2009-player-preview Stories - Amazin' Avenue
2009 Player Preview: David Wright
via www.baseballprospectus.com
2009 Player(s) Preview: The Catchers
Congratulations. You saw it, the last season Brian Schneider's OPS will eclipse .700. Next season, Schneider figures to be even worse with the bat. But, he hit 9 homers in limited playing time and extrapolated over 500 PA he should reach double digits! Not so fast: he hit the fewest percent of...
2009 Player Preview: Francisco Rodriguez
K-Rod's 62 save record masked the worst season of his career in 2008. Due to declining fastball velocity, he induced fewer swinging strikes, and accordingly, fewer strikeouts. Francisco claims he sacrificed the velocity to work on his changeup (whatever that means), but he'd be better off trading...
2009 Player Preview: J.J. Putz
Having sufficiently mourned the loss of Endy Chavez. it's time we recognize how good the guy we got for him is. Before 2006, J.J. Putz was a good reliever with a good fastball. In 2006, he was a dominant closer with two great fastballs. His strikeout rate rose 5 points, his walk rate dropped 2,...
2009 Player Preview: Ryan Church
Unless he asserts himself as the far superior player, Ryan Church's career as a Met will be forever tied to Lastings Milledge's career as a National. Although interesting, this comparison is unfair to both players and since Ryan wears the laundry, let's focus on him. Church's Met career started...
2009 Player Preview: John Maine
John Maine's 2008 showed promise but ended in disappointment. His fastball looked sharp, dialing up to 95 consistently, averaging 94. After his first 100 innings, however, Maine struggled. He battled a strained rotator cuff, causing his walks to balloon and his fastball's velocity to steadily...
2009 Player Preview: Fernando Tatis
When listing the Mets needs prior to 2007, "retired third basemen" probably ranked near the bottom, somewhere between "El Duque's other foot" and "basketballs." Still, Omar wanted to complete his collection of '03 Expos, Fernando Tatis wanted to build another church, and a deal was made. Then,...
Interpreting Oliver Perez's 2009
If you've been reading Amazin' Avenue lately, you know we're not particularly enamored with Oliver Perez. This opinion is hardly universal though, due in large part to reliance on statistics like Wins and ERA, which give an incomplete and often misleading view of a pitcher's performance. Omar...
2009 Player Preview: Luis Castillo
Doesn't Pat Burrel signing for 2/16, K-Rod for 3/37, and Orlando Hudson's unemployment make that Luis Castillo contract seem even more ridiculous? ... Many complained last year as Luis Castillo batted .245 and played listless defense. That same Luis Castillo will probably start the season as the...
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