Harry and I were talking a couple weeks ago -- right after his pitch f/x chat, actually -- and one thing we agreed was a great help to furthering analysis, especially new lines of analysis, was group discussion. When a bunch of people start brainstorming and taking tangents off of others' ideas, great things can happen. With that in mind, here's an open thread for brainstorming where we can take pitch f/x and hit f/x analysis.
Before those of you who would never do your own analysis tune out, stop. One of the most helpful points of view is from folks who don't understand the ins and outs of the data. Why? You don't know what the limitations are and might come up with something nobody's thought of or something that would take a little creativity to figure out.
Here are some lines of thinking to get this brainstorming going.
- New metrics. Harry's done things like line drive to swinging strike ratio for certain pitches. Maybe you'd like to see something that measures control (percentage of pitches within three inches of strike zone border?)
- What are some ways to tackle pitch selection and sequencing? Simply what percentage of each pitch a pitcher will throw after a given pitch? Work count into it somehow?
- Are there better ways to use graphs?
- Can we not use graphs?
- How do we use more pitch f/x from the hitters' point of view. What pitches does he like? Can we pick out "guess hitters"? Are there combinations of pitches he doesn't handle well? Can we detect platoon effects beyond L/R and GB/FB?
- Other?
You don't have to throw out complete ideas -- the whole point is that if you throw out partial ideas, either incomplete or vague, someone else can take over where you left off