Fangraphs.com

Fangraphs.com is definitely the best site for stats. It offers more comprehensive batted ball data and great Win Probability charts. Now they`re adding the percentage of times pitchers throw each pitch and itss average velocity. For example, Rivera threw cutters 73.2%s of the time at an average of 93.2 miles per hour, he threw fastballs 26.7% of the time at an average of 93.6 mph, and he threw changeups .1% of the time at an average of 83 mph. I might try to incorporate this into RCA.

How much does Jeter cost the Yankees?

I disagree with him on A-Rod and Cashman most of the time but Steve Lombardi finds everything about the Yankees or baseball in general. He pointed out this post on Tom Tango's site:

http://www.waswatching.com/archives/2008/02/free_alberto_go.html#comments


50 runs is rougly 5 wins just from defense. I was shocked when I read this but if it is how much is Jeter really costing the Yankees on defense. How much of a difference would Alberto Gonzalez make if he could just be average at the plate? Now, Jeter`s bat wouldn't dissapear either. He could move to first base where he would be a huge improvement over whatever we have there. It wouldn't surprise me if Jeter could play a good first base either.

Jeter will probably have to be moved eventually in the next few years. He`s getting older and was never very good to begin with on defense. Girardi noticed his poor range up the middle in a YES broadcast. It won't be this year but maybe next year we might have Jeter at a different position.

Runs Created Average

Earlier in the year, when I first started this blog, I made a post about the stats I use to evaluate pitchers and mentioned a statistic called RCA, or Runs Created Average, I invented. I`m constantly tweaking it but I`ll try and explain its present version. First of all here's the formula:

RCA= (Average Pitcher's Runs Surrendered/9)+(Expected Runs Surrendered Above Average)/(Expected Outs Pitched/3)

Pitcher's Runs Surrendered/9 is what is commonly known as RA (Run Average). It is like ERA but counts unearned runs.

Expected Runs Surrendered Above Average (ERSAA) and Expected Outs Pitched (EOP) are statistics I invented. They are based on the GB/FB/IFFB/LD/SO/BB/HBP a pitcher has and the run value and percentage of the time they are outs of each one. The numbers these different types of events are multiplied are the run values of them (That is for ERSAA) and percentage of the time these types of event are converted into outs.

ERSAA= (SO* -.287)+(IFFB*-.243)+(GB* -.101)+(FB*0.035)+(LD*0.356)+(BB*0.315)+(HBP*0.342)

EOP= (SO*1.00)+(BB*0.00)+(HBP*0.00)+(GB*.772)+(LD*.1 88)+(FB*.812)+(IFFB*.962)

EOP is then divided by three to convert them into Innings Pitched.

Here is an example. John Smith has these statistics one year.

SO- 200

BB- 50

HBP- 5

GB- 350

FB- 120

IFFB- 10

LD- 100

Average RA- 4.80

John Smith's RCA = 4.80+(-37.92/(596.06/3) = 4.61

Why do I use this instead of other pitching statistics?

We all know the flaws of conventional statistics such as ERA, Wins, and Losses but DIPS statistics are also flawed. Studies have suggested that pitchers cannot control their HR/FB% as much as is sometimes assumed. As a result HR's are not an accurate measure of a player's ability to prevent HR's. I prefer GB% or GB's. It also includes the exact values of these different events. K/BB is a statistic I use a lot but it does not account for the fact that a player with a 200/50 SO/BB ratio in 200 IP is better than a pitcher that has a 100/25 SO/BB ratio in 200 IP. One walk does not fully offset a strikeout. Using LD% also accounts for part of a pitcher's control in keeping a low BABIP. A big inspiration for my work here was a post on a Mariners blog I stumbled upon about evaluating pitchers.

If you have any comments or questions please post them in the comments section.