Last week, I took a look at defensive shifts and how players could possibly fight back by understanding game theory. We used bunt probability research conducted by Tom Tango to give us a better idea… Read more »
Chris Bassitt has risen up from a 5th starter/reliever type to looking like a potential middle of the rotation guy with even higher upside. How has this happened? Is this real, or should we expect regression?… Read more »
The story (if there has to be one story) of the 2015 MLB season has been, to many who follow the game, the infusion of youth and its impact. Both the American and National Leagues… Read more »
Barring a rule change outlawing them, it seems defensive shifts are here to stay. In fact, teams are using them increasingly and becoming more efficient at them in the process. This is not a good… Read more »
Wow, that was fun, wasn’t it? Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like things get more hectic and crazy every year. Now let’s all take a breath and see what all this stuff means…. Read more »
Writers Matt Jackson (of Beyond the Box Score) and Nick Strangis join host Ryan Sullivan to talk about several teams post-trade-deadline, including the Royals, Twins, Braves, Nationals, Phillies, and Blue Jays.
The dealing’s done, and somehow, Rangers GM Jon Daniels walked away from the table with Ruben Amaro’s ace. In the months (and even years) leading up to this season’s trade deadline, Cole Hamels had been… Read more »
This past week has been very busy for the New York Mets, who made multiple trades to bolster both the offense and bullpen, before the announcement of losing reliever Jenrry Mejia for the next 162… Read more »
After several days of rumor and speculation, Tuesday afternoon the Washington Nationals completed a deal with division rival Philadelphia Phillies to acquire veteran closer Jonathan Papelbon. Specifically the Phillies sent Papelbon and $4.5 million dollars… Read more »
Staff writers Mark Sands and Simon Gutierrez join host Ryan Sullivan to talk about the Tigers, Rangers, Mariners, and Red Sox, as well as Johnny Cueto going to the Royals, and the upcoming trade deadline.
As of this afternoon the rebuild is officially on in Cincinnati. The Reds traded Johnny Cueto to the Royals for Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed. Now that the first domino has fallen I expect… Read more »
The notion of a “platoon split” refers to the fact that, on average, batters have more success against opposite-handed pitchers than they do against same-handed pitchers. Thus, right-handed batters generally fare better against left-handed pitching,… Read more »
Watching the Tigers send out recently DFA’d Texas reliever Neftali Perez in the 8th inning, only to give up a grand slam in their July 21st loss to the Seattle Mariners, was emblematic of the… Read more »
The future is now in Houston. After losing an average of 108 games over three seasons in 2011-2013, the Astros took a big leap forward last year going 70-92. The pre-season consensus, including here at Banished… Read more »
As July wraps up and the All-Star break has come and gone, the Pittsburgh Pirates are firing on all cylinders after starting the season a little slow. Two games into the second half and the… Read more »
Let’s get this out of the way: the A’s have been bad in close games, but their peripheral numbers suggest they’re better than their record. We all know that. The struggles the A’s have had… Read more »
Mike Carlucci, Brandon Lee, and AD turn a triple play with mini-reviews for LAD, SD, and Detroit.
Staff writers Barry Gilpin and Eric Roseberry join host Ryan Sullivan to talk about All-Star Week, the Reds, Zack Greinke, and trade predictions.
Prior to this season I had the opportunity to preview the Miami Marlins. It was a fairly optimistic preview. Coming into Spring Training it seemed like there were a lot of things to like in… Read more »
All stats current as of Friday, July 17. The Minnesota Twins are 50-40 and the American League’s top wild-card team in the middle of July. I just wanted to type that sentence to see if… Read more »
The 2015 New York Mets season has been one to remember. The season started off strong with an eleven-game winning streak that launched them into first place in all of Major League Baseball. Since then… Read more »
Before the 2015 season began, Banished to the Pen writers, Effectively Wild preview podcast guests, and numerous projection systems all offered predicted win totals for each of the 30 MLB teams; numbers that were recorded… Read more »
Tampa Bay Rays Picked by most to finish last in the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays have outpaced their projections by being only 3 games out of first with a 46-45 record. This outpaces… Read more »
Just under four months ago, I said the Giants were a slightly above-average team with some rotation question marks, particularly in Matt Cain, that they would regret having Casey McGehee at third base, and that they would barely miss the wild card game, going 86-76.
The 2015 Mariners entered the year with loads of promise, and lofty expectations. Heck, they made the cover of Sports Illustrated’s season preview. Sort of. One of four regional covers. The headline on the Mariners’ cover: “Time to Believe.” Well… then the season actually started, and the times were a-changin’ awful fast.
Note: All stats current through 7/10/15 Two weeks ago, this post would have been all doom and gloom. But the Red Sox have made up a lot of ground in the AL East, putting themselves… Read more »
The past couple of years I’ve heard a lot of complaints about the home run derby. It’s too long (I agree). Not enough of the big stars compete in it (no Harper or Trout this… Read more »
All-Star Voting has come and gone. We’ve seen Royals go nuts, Twitter go crazy, and records set. How much of it, though, was real? Should we be up in arms about the trends? Is there… Read more »
Staff writers Mike Carlucci & Ross Bukouricz join host Ryan Sullivan to talk about the All-Star Game, the Pirates, the Red Sox, and Pete Rose.
Who is starting this year’s entirely hypothetical Effectively Wild Listener All-Star game? Find out now.
