Episode 251
David Laurila, curator of FanGraphs’ Q&A Series, talks with young Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Chris Archer.
Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.
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Audio after the jump. (Approximately 13 min. play time.)
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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.
1. Video: Five Notable Screwballs
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule
Video: Five Notable Screwballs
Regarding What Happened Yesterday
Yesterday, both White Sox left-hander Hector Santiago and Rangers right-hander Yoshinori Tateyama — i.e. the only two pitchers to’ve thrown a screwball in the majors this season — threw for their respective teams. (See the latter’s version of the pitch via the power of animated GIFs.)
Regarding What’s Happening Now
What’s happening now is the author is presenting five videos that concern the screwball expressly.
Video: Carl Hubbell
Here’s the very accomplished Carl Hubbell throwing what appears to be his very famous screwball:
Episode 250
Dayn Perry, contributor to CBS Sports’ Eye on Baseball and author of two books (one of them serviceable), makes his very taut and even more thrilling weekly appearance on FanGraphs Audio.
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 56 min. play time.)
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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.
1. Three Best September Call-Ups So Far: Pitchers
2. Today’s Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule
Three Best September Call-Ups So Far: Pitchers
Regarding the People, What They Were Wondering Yesterday
Unless the author is gravely mistaken, what the people were wondering about yesterday is which — of the hitters among this September’s call-ups, that is — is which among them had performed mostly ably so far this month.
Regarding the People, What They’re Likely Wondering Today
Given the people’s concerns on Tuesday, it stands to follow that today (Wednesday) what the people are wondering is which of the pitchers among this September’s call-ups has performed mostly ably so far.
Regarding the People, What They Can Find Below
Among the many splendors that are to be found below, one of them is a brief list of the best performances by pitchers who’ve been promoted this Septmeber.
Episode 249
Native Briton, current resident of Mexico City, and illustrator nonpareil Craig Robinson (famously of the internet’s Flip Flop Fly Ball) is the guest on this edition of FanGraphs Audio.
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 58 min. play time.)
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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.
1. Three Best September Call-Ups So Far: Hitters
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule
Three Best September Call-Ups So Far: Hitters
Regarding What’s Possible
It’s entirely possible that one might wonder to himself — out of idle curiosity, perhaps, or with a view to improving his keeper-league fantasy team or because he’s the author of a widely-hailed Daily Notes column — it’s entirely possible that such a person might wonder which of the Septebmer call-ups has performed most ably since his promotion earlier this month.
The Results of Such a Consideration, What They’d Look Like
Were one to consider the above consideration for a a medium-length of time, his results would probably look very similar to the ones below.
Three Best September Call-Ups: Hitters
Here are the three best field players among the league’s recently promoted. Each of the following both (a) entered 2012 with rookie eligibility and (b) has recorded plate appearances in September only. Note that “best” is defined not by WAR alone, but also, owing to the paucity of the samples, by regressed offense (represented by SCOUT+, where 100 is average and greater than 100 is above average).
Episode 248
FanGraphs managing editor Dave Cameron, as per usual, makes his weekly appearance on FanGraphs Audio and analyzes all baseball.
Discussed:
• Roster expansion and September hitting — more on that theme.
• Safeco Park’s strange offensive environment — how it might affect the team’s roster construction in the near future. Also: other parks that effect other organizations’ roster construction.
• High-ceiling vs. high-floor prospects, the relative merits of.
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 46 min. play time.)
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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.
1. Various Stolen-Base Leaderboards
2. Today’s Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule
Various Stolen-Base Leaderboards
A Thing That’s Possible
It’s entirely within the realm of the possible that one — a curious reader, for example — that such a one might ask himself, “Who’s the best base-stealer in the majors?”
A Thing That’s a Fact
It’s entirely a fact that there are at least three criteria by which one might determine the league’s best base-stealer — specifically, by identifying either (a) the league’s leader by stolen-base runs or (b) the league’s leader by stolen-base frequency (i.e. attempts per opportunity) or (c) the league’s leader as measured by stolen-base runs per opportunity (or X number of opportunities, as the case may be).
Another Thing That’s a Fact
Another thing that’s a fact is how the author has compiled three leaderboards (below) corresponding to the three criteria mentioned above. To say that he (i.e. the author) found data from Baseball Reference helpful in so doing would be the very picture of accuracy. To say that all numbers are current through Saturday would be equally precise.
Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.
1. Idle Experiment: Normalized NERD
2. Other Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule
Idle Experiment: Normalized NERD
What the Reader Might Have Noticed
It’s possible the reader will have noticed that, more often than not, the averages for the day’s NERD games scores — NERD itself being the infallible watchability metric conceived by the author — that the averages for them of late have been below the overall average NERD score of 5.
Why That Is
The reason for why the averages of the daily NERD games scores are lower than 5 likely has everything to do with the poorly conceived playoff-odds adjustment. Said playoff-odds adjustment adds a bonus of up to 2 points for a game featuring teams with uncertain playoff fates, subtracts up to 2 points from a game involving teams which are closer either to a 0% or 100% chance of making the postseason.
Why That Is, Part II
Because playoff odds for the majority of teams are known with some certainty in September, it follows that there would be more penalties than bonuses added to the various game scores. It also follows that the daily average NERD game scores would be less than 5 (just as it is frequently above 5 in May, for example).
Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.
1. Featured Game: Milwaukee at Washington, 13:05 ET
2. Other Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule
Featured Game: Milwaukee at Washington, 13:05 ET
Regarding the Original Miller’s Tale
In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, a miller tells a story about a carpenter with a beautiful young wife. The wife has an affair with a clerk. The clerk, following a series of events too complex to recount here, receives a hot poker “amidde the ers” — which, the reader will know, is one of the worst places to receive a hot poker.
Regarding a Second Miller’s Tale
A second Miller’s Tale concerns the present iteration of the Milwaukee Brewers. In it, the team loses its second-best player during the offseason. Then, after more than half a season of mediocrity, they trade away their other second-best player. Then, they become more or less the best team in the entire league.
Regarding the Two Millers’ Tales, A Similarity
The thing that’s similar about about both Millers’ Tales is the championship-level narratives present in both.
