PITCHING

Last night was painful, as the Orioles lost a game they should have won. It’s another loss, their fifth straight, and a blown save by George Sherrill. I figured this week was going to be a test for Baltimore, and alas, they have lost every game in the Blue Jays series by one run.They lost 6-5, as the Jays won in the bottom of the ninth. Yet, another fabulous effort by Jeremy Guthrie went by the

Mets' Pitching Woes Go From Bad to WorseSince Rick Peterson was unceremoniously let go on June 17th, his former team has given up 76 runs in 15 games. That's a shade over 5 runs per game. As you can imagine, they didn't go on a winning streak during those 2 1/2 weeks. Since Willie Randolph was retired by Omar Minaya at the behest of Jeff Wilpon, the floundering Mets are 7-8, with the same type of

By Bud L. Ellis braves.today.com Blue Jays 9, Braves 5 Top of the Order: Tim Hudson and Jeff Bennett let things get out of control in the sixth inning, and a late rally wasn’t enough as the Braves dropped the middle game of a three-game set, falling four games out in the NL East. The Good: After struggling in [...]

Starting rotationPECOTA: C.C. Sabathia (103 IP), 3.42 ERA, 3.4 K:BB ratioFausto Carmona (89 IP), 4.07 ERA, 2.0 K:BBJake Westbrook (82 IP), 4.53 ERA, 1.7 K:BBPaul Byrd (56 IP), 5.13 ERA, 2.1 K:BBClifton Phifer Lee (52 IP), 4.95 ERA, 1.9 K:BBActual: Sabathia (106.1 IP), 4.06 ERA, 3.6 K:BB, 3.24 FIPCarmona (58 IP), 3.01 ERA, 0.6 K:BB, 4.53 FIPWestbrook (34.2 IP), 3.12 ERA, 2.7 K:BB, 4.45 FIPByrd (84.

A pitch shot is one in which the golf ball spends more time in the air than on the ground.  This shot is most often played when you need to carry the ball over a hazard or some rough.  You want the ball to come into the green fairly high and soft.  Therefore, your grip must [...]

Mike Mussina, who sees a villain and an excuse around every corner, now says that running bases is the newest form of evil in the big leagues. Mussina’s teammate, Chien-Ming Wang, partially tore a tendon in his right foot on Sunday in a 13-0 win over interleague rival Houston. The injury, sustained as Wang was [...]

With the Twins struggling to win 3 of their last 10 I thought I’d dive into some AL stats. As a team the Twins rank 3rd in batting avg and 4th in runs in the AL. But they rank 12th in ERA and 14th in both opponent batting avg and OPS. There is no [...]

I personally found this site and I find it very informative to those who wants to seek out venture capitalist. Read More… Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of pitching to investors, including angel investors and venture capitalists. It’s a fact of life when you run a venture-backed startup. It’s one of those things that no [...]

Posted on May 28th, 2008 9:35 amA pair of Hollywood Gossip favorites recently showed off their fine form - on the pitcher’s mound! As baseball fans, we couldn’t resist this photo finish …Newlywed Mariah Carey threw out the first pitch at a Japanese baseball game this week. No word on whether her throw made it to home plate, but at least she has a shiny jacket with her initials embroidere

Pitcher LaTroy Hawkins of the New York Yankees has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing a pitch in the head area of Luke Scott during the top of the sixth inning of the Tuesday, May 20th game against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Bob Watson, Vice President of On-Field Operations for Major League Baseball, made the announcement.Of cour

As promised, we begin our look at the three most important technical skills of baseball: Pitching, Hitting and Catching. Each of these skills apply to other sports as well, but I thought we'd stick with the current season of baseball as the sport du jour. Again, my focus for "80 Percent Mental" is to look at sports cognition in a generic sense across all sports, occasionally digging deeper into

TheFunded started publishing a list of top rated venture capitalists today. The ratings are based on reviews (either anonymous or not) written by entrepreneurs who’ve pitched those VCs. Should you pitch VCs that have higher ratings? No. Their rating is irrelevant, and some of the VCs that have the best track record at picking, building [...]

In the off-season, the Phillies couldn’t engage in talks for big name pitchers like Dan Haren or Johan Santana or even medium name pitchers like Joe Blanton or Jon Garland because of their lack of elite minor league talent. Going into the season, they had only 2 top-100 prospects in RHP Carlos Carrasco and LHP Joe Savery. [...]

GAME 1: Tonight: LHP Kei Igawa (3-3, 3.86 with Triple-A Scranton) vs. LHP Kenny Rogers (2-2, 6.27), 7:05GAME 2: Saturday RHP Darrell Rasner (1-0, 3.00) vs. RHP Jeremy Bonderman (2-3, 4.17), 3:45GAME 3: Sunday LHP Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.77) vs. LHP Nate Robertson (1-4, 6.64), 1:05

GAME 1: Tuesday @ 7:05 p.m. on YES, LHP Andy Pettitte (3-3, 3.93 ERA) vs. RHP Fausto Carmona (3-1, 2.60 ERA)GAME 2: Wednesday @ 7:05 p.m. on ESPN, RHP Chien-Ming Wang (6-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. LHP Cliff Lee (5-0, 0.96 ERA)GAME 3: Thursday @ 1:05 p.m. on YES, RHP Mike Mussina (4-3, 4.23 ERA) vs. RHP Paul Byrd (1-2, 3.74 ERA)

PITCHING MATCH UPS:Game 1: Tonight @ 7:05 p.m. on YES, Chien-Ming Wang - RHP (5-0, 3.23 ERA) vs. Erik Bedard - LHP (2-0, 2.04 ERA)Game 2: Saturday @ 1:05 p.m. on YES, Mike Mussina - RHP (3-3, 4.73 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez - RHP (2-1, 2.22 ERA)Game 3: Sunday @ 1:05 p.m. on YES, Darrell Rasner - RHP (NR) vs. Carlos Silva - RHP (3-0, 2.79 ERA)

Who would have thunk that Jon Lester, whose last couple of starts have been less that stellar, would throw 8 innings of 2-HIT ball, going head to head with Blue Jay ace (and most excellent veteran pitcher) Roy Halladay…in a game that lasted an amazing 2 hours and 18 minutes–wish we could have one of [...]

GAME 1: Tonight LHP Kenny Rogers (1-3, 7.66) vs. RHP Phil Hughes (0-3, 7.85), 7:05, YES GAME 2: Wednesday RHP Jeremy Bonderman (1-2, 4.28) vs. LHP Andy Pettitte (3-2, 3.23), 7:05, YES GAME 3: Thurday LHP Nate Robertson (0-3, 6.91) vs. RHP Ian Kennedy (0-2, 8.53), 7:05, YES, WCBS 880

This is a rant post, you may and may not agree with me, but this particular point of view is worth knowing. I think its criminal how dealers mask leasing rates by pitching monthly payments. How many... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

This is a rant post, you may and may not agree with me, but this particular point of view is worth knowing. I think its criminal how dealers mask leasing rates by pitching monthly payments. How many... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Apparently this bum guy actually has a chance to make the team.From Mark Feinsand:IGAWA IN? Kei Igawa will start Thursday against the Pirates, making his final pitch for the long-relief spot in the bullpen. Although Jeff Karstens and Darrell Rasner were considered the two top candidates, Igawa has moved into the race, with one Yankees official saying he would be considered the front-runner with a strong effort today.I don't know about you, but I don't have much faith in the guy.

A study led by William Raasch, an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, has found that higher pitching mounds place more stress on the arm and shoulder of a pitcher and increases their risk of injury.The researchers say that the height difference changes the point in the pitching action at which the foot lands. Standard 10-inch mounds subject the shoulder to increased superior shear and adduction torque compared to flat ground."Nolan Ryan, who played major league baseball for 27 years, often threw pitches more than 100 mph, even past the age of 40, and he liked to throw on flat ground in his waning years. I think others might follow his lead," said Dr Raasch.Source: Sciencedaily.com

With only less than six days until Spring Training, the battle for the fifth starter is heating up.Right now, it looks like Brian Buress may have now become the favorite to earn the position. The bats came alive today; however, more important, Buress went 5 1/3 innings, allowing no runs & six hits.I see him given the spot just because of the experience level, but he looked good at spots in 2007 and then wilted.Considering the expectations going into the season, no one expects Buress or anyone to set the world on fire, but you never know.We, at least know of one guy who will not be on the trip to Baltimore -- Jon Leicester. He was optioned to Triple-A and has 72 hours to accept the assignment or become a free agent since he's now out of minor league options; meanwhile, Brian Roberts sat

I almost overlooked this little nugget. Prosper has taken to pitching it's lending platform as the perfect solution for hedge funds to get into the consumer credit market. “Prosper is America’s largest peer-to-peer marketplace with over 600,000 members,” stated Kirk Inglis, CFO of Prosper. “As credit markets experience unprecedented changes, institutional lenders, including hedge funds, are

The Texas Rangers finished last in their division in the 2007. As the 2008 season is about to begin, they still have many roster issues to settle. According to the Dallas Morning News: The catching situation must be defined. The bullpen must be finalized. The team must make a decision on exposing either Jason [...]

...Great article from Fox Sports which breaks down 2008 pitching projections. The article has Johan Santana with 21 wins and 251 strikeouts. Not too shabby.Here is a sample of the list:1. Johan Santana, NYM : Santana will pitch in a bigger stadium with more consistent run support. He'll enjoy making the swap to the National League. Billy Wagner will be there to slam the door. Santana has averaged 17.5 wins per year during the past four years. 2007 wins: 15 2008 wins: 21 2. Jake Peavy, SD : Peavy has won at least 11 games in five consecutive years, and his 19 wins in 2007 established a new career high. The Padres possess a strong bullpen, and Peavy's ability to work deep into games cannot be discounted. 2007 wins: 19 2008 wins: 20 3. Carlos Zambrano, CHC : He didn't challenge for the Cy You

A boy may have a strong arm and know all the mechanics of pitching, but if he doesn't think about the hitter's weaknesses and strengths, he'll become nothing more than a "thrower" and will not help his team much. A pitcher, even more than a catcher or manager, will know which of his deliveries the batter can or cannot hit. That is, if he studies the hitter constantly. This is just as true in Little League ball as it is in the Major Leagues. As a matter of fact, the younger the hitters are, the more faults they have. Thus, the young pitcher has a great advantage if he thinks about the hitters. Here are some general principles to follow. Try to get "ahead" of the batter with the first pitch. That doesn't mean to groove the ball waist high and over the center of the dish. That means get the b

Reported By Stephen RhodesBecause of some quirks in the early regular season, the Florida Marlins are leaning towards utilizing a 4-man rotation for the short-term; because of of-days on April 3 and 8, the team will probably not need a fifth starter until April 13. Which could be a good thing for the Marlins as 2 of their projected 4 starters are nursing minor injuries; the 2 pitchers in question, Scott Olsen and Sergio Mitre, may not be ready for the beginning of the 2008 season as Olsen is recovering from left shoulder tendinitis and Mitre is struggling with tightness in his right forearm muscle.When the Marlins' season opens, they plan to use 12 pitchers - 4 starters and 8 relievers; some bullpen spots appear solid but there's unresolved questions about their rotation. Mark Hendrickson

The Flushing Faithful can stop panicking…sort of.Johan Santana and John Maine have shown improvement since their first starts of the spring. Most importantly they are healthy.Pedro Martinez should have taken the mound for the first time when the seven o’clock hour passes on Thursday night. Petey still suffers from foot pain but he was quoted by Newsday stating, "It still hurts. There are landings when I do feel it, but I have to put it away in my mind."Oliver Perez was shaky in his first start, but he too has his health.One who doesn’t have his health is Orlando Hernandez. El Duque has been working on his own to alter his delivery to avoid the pain caused by a bunion on his right foot.Thankfully, Mike Pelfrey has gotten off to a great start, shutting down the opposition and getting t

Paula Abdul doesn’t have anything on Marissa Mayer. Mayer, Google’s vice president of search products and user experience, will be on a panel of expert judges for YouBeTheVC.com, where people vie for venture capital funding though an online contest. The contest is something like American Idol meets The Apprentice. Would-be entrepreneurs submit their business ideas online and [...]

"I only want two kinds of email: those from people I know, and those from people who have taken the time to find out what I'm interested in and composed a note meant to appeal to that (I love those emails; indeed, that's why my email address is public). Everything else gets banned on first abuse." Full post here.Chris then publishes a list of about 300 banned email addresses, a real who's who of public relations practitioners. Comments to the post are entertaining, mostly supportive of the initiative. There are some PR guys whining in the lot (the entertaining part).Personally, I hope that this will be a wake-up call for lazy PR execs who spam bloggers with press releases or who infringe editors/journalists' personal space. I do receive about 2 emails a week, nothing like what Chris Anderson must be dealing with. I rarely follow-up as they often consists of a copied and pasted press release about some topics I couldn't care less about (some company won an award in Oregon...). So

Today we run the fourth and final installment of Maddog's remedial SABR class. I want to take this opportunity to thank Maddog for taking the time to write this entire series, which has been not only interesting but thought-provoking as well. I know its clarified a lot of different stats for me. INTRO TO SABERMETRICS: PITCHING There are numerous sabermetric pitching stats  available.  In fact, I probably check out  more of those than I do for hitting, but there are a few that stand out in my  opinion.  VORP is computed for pitchers  in a similar way that it is for hitters.   Replacement level starters are different than replacement level  relievers so there are 2 sets of replacement numbers.  To briefly explain the process for finding  what replacement level is for a pitcher, the easiest way that I can explain  this is that all the pitchers are given a numeric label based on the number of  starts they made.  Each

Well, the Orioles have replaced their pitching coach relatively quickly, as Leo Mazzone was fired.From the Orioles.com: The Orioles today announced the hiring of Rick Kranitz as pitching coach for the 2008 season.Kranitz spent the past two seasons as pitching coach for the Florida Marlins after 22 years as a coach and instructor in the Chicago Cubs organization. He declined an offer to remain as Marlins' pitching coach for 2008 in order to pursue other opportunities.Orioles Manager Dave Trembley managed in the Cubs farm system from 1994-2002 while Kranitz was a coach and instructor for the Cubs. More or less, Trembley wanted someone who was comfortable in his system, and who he worked with. I am going to assume that he wanted Kranitz all along and Leo was going to be given his walking papers anyway.I think the Orioles wanted someone who could work well with the young pitching and perhaps make a tangible contribution to the team. At this point, if there's someone who can come in and m

Trying to hit a pitch when a knuckle ball pitcher is on top of his game is like trying to catch a butterfly with a pair of pliers, almost impossible. But when a knuckle ball pitcher loses it, it's like going against a batting practice pitcher. Tim Wakefield was on top of his game for the first four innings against the Cleveland Indians in game four of the A.L.C.S. However, Wakefield did a Chernobyl like meltdown in the bottom of the fifth as Cleveland scored all seven of their runs, and held on for a 7-3 victory. Cleveland, with the win takes a 3-1 series win, and just need one more victory for a trip to the World Series to take on the red hot Colorado Rockies.If you are a regular reader of mine, you know that I hold a very high opinion of Cleveland Indians third baseman Casey Blake. To me he is the heart and soul of the Indians and one of MLB's most underrated players. Blake has played a myriad of positions over the years for Cleveland since first joining the team in 2003. Last year

Well, I'm going to play teacher this morning and assign grades the best I can to the Oriole players on the squad.Some are going to like what I have said, and the grades I have issued, some are not.That being said, let's begin.We all know that the Orioles have more or less sucked this season, and this winter will be nothing short of critical in charting the course of the franchise in the future.Today, I'll be doing the starting pitching...***Erik Bedard, LHP2007 Numbers: 13-5, 3.16 ERA, 182 IP, 1.088 WHIP, 221 K’sGrade: A-No doubt, one of the best starters in baseball of 2007, Erik has gone from a guy with a world of potential to one of premier left-handed pitchers in baseball. Until his injury that sidelined him in September and left him out for the rest of the season, he was one of the most reliable arms in baseball.Until his injury, Erik led the league in strikeouts, and was probably the most dominant pitcher in baseball for a while. With an assortment of pitches at his disposal

I was ready to call it a week and then I saw a post over at Money Smart Life that had a juicy tid-bid. Prosper hosted a workshops through E-Bay targeted toward small business financing. All the people selling random stuff on E-Bay, and Prosper's lenders are underwriting it Need a small business loan and not sure where to get it? Or, are you certain a loan is what you need? In this informative

This has to be one of the craziest pitching techniques I have ever seen. Not sure if it is staged or not, since there are no fans, but it is still pretty cool that he was able to pull that pitch off. If I was the hitter I would also be stunned. Anyways, here is the video:

I was watching the Pirate game a few nights ago with my brother, and while observing some nameless, faceless Buccaneer laboring on the mound, I suddenly realized something...the Pirates have never had a dominating pitcher. Ever. No Bob Gibson, no Roger Clemens, no Randy Johnson, no Nolan Ryan...no one along those lines. Don't get me wrong, they've had many good pitchers, but not one who was an all-time great.So I went to my own personal nerdery (baseball-reference.com) and dedided to dig a little deeper. What are the numbers behind one of this franchise's major shortcomings (the others being offense, ownership, development, scouting, leadership, etc)?I dug as far back as 1947 for my sample size. I figured 60 years would be sufficient. And what did I find? Well, read on, my blog-loving friends...Some facts about Pirate pitching:The Pirates have had a grand total of six 20-game winners in the past 60 years. That's one a decade, for those of you who aren't good with calculators. The

So, this is my second consecutive day posting about a Jerry Crasnick article on ESPN.com. I don't know how I feel about that. But when a respected baseball writer* has something nice to say about our boys in blue, I take notice. * I'm sure people respect Mr. Crasnick. Even if he does have a total '70s 'stache. #1 Kerry and Mark who? We're listing Lilly and Marquis as a tag-team entry because they've been so impressive filling the Wood and Prior void. While Carlos Zambrano pitched like a guy preoccupied with his contract status, Lilly, Marquis and Rich Hill combined for 18 quality starts in their first 23 outings. Lilly brought a 59-58 record to Chicago, but showed he could compete in the American League East, with a tenacity that figured to endear him to Cubs manager Lou Piniella. The two enjoyed a novel bonding moment recently when Lilly informed Piniella that his fly was unzipped during a conference at the mound. We kid you not. Lilly's 48-8 strikeout-walk ratio is superb,

Of course while we all sit here and feel sorry for the New York Yankees and their depleted pitching staff, one has to remember that this team is stacked in offense, one reason why they can throw a guy like Chase Wright and win on most nights. That fact was evident on Tuesday, as the Yankees rolled out six runs in the second innings, using the long ball in pounding the Indians 10-3 in the Bronx. Little do we quickly forget that this team still has the ability on most nights to score 5-10 runs, with power from players like A-Rod, who already has gone deep 8 times this season. Let's not forget that this team plated more runs in 2006 than any other, making them as dangerous as anyone in the American League.When you have a lineup like Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, A-Rod and Jason Giambi in your 1 though 5 holes, you can afford to be a little lack in the pitching department. Tuesday night they got more than enough from Wright, making his first pro start. He ran into trouble in inn

Facing Cubs Double-A hitters after throwing bullpen and batting-practice sessions, Bartolo Colon yielded one earned run on three hits and fanned two over two innings Tuesday. Colon is scheduled to throw again on March 31 and could be back by May. "He touched 94, and when he gets in that range, you know he's feeling good," manager Mike Scioscia said. "I'm pleasantly surprised with where Bart is." Jered Weaver worked three scoreless innings against Cubs Triple-A players Tuesday, allowing two hits, walking one and striking out three. He threw 47 pain-free pitches with consistent command. His bout with biceps tendinitis in the rear view mirror, Weaver is zeroing in on an April 16 start in Boston. "Everything felt good," Weaver said. "I snapped off a few good breaking balls. I'm right on schedule." Source: MLB.com

Nate Robertson pitched five sharp innings Sunday, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 6-0 victory over Tampa Bay in a split-squad game. The left-hander limited the Devil Rays to a pair of singles while reducing his ERA to 0.73 through four spring starts. He struck out four and walked one. "You have to be careful in spring training not to put a lot of stock into when somebody does good," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said, "but he's throwing the ball extremely well." Robertson was most pleased with his efficiency, which enabled him to put in more work in the bullpen before calling it a day. "As long as I'm not going deep in counts and issuing free passes," he said, "and keeping my pitch count down -- those are all good things." Last season, Robertson posted career bests with 13 wins and 208 2-3 innings to help the Tigers win the AL pennant. Pitching coach Chuck Hernandez attributes the improvement to experience. "He came a long way in one year, I think more than anything from the mental asp

If you're about the web a lot, no doubt you've encountered many forums, some of which you love, some of which you hate. Either way, they can be a great place to spread the word about AGLOCO, and grow your network.If you don't know what a forum is, you've got a lot of catching up to do. Basically, it's a site where a bunch of like-minded people talk about various topics, but usually specific ones (there are sports forums, motorbike forums, origami forums, etc). If you talk a lot, you'll get known in the community, and people will pay more attention to you. Some forums like MyLot pay you to post, giving you money through revenue sharing.I'm a "contributing" member of a couple large and small forums, so naturally I would post an ad about AGLOCO on them. You should post on a forum that you're a member of, or a forum that suits your interests. I suggest making some posts on that forum first, otherwise you'll probably get banned, seen as a spammer. Be sure to read the forum's FAQ f

To set the ball rolling, here are some basic differences between the US and UK print media markets.1) The UK newspaper and magazine market and audience is substantially smaller than in the US. Understandable if we consider a population of approx. 260 million in the States and a meager 60 million or so in the UK.2) The US has a large subscription base. Most UK sales are from newsagents and shops / news stands and stores.3) The UK utilizes freelance input to a greater degree than in the States. 4) US papers are more regionalized to cater for larger population, whereas UK national papers are the staple for breaking news and exclusives around Britain. (That’s not to say that regional do not break new stories they regularly do – but the money sits with the nationals).5) Cheque-or-checkbook journalism is alive and kicking, and would you believe still growing in the UK.So, how does that relate to freelancers pitching to these differing markets? Take for example New York; the focus with Ne

by Marco Angioni IISo you have your business plan, now what?! Who do you pitch it to? What do you pitch? How do you contact the people who you want to pitch your plan? Although these questions can be answered in order, (investors; my business plan; and talk to them) preparation, planning, and persistence are key.Your plan is complete, but is it really? I suggest you review and revise your plan at least one more time before the pitch. You must make sure that EVERYTHING is correct. Think about it from an investor's point of view. Would you give your money to somebody who promises to take care of every detail, but at the same time misspells or misstates vital information in his/her business plan? Also, I strongly suggest you do a practice pitch. Pitch your plan to somebody you trust, but not to somebody that is going to give you a "sugar-coated" reaction. For example, you business family members, family members, and friends are out! Somebody that would be valuable to you

A story that's been floating around, going pretty much unnoticed, caught my attention this morning. Red Sox owner buys half of NASCAR team (Reuters) The Boston Red Sox's principal owner will buy half of the top team on the NASCAR racing circuit, Roush Racing, in the first investment by a major league baseball team in the country's fastest-growing sport. The deal announced on Wednesday was valued

   The Rays may have a good problem on their hands here. With Jason Hammel and Edwin Jackson seemingly improved and making consistently good starts the Rays are holding down the fort pretty well with Kazmir and Garza out. Then Jeff Niemann comes in and performs nicely in his first ...

   There is a conundrum for the Rays they have never had to deal with before. They might have too much pitching. I'll say it again, they just might have too much pitching. Crazy right? With Matt Garza due to come off the disable list and make a start on ...