:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/12388205/167407886.0.jpg)
The Baltimore Orioles had a chance to sweep back-to-back series and they couldn't pull it off, the Toronto Blue Jays are proving you can't buy a win, and the Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Colorado Rockies are either in the lead or tied for the lead in their respective divisions. At what point do we get to say it's no longer a small sample size?
Previously on Beyond the Box Score
-
A Darvish Comparison - By Ben Horrow - Beyond the Box Score
What starting pitcher is even remotely worthy of being compared to Pedro Martinez, the one player who has had the greatest peak of any starting pitcher in the history of the game? Well, Ben explores whether that starter is Yu Darvish, and the way he has performed up to this point I won't argue with him just yet. -
AL East Pitching Coach Philosophies - By Jon Roegele - Beyond the Box Score
Jon takes a look at the pitching philosophies of the pitching coaches from the American League East teams just to see how well the teams are doing of following the plan. It's surprising to me that one of the teams is struggling a bit in a certain situation that Jon mentions. -
Was Hawk Harrelson Actually Right About Something? - By Lee Trocinski - Beyond the Box Score
There was an interesting argument that took place between Hawk Harrelson and Brian Kenny and Harrelson actually made a pretty good point about one aspect of the game in general. Lee touches on that and while I'm not a huge fan of Hawk I won't disagree with him. -
Unifying Replacement Level: A Conversation With Sean Forman - By Lance Rinker - Beyond the Box Score
Sean Forman was kind enough to take the time to speak with me about the unification of replacement level in regards to WAR calculation with Baseball Reference and WAR. -
PITCHf/x Profile: Jose Fernandez - By Alex Kienholz - Beyond the Box Score
If you enjoy reading about or looking into rookie pitchers then this piece is for you. Alex does a great job of giving us the inside edge on Jose Fernandez, one of the few bright spots of the Miami Marlins, and there's even a wicked GIF of his curveball which literally dropped my jaw.
Around the Sabersphere
-
Bryce Harper’s First 162 Games | By Dave Cameron | FanGraphs Baseball
Dave from FanGraphs takes a look at where Bryce Harper's first 162 career game rank in baseball with every other player across the game. I know he's the phenom and all but even I was surprised at how high up there he is. -
Baseball Prospectus | Overthinking It: This Week in Catcher Framing, 4/26 | By Ben Lindbergh | Baseball Prospectus
Ben, once again, takes us through a weeks worth of frame jobs performed by major league catchers. This subject fascinates me, as I've stated before, because some of these pitches are so clearly off the plate but are called strikes anyway because of how good of a job the catcher does of framing them. -
Smart defense vs. smart offense - By Noah Woodward - The Hardball Times
Noah does a fantastic job of going through the data to dissect a comment made by Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon regarding defenses being smarter than offenses due to sabermetrics.
Around SB Nation
-
Marlins Park outfield wall is actually a green screen - By Justin Bopp - MLB Daily Dish
Justin is a pretty funny guy and because of that he comes up with a few fun, or funny, way to entertain Marlins fans who still manage to find themselves in Marlins park during an actual game -- whether it's on purpose or not. -
Baseball in THE YEAR 3000 - By Rob Neyer - Baseball Nation
Pretty nifty title of this piece by Rob if I do say so myself, it certainly caught my attention. In this piece Rob wonders if Bud Selig really will retire once his self-imposed deadline happens upon us and if he does what big changes a new commissioner might bring about. Very interesting stuff.
Outside the Sabersphere
-
Rays reporter discovers close call while reviewing photos - Fox Sports Florida
Holy crap! This picture is pretty cool based on the moment it captured but man was it a close call. Certainly a moment worth remembering if I'm this reporter.
