Sunday Notes: Perkins & Varvaro, Travis in Toronto, Dozier Ducks, much more

Glen Perkins and Anthony Varvaro have reverse splits – specifically with regard to allowing runners — for distinctly different reasons. The Twins southpaw attributes his to spatial relationships. The Red Sox righty points to a swinging gate.

Before we get to their thoughts on the subject, let’s look at the numbers.

Last season, left-handed batters hit .284/.324/.448 against Perkins, while right-handed batters hit .249/.278/.422. Two years ago, lefties hit .236/.271/.273, righties .183/.251/.317.

Right-handed batters were .274/.341/.376 against Varvaro in 2013, while left-handed batters hit .207/.267/.281. Last season, righties hit .273/.314/.406, lefties .198/.284/.481.

Varvaro, who was acquired by Boston from the Braves in December, has been queried about his reverse splits countless times. He doesn’t have a definitive answer – at least not a comprehensive one – but he does have theories.

“I think it’s a combination of my arm slot and my positioning,” Varvaro told me. “I’m pretty much over the top, and I stand on the first base side of the rubber. Some of the better relievers I’ve looked at are on the third base side, and that angle maybe creates a little more deception to right-handed hitters.”

For some pitchers, changing sides of the rubber against same-sided hitters would be a logical corrective step. That’s not the case for the 30-year-old native New Yorker.

“That’s difficult, because of the way I pitch,” explained Varvaro. “Think of a swinging gate. A lot of pitchers kind of open that gate, freeing up their front side so they can create that angle. I’m like a hitter who dives toward the outside part of the plate. I kind of dive in to come back across. Against lefties, I’m diving down the middle – down the line – and against righties that doesn’t work as well.”

His direction to the plate might contribute to Varvaro’s success against opposite-handed hitters, but to what extent, he’s not really sure. Try as he may, he can’t quite put his finger on it.

“I’ve looked at film of a lot of guys,” said Varvaro. “I can’t really find a right-handed pitcher who is similar to me and has splits as drastic as mine. Maybe I could look at lefties, but that’s totally different.”

What Perkins doesn’t see when he faces left-hand hitters negatively impacts his effectiveness against them. That’s particularly true when when he throws his out-pitch, and location is the primary problem.

“I use the hitter as kind of my sight point,” explained Perkins. “From his foot to his knee, to the catcher’s glove, down to home plate, is a box I try to have the ball finish in. When I throw my slider to lefties, I don’t have that box, because he’s on the other side. It’s the same pitch I’m throwing to righties, but I have trouble putting it where I want, because the spatial relationship of the hitter to the box is different.”

More than the batter’s box comes into play when Perkins peers in. A disruption of his sight point can wreak havoc against his visuals when he faces opposite-sided hitters. Cleveland’s Carlos Santana – a switch-hitter who swings from the right side against Perkins – is 6 for 10 against him, with three home runs and three walks.

“I was talking to Ricky Nolasco about this the other day,” said Perkins. “I told him Santana’s high leg kick throws me off. Not all pitchers are visual pitchers, and he didn’t get it. He was like, ‘Why would that mess you up?’ I’m not focusing on the glove like a lot of guys are. I’m not that fine. I’m focusing on an area within a bigger frame.”

Perkins has limited control over how his brain processes visuals. He has no control whatsoever when it comes to who’s hitting. Being a closer, he rarely faces lefties who can’t hit lefties. They’re going to get pinch-hit for, while the ones he does face are usually above-average hitters. It’s up to him to make good pitches against them, which is sometimes easier said than done.

“I have a pretty good slider, I just have trouble locating it against lefties,” admitted Perkins. “I should be able to execute that pitch better – I’m a major-league player – but I can’t.”

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When the Blue Jays acquired Devon Travis from Detroit in November, in exchange for Anthony Gose, a lot of people asked “Devon who?” An updated answer to that question is imminent. Barring a curious decision from John Gibbons, Travis will break camp as Toronto’s starting second baseman.

The right-handed hitter has been a line-drive machine since the Tigers took him in the 13th round of the 2012 draft out of Florida State. He has a .323/.388/.487 slash line in 257 minor-league games, and 16 hits in 47 at bats this spring. Gibbons describes him as having “a great swing – a short stroke – (with) a great idea up there.” The Toronto skipper also lauds his defense, saying the 24-year-old “can flat out play.”

Travis credits tough love from his initial club for his developmental strides.

“That was a first-class organization, top to bottom” Travis told me. “Bruce Fields, the hitting coordinator; and Kevin (Bradshaw), the infield instructor, were great. Every single day they were on me. At first I was like, ‘Man, do these guys even like me?’ But looking back, I’m thankful for everything they did.”

Travis said he wasn’t pushed into making adjustments, nor was he prodded to turn weaknesses into strengths. The primary message was to, “turn my strengths into bigger strengths.” His most notable change was self-driven, and came after instructional league following short-season ball.

“I dropped my hands and stood a little more upright,” explained Travis. “I’d never felt fully comfortable with my stance. I’d kind of felt like a machine, and in pro ball, with pitchers throwing harder with all this movement, it’s tougher to be a machine. You need to have a fluid motion.”

The Blue Jays are mirroring the Tigers’ approach with regard to fine-tuning his game. For the most part, they’re telling him to “just keep doing what (he’s) been doing.” So far, that means maintaining a gap-to-gap approach and getting on base at a regular clip. And while he’s a not a bopper, he does have some pop. Travis has 26 home runs over his two full seasons of pro ball.

Travis admitted to feeling pressure early in spring training. Not to make the club, but simply to prove to his new organization that he belongs. The result was a slow start – “I was pressing, trying to do more than I should have, instead of just having fun” – but he righted the ship pretty quickly. Now, thanks to a fortuitous trade, he’s on track to make his big-league debut on opening day.

“If I were still with the Tigers, I wouldn’t have this opportunity,” said Travis. “They have Ian Kinsler at second base, and he’s a really good player. Nothing against Detroit, but I’m really thankful to be getting this chance.”

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Brian Dozier’s extension, as Craig Edwards wrote about on Wednesday, is a safe contract for both Dozier and his employer. The Twins are certainly pleased to have their second baseman in the fold for the next four years. GM Terry Ryan began the press conference by saying it was “a good day for the Twins” and went on to suggest Dozier’s best days may be ahead of him.

Rob Antony, the club’s assistant GM, cited some interesting counting stats when I spoke to him following the announcement

“Our statistical analysis people did research,” Antony told me. “They found that, since 1900, 12 different second basemen have had 30-plus doubles, 20-plus homers and 20-plus stolen bases in a season. He’s one of those 12, which makes him very unique. Brian adds a power element at a position that doesn’t always have power.”

Projection-wise, Ryan’s right-hand man echoed his boss’s bullishness.

“There are no signs of his play going in the wrong direction,” said Antony. “He’s turning 28 in May, so we’ll have him in his age 28-31 years. Age-wise, he’s reaching the prime of his career.”

Antony and Ryan also concurred on the re-upped infielder’s underrated defense and leadership skills. Ryan opined that Dozier deserved Gold Glove consideration last year, and Antony said metrics don’t give him his due.

As for the day’s best quote, that came from the man himself. Asked what the four-year $20-million deal means for him, Dozier said it would be “400-500 more acres of duck hunting land.”

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Vinnie Pestano proffered a unique version of “between the white lines” when we talked in Tempe a few weeks ago. Answering a question about his closer aspirations in 2011 and 2012, when he was one of the best set-up men in the game, the erstwhile Indian responded as such:

“Had an opportunity come my way, I felt I was ready to take advantage, but I wasn’t trying to push anything on anyone. I’ve always been a guy who stayed in my lane.”

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A quality framer is a pitcher’s good friend. He maximizes strike calls, which swings counts in the battery’s favor, thus improving the odds of an out. Conversely, a poor framer can cost a pitcher strikes and lead to a loss.

How does this impact a pitcher’s psyche? Suppose the catcher he’s throwing to is rated among the worst framers in the league. Is that in the back of his mind, and could it potentially affect his performance?

“I don’t know how many guys pay attention to that data,” said Red Sox reliever Craig Breslow. “But I think guys understand they’re going to have little control over who is catching at any given time. That becomes just one of an infinite number of variables. It’s like if you have an umpire behind the plate with a small strike zone. What are you going to do? You need to figure out a way to deal with it. I don’t foresee it becoming a huge issue.”

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Felix Doubront was released by the Cubs yesterday, and going strictly by the numbers, it’s not a big surprise. He’s never been consistent, and last year the bad outweighed the good. This spring he’s been abysmal. In seven hide-your-eyes innings, Doubront surrendered 17 hits and nine runs.

When I talked to the enigmatic southpaw earlier this month, all was well in his world. He talked about all the work he did over the offseason, and how his shoulder woes were behind him. The 27-year-old told me he expected to be back to 2012-2013 form, when he showed flashes of brilliance in the Boston rotation. He said he felt amazing.

Today, Doubront is a man without a team, and a bigger question mark than ever.

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Following a recent spring training outing, Cardinals starter Lance Lynn said he “didn’t even know (the opposing team’s) lineup before going out there.” He elaborated that he won’t pay attention to who is in the batter’s box until the regular season starts.

Mike Matheny said that’s par for the course. “You just go out and pitch,” the St. Louis manager said of springtime tune-ups. “(The pitcher) has an idea of what he wants to do. Yesterday, John Lackey wanted to work on his fastball. That stuff always takes precedent.”

Lynn was cleverly coy about what he worked on. Regarding pitch usage, he said he “used the ones (he) needed to.” When Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch asked if he noticed his radar gun readings, the righty’s response was, “I saw one and it was plenty hard enough.” Queried as to which pitch, Lynn smiled and said, “The one that was plenty hard enough.”

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Jim “Pig Pen” Dwyer told me a good story on the back fields in Fort Myers. The 64-year-old currently serves as the hitting coach for Minnesota’s high-A affiliate. In the 1980s, he was an outfielder for the Orioles, and a frequent pinch-hitter. One of his off-the-bench at bats came as a result of his big mouth.

“We were playing the Yankees,” remembered Dwyer. “John Lowenstein’s locker was next to mine and we were talking about (Goose) Gossage. Gossage was the guy – he threw 100 mph– and I said, ‘Yeah, he throws hard, but at least you know what you’re going to get. It’s going to be fastball after fastball after fastball. I don’t mind hitting off of him.’

“That night, Gossage comes in to pitch. He was making his first appearance after coming off the disabled list, and he threw his first warmup pitch halfway up the screen. Earl Weaver tells Lowenstein, ‘You go hit.’ Lowenstein goes, ‘Send Dwyer up there; he likes hitting off Gossage.’ Earl goes, ‘OK. Dwyer, you go hit.’ I think I ended up walking, but me and my big mouth.”

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Francisco Liriano’s first two professional seasons in the United States were, in his words, “very hard.” A teenager at the time, the southpaw was honing his skills far from home, with little grasp of the English language.

“When I signed, (the Giants) didn’t have me in an English class at all,” Liriano told me this week in Bradenton. “I lost a little weight because I didn’t know how to order food.”

Liriano was lucky to have a fellow Dominican catching him in his first season, because “even though you find a way, it’s a lot harder if you don’t speak the same language.”

A lot has changed since Liriano came stateside in 2001 – English classes for Latin signees is now standard fare – but there’s still a steep learning curve. And the onus remains entirely on the newcomer. Should young, English-speaking catchers be taught Spanish in order to better communicate with Spanish-speaking pitchers?

“It’s not a bad idea,” said Liriano.

RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Anthony Rizzo hit .300/.421/.507 against LHP last year in 171 plate appearances. He hit .281/.373/.534 against RHP in 445 plate appearances.

Ted Williams led the American League in OBP 12 times. He led in SLG nine times.

Per Bill Chuck of GammonsDaily, Giancarlo Stanton was 19 for 38 on 0-0 counts last year. Mark Teixeira was 4 for 38 on 0-0 counts.

Jon Singleton (13.8) and Brandon Hicks (13.2) had the highest walk rates among qualified rookies last season. Singleton batted .168, Hicks .157.

There were co-winners in yesterday’s Baseball Hack Day event in Boston. Sharing honors were “What If?? Spatial Analysis of MLB.com Gameday Data” by Jeff Bigos, and “Baseball Card Generator” by James Hrisho and Patrick Rills.