Baseball Chatter 02/16

Ozzie Albies is recovering well from the surgery he had to repair the fractured olecranon bone at the tip of his right elbow in September. He has still not been cleared to do full hitting and throwing but he has been hitting light toss balls and making progress on throwing program.

Rockies pitchers committed 23 errors last season, third most in the major leagues. New manager Bud Black vows to make improved fielding a priority for his pitchers.

Opponents stole 100 bases against the Rockies a season ago and were thrown out just 31 times. (23.7 caught-stealing percentage) They ranked 20th in the major leagues. This was not all on the catchers as some pitchers lack awareness and slow delivery also played a role.

 

Another example of ‘The Effector’

Astros manager A.J. Hinch reiterated Tuesday he reserves the right to deploy his closer earlier than the ninth inning if the situation calls for it.A game’s highest-leverage moment often occurs before the ninth inning, a notion managers have acted on more and more in recent seasons. Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona‘s non-traditional usage of Andrew Miller in last year’s postseason is the most notable example.

The Dodgers spent the most money on free agents this offseason – approximately $200 million. But nearly all of that money was spent to keep last year’s team together, including $194 million committed to Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner, Rich Hill and, surprisingly, Chase Utley.

Brewers Pitching in 2016:

0  Complete games

15  Most Quality starts = Zach Davies,

16  Most Losses in NL = Jimmy Nelson

2.92  ERA over his last 10 = Wily Peralta

14-6   = Junior Guerra  

Mets Jay Bruce will receive a look at first base in spring training, as Terry Collins attempts to find at-bats for all his outfielders and establish an insurance policy on Lucas Duda.

Braves new SunTrust Park will be a relatively neutral stadium for pitchers and hitters.

Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte and Gregory Polanco might have to wait until after they finish playing in the World Baseball Classic to start getting acclimated to their new outfield positions.

Clint Hurdle said McCutchen will bat third again this season.

Last year, McCutchen hit:

  • .268/.349/.450 in 60 games in the number three spot
  • .237/.317/.402 in 61 games in the number two spot.

Mini Thor

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