S. BAKER (33 Starts) | ||
xFIP | MLB Rank |
4.46 |
49th |
BABIP | +/- MLB Avg |
.277 |
-7.4% |
Runs Support | +/- MLB Avg |
5.62 |
+17.9% |
GAME SCORES |
Decisions |
No-Decisions |
Game Score Greater Than 50: |
12-2 |
2-2 |
Game Score Less Than 50: |
3-6 |
3-3 |
| ||
Average Game Score Per Start: |
52 | |
Season High/Low: |
88 (8/14) |
21 (4/22) |
| ||
Game Scores over 90: |
0 | |
Game Scores 80-89: |
1 | |
Game Scores 70-79: |
3 | |
Game Scores 60-69: |
7 | |
Game Scores Below 40: |
6 | |
| ||
Record of Opposing Batters: |
.247/.293/.416 (709 OPS) | |
Offensive Equivalent: |
Garret Anderson |
Back in May I wrote, “The season did not start out the way Baker and the Twins envisioned after signing him to a long-term contract this past offseason. Shoulder problems delayed the beginning of his 2009 season and when he returned, he began by allowing home runs at an absurd pace - in his first three starts he surrendered a home run every 10 plate appearances - while his 16 earned runs in just 14 innings of work resulted in a 9.82 ERA and a myriad of questions regarding his health and effectiveness.” A dissection in his pitches showed that Baker struggled at gaining movement with his pitches, frequently leaving very hittable balls middle-up in the zone. Things turned around quickly for the Twins’ veteran right-hander as his fifth season in Minnesota wore on. In April and May, Baker went 2-6 allowing 14 home runs in his nine games resulting in a 6.32 ERA but from June until the end of the season, he went 13-3 with a 3.67 ERA in 24 games helping propel the Twins towards the division-leading Tigers.
This is not to say that I felt Blackburn deserved a bad grade, per se. After all, his performance, while not dominating, resulted in a very good 4.03 ERA. Of course, to most baseball analysts, ERA and victories do little to inform on the actual performance of a pitcher. In the areas like K/9, WHIP, batting average allowed, Baker was a far superior pitcher. Outward demeanor could also be influencing the decision. Whereas Blackburn gets credit for appearing confident in big starts, Baker seems to project this opposite. Baker's mound demeanor could be what is most unnerving and less than inspirational. Following periods of unbridled bashing from opponents, Baker assumes the deer-in-headlights look and appears to have a rapport of that of a father chewing out his son whenever pitching coach Rick Anderson trots out to the infield bump.
- His 1.19 WHIP and his 3.38 K/BB was good enough for seventh in the American League. These have much better predicative values than citing his 4.36 ERA (which was still several points better than the AL average of 4.46) that inflated from sub-4.00 a year ago.
- His fastball was one of the best in the league as well. At 1.03 wFB/C, his heater was behind that of the Royals' Zack Greinke in runs above average in the AL.
- 31 percent of his plate appearance were of the 0-2 variety. Only Detroit's Justin Verlander held a higher percentage of 0-2 counts. This fact is huge considering MLB players managed to hit just .461 OPS once falling into an 0-2 deficit.
No comments:
Post a Comment