Some lunch time links while we make you wait another two hours for something on the fifth starter situation.
The Mets are shopping Gary Matthews Jr.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Teams that are paying money to other teams
At FanGraphs, Steve Sommer takes a look at teams that are sending 10 percent or more of their overall payroll to other teams. The Blue Jays lead the way at $16 million, or 23 percent of their payroll. In pure dollar terms, though, the Dodgers are paying out the most, $16.6 million. You can check out the whole list here. The Yankees are only shelling out $4.5 million in that regard, a mere 2 percent of overall payroll.
The year-after effect for young starters
At ESPN’s TMI blog, Tango examines young pitchers who break out and then regress the following year. Clayton Kershaw, Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, and Felix Hernandez qualify this year, and Tango warns that they could regress just like their predecessors. Check out the accompanying table for more recent examples. Also keep this in mind when you think about Joba Chamberlain. He pitched excellently in the rotation in 2008, but pitched markedly worse in 2009. To that end, Zack Greinke had a 5.80 ERA in the season following his breakout, in which he posted a 3.97 ERA.
Jeff Sullivan at Lookout landing takes on the question and makes many fine points. To my mind, this is the best way to argue with stats. To categorically dismiss them is foolish. We can learn plenty by a player’s results. We can learn a lot more by thinking, in specific terms, what the stat might not be telling us.
Everything you need to know about Standing Room Only tickets
Ross at NYY Stadium Insider writes at length about the Standing Room Only tickets the Yankees have offered for the 2010 season. If you’re thinking about getting these slightly cheaper tickets, definitely read over his post.
Other links
I found a lot worth reading, so…
- If you watch nothing else today, watch this Ichiro catch.
- Dan McCutchen wins the 5th starter role for Pirates. Who says the Yankees can’t develop pitching?
- Jason Giambi knows how to party. Looks like he’s got plenty of that $120 million left over.
- Can a bracelet improve your performance? I think J.C. Romero put it best. “If you think it helps you, it probably helps you.”
- Friend of RAB Jonah Keri did a podcast with Bill Simmons. Definitely worth the listen.
- If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, check out Batting Goggles. It has tons of information on each batter. This includes, most prominently, a breakdown of how they fare in each section of the strike zone.
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