SportsBubbler.com Community » Milwaukee Brewers » Brewers Message Board » Any ESPN insiders?! (Buster Olney's Braun and Sabathia stories)

Any ESPN insiders?! (Buster Olney's Braun and Sabathia stories)

Last post 08-21-2008 4:15 PM by Einsteinhood. 1 replies.
Page 1 of 1 (2 items)
Sort Posts: Previous Next

  • 08-21-2008 3:16 PM

    Any ESPN insiders?! (Buster Olney's Braun and Sabathia stories)

    Reply Contact

    Ryan Braun: Best against the best

    Thursday, August 21, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry

    Teammates have said that Ryan Braun's confidence is unique, that he's utterly convinced that he's going to get a hit in his next at-bat, no matter the situation, no matter who is pitching. He had missed a week with a back issue, and came off the bench last Saturday and whacked a pinch-hit double in Los Angeles. The guy clubs the ball to all fields, seemingly in any count.

    So on Wednesday, it really didn't come as a surprise when his name surfaced at the end of a conversation about which hitters fare the best against good pitchers. I had sent off a question to Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau along these lines: Which hitters have the best production against major league starting pitchers with ERAs at 3.75 or lower as of games played Aug. 19, and relievers with ERAs of 2.75 or lower.  
     

    To continue reading this article you must be an Insider.

     

     

     

    Ugh.............is anyone an insider and able to post the rest of this blog of Buster's?

  • 08-21-2008 4:15 PM In reply to

    Re: Any ESPN insiders?! (Buster Olney's Braun and Sabathia stories)

    Reply Contact
    -->

     

    Ryan Braun: Best against the best

    Thursday, August 21, 2008 | Feedback | Print Entry

    Teammates have said that Ryan Braun's confidence is unique, that he's utterly convinced that he's going to get a hit in his next at-bat, no matter the situation, no matter who is pitching. He had missed a week with a back issue, and came off the bench last Saturday and whacked a pinch-hit double in Los Angeles. The guy clubs the ball to all fields, seemingly in any count.

    So on Wednesday, it really didn't come as a surprise when his name surfaced at the end of a conversation about which hitters fare the best against good pitchers. I had sent off a question to Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau along these lines: Which hitters have the best production against major league starting pitchers with ERAs at 3.75 or lower as of games played Aug. 19, and relievers with ERAs of 2.75 or lower. This is what Steve dug out: Five highest batting averages vs. the group of good pitchers (min: 85 ABs): -->
    Title of data
    PLAYER BA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB S0
    Ryan Braun .371 116 43 11 2 6 19 3 22
    Matt Holliday .360 89 32 8 0 3 9 15 16
    Ian Kinsler .355 169 60 16 2 6 22 14 17
    Joe Mauer .355 93 33 6 1 0 13 11 10
    Michael Young .338 154 52 11 1 4 25 9 29
    Five lowest (min: 85 ABs), with lowest at the bottom: -->
    Title of data
    PLAYER BA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB S0
    Dan Uggla .154 130 20 5 0 4 8 9 45
    Jason Varitek .153 118 18 5 0 2 8 11 42
    Mark Reynolds .141 85 12 2 0 2 9 11 35
    Chris Young .126 95 12 3 0 0 2 12 35
    Jeff Francoeur .114 114 13 2 0 1 6 6 28
    Most home runs vs. the group of good pitchers: -->
    Title of data
    PLAYER BA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB S0
    Adam Dunn .221 104 23 2 0 11 18 30 30
    Vladimir Guerrero .272 114 31 4 1 10 21 12 18
    Kevin Youkilis .284 141 40 4 2 9 26 17 32
    Manny Ramirez .271 133 36 7 0 9 28 17 30
    Carlos Quentin .280 100 28 4 0 9 17 11 16
    A couple of other notes: The midline batting average against those pitchers was .232; and here are the stat lines for another hitter who has a reputation of struggling against good pitchers:
    Title of data
    PLAYER BA AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB S0
    Ryan Howard .217 115 25 6 0 6 20 8 34
    Proud member of the Clueless Moron HOF.
Page 1 of 1 (2 items)