Thursday, March 24, 2016

Your 2016 Giants: Cueto First Half Magic

A beat reporter noted that Cueto has had great first halves and poorer second halves.  So I commenced analyzing that and seeing why, and perhaps what could be done.

ogc thoughts

I took his career splits and inputted them to get the FIP, wOBA, kwERA, here are the relevant stats (from Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs First Half and Second Half):
  • Cueto:  First half/Second half: 
    • ERA:  3.00/3.73
    • FIP:  3.75/4.02
    • kwERA:  3.86/3.91
    • BABIP:  .260/.299
    • WHIP:  1.11/1.29
    • BA:  .222/.255
    • ISO:  139/151 
    • K/9:  7.40/7.45
    • K%:  20.2%/19.5%
    • BB%:  6.9%/7.1%
    • K-BB%:  13.3%/12.4%
    • K/BB:  2.93/2.75
    • wOBA:  .288/.320
Looking at ERA, one could certainly say that Cueto has been more of a first half pitcher than second half.  But based on what are normally the key pitching stats, from a peripheral view, his first and second halves are very similar, almost exactly similar, except for one very key stat:  BABIP.  In the first half, he has a very low BABIP of .264, which is the major component of why his wOBA is .288 and WHIP is 1.11, whereas in the second half, he was slightly above league average at .299 (MLB average over his career is .298) but basically right there given randomness, leading to wOBA of .320 and WHIP of 1.29. 

Soft in the First, Harder in the Second

So it appears that Cueto in the first half is strong enough to keep hitters guessing more, leading to more soft contact, but by the second half, when he's not as strong as earlier and thus not as precise, he gives up more Hard Contact, 28.0% vs. 26.3% in the first half.  Though oddly, he gets more soft hits as well, as he gives up less medium hits, leading to more soft and more hard hits.  And that is shown by his getting more infield flyballs in the second half, 11.3% vs. only 9.7% in the first half.  Meanwhile, his HR/FB is virtually the same, 9.8% vs. 10.4%, though there is an uptick in the second half, contributing to the bump up in ISO from 139 to 151.   

And the biggest puzzler, despite all the extra hits and hard contact, he's still able to keep striking out batters at the same rate, as well as walking them at the same low rate.  And if you look at his BABIP by month, by July he's already league average (first half is generally defined as the All-Star break even though teams are past the half way point already in terms of game played).  One has to think that being more tired has to be the major reason why he is not as able to avoid hits in the second half - basically league average - as he was superb in avoiding it earlier in the season.  

And that tiredness shows up in his IP/G average:  in the first half, he averaged 6.46 IP per start, in the second half, he averaged 6.05 IP per start.  Of course, giving up that many more runs undoubtedly contributed to the manager taking him out earlier in the second half.   As well, it probably made him work that much harder during the start, giving up all those extra hits, tiring him out earlier as well.   And being tired would lead to being taken out sooner in starts.

Save It For Later

Thus, I have to wonder if taking him out earlier in the first half might allow him to keep his strength going deeper into the second half, which could drop his ERA significantly.  He was roughly 3.00 ERA in the first three months of the season, then up to 3.30 ERA in July, 3.63 ERA in August, and 4.14 ERA in September.  It might be worth it, though part of the reason the Giants signed him up was because he threw so many innings as a starter.  

Still, cutting him back to, say, 6.05 IP/Start over a full season would still mean he pitches 200 IP as a starter (assuming 33 starts, which the top two starters generally get at least that many starts).   Or they could keep him at that pace but delay the second half start so that he gets extra rest, pitching one less start, and that might help him keep his strength (though if you look at his career, there were seasons where he didn't pitch 33 starts, and he still had the poorer second half, so perhaps not that effective).  Though there is no assurance that cutting him back early would lead to better starts later,  as a concept, it does seem to make sense, particularly taking him out earlier in the first half.  Having a superlative bullpen would help greatly in executing such a tactic.

What Do You Think?

And one additional change of my writing habits I would like to try - like I noted before, trying to write shorter pieces - are posts like this one where I present the data I found and even if I don't have a great solution or analysis, or perhaps no answer, post it and see if someone smarter than I can come up with something.  

7 comments:

  1. Just to say, ogc, that I hope the absence of comments doesn't make you feel that you're sending your analyses into the void or the Sea of Indifference. I look at this site daily because I find it often so rewarding to do so, as I especially have several times recently, and am grateful for the hard work you do in conceptualizing, documenting, and analyzing Giants issues, whether or not I comment or agree.
    This one made me wonder whether in fields get faster as the season wears on, despite groundskeepers' efforts. More sun, more use; and more sun in Cincinnati, certainly. A faster infield would make more demands on infielders, so that pitchers who got a lot of ground balls and softer contact generally might have rising BABIPs later in the year. If so, to a significant degree, Cueto's second-half decline might become less true in AT&T.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In opposition to this suggestion is that Cueto's HRs went up in the second half, from just under 10% to just under 11% (HR/AB) for his career. Neither the state of the infield nor the agility of infielders had anything to do with that. (This is an afterthought.)

      Delete
    2. No, I've been very zen about comments. If there are any, there are.

      I mainly put the information out there, and people either believe it or not, and if they comment they comment.

      I believe in my analysis, not that all of it is pearls or even always correct, but they are my belief at the time I wrote them, and interesting to me, so hopefully is interesting to someone else. I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea and that's OK. I'll put my blog out into the ether and it goes where it goes.

      I can see your point about harder infields, especially those in not on the West Coast. Though, fields in AZ (belying my West Coast comment :^) are known for getting really hard and allowing more hits. Not sure how I would analyze that, unfortunately, but if someone has the idea but not the time, I'll be happy to look into it.

      And, I would note the point I made about how he's way below average in the first half, while league average in the second, it is not like he's bad in the second half, as he's average, just not as superlative as he is in the first half. So if hard fields are hampering him, he's still good in the second half, just not super good as he is in the first.

      Ah, an idea: A way to test this point is to look at first and second half NL BABIP. And for the past three years, there is a slight difference between first and second halves, it was 3 points higher in 2013 and 2014, 5 points higher in 2015 (don't got time to search more).

      And that doesn't explain the huge gulf that Cueto has, but as we know from science, sometimes a slight change can result in a huge reaction, so who knows, maybe that extra change moves his BABIP towards average. Probably would take StatCast data to figure that out.

      Giving up more HR does contribute to worse results, as well, but, I don't think, not to the level that raising his BABIP from .260 to .299 does.

      And this made me realize that I should have pointed out that the Giants seem to be a team that gravitates towards pitchers who are able to lower BABIP below average, Cain, Zito, and now Cueto.

      Delete
  2. Weather can play a part, too.

    It's cooler in the first half of the year than in the second. That effects the flight of the ball. About 2.5 feet per 10 degrees fahrenheit. In April, the ball's going 5-to-6 feet less than in July/August and September is almost as bad as June, all things the same, while April & May really benefit the pitcher over the hitter.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for pointing that out. Particularly with SF's cool weather, he'll get the benefit of that deeper into the season than when he was in midwest.

      Delete
    2. This just adds to my love and admiration that the Giants didn't take the easy route and just re-sign Leake as I had thought (and really, hoped).

      It just reinforces my view that this deal is tied into the Samardzija deal (and perhaps they might have still got the Shark even had they signed Greinke).

      Just getting Samardzija and, say, Leake, our rotation is nice but not formidable, based on prior performances. Cueto, however, has been a top of rotation guy, on equal footing with Bumgarner. He gives us a two-headed ace rotation that we had with Lincecum-Cain and Cain-Bumgarner in 2010 and 2012, which, as I've noted in my business plan, is the idea situation for success in the playoffs.

      Plus, Cueto was looking for a place to cool his heels for a couple of years to build back his value and get a Greinke type deal (which showed to him and his agent that it is a possibility).

      So why not go to a team with a pitcher's park? Especially one that limits LHH HR power? Plus has the cool air that makes all hitter's HR power cooler as well. Even if he does hit a road bump career wise, these factors should help to minimize it or maybe even allow him to continue performing well. And if he is fine, he should put up even better numbers. Only LAD would have been a better situation for him, because they have an even better pitcher's park (it has made the careers for many an Asian pitcher; they had great LA #'s but poor road #'s, which was exposed when they left LA as free agents), luckily for us they were trying to save money and went with a quantity over quality tactic for their starting pitching. Cueto pitching here helps to build his value in the next two years before he can opt out.

      Then he can opt out with great stats and both sides are happy, hence why the contract was front heavy, to pay him more properly if he is as good as advertised, but end up paying him lesser if he turns out to have really hit the downside of his career. But given his relative youth and career of mostly being healthy, while it is a risk like any other free agent contract, particularly those for pitchers, the Giants did well to mitigate some of those issues.

      This buys the Giants two years to figure out Samardzija's issues and get him back to 2014 standards. Plus, pitching in AT&T should help as well. Meanwhile, as is, he's fine as our #3 starter, and he eats a lot of innings, plus he's been very healthy. As maligned as Zito was, he took the mound healthy most seasons other than his car accident year, which I believe, let to his injury ending his season, and his last season, when he finally lost it all. There is value, which is not measured right now, to a starting pitcher who can give you average-ish performance over a full season, which helps to save your bullpen, plus gives you stability in the rotation, so you don't have to dip into the minors and suffer through their learning curve.

      The Giants front office just keeps on surprising and impressing me.

      Delete
  3. Here is a really nice article on Cueto: http://www.mercurynews.com/giants/ci_29694530/twisted-when-giants-johnny-cueto-uncoils-some-see?source=pkg

    They claim to explain his KC problems: "Royals manager Ned Yost, when asked this spring to reflect on Cueto's slump, said there was a simple fix all along. They discovered the glitch just in time: Catcher Salvador Perez was providing too high a target."

    I looked at his game stats: the story don't match up with the stats. He was actually very good at first, continuing his good stretch with the Reds the prior month, for 4 starts (or was it 5?). Then he had that bad 5 game stretch that got everyone worried. If the catcher's height was the problem, why did it not affect him much early on? Unless the C got lazier with time and didn't want to stretch down for the pitches (which I guess is possible). However, his one great start in that stretch was with the backup catcher, so there is that too, maybe it was true to some extent, then Perez made it worse during the bad stretch.

    Cueto ended the season with an OK stretch, but while his ERA was OK, his peripherals did take a downturn (oddly enough, his peripherals were actually good during the bad stretch, his problem was humongous BABIP and HR/IP). He continued that peripherals into the playoffs, but had a couple of good starts still, along with one bad. I think any team would take that.

    Looking at his KC stats, I realized that there is a lot of pitching stats I could dig into to investigate his first/second half splits. It will take a while, but I'm thinking of compiling all his monthly stats, to create a trend line month to month, to see how things change. I'll probably drop that one year where he missed most of the season and just cover full seasons.

    ReplyDelete

Labels

1984 Draft (1) 2007 Draft (15) 2007 Giants (52) 2008 Draft (22) 2008 Giants (53) 2008 season (6) 2009 Draft (18) 2009 Giants (87) 2009 season (24) 2010 Decade (12) 2010 Draft (11) 2010 Giants (137) 2010 NL ROY award (1) 2010 season (19) 2010's (3) 2011 Draft (9) 2011 Giants (84) 2011 season (8) 2012 Draft (11) 2012 Giants (93) 2012 season (11) 2013 Draft (3) 2013 Giants (39) 2013 season (5) 2014 (1) 2014 draft (5) 2014 Giants (79) 2014 season (16) 2015 Draft (4) 2015 Giants (50) 2015 season (10) 2016 Draft (1) 2016 Giants (45) 2016 season (6) 2017 Draft (3) 2017 Giants (27) 2018 Draft (8) 2018 Giants (50) 2018 Season (8) 2019 Draft (1) 2019 Giants (27) 2019 season (2) 2020 Decade (1) 2020 Giants (9) 20201 Draft (1) 2021 Giants (3) 2022 Giants (2) 2023 Giants (14) 2023 season (1) 2024 Giants (8) 25 man roster (11) 25th man fallacy (1) 26 man roster (1) 3B (1) 40 Man Roster (11) 49ers (1) 5-day rotation (1) 51/49 decisions (1) 6-man rotation (5) 89 Quake (1) 89 World Series (1) A-Ball (1) A-Gon (1) A-Rod (3) A's (6) AA-Ball (1) Aaron Rowand (25) Abiatal Avelino (1) accomplishments (1) ace pitcher (2) ace starter (4) Adalberto Mejia (6) Adam Duvall (5) AFL (4) aggression (1) Albert Suarez (5) Alen Hanson (3) Alex Cobb (1) Alex Dickerson (2) Alex Hinshaw (3) Alex Pavlovic (1) Alexander Canario (2) All-Star Game (1) almost perfect game (1) Alonzo Powell (1) Amphetamine (3) analysis (24) Andre Torres (14) Andres Torres (2) Andrew Baiiley (1) Andrew Bailey (1) Andrew McCutchen (2) Andrew Suarez (5) Andrew Susac (11) Andy Baggerly (2) Andy Sisco (1) Andy Suarez (9) Angel Joseph (1) Angel Pagan (17) Angel Villalona (30) Anniversary (1) appendicitis (1) Aramis Garcia (2) Arbitration (19) Armando Benitez (5) Armando Gallaraga (1) art of failure (1) Asia-Pacific signing (1) assessment (1) Astros (3) At the Rate They Are Going (1) ATT Park (1) Aubrey Huff (20) Austin Jackson (2) Austin Slater (5) Award (4) BABIP (3) Bam Bam Meulens (1) Barry Bonds (30) Barry Zito (77) baseball (1) Baseball America (3) Baseball Prospectus (6) Baseball Prospectus Bias Against Giants (4) baseball strategy (9) Baseball Study (18) baserunning (2) batting peripherals (1) batting stance analysis (1) batting title champion (1) Beat LA (9) bench players (4) Bengie Molina (14) Benjamin Snyder (1) Bert Blyleven (1) best manager (2) best practices (2) Beyond the Box Score (1) Bias Against Giants (1) Big 6 (9) Big Picture (3) Bill Hall (1) Bill James (1) Bill James Handbook (2) Bill Mueller (1) Bill Neukom (21) Billy Beane (3) biography (1) Blake Riverra (1) Blake Snell (1) blog news (3) Blog Philosophy (3) Bob Howry (2) Bob Mariano (1) Bobby Evans (4) Boston Red Sox (1) Brad Hennessey (5) Brad Penny (2) Brandon Bednar (1) Brandon Belt (50) Brandon Crawford (25) Brandon Hicks (1) Braves (5) breakout (2) Brett Bochy (4) Brett Pill (9) Brewers (1) Brian Anderson (1) Brian Bannister (3) Brian Bocock (2) Brian Cooper (1) Brian Horwitz (3) Brian Ragira (2) Brian Sabean (50) Brian Wilson (14) Bridegrooms (6) Bruce Bochy (36) Bucky Showalter (1) bulllpen (8) Bullpen (33) Business Plan (23) Buster Posey (102) Byran Reynolds (2) Byung-Hyun Kim (1) Cained (4) call-ups (3) Candlestick Park (1) Cards (13) Career Prospects (4) Carl Hubbell (1) Carlos Beltran (4) Carlos Gomez (1) Carney Lansford (2) Carson Whisenhunt (1) Carter Jurica (1) Casey Kelly (1) Casey McGeHee (3) catcher injury (5) catching (3) CBT penalty (1) CC Sabathia (1) censorship (2) CEO (2) Chad Gaudin (5) Charles Culberson (5) Charlie Culberson (3) Chase Johnson (3) cheating (1) Chillax (1) Chris Brown (1) Chris Gloor (1) Chris Heston (19) Chris Lincecum (1) Chris Marrero (1) Chris O'Leary (1) Chris Ray (4) Chris Shaw (4) Chris Stewart (4) Chris Stratton (30) Chris Strattton (1) Christian Arroyo (7) Christmas (1) Christopher Dominguez (4) Christy Mathewson (1) Chuckie Jones (2) Clay Hensley (3) Clayton Blackburn (10) Clayton Tanner (3) Closer (9) closer by committee (3) Coaches (4) coaching changes (1) Cody Hall (2) Cody Ross (8) Col (1) Comeback Award (1) Commissioner (1) comparison (3) competitive advantage (1) Competitive Balance Tax (2) Competitive Cycles (2) competitiveness (2) Conner Menez (1) Connor Joe (3) Connor Nurse (1) Conor Gillaspie (25) contender (1) contract extension (3) contract negotiations (2) contract signing (7) Coordinator (1) core competency (1) Core Rotation (1) Cory Gearrin (5) Cory Guerrin (1) Cory Hart (1) Craig Whitaker (2) Cubs (1) Curt Young (1) cuts (1) Cy Young Award (5) cyber-relief (1) D-backs (16) D-gers (36) D-Rocks (3) D-Rox (17) D.J. Snelten (3) Dallas McPherson (1) Dan Ortmeier (11) Dan Otero (2) Dan Runzler (6) Dan Slania (3) Dan Uggla (1) Daniel Carbonell (1) Daniel Slania (2) Dany Jimenez (1) Darren Ford (1) Dave Righetti (1) Dave Roberts (11) David Aardsma (1) David Bell (1) David Huff (2) David Loewenstein (1) Decade of the Giants (12) decline (1) Defense (11) Deferred Money (1) deleted comment (1) Denard Span (3) depth (1) Dereck Rodriquez (7) Derek Holland (18) Derek Law (11) Detroit Tigers (1) DFA (3) DH (2) Dick Tidrow (2) dictionary (1) direction (1) Dirty (1) DL (3) dodgers (15) Donald Snelten (1) Donovan Solano (1) Draft (11) Draft Analysis (27) Draft Bonus (7) draft list (3) draft philosophy (2) draft signing (3) Draft Strategy (12) Draft Study (9) Draft Success (4) drafting (5) Dres (16) Drew Pomeranz (1) DRS (1) Dynasty (3) Earl Weaver (1) Edgar Renteria (13) Eduardo Nunez (4) Edwin Escobar (5) Ehire Adrianza (26) Eli Whiteside (4) Elimination game (1) EME (2) Emmanuel Burriss (18) end of an era (1) epic season (6) era (1) Eric Byrnes (1) Eric Surkamp (6) Erik Cordier (1) Eugenio Velez (12) evaluation (3) Evan Longoria (3) Evan Longoriia (1) extension (7) fan outrage (10) fan rants (2) fanfest (1) FanGraphs (2) Farhan Zaidi (35) feature reliever (1) felony conviction (1) Fielding (5) Fielding Stats (4) finger injury (3) first post-season press conference (3) Francisco Peguero (4) Fred Lewis (3) Freddie Lewis (17) Freddie Sanchez (4) Freddy Sanchez (7) Free Agency (8) free agent misses (1) Free agent possibilities (28) Free agent signing (22) Free agent signings (21) front office (3) Gabe Kapler (1) Game Score (3) gamer-tude (1) Garrett Williams (1) Gary Brown (26) Geno Espinelli (1) George Kontos (10) Ghosts of Giants Drafts (2) Giants (10) Giants Announcer (1) Giants blogs (3) Giants Chat (4) Giants Classic Rotation (1) Giants Defense (4) Giants Draft (15) Giants Drafts (8) Giants Farm System (34) Giants Franchise record (2) Giants Future (66) Giants GM (12) Giants Greats (3) Giants hitting manual (1) Giants Leadership (1) Giants manager (1) Giants No-Hitter (5) Giants Offense (34) Giants Offseason (24) Giants Pitching (10) Giants President of Baseball Operations (3) Giants Strategy (44) GiDar (1) Gino Espinelli (1) glossary (1) Gold Glove Award (1) good players (4) good will (1) Gorkys Hernandez (2) Graphical Player (1) great players (4) Gregor Blanco (18) Gregor Moscoso (1) Gregory Santos (1) Guillermo Moscoso (2) Guillermo Mota (2) Guillermo Quiroz (1) Gustavo Cabrera (4) Hall of Fame (10) Hall of Shame (4) Hank Aaron (5) Happy Holidays (2) Hate mail (1) Hayden Birdsong (1) healthy (1) heart-warming (1) Heath Hembree (8) Heath Quinn (1) Hector Correa (1) Hector Sanchez (12) Heliot Ramos (11) Henry Sosa (8) HGH (1) Hidden Game (1) high expectations (1) high school focus in draft (1) high velocity hitters (1) high velocity pitchers (1) hiring (2) hiring process (1) Hitter's League (1) Hitting (19) Hitting Coach (1) hitting mechanics (3) hitting pitchers (2) hitting streak (1) Hitting; (1) Home Run Career Record (7) Home Run Hitting Contest (1) Hunter Bishop (4) Hunter Pence (25) Hunter Stickland (1) Hunter Strickland (9) Ian Gardeck (1) Idea (4) IFA (1) improvement (2) Indictment (1) Infield (1) injury (7) instant replay (2) instructor (1) Interesting Question (1) International Free Agent Pursuits (5) International Signings (5) interview (5) Investment (1) Ivan Ochoa (2) J.P. Martinez (1) J2 (1) Jack Taschner (4) Jackson Williams (3) Jacob Dunnington (1) Jacob Gonzalez (2) Jacob Junis (1) Jacob McCasland (1) Jae-gyun Hwang (1) Jake Dunning (2) Jake Peavy (39) Jake Smith (1) Jake Wong (1) Jalen Miller (1) Jandel Gustave (1) Japanese Starters (1) Jarrett Parker (10) Jason Heyward (1) Jason Maxwell (2) Jason Stoffel (1) Javier Lopez (5) JC Gutierrez (3) JD Davis (1) Jean Machi (6) Jeff Kent (1) Jeff Samardzija (28) Jeff Suppan (1) Jeremy Affeldt (12) Jeremy Shelley (2) Jerome Williams (1) Jesse English (2) Jesse Foppert (1) Jesus Guzman (4) Jimmy Rollins (1) Joaquin Arias (14) Joe Panik (18) Joe Torre (1) Joey Bart (6) Joey Martinez (2) Johan Santana (1) John Barr (1) John Bowker (22) John Thorn (1) Johneshwy Fargas (2) Johnny Bench (1) Johnny Cueto (31) Johnny Monell (1) Johnny Rucker (1) Jonah Arenado (1) Jonathan Mayo (1) Jonathan Sanchez (49) Jordan Hicks (1) Jordan Johnson (1) Jorge Soler (1) Jose Canseco (1) Jose Casilla (1) Jose Guillen (3) Jose Mijares (3) Jose Uribe (2) Josh Osich (9) JT Snow (1) Juan Perez (6) Juan Uribe (9) Juggling Monkey (1) Julian Fernandez (7) Julio Urias (1) Jung Hoo Lee (2) jury (1) Just Say No (1) Kelby Tomlinson (5) Kendry Flores (2) Keury Mella (2) Kevin Correia (2) Kevin Frandsen (22) Kevin Gausman (3) Kevin Pillar (2) Kevin Pucetas (10) KNBR (1) Kung Fu Panda (30) Kyle Crick (16) Kyle Harrison (5) laid off (1) Larry Baer (3) Larry Ellison (1) Lead-off (2) leadoff (1) left-handed (1) Lew Wolff (1) LHP (1) Lineup (17) lineup construction (4) Lineup position (1) links (1) Logan Webb (3) Lon Simmons (1) long relief (2) Long-Term Contract (22) long-term planning (3) losing streak (1) Lucius Fox (3) luck (2) Luis Angel Mateo (2) Luis Matos (2) Luis Toribio (1) lunatic fringe (1) Mac Marshall (1) Mac Williamson (12) Madison Bumgarner (185) Mailbox (1) Malcolm Gladwell (1) management change (3) management issues (5) managerial value (5) Manny (1) Marc Kroon (2) Marco Luciano (3) Marco Scutaro (12) Mark DeRosa (8) Mark Gardner (1) Mark Melancon (4) Marlon Byrd (1) Martin Agosta (7) Marvin Miller (1) Masahiro Tanaka (1) Mason Black (1) Mason McVay (1) Matsuzaka (1) Matt Cain (160) Matt Chapman (1) Matt Daniels (3) Matt Downs (2) Matt Duffy (8) Matt Graham (1) Matt Holliday (1) Matt Krook (2) Matt Moore (15) Matt Morris (2) Mauricio Dubon (2) Mechanics (4) Media (17) Media Bias (17) media hypocrisy (1) Media Trade Idea (3) Medical (1) Mediocy (11) Mediots (6) Melk-Gone (1) Melky Cabrera (14) Melvin Adon (1) memories (1) mental (1) Merkin Valdez (8) Message in a Bottle (1) methodology (2) MI (1) Michael Conforto (1) Michael Main (1) Michael Reed (1) Michael Trout (1) middle infield (2) Miguel Cabrera (2) Miguel Gomez (1) Miguel Tejada (5) Mike Fontenot (3) Mike Ivie (1) Mike Kickham (9) Mike Leake (11) Mike Matheny (1) Mike Morse (10) Mike Yazstremski (2) milestone (1) minor league (1) minor league contract (4) minors (11) mismanagement (1) misnomer (1) mistakes (2) MLB (2) MLB stupidity (2) MLB Success (7) MLB Trade Rumors (1) MLBAM (1) MLBTR (1) MLE (1) Mock Draft analysis (8) Modern Portfolio Theory (1) Modus Operandi (2) MPT (1) MVP (2) Natanael Javier (1) Nate Schierholtz (45) Nathanael Javier (1) Nationals (1) Naysayers (2) Negotiations (1) Neil Ramirez (1) NewPQS (8) Next Gen (1) Nick Hundley (2) Nick Noonan (27) Nick Pereira (1) Nick Vander Tuig (2) Nick Vincent (1) NL Champions (2) NL West (29) NL West Division Title (20) NL West Future (1) NLCS (22) NLCS MVP (2) NLDS (8) Noah Lowry (14) non-roster invitees (2) non-tenders (3) Nori Aoki (4) NPB (1) NRI (1) Oakland A's (4) OBP (1) oddities (1) Offense (4) offensive era (1) ogcPQS (6) Omar Vizquel (3) one-run games (3) Opener (1) openers (1) Opening Day (6) opening day pitcher (3) opening day roster (11) Optimism (1) Osiris Matos (2) Outfield (3) overturned (1) Ownership (7) Pablo Sandoval (97) Padres (1) Panda (6) Pandoval (1) passing (1) Pat Burrell (15) Pat Misch (5) Patrick Bailey (2) Payroll (11) PECOTA (1) Pedro Feliz (12) PEDS (10) Perfect Game (2) perjury trial (1) personal (2) Personal Reminiscence (2) Pessimism (1) Pete Palmer (1) Pete Putila (1) Pete Rose (3) Peter Magowan (2) Phil Bickford (3) Phillies (7) philosophy (1) Phoenix Theory of Rebuilding (1) Pierce Johnson (2) Pitch Count (3) pitch framing (1) pitch value (1) Pitcher hitting 8th (1) pitcher’s health (1) Pitchers League (1) Pitching (27) pitching analysis (4) pitching department (1) pitching development (4) Pitching Rotation (90) pitching staff (6) pitching strategy (2) plate discipline (1) platoon players (2) Play Ball (1) player acquisition (1) player budget (2) player development (7) playoff (2) playoff analysis (2) playoff hopes (37) playoff roster (2) playoff rotation (6) Playoff Success (27) Playoff Win Effective (3) Playoff Win Efficient (2) Playoffs (44) postmortem (2) PQS (109) press conference (2) pressure (2) priorities (1) Projected Record (6) projection (2) projections (2) promotion (2) prospect (3) prospect analysis (7) prospect future (1) prospect handling (1) Prospect of Note (3) prospect promotion (1) prospect study (2) Prospects (46) quality starts (1) questions (1) radio great (1) Rafael Rodriquez (8) Rajai Davis (2) Ralph Barbieri (1) Ramon Ramirez (3) Randy Johnson (10) Randy Messenger (2) Randy Winn (14) Rangers (5) Ranking (4) rant (1) raspberry (1) rationalization (1) Ray Durham (5) re-sign (2) realist (1) Rebuilding (5) Rebuilding Myths series (1) rebuttal (1) Red Sox (1) Reds (5) rehab (1) reliever (3) relievers (1) Relocation Concession (2) Research (2) resource scarcity (1) rest for starters (1) Retired (3) Retirement (3) return (1) Reyes Moronta (3) RHP (1) Ricardo Genoves (1) Rich Aurilia (7) Rick Peterson (1) Rickie Weeks (1) Ricky Oropesa (3) right-handed (1) risk mitigation (2) risk profile (1) Roberto Gomez (1) Rockies (2) Rod Beck (1) Roger Kieschnick (13) Roger Metzger (1) Ron Shandler (2) Ron Wotus (1) Ronnie Jebavy (1) Ronnie Ray (1) rookie debut (1) Rookie of the Year (1) Roster (4) rosterbation (2) Rotation by Committee (1) Rotation Chaos (1) ROY (2) Royals (3) Rule 5 (2) Rule 5 Draft Pick (5) rumors (9) run differential (1) run prevention (1) run production (1) runs support (1) Russ Ortiz (11) Russell Carleton (1) Ryan Garko (2) Ryan Klesko (4) Ryan Rohlinger (2) Ryan Theriot (3) Ryan Vogelsong (93) Ryder Jones (2) Sabean Naysayers (7) Sabermetric Thoughts (6) sabermetrics (5) SABR (1) Salary speculation (3) SALLY (1) Sam Dyson (7) Sam Long (1) Sam Selman (1) Sam Wolff (1) San Jose Giants (1) San Jose Relocation (3) Sandro Fabian (2) Sandy Rosario (1) Santiago Casilla (9) scenarios (1) Scott Boras (1) Scott Harris (2) Scott McClain (2) Scott Shuman (1) Scouting (2) Sean Hjelle (5) season review (1) secret sauce (2) Sergio Romo (17) Seth Corry (6) SF Giants (2) Shilo McCall (1) Shohei Ohtani (3) Shohei Otani (2) Shooter (1) shutouts (1) Signature Song (1) signing (13) Silly-Ball (3) South Atlantic League (1) South Bay Rights (1) SP usage (1) spin rate (1) splits (2) Sports Illustrated (1) Spring Training (16) stabilized stats (1) standings (1) starting CF (1) starting lineup (19) starting pitching (96) starting rotation (4) Statcorner (1) State of the Giants (1) statistics (2) STATS (1) Steamer (1) Stephen Vogt (1) Steroids (7) Steve Edlefsen (4) Steve Johnson (3) Steve Okert (8) Steven Duggar (7) strikeout rate (2) Sue Burns (1) sunk costs (1) superstition (1) tactics (1) talent evaluation (4) Tax (1) team culture (1) Team of the 2010's (2) Team of the 2020's (1) Team of the Decade (4) Team Speed (1) Team Support (1) Thank You (2) The Evil Ones (tm) (1) The Giants Way (2) The Hardball Times (1) The Hey Series (19) The Hey Zaidi Series (4) Thomas Joseph (3) Thomas Neal (9) Tigers (4) Tim Alderson (17) Tim Hudson (39) Tim Lincecum (195) TINSTAAPP (1) Todd Linden (3) Todd Wellemeyer (6) Tommy Joseph (3) Tony Watson (4) Top 100 Prospects (1) Top 14 Roster (1) Top Draft Position (4) top Giants prospects (5) top player list (1) top prospect list (6) Trade (12) Trade Analysis (22) Trade Idea (9) Trade PTBNL (2) Trade Rumors (30) trading (1) training staff (2) Training Tool (1) Travis Blackley (1) Travis Ishikawa (47) Trevor Brown (5) Trevor Gott (1) tribute (1) Tristan Beck (2) turning point (1) Ty Blach (23) Tyler Austin (1) Tyler Beede (10) Tyler Cyr (1) Tyler Horan (1) Tyler McDonald (1) Tyler Rogers (2) Tyler Walker (2) umpire mistake (3) Umpires (3) USA Today (1) utility (1) Voros McCracken (1) Waiver Roulette (1) Waldis Joaquin (5) walks (1) Wall of Fame (1) WAR (4) Warrior Spirit (1) Wendell Fairley (10) What-If Scenario (3) wild card (1) wild card race (1) Will Bednar (1) Will Clark (1) Will Smith (7) Will Wilson (3) Williams Jerez (1) Willie Mac Award (1) Willie Mays (1) winning on the road (1) Winter League (1) winter meetings (3) World Series (28) World Series Champions (13) WS Ring Bling (1) xBABIP (1) xwOBA (1) Yankees (1) Yusmeiro Petit (40) Zack Cozart (2) Zack Wheeler (9) Zaidi MO (2) Zaidi Rotation (3) ZiPS (1) Zito Role (2)