Relievers tend to have better ERA's than starters, 0.8 better in fact according to leading sabermetricians. But why? Conventional wisdom says a pitcher throws harder as a reliever because he knows he won't have to pitch as long or as often. But that's not what the numbers say...
Here's a look at the expected and actual BABIP (batting average on balls in play) of some of the fastest players in baseball. You'd think that the faster players would be able to increase their BABIP because they can run out more throws. The stats don't show that, though.
Last week THT wrote about the struggles of Phil Hughes. This week they break down Zach Grienke, who Hughes could easily morph in to. Grienke is quitely one of the best pitchers in the major leagues, and has had to endure a long road to get to this point. Of course, there are numbers aplenty in this article, so enjoy stat heads.
We've brought you three articles of THT's "Beyond Moneyball" series, and here is the fourth. This time around, Paul Nyman tackles the importance in drafting and scouting certain players outside the organization and he points out some of the ways teams can negatively be affected by scouts and their expertise.
In his last 92 ABs, Elijah Dukes has turned the corner and vaulted himself into the discussion (alongside Geovany Soto, Joey Votto and Kosuke Fukudome) for Rookie of the Year. Beyond the Box Score breaks down his numbers alongside the other four candidates, and examines Dukes' background as well.
