1. Who leads MLB hitters in unchecked swings - that is, pitches that are ruled strikes by the generally half-asleep ump, standing 100-feet away, down the baseline, and who is most susceptible to play to the home crowd? These calls cannot be challenged, and they should be prorated according to home and visiting teams. (Recently, one such call cost the Yankees a no-hitter.)
My guess: The leader in disputed, unchecked swings that "cross the plain of the plate" - whatever that means - would be Anthony Volpe.
Go ahead, wonks, do your thing; prove me wrong.
2. Who becomes baseball's most dangerous hitter after the previous batter has just clubbed a HR of more than 450 feet. Along with the tape-measure blast distance, this stat would compare each hitter's normal OPS with his output following the long-distance bomb. We would know what hitter is most likely to take advantage of a pitcher's likely frustration, and go for the kill.
My guess: Anthony Volpe.
3. What infielder is most likely to botch both ends of one play - that is, to mishandle the grounder and then - adding shit-icing to the cake -fling it into the stands. Often, these calls are reduced to one error, even though the fielder deserves two. Also, my stat must include a judgement of each throw to first, taking into account the first-baseman's ability to snare the ball rather than advance the runner. The Yankees have one of the best firstbasemen in baseball - in Paul Goldschmidt.
My guess, for the leader in multiple botches? You guessed it. Anthony Volpe.
I don't mean to rip on Volpe, who remains a Yankee conundrum. He has reached the point of diminished career expectations - no longer a future perennial star, and instead of being the next Derek Jeter, he's probably more a bridge to George Lombard Jr. He plays hard, never misses a game, hustles his ass off, but remains sadly stuck at .230. Right now, we have no Plan B at SS. (Oswald is a disappointment, Oswaldo is gone.) But we wonder: Is Volpe the starting SS for a championship team?
If anybody's got a stat to answer that question, I'm listening...
4. Here's a Volpe-free request: Who is baseball's best pitcher in games after his team has lost? I'm sure somebody at YES has a number. I'm predicting Max Fried, who currently stands as the AL's runner-up in ERA - by 0.04 of an earned run. (Note: Fried has pitched 18 innings more than the leader, Hunter Brown.) He should start for the AL in the All-Star Game, though in the name of Atlee Hammaker (seven earned runs in two-thirds of an inning, including a grand slam to Fred Lynn, in 1983, and a miserable career ever after) I hope he sits out the all-star break with a cold.
In theory, the Yankees could supply three starters to the AL squad: Fried, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt. Let's not. Who's got the numbers?
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8 comments:
The historical term of the stat you mention, Duque, is: LIDUS-CPP
"Is Volpe the starting SS for a championship team?"
No, and I point to Exhibit "1", the Baltimore Oriole game last year when Volpe botched that ground ball with Clay Holmes trying to close it out (and then Verdugo did his face plant in the grass). And then I point to Exhibit "2", the infamous 5th inning of the last game of last year's pitiful World Series. Champions don't do stuff like that. He showed his true insides, and it was truly horrible. So now we all know what Mistah Kurtz meant when he said "the horror, the horror". Mistah Kurtz - he dead.
Man, what an effing shit show it's been for the last few weeks. Starting with that Red Sox game. Can't make this stuff up.
I haven't even been paying attention. Too effing depressing. Not even checking the box scores. Haven't even checked in here for a long whiles.
Been busy following the NHL draft, which will be Friday night. You know the Islanders have the #1 pick this year, having received a mathematical miracle in the NHL draft lottery? Can't hardly wait to see who they pick #1. There's a kid named Matthew Schaefer. What an inspiration! What a great story! A breath of fresh air. Hope they pick him. I was on the fence about him when I first saw his lack of experience due to injury. But the kid has won me over. Tremendous talent in the games that he did play, but an even better person. How do you not root for a guy like that? He restores your faith in humanity.
I know nothing at all about hockey, but I do know the answer to all of Duque's questions is, indeed, Anthony Volpe. Except the last one, which is Fried. I saw the stat very recently but I can't remember it precisely. His ERA in those games is under 1.00.
Overall, Fried is the first Yankee with 10 Wins and under 1.95 ERA in his first 17 games of the season since Ron Guidry in 1978.
That’s enough for me.
When the Rangers won the #1 overall draft lottery slot 5 years ago, fans went wild and crazy over the consensus pick of Alexis Lafreniere. "The next Mario Lemieux," the scouts all agreed! How did that work out? Badly. He's a lazy and soft piece of shit—a total waste of a number 1 pick. The year before that, they had the #2 overall pick. This pick, along with several other high ones, was accomplished through the shrewd trades of John Davidson. Drunken Dolan canned him for no rational reason. The new GM, Chris Drury, along with other management people, fucked that up by picking Kaapo Kakko. He evolved into another disaster, morphing into Caca Crappo. So, Hammer, don't count your chickens before they hatch.
My apologies to Drury about the above 2 draft picks. Davidson chose them, although everyone had Lafrenier as a consensus #1. Nevertheless, my initial assessment of Drury as GM remains valid. He ruined a conference final team from the previous year and is a horrible management leader.
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