High & Inside: 5/28/11

Baseball links from around the sabersphere...

• Q&A Adrian Gonzalez | Fangraphs
  An interview with Adrian Gonzalez.
• Tigers, A's Swap Scott Sizemore, David Purcey | MLB Daily Dish
  A change-of-scenery trade.
• Appearances Without Throwing A Strike | JunkStats
  

  A couple days ago, Justin Berg of the Cubs had a nightmarish outing. He faced 3 batters, and walked all 3 of them. What’s more, he did it on 12 pitches–no strikes. How common is it to face at least 2 batters and not throw a strike?

• A New Market Inefficiency | DRaysBay
  Designated hitters.
• Pineda PITCHf/x | Don't Bring in the Lefty
  Michael Pineda pitch f/x.

More links after the jump...

• Home Plate Collisions And The Slippery Slope | Baseball Nation
  You will laugh.
• Beyond BABIP: A Closer Look at Zack Greinke's Struggles | Roto Hardball
  

  Unlike with Brandon Morrow, whose similar decline in velo doesn't worry me because he's made up for it with a faster slider, Greinke's breaking pitches are also showing a little less zip -- his curveball, two-seamer and slider are all down by about 1 MPH. Plus, and perhaps most worryingly, his changeup is nearly 2.5 MPH faster than his career average, meaning that all of his secondary pitches are less effective in one way or another.

• 2011 Could Be Roy Halladay’s Best Season Yet | Fangraphs
  

  Roy Halladay has taken a massive leap forward in 2011, and the result is a trail of destruction blazed straight through the National League.

• What the Heck is an RBI Whore? | Baseball Prospectus
  

  All else being equal, a hitter like Andres Galaragga in 1996, who saw 171 fewer runners, would have had 193 RBIs and banished Hack Wilson from the record books.

• Freddie Freeman’s Struggles | Capitol Avenue Club
  

  Freeman has struggled tremendously against lefties and their breaking stuff.