time or zero percent of the time.

Dickey’s Eighth-Inning Changeup
Here’s an animated GIF of the changeup Dickey threw to Garrett Jones in the eighth inning yesterday for his (i.e. Dickey’s) 12th strikeout:

Read the rest of this entry »