Behind the numbers with the Pirates
The Pirates open their 2009 season on Monday at St. Louis, but before moving forward -- to steal the front office's favorite phrase -- let's move backward to 2008 and see what we might be able to learn about the year ahead after digging up some interesting nuggets from the book, "The Bill James Gold Mine 2009."
James, the father of modern statistical analysis, came up with the following:
-- Left-hander Paul Maholm, who will pitch the opener, had nine quality starts in no-decisions, tying the New York Mets' Johan Santana for the most in the major leagues.
-- Right-hander Ian Snell made 13 quality starts last season and the Pirates lost seven of them, making him the only pitcher in the major s to have his team lose more than half his quality starts.
-- Snell had 1-2-3 innings just 26 percent of the time and left-hander Zach Duke set the side down in order only 28 percent of the time.
-- Catcher Ryan Doumit's .407 batting average with runners in scoring position was the third-best in the major leagues behind the Kansas City Royals' David DeJesus (.419) and Texas Rangers' Ian Kinsler (.413).
-- First baseman Adam LaRoche hit just six ground balls to the left side of the infield, the lowest among any major-league left-handed hitter who qualified for the batting title.
-- The Pirates led the National League in double plays even though shortstop Jack Wilson turned two on just 60 percent of his opportunities and second baseman Freddy Sanchez converted just 51 percent of his. Conversely, Brian Bixler turned double plays on 68 percent of his chances at shortstop last season and Luis Rivas converted 67 percent at second base.
HOMETOWN HERO: Opening day in St. Louis will be a big moment for Cardinals rookie third baseman David Freese. He will be making his major-league debut in his hometown a year after hitting .306 with 26 homers and 91 RBIs at Class AAA Memphis.
Freese was supposed to be a one-month fill-in until Troy Glaus recovered from off-season shoulder surgery. It now appears Glaus could miss a large chunk of the season as his rehabilitation has been slow.
Glaus plans to begin working out in Arizona this week under the guidance of physical therapist Keith Kocher. Glaus also worked with Kocher after having shoulder surgery in 2004 when he was playing for the Anaheim Angels.
"It's just like anything," Glaus told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "A new set of eyes, a new set of hands might figure out something that wasn't recognized. It's just a new starting point."
While Freese had a big year in the minor leagues, Glaus is a proven major-league power threat as he has hit 304 home runs in his 11-year career. He batted .270 with 27 homers and 99 RBIs in 151 games with the Cardinals last year in his first National League season.
FAMILIAR FACE: Rookie right-hander Jonathan Albaladejo will be part of the New York Yankees' bullpen to open the season. He is the same guy who became so frustrated with the Pirates, who regarded him as a non-prospect, that he asked for and was granted his release at Class AA Altoona early in the 2007 season.
"I thought I made the wrong decision and the only offer I had was in the Mexican League," Albaladejo, 25, said. "I was set to go to Mexico on Friday when the Washington Nationals called on Thursday and offered me a minor-league contract."
Albaladejo made it to the major leagues with the Nationals by the end of the '07 season and went 1-1 with a 1.88 ERA in 14 games. He was traded to the Yankees prior to last season and pitched in seven games in 2008, going 0-1 with a 3.95 ERA, adding to the list of major-league-caliber talent basically given away by the Pirates during Dave Littlefield's six years as general manager.
ROUGH SPRING: Cleveland Indians left-hander Cliff Lee makes his first career opening-day start Monday at Texas after winning the American League Cy Young award last season. However, he isn't entering the season with much momentum.
Lee had an awful time in the Cactus League as he finished with a 12.46 ERA and a .430 opponents' batting average during the Indians' first spring training in Arizona since 1992. He gave up 30 earned runs and 46 hits in 21 1/3 innings after going 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 31 starts last season.
"It's been a strange spring, but I feel strong and I'm ready to go," Lee said after giving up seven runs and nine hits in five innings to the Seattle Mariners in his final spring start. "I was throwing the ball where I wanted to. The results weren't there. I would have liked for the story to be different, but that's the way it is."
The Indians pitching staff learned that it is harder to grip the baseball in the dry Arizona air, which makes throwing breaking pitches difficult.
"It sounds like an excuse, but I hope there's some truth to it," Lee said. "Hopefully when we get back east my pitchers will break more and the ball won't travel so far, but you've still got to pitch."
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