How Does Left-Handed Pitching Usage Affect OPS? - Beyond the Box Score
An interesting discovery here: when calculating a player's value, we should take into account whether they had to face more left-handed pitching due to a large observed split in production. I.e. assuming Barry Bonds had faced LHPs 24.4% of the time, what would his career OPS be? It'd actually be ten points higher (1.061 v. 1.051), which would account for roughly one to two wins in value over the course of his career.
Baseball Prospectus | Spinning Yarn: Vogelsong Poetry
A great pitch f/x look at Ryan Vogelsong.
Are Giants Really Good ... Or Really Lucky? - Baseball Nation
The World's Champion San Francisco Giants are in first place again, with a 38-29 record. But they've actually been outscored this season. Can they really keep winning this way?
The return of the Arizona Diamondbacks | The Hardball Times
Despite this being a "rebuilding" year, the Diamondbacks are off to a strong start, breathing down the necks of the Giants in the NL West
The Deserving All-Stars: NL Edition | FanGraphs Baseball
I guess this confirms that the Giants are a "team without stars." Nevertheless, I imagine we'll see as many as three or four Giants make the all-star team.
Revisiting the Matt Williams trade - McCovey Chronicles
Was the Matt Williams trade a good one?
