Comments on: 2008 Draft Preview: Left-handed Pitchers

By: River Ave. Blues | Curtis & Suttle heating up

River Ave. Blues | Curtis & Suttle heating up — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:31:26 +0000

[...] mound, firing 8 innings of 1 run, 9 strikeout ball on three days rest. I wrote him up as part of my draft coverage, so I feel vindicated (he was the Pirates’ 5th round [...]

By: River Ave. Blues | Brett freaking Gardner … that is all

River Ave. Blues | Brett freaking Gardner … that is all — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:36:43 +0000

[...] tomorrow, winner takes home the Title. I’m not sure who will start the game for each team (Justin Wilson is a good bet for Fresno), but I’m willing to bet the last two men standing tomorrow will be [...]

By: River Ave. Blues | 2008 Draft Preview: Update #1

River Ave. Blues | 2008 Draft Preview: Update #1 — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:08:15 +0000

[...] telling you about some of the top overall prospects and top left-handed pitchers available in this year’s draft, it’s time to bring you up to speed on how they’re [...]

By: Chip

Chip — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 22:16:57 +0000

Yeah I also wish that we could teach IPK or Hughes to pitch with their left hand but overall I’m not too concerned about it. Like it was stated before, you take a lefty over a righty if they’re of the same caliber but there’s no way the Yanks give up a shot on Cole or somebody of his talent if he falls into their lap just because they want a lefty.

By: Kanst

Kanst — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:25:40 +0000

Boston only got 18 starts from lefties last year and they seemed to do alright. A lefty is a nice thing to have but it is far from a necessity

By: mike

mike — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:16:08 +0000

To summarize…I believe the Yanks would do better having an average lefty on their staff than an average righty, as for some reason managers tend to panic (especially at the stadium) and over-react, and may remove an average lefty hitter from the line-up in exchange for an average righty hitter, where the stadium ultimately will be more forgiving to the lefty starter. This has been written into Yankee thinking for generations, and while stats may occasionally demonstrate a flaw in this position, as a life-long fan i tend to agree.

By: dan

dan — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 05:49:24 +0000

It seems counter-intuitive, but last year (I can’t speak for years past) Yankee stadium favored home runs to LEFT field. At Yankee Stadium, homers were inflated by 3% to left, and homers to right were neither inflated nor deflated (score of 1.00).

http://docs.google.com/View?do.....26f49mrgk6

If you don’t like explanations, just skip to the second chart. Lichtman (the guy who made the page) co-wrote The Book, and used to work for the Cardinals as their sabermetrician….if you doubt his methodology then you had better have a good explanation.

Mike does raise a good point with the power line-ups, but I don’t have the slightest idea of how to investigate it, or the motivation to do so.

By: jeff

jeff — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:14:34 +0000

“It’s not rocket science.”

Then show some evidence.

“Yankee Stadium has a short RF porch, which LHB take advantage of…”

Pettitte last year:
Home ERA: 4.17
Road ERA: 3.95

Yeah, I know I’m cheating there by only looking at one year. Pettitte has most likely been better at home than on the road over his career with the Yankees. But my point is, it’s not like lefties automatically pitch better at Yankee Stadium.

“…plus there’s are some seriously strong lineups in the AL East, having a lefty or two helps neutralize that.”

Red Sox OPS last year:
vs RHP: .808
vs LHP: .801
Rays OPS last year:
vs RHP: .752
vs LHP: .816
Blue Jays OPS last year:
vs RHP: .715
vs LHP: .849
Orioles OPS last year:
vs RHP: .744
vs LHP: .750

Also, all four teams had a higher OBP vs LHP than RHP. Given the choice, I’d rather throw right-handers than left-handers against that group of teams.

“But that doesn’t mean having a lefty or two is a bad thing.”

Sweet. You’ve changed your position from implying that the Yankees must have a lefty starter to win the World Series to having a lefty is not a bad thing. I think we agree now.

By: Mike A.

Mike A. — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:22:04 +0000

It’s not rocket science. Yankee Stadium has a short RF porch, which LHB take advantage of, plus there’s are some seriously strong lineups in the AL East, having a lefty or two helps neutralize that.

Of course you’d take a RHP if he’s better than a lefty. But that doesn’t mean having a lefty or two is a bad thing.

By: jeff

jeff — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 03:12:26 +0000

So, no evidence to back up your “That’s not an opinion” statement?