Nova: “I just found a way to help myself”
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Podcast on Aug 29, 2011 
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In the early innings last night, Ivan Nova just didn’t have it.
The Orioles were making consistent contact, and it was hard contact. They scored a run in the first inning, scored a run in the second, scored again in the third, and they had another runner on base in the fourth before a double play.
Then it changed. Suddenly Nova was rolling, and he didn’t allow another hit until the eighth inning.
“The first four innings, I wasn’t feeling like my arm speed was there,” Nova said. “After that I watched my video. I said, ‘Oh, you’re doing this with your arm.’ I think that was a good adjustment that I made.”
Turns out, Nova hadn’t played catch catch on that rainy Thursday in New York, and he hadn’t played catch during Saturday’s hurricane in Baltimore. Two days without throwing, he said, disrupted his arm angle, and it took him a while to find it.
His ability to make that adjustment — surely a sign of a young pitcher growing into this level — saved yesterday’s doubleheader and gave the Yankees a chance to get out of here with a four-game split.
“My arm feels good and my body feels good, but you know that something is not right,” Nova said. “I wanted to go fastball away, and it was coming to the middle. Something was happening. So, for me, I just found a way to help myself, and I think that’s what I did.”
Here’s Nova.
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Associated Press photo
Good morning everyone. I’m late to the party this morning.
The MVP award should go to an everyday player whose helps his team get into the playoffs. At this point in the season IMO that comes down to Granderson and Gonzalez with a 3rd place vote to Cabrera.
Hopefully the Yankees will win today, pick up the pace and distance themselves from the Rays, Angels/Rangers for a playoff spot.
Now please teach that to AJ, Ivan.
Great job.
Unfortunately I didn’t get to see Super Nova pitch last night. MLB.com only had radio feed even though my home teams game had been cancelled due to Irene!
His composure on the mound plus his improved slider make him a fixture in the rotation for many years to come.
I didn’t even get to see last night’s game.
But they always seem to do well when I can’t watch, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.
I’m sure this was already discussed but did you guys seen Uncle Joe talking to Kim Jones on the Joe Girardi show? 2 interesting revelations: 1) If Montero’s called up they’d wanna see him behind the plate and 2) Dave Robertson can throw left handed?!
Looks like it’s Burnett on Thursday in Fenway vs TBD.
Nick in SF would probably say to bet on TBD!!
Shame-
I didn’t get to see it. It looks like A-Rod re-aggravated the thumb which he hurt his first game back while playing 3rd, and Jeter who required a golf cart to get him to the team bus, with a contused knee are going to be day to day.
Looks like it?s Burnett on Thursday in Fenway vs TBD.
Nick in SF would probably say to bet on TBD!!
____________
They should start one of the kids there. Not that any of them are sure fires, but at least Boston hasn’t seen them, so advantage to pitcher.
AJ, not so much.
They can’t afford to get swept in Fenway again this year. Not now.
Ivan Nova looks like a solid mid-rotation starter. He doesn’t have top shelf stuff but he will gobble up innings and keep the Yankees in most games where he starts. With the support of the Yankees offense, that will translate into many wins throughout his Yankee career.
Howard-
Totally agree. I’d like them to start Noesi for 3 innings and use one or two of the AAA call-ups to get in another 3-4 innings. Does someone have to be sent down today to make room for Garcia?
They can’t pitch AJ at Fenway…..they just can’t.
Brett,
You know what’s even more remarkable about Nova’s make up? Is that he’s smart enough (as pitcher) to recognize that his arm angle was off a bit and made adjustments.
Its even more mind-boggling to know that burnett has been in the league much longer than Nova and he still doesn’t have the baseball acumen to make on the fly adjustments.
Nova’s expansive repertoire kind of insulates him from the infamous “stinker” game. If something isn’t working, he’s never really trapped at the mercy of opposing hitters because he can reach into his deep back pocket and throw something unexpected. He has a deep arsenal where there will always be pitches he can rely on to get outs. That’s why he always seems to wriggle out of trouble. Although not overpowering, I think that his versatility would play well in a playoff game where hitters overthink and second guess hitting situations because of the elevated pressure. El Duque thrived in playoff games because of that. But his baseball IQ was off the charts. Still, you wonder how Ivan Nova will evolve as he matures.
Nova has evolved more in the last year than AJ has in his entire career.
Blake-
Oh yes they can. And they will.
I hope they pitch AJ in Boston, just for the selfish fact that I will make BIG MONEY betting against that SLUG !
Thursday the 1st is the first day you can expand the rosters-right?
Cashman-Tell Burnett to stay in his Maryland home-to take a few mental days off, and that you’ll have him return after the Boston series.
would the real AJ please stand up
YT-
All you can hope for is that good AJ somehow shows up.
He’s pitching.
Trader,
That’d be great….butbi doubt they’ll do that. The Yanks seem bound and determined to give AJ more lives than a dozen cats. Id rather see Adam Warren or Noesi start. Don’t know how many innings Noesi could give them but id rather see him out there.
Gotta go for a while. Have a great day everyone.
From MLBTRs:
By Tim Dierkes [August 29 at 7:44am CST]
We’ve looked at the Orioles and Red Sox so far; now let’s look at the Yankees players who will be arbitration eligible after the season.
•First time: Brett Gardner, David Robertson
•Second time: Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain
•Third time: Boone Logan
•Fourth time: Russell Martin
I expect all six players to be tendered a contract. Robertson, Logan, and Chamberlain should all come in under $2MM. Gardner looks to be in the $2.4-3.3MM range for his first time through; a stolen base title would put him toward the higher end of that range. Hughes will get a mild raise, perhaps to $3.4MM or so. We have Martin around $5.2MM, though his is a little tricky to determine because he’s coming from a free agent salary
I think, unfortunately, AJ still goes in Boston…. I’d rather Dave Robertson start the game and try to pitch the entire thing lefty. I think we’d have a better shot at a win.
Meanwhile, Phil’s start will be even bigger in that series.
AJ talks about how he needs to pitch inside. 20 wild pitches so far this season. If he pitches Thursday what inning will he get a warning after hitting one of the RS?
I go with the 1st!
I’ll catch up later.
Im not that worried about Hughes……he didn’t pitch well his last turn but of his last 5 starts 4 of them were good and the As really swung the bats well overall in that series.
I was hoping the Yanks could take a lead into Fenway this week with the schedule but they really missed a golden opportunity…….lot of season to go but if they don’t win the divsion they can probably look to this past week as a big reason why.
“If something isn’t working, he’s never really trapped at the mercy of opposing hitters because he can reach into his deep back pocket and throw something unexpected.”
Which is why I wondered why people compared him the wang? Wang never possessed the curve that Nova has.
Blake-
IMO it’s the head to head’s that are gonna tell the tale.
TB has a chance to be a spoiler.
AJ doesn’t have good.enough command to pitch inside effectively……if he did then it would certainly help but unfortunately the result would likely be a lot of balls down the middle instead of inside…..and a lot of free baserunners via HBP.
blake August 29th, 2011 at 9:44 am
I was hoping the Yanks could take a lead into Fenway this week with the schedule but they really missed a golden opportunity??.lot of season to go but if they don?t win the divsion they can probably look to this past week as a big reason why.
*******************
Blake, no question they’ve had a bad week. And hopefully it won’t come back to haunt them. But I’m just looking at it as a little blip on the radar. They’ll snap out of it. And a part of me thinks that since they’ve had bad series against the As and Orioles, that it means they (might, possibly, hopefully) have a good series in Boston.
MTU,
Probably…..but the Yanks only play Boston 6 more times and 3 are at Fenway. Hopefully they can take 4 of those 6…….they obviously can still win but going 2-4 against the As and Os the last 6 games isn’t ideal. Flip that number and they are still in first now.
Erin,
I too believe in the law of things leveling out……they are due against Boston and its time.for a correction
Blake-
It’s all about adjusting the balance sheet with Boston right now.
I agree that it would have been better if we handled that group of games better.
The pressure is on.
They need to stick it to TB as well.
Blake,
you how the term ” that’s baseball” is.
Considering how awful AJ has been, the redsox have got to believe that they have this game in the bag. No one on LOHUD and including the yankees FO are expecting him to win. He’s on the verge of losing his rotation spot if he hasn’t already and is also in danger of not even being on the PS roster.
When you take all of this into account; the the amount of bad press he’s been receiving, he’s bound ( and it would not shock me) to pitch a gem against them this weekend.
He knows his spot is gone. he has nothing to lose. thoughts?
If Burnett starts on Thursday, he’ll feel entitled and expect to pitch every 5 days. He’ll also expect to be on the postseason roster.
None of the above should happen. He’s earned absolutely nothing. There are other options contrary to what he thinks.
Benny-
AJ has the capability on any given day.
Trouble is he’s a box of chocolates and he has been terrible lately.
We need these games so I hope good AJ shows up and he breaks out.
I keep coming back to this nonsense – Nova doesn’t have top end stuff. There must be all kinds of mid rotation pitchers that have four pitches that they throw with a 93 mph average sinker. I guess I don’t know about them This stat blither about SO and BB rating pitchers is exactly that. The latest and greatest is swings and misses. Stats are history and history by definition is in the past. Nova came back from AAA throwing this killer Slider/cutter that is still a work in progress. That is the new baseline. At that point all previous stats are out of whack. Granderson changed his setup – that is his new baseline and so on.
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# 86w183 August 29th, 2011 at 8:24 am
Justin Verlander will get support too, but ever since Guidry didn’t win it in 1978 I have never considered a starting pitcher deserving of the award. How “valuable” can you be if you sit and watch 75-80 % of the time?
==============
Well, actually, I could argue that “Pitchers are at least as deserving as field players because they affect more plays per year than field players do.”
Using raw estimates–
Batters have 600-700 PA/yr (plate appearances) (NOTE- I ignore fielding’s impact on MVP voting because it takes a collection of extraordinary plays or a very poor fielding pct to really have an impact.)
Starting pitchers are involved in 3740 chances/yr (based on 110 pitches/gm * 34 games)
OR, looking at batters faced..
Starting pitchers handle 952 chances/yr (4 batters/inning * 7 innings/gm) * 34 games/yr.
(remember these are raw estimates)
MVP…MVP…MVP!!!!!
dont give me any of that gonzo crap…
a starting pitcher only controls about 2/3 of 34 games per year.
AJ won’t make it out of the first inning at Fenway. The red sox hitters will have a field day, and the Boston fans will eat him alive. He’ll be lucky to find his way back to the team bus.
in verlander’s case we’ll call it 9/10ths of 34 games, which is still less than 20% of a teams schedule.
i have no confidence in aj, none. but somehow i have the feeling that he’s gonna surprise us all this time around. and no i have not predicted such befiore. i just think the last one was so embarrasing that he’s finally going to have a breakthrough (or a breakdown) next time out.
any real Yankees fan, no matter how much they thing Burnett should be out of the rotation, will be pulling for him to pitch a great game on Thursday if he gets the ball.
Those of you who want him to fail and get blasted should go root for another team, there are 29 of them in need of your fan-dumb.
i root for the other guys to overtake aj and take away his rotation spot, not for aj to fail. unfortunately, the last 3 times through the rotation, nova, hughes and bart took turns stinking the joint up, which keeps aj in the mix (along with the wacky scheduling)
MG,
AJ has nothing to lose. Mentally, he’s exhausted and knows his spot is in jeopardy. I will not be shocked if he pitches a gem.
This is a troubling trend:
Gardner is hitting .100 in his last ten games, that’s 4-40. But this doesn’t seem to just be a short term problem as his BA has dropped significantly every month since June.
June – .317
July – .289
August – .237
Pitchers have their own MVP award, the Cy Young. The MVP should go to position players that have the greatest impact on their team winning games.
Granderson is an MVP type player, period!
Ys Guy August 29th, 2011 at 10:20 am
MVP?MVP?MVP!!!!!
dont give me any of that gonzo crap?
***********************
Gonzo could win MVP of the Muppet softball league.
He’s the only Gonzo worth talking about.
MG August 29th, 2011 at 10:25 am
any real Yankees fan, no matter how much they thing Burnett should be out of the rotation, will be pulling for him to pitch a great game on Thursday if he gets the ball.
*************************
Correct.
Erin August 29th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Ys Guy August 29th, 2011 at 10:20 am
MVP?MVP?MVP!!!!!
dont give me any of that gonzo crap?
***********************
Gonzo could win MVP of the Muppet softball league.
He’s the only Gonzo worth talking about.
————————————————————————————————————————-
I heard a rumor that Ms. Piggie is going to do a weekly football rap-up show on KSTY-TV called Moi’s Pigskin Review.
GreenBeret7 August 29th, 2011 at 10:42 am
I heard a rumor that Ms. Piggie is going to do a weekly football rap-up show on KSTY-TV called Moi?s Pigskin Review.
************************
Awesome.
dont give me any of that gonzo crap?
______
Or Agon could rip of 12 or 14 HR this month, propel his team into a 5 or 6 game lead, have a higher WAR, higher OPS, as many RBI or more, and this discussion would look pretty different than it does today.
Or are they awarding it today?
This is a troubling trend:
Gardner is hitting .100 in his last ten games, that?s 4-40. But this doesn?t seem to just be a short term problem as his BA has dropped significantly every month since June.
June ? .317
July ? .289
August ? .237
__________________
Morning, WC. Nice reading the comments from the weekend – I was without power, so missed them.
Be careful with the Gardner stuff…too much common sense isn’t good for the soul.
AJ has made a career on “his next start will be the one”.
He is what he is. Accept it and move on. He’s not going to be a star, and the odds of the Boston hitters not pounding him are slim.
Sounds as if some here are rooting for a Red Sux player to be the MVP.
Granderson as had the greatest impact on the Yankees success this season, and, IMO, is both the team and league MVP at this point in the season.
Sounds as if some here are rooting for a Red Sux player to be the MVP.
————-
Not at all. Some here are just realistic. AGon was the pre-season favorite, and if the numbers are close, he’s going to win it..especially if the Sox win the East. Granderson will have to be MUCH better than him to win it, and right now, runs and HR are the only categories in which he’s sig better.
Labeling people isn’t going to change that…it’s just a realistic POV.
“he’s a box of chocolates”
Those aren’t chocolates, MTU.
That, and there is still a month of baseball left. Agon could go back in the tank. So could Granderson. Both could rip off great months.
A lot to still be decided. But, even as Granderson eludes to above, the league is still not considering him a threat, and he doesn’t consider himself one, and most writers are going to feel that way too.
I actually feel like the national games between the two teams will come into play. If Granderson mashes the ball, and Agon doesn’t, it could go a long way. And v/v
Those aren?t chocolates, MTU.
______________
Dustmite Pedroia taped a new commercial in time before the storm warnings could have prevented it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related
Granderson plays CF and is on pace to steal 30 bases as well. As I posted last night….if he scores 150 runs he’ll be only the second player to do so since 1949 when Ted Williams did it. You could argue that Miguel Cabrera is a better candidate than Gonzalez…..as he’s the only real force they have offensively.
Chad, have you had any definite word on who gets the axe today when Garcia is activated? I assume it’s Noesi, but, will he have to wait 10 days before returningl or is he eligible for recall on the 1st?
AGon’s BA is dropping, he’s behind Granderson in runs scored, RBI’s, HR, SLG & OPS. Granderson has been more of an impact player for the Yankees, than AGon has been for the RS.
I hope Granderson wins but here is some perspective:
1. A-Gon is hitting 67 points higher than Granderson is, .345 to .278.
2. There have only been two players in the last (40) years to win the AL MVP with a BA under .300. Reggie at .293 and A-Rod at .298
3. Bautista is hitting .312 and leads the league in OBP (.452) – SLG (.640) and OPS (1.092)
4. Granderson is third in the AL in strikeouts with (138) behind only Dunn and Reynolds.
5. Granderson is (31st) in the AL in BA and (19th) in Hits.
# Ys Guy- “a starting pitcher only controls about 2/3 of 34 games per year”
In my calculations for pitchers, I calculated based on the average number of pitches thrown, and for the average number of batters faced. Thus, those numbers don’t need to be adjusted by the 2/3rds you suggest…
NOTE- one more way to think about it-
Top starting pitchers affect more than 2/3rds – 7/9ths is abetter estimate
Thus, Top starting pitchers affect 7/9 of 1/2 (the half when they are in the field) of every game they are in.
… Thus, on average, they affect 7/9 * 1/2 * 34 = 13.222
Note that Verlander has averaged 7.44 innings/game, and Sabbathia 7.32.
Field players affect 1/9 of 1/2 of every game they are in, and most MVP candidate field players play 150 games on average.
… Thus, on average, they affect 1/9 * 1/2 * 150 = 8.333
Note that Granderson has actually had 11.3% of the Yankees’ Plate Attempts, just slightly more than 11.1% = 1/9.
The Ks are maybe the biggest concern with Grandy’s candidacy. He’s leading in homers but likely will need to get that BA closer to .300 to win….. don’t think he has to get to .300 but probably needs to be above .285.
If Pedro didn’t win the MVP in 1999 or 2000 with better numbers then Verlander and pitching in the steroid ERA then Verlander isn’t winning it either
FYI… I am a big Yankee fan, but I am also a realist, and I like to be sure that my thinking is based on the best information available.
I do think that Granderson has had a great season, and is certainly right in the middle of te MVP consideration.. along with the others that have been named.
BUT, I have always thought that pitchers deserve equal consideration to field players, based on the simple calculations I have used today. The fact that they could also win the Cy Young does not negate the fact that they may also be deserving of the MVP.
I think if you can give the Cy Young to a guy that like King Felix, you can easily argue for Granderson’s sub .300 avg. as MVP, given his other stats.
MVP’s tend to come from winning teams, so I think it will come down to Granderson & AGon, and if writers split their votes for 2 other RS players, that could help Granderson.
Sportsgeek,
If you’re a realist then you’d probably agree that Verlander probably isn’t going to.win the MVP …….he may deserve it and I wouldn’t argue that because the Tigers wouldn’t be winning the central without him…..but that’s just the way the award is done. There are too many worthy position player candidates this year……
Erin August 29th, 2011 at 10:30 am
MG August 29th, 2011 at 10:25 am
any real Yankees fan, no matter how much they thing Burnett should be out of the rotation, will be pulling for him to pitch a great game on Thursday if he gets the ball.
*************************
Correct.
….
Not so fast, how about he pitches a great game, the Yankees win, but then he is kicked off the team A-LA Carlos Zambrano style and that is the last we see of him?
Right now Verlander is the best pitcher in the AL, and perhaps the best in MLB. An ACE needs to win the big games for his team, and Verlander has done that. I love CC, but he has failed to beat the RS thus far, and as the teams ACE he needs to step up and win those games.
Because as much as AJ has failed on the mound, it is not the same situation as with Carlos Zambrano who has been a clear distraction to his team. It is apples and oranges.
Don-I’m assuming that AJ will be having a similiar meltdown in your scenario? Troublemaker.
Joe Pozsnanski/AL MVP Voter:
(Kansas City) 8-2611
“Many of the numbers that people have historically treasured — wins and RBIs in particular — are team-driven statistics. That means that it should be significantly easier for players to put up those numbers when they play on GOOD teams. Example: Jose Bautista has ONLY 82 RBIs, while Curtis Granderson has 98 RBIs. Why?
Well, Bautista has come up with runners in scoring position 133 times — and 16 of those was intentionally walked. In all, he has come up with 306 runners on base.
Granderson has come up with runners in scoring position 159 times — and he has not once been intentionally walked. In all, he has come up with 360 runners on base.
So, you tell me in which situation it’s easier to knock in a lot of runs?”
Later folks, y’all have a great day. GO YANKEES!
Early DVR alert- Tex and Alex will be on this coming Sunday’s episode of Entourage.
“Howard August 29th, 2011 at 10:50 am
dont give me any of that gonzo crap?
______
Or Agon could rip of 12 or 14 HR this month, propel his team into a 5 or 6 game lead, have a higher WAR, higher OPS, as many RBI or more, and this discussion would look pretty different than it does today.
Or are they awarding it today?”
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yeah, but that would still leave him behind the top 3 hr hitters. and if he scored like 40 runs he would be right there, too, assuming grandy broke his leg and missed the last month…
oh and btw, do you think gonzo would have as many rbi as grandy if he was batting 2nd?
Does anybody recognize this AL 2nd baseman? Hint: He plays in Boston.
http://www.bing.com/images/sea.....38;first=0
So HR is the benchmark?
Like I said, we’ll see how that goes in a month.
Bautista could shut the door as well.
Blake… you make a good point, and I partially agree with you… Clearly, there are a number of good candidates this year.
And the blogs and the traditional media, plus the teams’ media relations guys are going to have a field day debating this subject.
Also, as we all know, the criteria for MVP are quite subjective and very much undefined, so they are entirely up to the sports writers with the votes… I just wonder how much we can affect their opinions.
FYI about the Cy Young vs MVP- Note that “MVP” is not “MVPP” (MV “Position Player”) or “MVNP” (MV “Non-Pitcher”). Yes, it’s true that pitchers seldom win the MVP, but there have been some- since 1980- Eckersley, Clemens and Rollie Fingers)
GreenBeret7 August 29th, 2011 at 11:37 am
Does anybody recognize this AL 2nd baseman? Hint: He plays in Boston.
http://www.bing.com/images/sea…..38;first=0
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“So, you tell me in which situation it’s easier to knock in a lot of runs”
Those numbers would probably mean more if Bautista were driving it a lot more runs per chance than Granderson…..but that’s not the case.
98/360= 27.2%
82/306= 26.7%
Therefore Granderson is actually still driving on more runs per opportunity ……so that doesn’t matter
Again with the stupid intentional walks BS? Maris was the ’61 MVP and had no intentional walks. He only had 4 in 1960 when he won the MVP, batting behind Mantle.
West Coast Yankee Fan August 29th, 2011 at 11:10 am
I hope Granderson wins but here is some perspective:
1. A-Gon is hitting 67 points higher than Granderson is, .345 to .278.
2. There have only been two players in the last (40) years to win the AL MVP with a BA under .300. Reggie at .293 and A-Rod at .298
3. Bautista is hitting .312 and leads the league in OBP (.452) – SLG (.640) and OPS (1.092)
4. Granderson is third in the AL in strikeouts with (138) behind only Dunn and Reynolds.
5. Granderson is (31st) in the AL in BA and (19th) in Hits.
—
Most “stat geeks” play down batting average, so if you are going to look at a “traditional” stat like batting average for Gonzalez, you then also have to consider other “traditional” stats like runs, rbi, hr, stolen bases, total bases, etc.
Also, don’t argue obp, slg, and ops together like they are 3 categories, because ops is just obp + slg.
Most “stat geeks” also say strikeouts don’t matter much over other types of outs.
Those numbers have changed since Joe Pos wrote that….but at the time it was written that was the case…..my guess is that the numbers would favor Grandy even more now.
Does anybody recognize this AL 2nd baseman? Hint: He plays in Boston.
http://www.bing.com/images/sea?..38;first=0
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Am I missing the humor here? Are you comparing him to stimpy? Did I miss a joke or something about how he is similar to a cartoon character?
Sportsgeek,
Verlander is having a great season…..but not really a historic one…..which I think it would take given that there are.so.many other good.candidates.
Also, don?t argue obp, slg, and ops together like they are 3 categories, because ops is just obp + slg.
_______
They’re three categories. If you need that explained to you, I’d understand this statment better.
A player could have a high OBP, and low SLG, thus making his OPS seem normal, but a player with high in both is more telling. That’s why they’re listed individually, and thus, three different stats.
Also, K’s do matter, a lot. Granderson is running away in HR and Runs. The bottom line is that he’s going to need more than that to beat AGon or Bautista, if for no other resason so the writers can say “told you so”.
Nova is the man. I can’t wait to see how he does in the post-season. He just seems to have what it takes to pitch a brilliant game when it matters the most.
batting average for Gonzalez, you then also have to consider other ?traditional? stats like runs, rbi, hr, stolen bases, total bases, etc.
_____
Of course those things are going to be considered. At which time, the writers will see that AGon, Bautista and Granderson’s stas are going to be fairly similar between the advanced metrics.
Again, I’ve said what i personally think needs to happen for Granderson to win it. The last month will be the telling factor for each of them.
I do know that if the Yankees go into Fenway this week, get swept, and AGon jacks four or five shots out of the park, we can put the argument to rest because the writers certainly will.
Nova is the man. I can?t wait to see how he does in the post-season. He just seems to have what it takes to pitch a brilliant game when it matters the most.
——————
I can’t wait to see how he handles the adjustment teams will make against him the second and third (and beyond) times around next year.
If I voted today it would be
Verlander
Bautista
Granderson
Agon
Cabrerra
Unless a pitcher is having a far superior season to anything an offensive player is having, I can’t see a pitcher winning it. Gonzalez’ season isn’t any more than what he’s done in the past, except in BA. He’s also got two other players having career years hitting in front of him and one behind him (Ortiz) that’s close. In NY, only Granderson is having anything close to a career year. The others on the team have been sidelined with injuries or on down years. Only Cano is having his normal season.
Is anyone else, besides myself, a Track and Field fan? This is really off topic but im just curious.
Howard,
I can understand voting that way…..I can’t really argue. Bautista has fallen off quite a bit in the 2nd half though….
Is anyone else, besides myself, a Track and Field fan? This is really off topic but im just curious.
_________
No, I am a huge track and field fan. Everything above the 400M.
Bautista has almost no shot IMO. Besides his underwhelming second half, as soon as those sign stealing allegations came out that ended any hopes he had for winning MVP.
jacksquat – “stat geeks” are not necessarily MVP voters.
blake… I agree with you completely about the RBI per RBI opportunity calculation..
98/360= 27.2% Granderson
82/306= 26.7% Bautista
New Post- Granderson: “That’s it. Unless it rains again.”
Howard,
Did u run distance? I am a bit of a fanatic myself. My career just ended but i was a Shot Put, Discus, and Hammer thrower.
“Stats geeks ” influenced the Cy young voting last year……they affect the writers.
And Cano is down in BA this year.
Howard,
Did u run distance? I am a bit of a fanatic myself. My career just ended but i was a Shot Put, Discus, and Hammer thrower.
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Yes, I played baseball and ran indoor track at UCONN. Not very good, but did once run a 4:12 and 1:56 split at New Englands. I still run quite a few road races locally, but nothing like I once did. I used to train about 80 miles a week after fall ball and getting ready for indoor. I’d run indoor and put it onthe back burner till after baseball again.
I don’t totally understand nor totally agree with all of the “sophisticated modern stats” like RunsCreated, WAR, WPA, WPA/LI, RE24, or BtRuns. .. especially since many of them are so dependent on complicated, non-intuitive formulas.
And, I know the “non-stat-heads” here do not like them at all– “the stats don’t tell you many things that you can see with your naked eye”.
I do like OPS. But I’d like to see some new stat which takes OPS and finds some way to add/subtract in RBI-Success-Rate, SB, CS, and DP. I have played around with this (nothing I want to publish), and it does affect rankings somewhat, though not like night and day. Granderson does move up.
And what about a simpler RunsCreated = R + RBI – HR (HR subtracted to eliminate double counting). Granderson is “off the charts” in this new SportsGeek RC stat!!
BUT.. I do think it would be really interesting to see the “sophisticated modern stats” side by side for the major MVP contenders.. AND then, have a friendly discussion about what the comparisons say about the various candidates, and whether these stats enlighten our perspectives at all. Would Granderson move up higher in the list, would A-Gon move lower, how would Bautista be affected?
AND, would that discussion encourage us to better understand the value of these stats.