One Night Only: Hot Game Previews for April 6th

Keep One Night Only away from skin, eyes… and grown-ups! They’re the worst!

Los Angeles Americans at Tampa Bay | 1:10pm ET
Starting Pitchers
Angels: Dan Haren
224.3 IP, 8.55 K/9, 1.81 BB/9, 3.23 FIP, 117 ERA+ (ZiPS)

Rays: Jeremy Hellickson
135.7 IP, 7.89 K/9, 3.12 BB/9, 3.42 FIP, 118 ERA+ (ZiPS)

On Jeremy Hellickson
Today marks the season debut of Jeremy Hellickson, one of the many PYTs the Rays’ farm system has to offer its adoring public. Hellickson made his major league debut last year after spending most of the season showing International Leaguers what’s what.

In his 36.1 innings as a Ray last year, Hellickson did this sort of thing: 8.17 K/9, 1.98 BB/9, 37.1 GB%, 3.83 xFIP. His changeup, which was worth +2.96 runs for every hundred thrown in a small sample, profiles to be his best pitch. Per Texas Leaguers, it (i.e. Hellickson’s change) got swing-and-misses 24.1% of the time — compared to a league average of ca. 12.6% on that same pitch.

Regarding the Rays Telecast
You, the intelligent reader, will undoubtedly have some opinions on the subject, but in the meantime allow me to wax authoritative on the matter of what makes a quality baseballing telecast.

I’ll submit that there are four criteria (apart from the players themselves) that contribute to such a thing, as follow:

1. The broadcast team (where banter and intelligence are appreciated, while hollow platitudes are not).
2. The center-field camera angle (where straight-on is preferable to “offset,” or however you’d call it).
3. The aesthetics of the stadium (where PNC is excellent and the Rogers Centre also exists).
4. The crowd (where closer to capacity is favorable; closer to empty, not so much).

Last season, Rays telecasts fared poorly on each of these accounts. Kevin Kennedy was the colorman for their broadcasts. The camera was offset. The stadium was (and will always, always, always continue to be) an assault on good taste. And the Rays averaged just 23,025 per home contest, as compared to a capactity of 36,973 (meaning the stadium was routinely less than two-thirds full).

Despite the fact that the Rays, objectively speaking, had one of the more interesting clubs in the majors last season, their broadcasts — especially of home games — were difficult to watch for the reasons mentioned above.

The 2011 season has seen at least two steps in a not-terrible direction, however: Kennedy has been replaced by Brian Anderson and the camera angle is now straight-on.

Will Anderson prove superior to Kennedy? Hard to say. But with the quality of the team, there’s every reason to want the Rays broadcasts to be better.

If I Had My Druthers
• New Rays colorman Brian Anderson would prove to be a Thinking Man’s Baseball Commentator.
• By which I mean, he’d be all “E=mc²” this and “Wagner’s Ring Cycle” that.
• Or, alternatively, he’d make the game not unwatchable. Either way.

Other Games
Houston at Cincinnati | 7:10pm ET
Team Joy Squad’s Edinson Volquez had not so much good fun in his season debut last Thursday, conceding five runs — including back-to-back homers to leadoff hitter Rickie Weeks and then Carlos Gomez to start the game — in six innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. But let’s not fail to look at the details: 27 TBF, 5 K, 2 BB, 12 GB on 20 batted balls (60 GB%).

Those are actually good numbers, is what I mean to say.

Am I secretly blinded by my affections for Senor Volquez? Maybe. Do I care to admit as much? Very clearly not.

Atlanta at Milwaukee | 8:10pm ET
• ZiPS believe that Mike Minor, tonight’s starter for the Braves, is the sort of pitcher who can average a strikeout per inning in the majors. Here’s how many qualified starters last season accomplished that same feat: 10. Here’s how many of those pitchers had an xFIP of 4.00 or higher: 0. Note: this is the sort of pitcher Atlanta’s currently calling up for a spot start.