In 2015, Jake Arrieta authored one of the greatest seasons for a starting pitcher in baseball history. Daniel Murphy is a good hitter who put together a very good free agent season (.281/.322/.449, .283 TAv), but prior to the past four days, his name and production were never put into historical context. Yet, here we are, two […]
Author: Andrew Felper
Inside the At-Bat: Travis d’Arnaud’s Game-Winning, Sixth-Inning Home Run
In Game Six of the 2013 World Series, after Shane Victorino lined a 2-1 four-seam fastball from Michael Wacha off the Green Monster for a bases-clearing, series-clinching double, Tim McCarver made the following observation: “When you fall behind, your pitches become predictable.” As he said this, the broadcast showed the replay of Wacha’s knee-high 94-mph fastball right over over […]
Now Scouting: Matt Harvey Versus Cubs Hitters
In 2015, Matt Harvey has been a magnet for controversy and fodder for baseball Twitter’s #HotTake machine. At the risk of piling on, I can bite my tongue no longer: Harvey throws a lot of four-seam fastballs. There. I said it. And you know what? I have no regrets. Harvey, like Michael Wacha in the […]
Inside the At-Bat: Javier Baez’s Second-Inning Home Run
Great moments… are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here, tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game. -Kurt Russell (as Herb Brooks), Miracle It’s hard to know who Kurt Russell/Herb Brooks was addressing in this speech. Some scholars maintain it was the 1980 U.S. Men’s Hockey Team, just moments […]
Inside the At-Bat: Kris Bryant’s Go-Ahead, Fifth-Inning Home Run
Call out the instigator Because there’s something in the air As Kris Bryant’s go-ahead home run sailed into the North Side evening air, one could not help but wonder what Michael Wacha and Yadier Molina had been thinking in throwing him a sixth straight four-seam fastball. This season, Bryant slugged .490 and hit seven home […]
Now Scouting: Michael Wacha Versus Cubs Hitters
If you like reading the words “four-seam fastball,” then a scouting report about Michael Wacha is the piece for you. With Wacha, it is all about that pitch, and the Cubs know that well entering Monday’s Game Three of the NLDS. Wacha was still averaging 95.04 mph on his four-seam fastball in September, going to the pitch with 62 percent frequency, about […]
Inside the At-Bat: Jorge Soler’s Game-Winning, Second-Inning Home Run
Welcome to the postseason, Señor! -Brian Anderson, on the home run call The results of inserting Jorge Soler into the two hole against Jaime Garcia in Game Two were overwhelmingly positive. The decision, however, was curious, just slightly, based on Soler’s peripherals in 2015. First, in 71 plate appearances from the two-hole, about 17 percent of his […]
Inside the At-Bat: Matt Holliday’s Game-Winning, First-Inning Single
A pitcher at the top of his game executed perfectly a well-called pitch against against an injury-riddled veteran who slugged .208 against the pitch since the All-Star break. Perhaps nine times out of 10, this ends in the pitcher’s favor. This is the cruel uncertainty of the playoffs, though, and the batter won this one-pitch battle. […]
Now Scouting: Jon Lester versus the St. Louis Cardinals
Give me the (four-seam) fastball and I watch what I do with it — Lil Bow Wow, paraphrased On Opening Night, Jon Lester struggled to find a rhythm against the St. Louis Cardinals. In failing to make it through five innings, Lester allowed eight hits, all on his four-seam and cut fastballs, while Cardinals left-handed […]
Been There Before: The Brilliant Postseason Consistency of Jon Lester – Playoff Experience on the 2015 Cubs, Part II
Part I of this series focused on the rest of the Cubs roster. This piece, which looks at Lester’s postseason career in general, will set up Part III: a preview of Jon Lester’s Game One start in St. Louis, which will run tomorrow. October legends are created a myriad of ways—in a few signature at-bats (David Freese and Reggie […]