Paul Sauberer - Page 16

As we did Tuesday with the NL, today we will be looking at some of the AL hitters with respect to their Singles Average (BHIPx), which can help identify what effect luck may be having on a player’s production. If...

Today we will be looking at a lot of the early extreme performances of hitters in the NL through the lens of Singles average (BHIPx). This information is one of the valuable tools you can find in the Player Charts...

Carl Crawford- TB- Hot- Crawford added 46 points to his batting average with a 4-for-5 effort in which he scored 3 runs, knocked one in, walked and stole a base. The walk is only his second of the season, as...

Jordan Zimmerman- WAS- Rookie- Zimmerman has a nice repertoire of off speed pitches to go with his mid-90s fastball. Despite being forced by the Nationals to throw at least 15 changeups per start last year in order to develop the...

Elvis Andrus- TEX- Hot- Andrus is yet another Texas hitter who made mince meat of Baltimore pitching last night. He went 2-for-3 with a triple, 4 runs scored and 1 knocked in. most significantly, though, may have been the 2...

Justin Upton- ARI- Cold- The potential is there, but it has certainly not been realized this season. Upton was lifted for a pinch hitter yesterday, after remaining hitless for 2009 in an 0-for-3 game. The strikeouts have been plaguing him,...

I hadn't seen the story of Adenhart's car crash before getting an e-mail from Anthony Perri, our fearless leader at Fantistics. The story stunned me. It was only hours ago, possibly after Adenhart died, that I had written a blurb...

Dana Eveland- OAK- Hot- Eveland had very similar numbers to his counterpart on the Angels last night, Nick Adenhart. He gave up 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 in 6 IP. The difference was that Eveland’s Oakland...

John Lannan- WAS- Cold- Lannan was a pleasant surprise for the Nats in 2008, posting a 3.91 ERA. If he had been given more support, his 9-15 record would have at least turned around as his Deserved Wins was 7...

Today I went to what is possibly the last spring training game to be held at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Next year the Orioles are likely headed to Vero Beach or Sarasota, much farther away from my Palm Beach County home....

Stephen Strasburg- WAS- Rookie- Strasburg is not a National yet and can’t officially be one until at least June, when he will be eligible for the draft. The most highly touted college pitcher since maybe ever, Strasburg is about as...

Cole Hamels- PHI- Inj Update- No structural damage was found in Hamels’ elbow. He got an anti-inflammatory injection and should be cleared to throw again tomorrow. Even with that, he is still not a guarantee to be ready on Opening...

Joe Mauer- MIN- Inj Update- Mauer’s MRI of his lower back showed inflammation in the sacroiliac joint. He has been prescribed some heavy duty anti-inflammatories (presumedly not including anything with steroids). Still, Mauer is not going to be participating in...

Alex Rodriguez- NYY- Injury- ARod may end up not playing for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic after all. No, the Dominican doesn’t have a policy barring admitted steroid users from playing for them. An MRI this past...

Boof Bonser- MIN- Inj Update- Bonser’s arthroscopic surgery went very poorly. Actually the surgery went well, it’s the results that were poor. Doctors discovered multiple partial tears of his labrum and rotator cuff. They were repaired, but it puts an...

Robinson Cano- NYA- Hot- Cano went 1-for-4 with a homer last night to make him 6-for-10 in his last 3 games, raising his September batting average to .226. Still, this month Cano has only drawn a single walk while striking...

J. J. Upton- ARI- Hot- Upton was at it again last night, going 2-for-4 with his second homer in as many games. Since returning from the DL, he is hitting .389 in 13 games. Upton’s strikeout rate has dropped, with...

Carlos Gomez- MIN- Hot- Gomez went 2-for-4 and stole his 30th base of the season yesterday. If he had an OBP of higher than .290, Gomez would have a much higher steal total. However, as long as he stays allergic...

Greg Maddux- LAN- Cold- Maddux continues his extreme home/road splits even when the road venue is his former home. Pitching in San Diego last night he was touched for 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks in 6 IP...

Brendon Morrow- SEA- Hot- Morrow was supposed to throw no more than 100 pitches last night, but when he was carrying a no hitter into the late innings, that notion went out the window. Morrow finally gave up a hit...

B. J. Upton- TB- Hot- Although his homer total is way down from last season (from 24 to 8), Upton’s has hit 33 doubles, as opposed to 25 in 2007. His Batting EYE has also improved dramatically, from .42 to...

Jonathon Niese- NYN- Rookie- The Brewers may not be the best of teams for southpaw Niese to make his major league debut against. Milwaukee is 31-14 against lefties, the best mark in the NL, and are hitting .274 against them...

Matt Cain- SF- Cold- Cain’s control problems caught up with him yesterday as he had as many walks and runs allowed (5) as innings pitched. He also gave up 8 hits and struck out 3. Even with only 5 IP,...

Fausto Carmona- CLE- Cold- Carmona raised his record to 7-5 last night, pitching the Indians to their 10th straight win. It was not a performance to write home about, though, as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 3...

Jordan Schafer- ATL- Idea- Schafer, ranked as the top prospect in the Braves’ system before the season, has rebounded from his HGH suspension and extremely slow July. Last month he batted a weak .228 for AA Mississippi, but is cranking...

Kevin Millwood- TEX- Caution- Millwood put in a pleasantly uncharacteristic performance for a Texas pitcher last night, but he needed 113 pitches to get through his complete game. That is a lot for a pitcher who has seen the DL...

Willie Harris- WAS- Hot- We may be seeing some regression to the mean in Harris’ performance. Since the All Start Break he is batting .289 with 4 homers and 9 doubles in 114 ABs. In his last 49 games, dating...

J. J. Putz- SEA- Cold- Putz had a blown save last night, giving up a game tying homer to Mark Teixeira in the 9th inning. He has not thrown a 1-2-3 inning since July 20th, which was his first game...

Brandon Backe- HOU- Hot- Talk about bouncing back. Backe did a 180 degree turn from his last start, when he was charged with 11 runs on 9 hits and 6 walks in 3-1/3 IP. Last night he gave up just...

Denard Span- MIN- Hot- Span had his second straight multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a walk, 2 stolen bases and 2 runs scored. He has been enjoying a .299 BHIPx, but it would be expected that his would be above...

Johnny Damon- NYA- Hot- Damon went 2-for-5 to extend his current hitting streak to 7 games and has hit safely in 12 of his last 13. He has definitely benefited from good luck, with a .290 BHIPx, but he also...

Prince Fielder- MIL- Hot- Lost in last night’s brouhaha (or is that a “brewhaha” when it involves Milwaukee?) was Fielder extending his current hitting streak to 8 games, in which he has gone 11-for-28 with 5 homers. He has not...

Arthur Rhodes- SEA- Cold- Rhodes showed a lack of control in more ways than one during his appearance against the Rangers last night. Besides the angry flare up that got him ejected, he also tossed a ball in the direction...

C. C. Sabathia- MIL- Caution- Yesterday’s 124-pitch effort is the third time this month Sabathia has cracked the 120 pitch mark. Even though he does not have a trend of ill effects from lengthy outings, that kind of workload is...

Jack Hannahan- OAK- Hot- Hannahan went 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI last night against the Rangers, making him 6-for-17 in his last 5 games with a homer, 2 doubles, 6 RBI, and 3 runs scored. We may be...

Casey Kotchman- LAA- Hot- Maybe Kotchman is a Fantistics subscriber and read Monday’s blurb about him needing more patience at the plate. Only once yesterday did he swing at a first pitch and went 5-for-5. In 3 of his at...