Hot Stove Thread 2014-15

You're *really* not going to like the answer.

He did the stuff under a pitcher's direct control better. Allowing runs is only partially under a pitcher's control.

 

Your answer is fine. I get it all.

That said, Kluber he won the Cy Young because he had 21 more strikeouts, and allowed 2 fewer homers, in two-thirds of an inning fewer. Great.

And yet the guy who finished a whopping 21 Ks behind the league leader allowed 37 fewer hits (and 48 fewer total bases) in two-thirds more of an inning.

Better BAA (.200 to .233), OBP (.243 to .279), and OPS (.546 to .629).

Kluber had a great season, and in time I may shift to the position that he *should* have won it, but right now I'm struggling to wrap my head around "direct control" because one star's 2-strike pitch is a K while another star's 2-strike pitch is a pop-up -- and the pitcher who forced the pop-up is somehow penalized (when it comes to these award shows) because the out-pitch became a BABiP stat instead of FIP stat. Know what I mean? They both made a great pitch to get the out. But the "higher strikeout rate" somehow wins out in the end. It's a really bizarre thing.

Edit: One last thing, stat-wise re: disparity in defenses. Sure, Seattle was 2nd overall in baseball (.986) and Cleveland last (.981). Cleveland committed 34 more errors than Seattle did, but Seattle's defense was worse when Felix pitched (leading to 12 unearned runs) than Cleveland's defense was when Kluber pitched (8 unearned). And remember that they are separated by two-thirds of an inning.

 

Pitchers don't really force pop-ups for the most part.

If you've left the ball where a major-league hitter can pop it up in play, you've left it hittable enough that he could have ripped it.

 

Salvador Perez would like a word.

 

Hi Mr. Perez. Stop swinging at those.

 

How many swinging strikeouts on bad pitches does Kluber get credit for?

 

Bumgarner struck out a few guys in that game.

 

So would anybody who understands how pitchers get batters out even when it isn't a strikeout.

 

People think they understand it. They really don't. It's very counterintuitive.

 

Marlins discussing a 10-year, $300 million extension with Giancarlo Stanton, per Rosenthal:

http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/marlins-giancarlo-stanton-discussing-record-breaking-300-million-deal-111314

 

If you think pitchers don't create pop-ups or ground outs by the way they pitch a hitter, you really don't understand this topic at all.

Sure, sometimes it is just a mistake by the hitter, but you seem to be suggesting the pitcher plays no role. Sorry, but you are way off on this one.

 

Understand what?