How Unfair Is The Unbalanced Schedule?

I’ve seen a few things around the tubes lately – like this post from Rob Neyer – regarding realignment or changing the schedule around, specifically focused on the AL East. The idea is that it’s unfair to the Orioles and Blue Jays to have to be stuck in a division with the Yankees and Red Sox, and then have to play them more than other teams do on top of it. The biggest problem for me is that a club like the Rays can be the third best baseball team in the majors and still be left out of the playoffs. Making the schedule balanced isn’t going to do anything about that, but how much would it really improve the standing of the lesser AL East teams? I took a look at Beyond the Box Score. An excerpt’s below; click through for the full version.

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Tags: Beyond The Box Score

Spring Training Game 8: Orioles at Pirates

Brad Bergesen makes his first start of the Spring for the Birds, against Pittsburgh’s Zach Duke. It’s nice to see Bergy on the mound again, and hopefully he can get up to full speed by the time the season starts.

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Tags: Brad Bergesen, Cesar Izturis, Felix Pie, Game Log, Jason Berken, Kam Mickolio, Mark Hendrickson, Matt Albers, Orioles, Pirates, Will Ohman

Brian Roberts’ Potential Replacement

Brian Roberts still hasn’t made an appearance in a Spring Training game due to his back problem, and there’s a distinct possibility that he won’t be ready for the start of the season. Heath over at Dempsey’s Army looked at what was available for the position on the free agent market… nothing*. That means the team might need to go the trade route if they want a replacement, but first let’s take a look at the in-house candidates.

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Tags: Augie Ojeda, Brian Roberts, Delwyn Young, Gregorio Petit, Ian Desmond, Julio Lugo, Justin Turner, Miguel Abreu, Orioles, Ramon Vazquez, Robert Andino, Trades, Ty Wigginton

Did Adam Jones Really Go Into A Slump In 2009?

Adam Jones started out 2009 on fire, batting .344/.400/.607 in April and May and then just .234/.297/.362 thereafter. Was it just bad luck, or did was there another reason for the decline?

Looking at the splits, I’d say it was largely a change in luck:

Jones struck out less and walked more later in the year, but his batting average on balls in play and HR/FB rate went way down. Given that his career BABIP is a still above average .318 and his career HR/FB% is an around average 11.5%, I’d say that Jones got more lucky early on than he got unlucky later.

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Tags: Adam Jones, Pitch/FX

Spring Training Game 7: Orioles vs. Rays

For a third time already this Spring, the O’s take on the Tampa Bay Rays. Jeff Neimann makes his second appearance against the Birds, with Chris Tillman getting the start for the home team.

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Tags: Alberto Castillo, Chad Moeller, Chris Tillman, Game Log, Jake Arrieta, Josh Bell, Orioles, Rays

Spring Training Game 6: Orioles vs. Twins

The Orioles hosted the 2009 AL Central Division champs today, with Brian Matusz making his second Spring Training appearance against Kevin Slowey of the Twins.

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Tags: Brian Matusz, Game Log, Garrett Atkins, Luke Scott, Matt Wieters, Mike Gonzalez, Mike Hinckley, Orioles, Twins

Working Off The Plate To Get A Called Strike

For those of you that may not know, MLB Notebook closed up shop recently. I really enjoyed posting there, and wanted to thank Zach Sanders for bringing me aboard. Sometimes when a door closes, a window opens however (or whatever the expression is), and luckily for me the kind folks at Beyond the Box Score offered me a place at their (awesome) site. My first post is up there now, where I looked at pitches thrown off outside edge of the strike-zone and their called strike percentages based on the location and call of the previous pitch. An excerpt’s below; click through for the full version.

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Tags: Beyond The Box Score, Pitch/FX

Spring Training Game 5: Orioles vs. Red Sox

Finally, some televised baseball! MASN is only having four of the O’s Spring Training games on TV, and they’re all against the Yankees or Red Sox. This one has Jeremy Guthrie starting things out against Boston.

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Tags: Armando Gabino, David Hernandez, Game Log, Jeremy Guthrie, Miguel Abreu, Nick Markakis, Orioles, Red Sox, Will Ohman

Spring Training Game 4: Orioles at Tigers

It’s a battle of aces, as the O’s have Kevin Millwood starting against Justin Verlander.

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Tags: Brandon Erbe, Cla Meredith, Game Log, Kevin Millwood, Matt Albers, Orioles, Rhyne Hughes, Tigers, Ty Wigginton

Spring Training Game 3: Orioles vs. Pirates

Moving from a fellow AL East team to a follow long-streak-of-losing-seasons team, the O’s hosted the Pirates in Sarasota.

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Tags: Adam Jones, Alfredo Simon, Chorye Spoone, Chris Tillman, Game Log, Jake Arrieta, Luis Lebron, Miguel Tejada, Mike Gonzalez, Nick Markakis, Orioles, Pirates