I’ve been watching Joaquin Benoit’s season as the set-up man for the Tampa Bay Rays. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s been putting up some pretty nice numbers: an ERA of 0.70 and a WHIP of 0.55. He has struck out 53, walked six, and allowed 15 hits and three runs, all on solo home […]

Mets 3, Braves 2: I get the sense that we’ll be calling this one the “Francoeur Game” for some time. A bad route by Frenchie on what should have been a single to right led to the Braves’ second run, but then (a) Kyle Farnsworth walked Francouer on four pitches in the seventh and he […]

I’ve started a project to evaluate the various defensive ratings based on how well they project future defensive efficiency. For more background, read part one here if you want, or feel free to skip ahead to the results. Since part one I’ve upgraded the projection program, it now uses position adjustments to allow for players […]

Time for the latest Hardball Times Graphical Report, which you can download for free. In this latest Graphical Report, we capture some of the dynamics that have recently been fueling teams like the Rays, Twins, Giants and (gulp) Astros. And it also raises the vital question: what has happened to the Kansas City gloves? I’ve […]

The Houston Astros have finally embraced a rebuilding effort following years of stubbornly trying to compete with an aging, expensive roster and a deteriorating farm system. When the ‘Stros finally did bid adieu to Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, the returns weren’t phenomenal. With both making significant cash, there was little surplus value to be […]

I’m looking for a little scouting help here. Jeremy Hellickson made his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays last night, tossing seven frames, striking out six and allowing only two runs on three hits to help his team pick up the victory over Carl Pavano and the Minnesota Twins. The win was an […]

Braves 4, Mets 1: Johan Santana struck out 11 Braves, but they nickled and dimed him for three runs in the first and then Chipper Jones knocked one out off him in the seventh. Chipper’s career may be on death’s door, but he could wake up in 2027 and hit a home run off the […]

Diamondbacks 14, Mets 1: I was tempted to say that Adam LaRoche’s two three-run home runs yesterday are just the latest example of second-half greatness from a great second-half player, but check out his month-by-month OPSeseses: April: .953; May: .787; June: .698; July: .669. Contrary to his reputation, he’s gotten worse as the season has […]

Died: The Texas Rangers drafting a mission statement about the value of good spending habits. Major league baseball is filled with shining moments and valuable lessons. Some, we should pass onto our children. This is not one of them. People have talked about how major league baseball has allowed a team (ehm, mess) in bankruptcy […]

Arizona has shipped Chad Qualls to the Rays, eliciting responses ranging from anger to mockery to happiness. Qualls is having an off year, his worst showing of the past four campaigns. It’s just not as bad as his bloated ERA indicates. Using pitch-by-pitch linear weights to derive “ERA”, both rvERAe (based on batted ball types) […]