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.

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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):

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Table of Contents
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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.

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Table of Contents
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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?

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Table of Contents
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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.

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Table of Contents
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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:

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Table of Contents
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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:

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Table of Contents
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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.

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Table of Contents
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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).

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Table of Contents
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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.

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