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 […]
Tag: Postseason
When Hendricks Made the Change
Kyle Hendricks was steaming. Sixty feet six inches away in the California sun, his catcher was shaking him off, calling for the changeup again and again in the face of Hendricks’ obvious frustration. Hendricks knew he couldn’t throw one, knew he didn’t have one. But the catcher was insistent, and the lanky right-hander finally rocked and […]
Playoff Prospectus: NLCS Game 2 Preview and PECOTA Odds
This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Rian Watt, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is available free for all to enjoy. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. After an series opener in which New York’s Dark Knight pitched his way back into Gotham’s good graces with 7 ⅔ strong innings against Chicago, the […]
Playoff Prospectus: Matt Harvey, from the Operating Table to the Opera — NLCS Game 1
This piece, by BP’s Jeffrey Paternostro, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is available free for all to enjoy. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. Forget all that you know and all you have heard. Specifically, forget any talk of shutdowns and innings limits, ignore any hastily thrown together PR rehab, pretend you […]
Playoff Prospectus: NLCS Preview — Cubs vs. Mets
This piece, by BP Wrigleyville’s Editor-in-Chief Sahadev Sharma, first appeared at the Baseball Prospectus main site and is available free for all to enjoy. We’ve posted a sneak preview here. Do I have to say it? Are you really going to make me say it? Fine, I’ll say it: These are not the same Mets that […]
This Cubs-Mets Series Is Different
This piece, by friend of the site Alex Walsh (@ajwalshCubs), features some great analysis of Jon Lester’s performance against the Mets, past and present. We hope you enjoy. If the announcers for this 2015 NLCS implore you to “throw out the regular season stats” at any point during the broadcast of Game 1, take heed—it’ll be […]
Maddon Throwing Cubs into Stark Relief after NLDS Success
Last week, I made some predictions about how Joe Maddon might manage his bench and bullpen in the Wild Card Game and Division Series, drawing upon his history in Tampa Bay and the composition of the Cubs’ roster in order to do so. With the Cubs now moving on to the NLCS for the first time in 12 years, I thought […]
The Cubs Go Boom: The Top Playoff Homers so Far
WPA, short for Win Probability Added, is a stat we use often here at BP Wrigleyville. It’s really a cool little number, and for the sake of not leaving anyone in the dark, I’ll briefly explain it. WPA is a measurement of the degree to which every play that happens throughout a game changes the team’s […]
Jake Arrieta Is the Right Choice for Game One
Yesterday, my colleague Matthew Trueblood laid out a compelling argument in support of Joe Maddon’s decision to start Jon Lester in Game One of the NLCS. The central argument he made in that piece was that Arrieta (and all modern pitchers) are more accustomed to a fifth day of rest, and that, because Arrieta would be on […]
Russell Rests as Cubs Consider Arms Race
It wasn’t quite on the order of the sword of Damocles—the Cubs are too happy right now to feel anything approaching anxiety—but it was certainly an open question heading into the workout day on Thursday: What was Addison Russell’s status? The last anyone had heard of his health was on Tuesday night, manager Joe Maddon was […]