Checking in on relievers
Posted by Andy on August 6, 2008
Collectively, we don't pay enough attention to meaningful stats for relievers. Here are some leaderboards for you.
So far in 2008, lowest BA against for relief pitchers, minimum 30 IP:
Cnt Player **BA** IP Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+ HR BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk BK WP OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Pit Str +----+-----------------+---------+-----+----+---+---+--+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+-----+--+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+--+----+----+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+--+-----+-----+-----+----+----+----+ 1 Grant Balfour .113 32.1 2008 30 TBR AL 26 0 0 0 9 3 1 .750 4 12 5 5 14 49 1.39 304 1 122 106 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .213 .179 .392 8 586 364 2 Brandon Morrow .143 36.2 2008 23 SEA AL 40 0 0 0 24 1 2 .333 10 18 8 6 15 47 1.47 276 5 142 126 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 .234 .270 .504 37 616 398 3 Carlos Marmol .146 62.1 2008 25 CHC NL 58 0 0 0 16 2 3 .400 6 31 25 24 32 86 3.47 130 7 252 212 6 0 1 6 1 1 2 3 1 0 0 3 .275 .274 .549 47 1115 670 4 Joakim Soria .159 51.2 2008 24 KCR AL 48 0 0 0 44 1 2 .333 32 28 10 9 11 54 1.57 281 4 196 176 5 0 1 5 2 2 3 2 1 1 0 1 .227 .256 .483 27 784 530 5 Edwar Ramirez .162 40.2 2008 27 NYY AL 37 0 0 0 13 3 0 1.000 0 23 14 14 17 48 3.10 135 4 162 142 7 0 1 3 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 3 .265 .296 .561 50 642 408 6 Taylor Buchholz .170 51.1 2008 26 COL NL 48 0 0 0 17 4 3 .571 1 31 16 9 14 46 1.58 294 3 199 182 7 0 2 1 1 1 3 5 1 0 0 2 .232 .258 .490 29 681 420 7 Dan Wheeler .171 49 2008 30 TBR AL 48 0 0 0 13 2 4 .333 4 30 14 12 16 31 2.20 192 6 193 175 5 1 3 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 .238 .314 .552 48 748 481 8 Troy Percival .175 35 2008 38 TBR AL 36 0 0 0 31 1 0 1.000 24 22 16 15 15 33 3.86 110 7 144 126 5 2 0 1 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 1 .264 .413 .677 80 605 382 9 Mariano Rivera .178 48.1 2008 38 NYY AL 44 0 0 0 42 4 4 .500 26 30 8 8 5 58 1.49 281 3 178 169 4 0 0 2 1 1 2 5 1 0 0 0 .209 .254 .463 23 684 473 10 Brad Ziegler .184 34 2008 28 OAK AL 26 0 0 0 3 1 0 1.000 0 19 0 0 9 15 0.00 0 0 118 103 0 0 2 1 3 2 11 1 0 2 0 0 .252 .184 .436 22 429 270 11 Billy Wagner .185 47 2008 36 NYM NL 45 0 0 0 34 0 1 .000 27 32 17 12 10 52 2.30 179 4 184 173 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 .228 .289 .517 41 697 465 12 Juan Cruz .187 31.2 2008 29 ARI NL 38 0 0 0 6 2 0 1.000 0 20 11 11 24 47 3.13 146 3 136 107 6 1 0 2 1 2 1 4 3 0 0 1 .341 .346 .687 82 652 391 13 Andrew Brown .187 35 2008 27 OAK AL 31 0 0 0 13 1 0 1.000 0 23 13 12 21 28 3.09 128 3 147 123 5 0 1 1 1 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 .308 .301 .609 69 581 329 14 Joe Nathan .188 46.1 2008 33 MIN AL 47 0 0 0 40 0 0 30 31 6 6 11 50 1.17 349 4 176 165 5 0 2 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 0 2 .239 .291 .530 44 716 473 15 Francisco Rodrigu .189 48.2 2008 26 LAA AL 53 0 0 0 49 1 2 .333 45 33 15 13 28 51 2.40 176 4 204 175 10 0 4 0 1 0 2 6 0 0 0 5 .300 .314 .614 64 839 495 16 Jim Johnson .191 59.1 2008 25 BAL AL 45 0 0 0 13 2 3 .400 1 39 14 13 24 32 1.97 219 0 231 204 2 0 2 1 1 1 13 3 2 0 1 1 .278 .201 .479 31 867 538 17 Jose Arredondo .192 33 2008 24 LAA AL 29 0 0 0 6 4 0 1.000 0 23 8 4 12 30 1.09 388 2 133 120 2 0 0 1 0 0 4 2 1 0 0 0 .271 .258 .529 43 528 315 18 Will Ohman .192 46.2 2008 30 ATL NL 59 0 0 0 12 3 0 1.000 1 32 17 14 18 43 2.70 153 2 188 167 6 1 3 0 3 0 3 1 2 1 0 1 .270 .275 .545 49 730 454 19 Brad Lidge .193 48 2008 31 PHI NL 49 0 0 0 42 2 0 1.000 28 34 14 12 23 63 2.25 198 2 203 176 7 0 3 1 2 1 2 5 0 0 0 5 .289 .267 .556 48 831 510 20 J.C. Romero .194 44 2008 32 PHI NL 55 0 0 0 10 4 3 .571 1 30 11 11 28 37 2.25 198 4 191 155 7 0 5 4 4 0 2 8 0 1 1 1 .332 .316 .648 72 752 426
That's 3 Rays in the top 8, one of many reasons why they are for real. And there's that damn J.C. Romero at 20, somehow having another fluke year.
How about this one: lowest OPS+ against:
Cnt Player **OPS+** IP Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+ HR BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk BK WP BA OBP SLG OPS Pit Str +----+-----------------+--------+-----+----+---+---+--+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+-----+--+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+--+----+----+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+ 1 Grant Balfour 8 32.1 2008 30 TBR AL 26 0 0 0 9 3 1 .750 4 12 5 5 14 49 1.39 304 1 122 106 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .113 .213 .179 .392 586 364 2 Brad Ziegler 22 34 2008 28 OAK AL 26 0 0 0 3 1 0 1.000 0 19 0 0 9 15 0.00 0 0 118 103 0 0 2 1 3 2 11 1 0 2 0 0 .184 .252 .184 .436 429 270 3 Mariano Rivera 23 48.1 2008 38 NYY AL 44 0 0 0 42 4 4 .500 26 30 8 8 5 58 1.49 281 3 178 169 4 0 0 2 1 1 2 5 1 0 0 0 .178 .209 .254 .463 684 473 4 Joakim Soria 27 51.2 2008 24 KCR AL 48 0 0 0 44 1 2 .333 32 28 10 9 11 54 1.57 281 4 196 176 5 0 1 5 2 2 3 2 1 1 0 1 .159 .227 .256 .483 784 530 5 Taylor Buchholz 29 51.1 2008 26 COL NL 48 0 0 0 17 4 3 .571 1 31 16 9 14 46 1.58 294 3 199 182 7 0 2 1 1 1 3 5 1 0 0 2 .170 .232 .258 .490 681 420 6 Jim Johnson 31 59.1 2008 25 BAL AL 45 0 0 0 13 2 3 .400 1 39 14 13 24 32 1.97 219 0 231 204 2 0 2 1 1 1 13 3 2 0 1 1 .191 .278 .201 .479 867 538 7 Jonathan Papelbon 34 48.1 2008 27 BOS AL 47 0 0 0 43 4 3 .571 31 35 16 11 7 57 2.05 217 3 186 175 7 0 0 0 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 2 .200 .231 .291 .522 726 510 8 Brandon Morrow 37 36.2 2008 23 SEA AL 40 0 0 0 24 1 2 .333 10 18 8 6 15 47 1.47 276 5 142 126 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 .143 .234 .270 .504 616 398 9 Billy Wagner 41 47 2008 36 NYM NL 45 0 0 0 34 0 1 .000 27 32 17 12 10 52 2.30 179 4 184 173 6 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 .185 .228 .289 .517 697 465 10 Dan Giese 41 32.1 2008 31 NYY AL 13 2 0 0 5 1 3 .250 0 24 12 9 10 20 2.51 167 1 132 120 5 0 1 0 0 2 0 6 1 0 0 1 .200 .258 .267 .525 489 301 11 Jose Arredondo 43 33 2008 24 LAA AL 29 0 0 0 6 4 0 1.000 0 23 8 4 12 30 1.09 388 2 133 120 2 0 0 1 0 0 4 2 1 0 0 0 .192 .271 .258 .529 528 315 12 Hong-Chih Kuo 43 63.1 2008 26 LAD NL 29 3 0 0 5 3 1 .750 0 46 13 13 15 76 1.85 239 2 252 230 11 1 2 3 3 1 3 2 0 0 1 1 .200 .257 .283 .540 994 643 13 Joe Nathan 44 46.1 2008 33 MIN AL 47 0 0 0 40 0 0 30 31 6 6 11 50 1.17 349 4 176 165 5 0 2 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 0 2 .188 .239 .291 .530 716 473 14 Carlos Marmol 47 62.1 2008 25 CHC NL 58 0 0 0 16 2 3 .400 6 31 25 24 32 86 3.47 130 7 252 212 6 0 1 6 1 1 2 3 1 0 0 3 .146 .275 .274 .549 1115 670 15 Brad Lidge 48 48 2008 31 PHI NL 49 0 0 0 42 2 0 1.000 28 34 14 12 23 63 2.25 198 2 203 176 7 0 3 1 2 1 2 5 0 0 0 5 .193 .289 .267 .556 831 510 16 Dan Wheeler 48 49 2008 30 TBR AL 48 0 0 0 13 2 4 .333 4 30 14 12 16 31 2.20 192 6 193 175 5 1 3 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 .171 .238 .314 .552 748 481 17 Will Ohman 49 46.2 2008 30 ATL NL 59 0 0 0 12 3 0 1.000 1 32 17 14 18 43 2.70 153 2 188 167 6 1 3 0 3 0 3 1 2 1 0 1 .192 .270 .275 .545 730 454 18 Edwar Ramirez 50 40.2 2008 27 NYY AL 37 0 0 0 13 3 0 1.000 0 23 14 14 17 48 3.10 135 4 162 142 7 0 1 3 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 3 .162 .265 .296 .561 642 408 19 Matt Thornton 50 46.2 2008 31 CHW AL 50 0 0 0 11 4 3 .571 1 34 15 15 12 55 2.89 154 5 186 170 4 0 1 2 1 1 5 3 0 0 0 2 .200 .259 .312 .571 713 481 20 Scott Downs 50 53.2 2008 32 TOR AL 49 0 0 0 14 0 2 .000 5 39 8 8 20 46 1.34 312 2 218 192 6 1 7 2 4 0 5 1 0 1 0 3 .203 .285 .276 .561 853 509
Yeah, that's not a misprint. Grant Balfour has allowed an OPS+ of EIGHT this year. Not 80, not 88....EIGHT. That means, in a simple sense, that opposing batters are doing about 8% damage against him as compared to an average pitcher.
And here are the leaders in Inherited Runner Scoring %, minimum 20 inherited runners:
Cnt Player **IS/R%** IR Year Age Tm Lg G GS CG SHO GF W L W-L% SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA ERA+ HR BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk BK WP BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ Pit Str +----+-----------------+---------+---+----+---+---+--+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+-----+--+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+--+----+----+--+--+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+--+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+----+----+ 1 Tyler Yates 0.10 21 2008 30 PIT NL 51 0 0 0 12 4 2 .667 1 53.2 53 30 29 36 39 4.86 86 4 248 206 12 1 4 1 4 1 4 3 1 0 0 3 .257 .369 .383 .752 105 933 545 2 Will Ohman 0.10 20 2008 30 ATL NL 59 0 0 0 12 3 0 1.000 1 46.2 32 17 14 18 43 2.70 153 2 188 167 6 1 3 0 3 0 3 1 2 1 0 1 .192 .270 .275 .545 49 730 454 3 Grant Balfour 0.11 27 2008 30 TBR AL 26 0 0 0 9 3 1 .750 4 32.1 12 5 5 14 49 1.39 304 1 122 106 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .113 .213 .179 .392 8 586 364 4 Justin Miller 0.11 27 2008 30 FLA NL 43 0 0 0 7 4 2 .667 0 44.2 41 24 20 19 42 4.03 103 4 192 169 12 2 2 3 0 1 3 4 1 0 0 1 .243 .328 .408 .736 101 720 430 5 Bobby Howry 0.12 26 2008 34 CHC NL 54 0 0 0 19 4 4 .500 1 54.1 67 34 32 8 43 5.30 85 11 236 221 19 2 3 2 1 4 4 2 0 0 0 0 .303 .328 .557 .885 130 902 602 6 Trever Miller 0.13 24 2008 35 TBR AL 46 0 0 0 10 1 0 1.000 0 27 24 15 15 18 22 5.00 85 1 118 97 6 0 1 1 1 1 4 0 2 0 0 1 .247 .368 .340 .708 93 476 285 7 Jason Frasor 0.13 30 2008 30 TOR AL 37 0 0 0 16 1 1 .500 0 34.1 28 15 14 21 35 3.67 114 3 150 127 7 1 2 0 0 2 1 4 2 0 0 5 .220 .327 .362 .689 85 645 387 8 Jim Johnson 0.15 20 2008 25 BAL AL 45 0 0 0 13 2 3 .400 1 59.1 39 14 13 24 32 1.97 219 0 231 204 2 0 2 1 1 1 13 3 2 0 1 1 .191 .278 .201 .479 31 867 538 9 Arthur Rhodes 0.15 27 2008 38 TOT ML 38 0 0 0 4 2 1 .667 1 23 17 8 7 13 29 2.74 149 0 95 78 2 0 2 0 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 .218 .326 .244 .570 56 401 256 10 Scott Eyre 0.15 20 2008 36 CHC NL 19 0 0 0 1 2 0 1.000 0 11.1 15 9 9 4 14 7.15 63 1 53 46 5 1 1 1 0 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 .326 .377 .543 .920 142 237 137 11 J.P. Howell 0.16 25 2008 25 TBR AL 44 0 0 0 7 6 0 1.000 2 62.1 44 20 17 31 60 2.45 173 4 263 223 10 0 1 3 5 1 6 9 1 0 0 5 .197 .302 .296 .598 61 1052 632 12 Carlos Marmol 0.16 31 2008 25 CHC NL 58 0 0 0 16 2 3 .400 6 62.1 31 25 24 32 86 3.47 130 7 252 212 6 0 1 6 1 1 2 3 1 0 0 3 .146 .275 .274 .549 47 1115 670 13 Tim Byrdak 0.17 23 2008 34 HOU NL 41 0 0 0 5 2 1 .667 0 37.1 29 11 11 26 26 2.65 160 5 163 134 9 0 2 1 2 0 3 3 1 2 0 0 .216 .348 .396 .744 101 632 380 14 Joel Peralta 0.18 22 2008 32 KCR AL 28 0 0 0 8 1 2 .333 0 38.2 40 25 23 8 25 5.35 82 10 161 148 7 1 0 2 1 2 4 2 1 0 0 0 .270 .313 .534 .847 119 570 384 15 Jesse Carlson 0.18 39 2008 27 TOR AL 49 0 0 0 6 4 1 .800 1 41.1 32 11 10 18 43 2.18 193 4 168 147 9 1 7 1 0 2 3 1 2 2 1 1 .218 .304 .374 .678 81 645 425 16 Royce Ring 0.18 34 2008 27 ATL NL 42 0 0 0 8 2 1 .667 0 22.1 32 25 21 10 16 8.46 49 2 113 96 10 1 3 2 3 2 3 3 0 0 1 0 .333 .400 .521 .921 148 403 249 17 Ron Villone 0.19 27 2008 38 STL NL 48 0 0 0 8 1 2 .333 1 39.1 38 24 23 29 41 5.26 81 4 180 147 9 0 1 1 1 2 7 0 0 0 0 1 .259 .380 .401 .781 113 749 428 18 Sean Green 0.19 43 2008 29 SEA AL 54 0 0 0 10 3 3 .500 0 58.2 50 24 19 24 51 2.91 139 3 253 219 8 0 1 4 2 4 6 0 1 0 1 2 .228 .311 .306 .617 69 971 610 19 Dan Wheeler 0.20 20 2008 30 TBR AL 48 0 0 0 13 2 4 .333 4 49 30 14 12 16 31 2.20 192 6 193 175 5 1 3 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 .171 .238 .314 .552 48 748 481 20 Wesley Wright 0.20 41 2008 23 HOU NL 54 0 0 0 11 3 3 .500 1 39.1 31 20 19 24 34 4.35 98 5 173 146 10 1 3 2 1 0 4 5 0 0 0 1 .212 .331 .397 .728 97 708 413
That's 4 Rays in the top 19. Geez.
But of course, Royce Ring, he of the 8.46 ERA, also makes this list. Hmm.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Royce Ring has an ERA of 2.57 (2 ER in 7 IP) for innings in which he enters with men on base, and 11.15 (19 ER in 15 1/3 IP) for innings in which he enters with no men on base (this includes innings that he started after getting the side out the previous inning). Guess you only use him in pressure situations...
He actually had an ERA of 3.34 at one point just before the all-star break, and he stranded his first 23 inherited runners. He hasn't done so well since then: IS/IR = 0.55, and 13 ER in the last 5 IP with no inherited runners.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Reminds me of Mariano Rivera this year in save situation vs non-save situations. In save situations, he's been absolutely unhittable, giving up just 1 ER I think, recently to Boston. In non-save situations, he's been hit around pretty well, doing only a bit better than league-average. And that split has been consistent all year.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:56 am
the only real meaningful stat here is IRS% because what else really matters for a relief pitcher? it is interesting though that none of the top 20 are closers.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
I think BA and OPS are important too, because it gives you a sense of how many runners they might leave on when they get pulled, regardless of whether they come around to score.
This is why there are no closers:
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/6PeS
Of the 26 guys to have at least 15 saves so far this year, only 2 have inherited as many as 20 runners, and therefore weren't eligible for the list. Papelbon has inherited 17 runners and stranded them all!
August 6th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
vincent75% IRS% can't be the only meaningful stat. Many relievers also start innings or come in with no one on base.
As much as people knock using ERA or other methods for relievers, those who are used exclusively at the start of an inning, can pretty much be judged by standard pitching stats.
August 6th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
As for Romero, how many "fluke years" does he have to have before you admit that the guy is a good pitcher? With the Phillies, he comes in to face left-handers who generally don't stand a chance against him. I don't know how they handled him in Boston, but here he's been very reliable. We don't use he word "fluke".
August 6th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
The issue with Romero is that his hit rate is extremely low--far lower than any other pitcher in history has been able to consistently maintain. Unless you think Romero is the best pitcher in history, something's up.
See here:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/sotd/archives/703
August 19th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Philadelphia uses Romero against a much higher percentage of lefties than he has faced over the course of his career. He has always crushed lefties.
OPS+ doesn't really work on a linear scale so that you can say an OPS+ of 8 means 8% of average. OPS+ can actually be negative. OPS+ of 8 means...well, I can't say exactly what it means, but suffice to say it's very impressive (or horrible, if we're talking about batters).