Category: Sports News

After the signings of Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell, four of the five spots in the Nationals rotation were filled. The two newcomers joined Foster Griffin and Cade Cavalli in the rotation. That left one spot for the likes of Josiah Gray, Brad Lord and Jake Irvin. A strong spring from Irvin has given him the upper hand, and I want to talk about it.

In the first half of the 2024 season, Irvin looked like an ascending pitcher. He posted a 3.49 ERA in 116 innings prior to the All-Star break. His moxie and solid stuff was just so impressive. However, it has been downhill from there. He has seen a drop in velocity and home run problems eat into his production. In the second half of 2024, he posted an ERA of 5.90, and it was more of the same in 2025.

However, Irvin was given a shot to compete for a rotation slot due to his ability to eat innings. This spring, Irvin has been very impressive. The mid-90’s velocity he showed in 2023 and 2024 has not returned, but he looks more equipped to compensate for that. His command has been really sharp and he is showing a true six pitch mix this spring.

Irvin has had a really nice spring. The strikeouts have been a big eye opener. Velocity still not close to 2024 levels, but he is mixing his pitches and commanding the ball really well. Think he has a path to being solid if his pitch mix is optimized like it has been this spring https://t.co/lIKaIBNe5e

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) March 17, 2026

If Irvin can throw quality strikes and manipulate the ball effectively, he does not need to throw 95 plus to be effective. We saw that in his start against the Cardinals yesterday. His fastball only averaged 92, but he was so unpredictable that it did not matter. Irvin threw all six of his pitches at least 9% of the time. 

Last year, Irvin also technically had six pitches, but he mainly threw a 4-seam, a sinker and a curveball. He threw a changeup 8% of the time and used his cutter and slider 4% each. In his start yesterday, he used the cutter 14% of the time, the changeup at a 12% clip and his slider at a 9% rate. 

This new mix has allowed Irvin to get more strikeouts this spring. He only struck out 6.2 batters per 9 innings in 2025. However, he has 15 strikeouts in 13.1 innings so far this spring. Last spring, he only struck out 9 batters in 16.1 innings. That is a very good sign for Irvin.

5 scoreless today for Jake Irvin, whose spring ERA is down to 1.35. Debatable if that matters, but perhaps more significant: He has 15 K in 13.1 IP after striking out only 6.2 batters per 9 IP last season.

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) March 17, 2026

These performances should be enough to earn the big right hander a spot in the rotation. Brad Lord can slide to the bullpen and it would not be the worst thing for Josiah Gray to get a few AAA starts under his belt after missing two seasons. 

However, Irvin is still going to be on a short leash. Sure, he has had a good spring, but he did post a 5.70 ERA last year. We are going to have to see it in regular season action. The velocity still being in the low-90’s also is not the best sign. I think his deep mix will allow him to pitch more effectively at lower velocities, but it is never a good thing to lose steam on your heater.

There is also going to be plenty of competition behind Irvin this year. Andrew Alvarez, Mitchell Parker, Riley Cornelio and Luis Perales are all Triple-A arms hungry for a big league call up. Josiah Gray will also be nipping at Irvin’s heels. DJ Herz is also going to be back from injury at some point this season. If Irvin or Miles Mikolas struggle out of the gates, they could be in trouble. 

I like what I have seen this spring from Irvin though. The strikeout stuff is really nice to see from him. Between his deep bag of pitches, a lower arm angle and some funky release traits, Irvin has things going for him. I also really like his mound presence. He is a guy I am rooting for, but he is under pressure this year.

Jake Irvin’s stat line today:
5.0 IP | 3 Hits | 0 ER | 1 BB | 5 K’s pic.twitter.com/qRrxH2bcRV

— Nationals Advisory (@nats_advisory) March 17, 2026

If he pitches like he has this spring, he will lock down a spot in the Nats rotation. However, for the first time in a while, Jake Irvin is truly under pressure. Last year, Irvin was allowed to take the ball 33 times despite poor results because the Nats did not have any pitching depth. Irvin will not have that luxury again this season, so he will have to perform.

With the Nats already optioning Mitchell Parker, the new regime has shown themselves to be willing to make big changes to last year’s team. If Irvin did not have a big spring, he could have been on the chopping block as well. However, he has earned a second chance with his performances. Now, he will have to take advantage of that opportunity when the real games begin.

The glory years are what usually spring to mind when you bring up the history of the New York Yankees, whether the days of Ruth and Gehrig, the midcentury dominance of Mantle and Berra, or the 1990s dynasty. Those teams and players are honored time and time again for their contributions to their franchise. However, what’s not talked about as much are the lean years, such as the time prior to that dynastic run in the ’90s that set everything in motion for the future.

Those were some tough years for the organization, and while the team still had its fair share of big names (most notably, Don Mattingly) and wasn’t even finishing with records that were too bad, there were too many quiet Octobers in the Bronx. And for the first two years of his career, Brian Fisher was part of those ranks.

Brian Kevin Fisher
Born: March 18, 1962 (Honolulu, HI)
Yankees tenure: 1985-86

Born in Honolulu, Fisher and his family moved to Colorado, where he attended William C. Hinkley High School in Aurora and helped the school win a state title in 1979. After showing well in high school, he was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the 1980 MLB Draft.

Fisher worked his way up through the minor league ranks and developed a mid-90s fastball that could hit 97 mph, but before he could make it to the majors with Atlanta, he was traded. On December 5, 1984, Fisher was sent to the Yankees for catcher Rick Cerone, and he made his MLB debut on May 7, 1985, against the Minnesota Twins at the age of 23. He finished the day with three hits, no strikeouts, one walk, and one earned run in three innings pitched.

From there, Fisher went on to not just have a strong rookie season by comparison to others, but he had the best season of what would be an abbreviated professional baseball career. He finished the year with a 2.38 ERA and a 2.37 FIP, along with a 170 ERA+ and 2.4 bWAR in 98.1 innings pitched. Fisher was capable of filling whatever role skipper Billy Martin needed, whether it was covering middle innings, setting up for closer Dave Righetti, or even finishing off ballgames himself. Indeed, Fisher recorded 14 saves of his own, like the one in the clip below at Fenway Park, where he went four-up/four-down to both escape a jam and preserve a win for Ron Guidry.

Fisher also placed sixth in American League Rookie of the Year voting as the Yankees won 97 games but fell two wins shy of Toronto for the AL East crown.

Fisher would spend one more campaign with the Yankees organization. In 1986, he finished the year with a winning record at 9-5. However, over 62 games and 96.2 innings pitched, he posted a 4.92 ERA and a 4.45 FIP, with an ERA+ of 83 and a bWAR of -1.2, a harsh dropoff from his production as a rookie.

Over his two seasons with the Yankees, Fisher worked in the role of a starter and as a reliever, but after his second season in pinstripes, he ended up being traded for a second time in his career, this time to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a multi-player deal that included Brian Fisher, pitcher Logan Easley, and (most regrettably) pitcher Doug Drabek from the Yankees for another trio of pitchers: Rick Rhoden, Cecilio Guante, and Pat Clements.

Fisher moved into a starting role with the Pirates, pitching three seasons with the team from ages 25-27 and a total of 348.2 innings. He finished his Pirates career with a 4.72 ERA, inflated plenty by a poor performance in his final season (where he had a 7.92 ERA), albeit in limited innings after playing only nine games and starting three.

Fisher left the Pirates after three seasons and sign with the Houston Astros, where he pitched in only four games due in part to a broken knee that took a wrecking ball to his career. He did not play in 1991 and returned to the majors in 1992 at the age of 30, pitched 91.1 innings, and finished with a 4.53 ERA.

While it was not an incredible career overall for Fisher, he was able to pitch for a few storied organizations, and his rookie season in pinstripes was one he can certainly look back on fondly. Reflecting on it years later to the Denver Post, he knew just how special it was:

When I talk about pitching for the Yankees, it’s an icebreaker for any conversation … If I say that I pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it doesn’t have the same impact.

For a brief moment, it looked as though the Yankees could have a prominent young arm on their hands to help bolster their staff into the late ’80s, but alas, Fisher can hang his hat on his rookie breakout.

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See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

For all the reasons we’ve written about and all the painful innings Rockies fans watched, 2025 was a season to forget.

Luckily, there was Hunter Goodman.

In his first full MLB season, the then 25-year-old put up the best season for a catcher in MLB not named Cal Raleigh. Goodman, the Rockies fourth-round pick from the 2021 MLB Draft, hit 31 homers, drove in 91 RBIs, hit 28 doubles and batted .278/.323/.520. He earned an All-Star selection, following Elias Díaz’s Midsummer Classic nod in 2023, and officially taking the mantel of the Rockies next catcher. 

The starter

With all the other position battles, it’s nice that Goodman is a lock. For the first time since 2019, someone named Díaz or Jacob Stallings.

Goodman has gotten off to a slow start in spring training this year, but the real thing starts on March 27. Through 34 at-bats in 12 games, Goodman is only hitting .147/.225/.324 with nine RBI, three walks and nine strikeouts.

He could be turning a corner as he knocked a three-run homer, his second of the spring, on March 15 against the Angels.

In 2025, Silver Slugger-winning Goodman played 104 games at catcher and 39 as DH. Manager Warren Shaeffer has expressed the desire to continue to have Goodman in the lineup as much as possible as the best offensive player. The plan will require Goodman following up his 2025 success and being able to stay healthy despite the grind behind the plate and extended playing time.

Hopefully, his 2025 season prepared him for it, especially being an All-Star. At Rockies Fest, Goodman talked about the All-Star experience and how he learned from it.

“Getting to go is awesome. It was a blessing to be to be around those guys, but I think the coolest part was being around guys like [Clayton] Kershaw and [Manny] Machado and [Freddie] Freeman,” Goodman said. “All those guys that are older, when I was in high school, I watched them play in All-Star Games, and just picking their brains and talking to them, and just trying to take in everything and learn.”

The backups

After making his debut on April 15 last season and playing in 38 games for the Rockies, Braxton Fulford entered spring training as the likely backup to Goodman. Even though he’s had a good spring training — he’s hitting .258/.294/.333 with two homers, seven RBI, seven strikeouts and two stolen bases in 31 at-bats in 13 games through Tuesday — he’s facing stiff competition from veteran Brett Sullivan, who the Rockies signed to a Minor League deal in December.

Sullivan, the 32-year-old journeyman who spent eight years in the minors before making his MLB debut in 2023, has been red hot in Arizona. On top of hitting .414/.469/.759 with two homers, seven RBI, four doubles and only one strikeout in 29 at-bats in 13 games, Sullivan has also stepped up as a mentor for the young Rockies.

Neither has put up numbers like their spring training stats in their brief MLB careers. Last year, Fulford, a 27-year-old with superspeed, especially for a catcher, batted .213/.267/.324 with 26 strikeouts, one homer, two triples, and five doubles in 108 at-bats. After his initial call-up, Fulford, the Rockies sixth-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, went back and forth from Triple-A Albuquerque and the Rockies before being called up for good on Aug 3. He had a big day on March 14 when he hit a walk-off, two-run homer to carry the Rockies to a win over the Cubs.

Sullivan, who played for team Italy in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, played in 40 games over the 2023-24 seasons with the Padres and three games for the Pirates last season. He’s combined to hit .204/.250./.291 with two homers, three doubles, 10 RBI and 26 strikeouts in 103 at-bats.

Considering the young team and the value of an experienced catcher, Sullivan, especially with his spring performance, may have the edge in making the roster.

Depth options

The Rockies have another veteran and prospect pairing to provide depth.

In early February, the Rockies signed Kyle McCann, a 28-year-old, who was drafted by the A’s in 2019. He played 54 games with the A’s in 2024 before returning to the minors and being cut in 2025 when he then played for the Piratas de Campeche in Mexico to end the 2025 season. This spring, he’s only managed two hits, including a homer, in 14 at-bats over 11 games. He was reassigned to minor league camp on March 15.

Cole Carrigg (No. 4 PuRP), the Rockies No. 65 overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft, has a super-utility status that includes catcher. He finished 2025 in Double-A Hartford and likely needs more time to develop in Triple-A to start this season, but could provide depth later this season if needed. The 23-year-old is having a great spring, batting .385/.370/..654 with three doubles, two triples, five RBIs and seven strikeouts in 26 at-bats over 11 games. He was reassigned to 

On the farm

Bryant Betancourt, a 22-year-old who the Rockies signed in 2021 out of Venezuela, was a non-roster invite to spring training. He played in seven games, hitting one double with one RBI, two walks and one strikeout in eight at-bats. He was reassigned to minor league camp on 

Cole Messina (No. 26 PuRP), the Rockies third-round pick from 2024, has a lot of upside and moved up to Double-A Hartford in his first pro season last year. He likely needs at least one more year in the system before he’ll be ready.

Closing thoughts

The Rockies not only have their best offensive player starting behind the dish, but they have lots of talented depth behind him. Plus, for the first time in a long time, it’s young talent that must be a pillar of the Rockies rebuild. Of course, that depends on Goodman not backsliding and Sullivan or Fulford arising as reliable and constant depth. 

Another interesting element to watch this season will be how the Rockies catchers handle the ABS Challenge System. As one of three people with the power to challenge, catchers, alongside the pitcher and the batter, the Rockies will have to be on target in their two challenges not to lose them and be able to use them to their advantage.

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While most of the AL East spent the offseason making big trades and free agent signings, the motto in the Bronx seemed to be “Hold the Status Quo.” Last year, the Yankees finished tied with the Blue Jays at 94-68, but ended up in second after losing their season series to Toronto. After Cam Schlittler threw 8 shutout innings with 12 Ks to propel New York past the Red Sox in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, the Yankees met their season end at the hands of the Blue Jays. In a 3-1 Division Series loss, the Yankees were outscored 34-16 as their season ended two rounds earlier than in 2024.

Despite a disappointing postseason run, the front office in New York decided this team was good enough to run back basically the same squad. The Bronx Bombers led MLB in runs per game, home runs, and team OPS as captain Aaron Judge took home his third AL MVP in the last four seasons. That’s not to say they weren’t still flawed; the Yankees’ lineup had the third most strikeouts in baseball and a bottom-10 bullpen. And yet, the Yankees come into 2026 as the least changed team in the division.

Offseason moves

The Yankees’ first priority this offseason was securing their starting outfield alongside Judge. Trent Grisham was one of four players around MLB to accept the Qualifying Offer, returning to New York on the one-year/$22.05M deal. He’ll man CF again in 2026, looking to build on a career year when he had career highs in hits (116), home runs (34) and RBI (74).

Returning alongside Grisham and Judge in the Yankees outfield is former NL MVP Cody Bellinger. After playing a series of short-term deals with the Cubs and Yankees the last three seasons, Bellinger turned in an All-Star level season last season to earn a long-term deal in the Bronx. After posting 89 runs, 160 hits, 29 home runs and 98 RBIs, the Yankees rewarded Bellinger with a five-year/$162.5M deal that will keep him in New York into his mid 30s.

The re-signings didn’t stop there, though. The Yankees also brought back Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario as depth pieces for their bench. The now 38-year-old Goldschmidt returns on a one-year/$4M deal after slashing .274/.328/.403 in 489 ABs last season. Rosario joined the Yankees at the deadline last season, but only played in 16 games due to a shoulder injury. He’ll provide depth in the middle infield and in CF for New York next season.

The Yankees also bring back LHP Ryan Yarbrough and RHP Paul Blackburn on small one-year deals to give them a pair of multi-innings relief options. Their only major outside addition was LHP Ryan Weathers, whom the Yankees traded three Top 30 prospects to the Marlins to acquire. The hard-throwing, injury-prone Weathers will be asked to fill in the rotation to begin the season, with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt all expected to begin the season on the IL.

Even though the bullpen was a major pain point for the Yankees in 2025, it’s also where they suffered most of their losses this offseason. After a disastrous season in the Bronx, former All-Star closer Devin Williams left in free agency and joined the Mets. Former set-up man Luke Weaver also made the switch from the Bronx to Queens, while relievers Mark Leiter Jr. (Athletics), Ian Hamilton (Braves) and JonathanLoáisiga (Diamondbacks) also departed in free agency.

Gerrit Cole

Some of the Yankees’ willingness to stand pat in the offseason undoubtedly revolves around the pending return of their ace, Cole. The 2023 AL Cy Young winner will pitch for the Yankees today for the first time since tearing his UCL last Spring Training. Despite returning to the mound in March, it’s likely Cole won’t make a start in a regular-season game for another 2-3 months.

If he comes back fully healthy, he could give the Yankees the best rotation in the American League. With Cole, former All-Stars in Max Fried and Rodón, an emerging young talent in Schlittler and depth with Schmidt, Weathers, Will Warren and Luis Gil, New York could have a rotation that more than mitigates their bullpen concerns.

However, at 35 years old and with a history of previous elbow injuries, there’s no guarantee that Cole comes back at full strength. As the only major “addition” compared to last year’s squad, a lot is riding on Cole being a major contributor if the Yankees want to unseat Toronto and fend off improved squads in Baltimore and Boston.

Projections

• PECOTA: 88-74 (2nd in AL East)
• FanGraphs: 87-75 (1st in AL East)

Despite their lack of aggression in the offseason, most projections still have the Yankees at or near the top of the AL East. PECOTA projects them to finish second behind the Blue Jays again, but with only half a game difference between them and New York. FanGraphs has the Yankees finishing two games in front of Toronto and capturing their third AL East title in the last five years. All major sportsbooks also have the Yankees as the betting favorites to win the division at around +180 odds.

The projections echo the consensus sentiment about the Yankees: despite making no major moves, they should still be one of the best teams in baseball. However, given the amount of improvement that’s gone on in Baltimore, Boston and Toronto, New York may ultimately come to regret the reluctance to make big changes.

Morning, all!

Shawn McFarland continues his top 30 prospect countdown with number 8, Winston Santos, and number 7, David Davilillo.

The Rangers have two of the five minor league prospects listed as two way players after signing two teenagers last year that are both shortstops and right handed pitchers.

Seong-Jun Kim and Josh Owen’s development is going to be a priority of the entire organization says director of player development Josh Bonifay.

Joc Pederson has posted a sub .500 OPS this spring, but has historically his regular season performance has matched his spring numbers.

Major League Baseball’s opening day is just a week away as the spring training wanes, and the Detroit Tigers are rounding into shape ahead of the 2026 regular season schedule.

The Motor City Kitties are just 7-11 during preseason play, but the results do not mean anything until next Thursday afternoon’s matchup with the San Diego Padres out on the West Coast. Still, it is encouraging that the Olde English D has won its last three in a row and has a plus-9 run differential heading into the final week of play.

With the start of the regular season just over the horizon and a sufficient sample size of stats amassed, it is as good a time as any to start thinking about what the opening day starting lineup will look like. There are a few players who are absolute locks at their positions: Tarik Skubal will undoubtedly take the mound in the first game, while Riley Greene will no doubt be on the field to start things off.

But who else will be in the starting lineup? Additionally, where in the field will they play and at what spot will AJ Hinch place them in the batting order? These are the questions bouncing around inside the heads of many Tigers fans as they watch the spring unfold.

So that is the question for today for our loyal Bless You Boys audience. Let us know in the comments below how you think the starting lineup will shake out on March 26.

German Marquez must have taken some inspiration from Walker Buehler because the right-hander took the mound for the San Diego Padres and delivered a five inning, nine strikeout performance against the Seattle Mariners that resulted in a 9-6 win for San Diego at the Peoria Sports Complex on Tuesday. Marquez did allow three runs on three hits, but the Padres offense powered up and hit six home runs off Mariners pitching. All six home runs were hit by different players, and half of those were hit by regulars Gavin Sheets, Xander Bogaerts and Nick Castellanos. Ty France who is battling for one of the final bench spots as Spring Training enters its final week, also homered as well as Jase Bowen and Rodolfo Duran. San Diego returns to action Thursday against the Chicago White Sox at 6:10 p.m.

Padres News:

• Buehler came to Spring Training as a minor league signing with the Padres and was only guaranteed the opportunity to compete for a spot in the rotation. He has taken advantage of that opportunity and has shown to be the most consistent arm in the group vying for a rotation spot and Lincoln Zdunich of Gaslamp Ball thinks he has done enough to have secured his place on the roster.

• Bradgley Rodriguez opened some eyes when he made his MLB debut in 2025 and he has continued to do so in Spring Training. Perla Paredes of Padres.com believes that his spring performance has earned him a spot in a crowded San Diego bullpen.

• Kruz Schoolcraft is hard to miss on the baseball field because his typically stands head and shoulders above everyone else on the diamond. Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune said the San Diego prospect is more than just a physical presence he is athletic as well and that will benefit him as he progresses through the minor league system.

Baseball News:

• New York Yankees pitcher Garrit Cole is expected to return to the mound today. He has not pitched since Tommy John surgery last March. Shohei Ohtani is also scheduled to take the mound Wednesday for the Los Angeles Dodgers, which will be his Cactus League debut.

• Chicago Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki suffered a knee injury in the WBC while playing for Team Japan, but it does not appear to be serious, and he still has a chance to play on Opening Day.

WBC News:

• Venezuela took advantage of their first trip to the World Baseball Classic final and upset the US with a 3-2 win. The teams entered the ninth inning in a 2-2 tie, but Venezuela was able to scratch out a run in the top of the ninth to win their first WBC title.

Mid March is a great time of year for any number of reasons, but it isn’t necessarily a great time for analysis. A regular commenter asked how I analyze spring numbers. The simple answer is I don’t. There are any number of reasons why. The most important reason is that the sample size is just too small. I’ll sometimes quote the numbers, but they really don’t mean anything.

The second problem is that we don’t know what level of competition these guys are facing. We can get excited about a young player breaking out until we realize they are mainly squared off against other young players. Obviously, that is doubly true for veterans. Finally, when we look at veterans we have to consider that sometimes they are working on something specific that may not translate to performance. Pitchers may work on a specific pitch or hitters may try to hit the ball the opposite way.

Keeping all of this in mind, I wanted to take the opportunity to answer another question that came down the pike. Someone asked for the source for many of these numbers. An analyst is only as good as his or her tools and I need to be upfront in admitting that others have done the heavy lifting for the most part. My job is to take those numbers and use them to analyze players and performance. However, much like theologians and the Bible, we are better off when more people understand the underlying sources and their strengths and weaknesses.

Baseball-reference.com

One could call baseball-reference.com the official online baseball encyclopedia. The strength comes in the wealth of information and the ease of finding what you are looking for. It sets itself apart from Fangraphs.com by including things like rankings in certain categories on each player’s page including a section of when they led the league in certain categories or finished in the top ten. This was huge for me when I was calculating awards voting and deserved MVP points.

It should be noted that B-ref uses it’s own WAR formula we normally call BWAR. It is based primarily on their fielding metric which ties pretty closely to defensive runs saved (Fielding Bible). It does not have the wealth of fielding metrics that Fangraphs and other sources have. However, it is an absolutely terrific resource if you want quick information on players from conventional data to the more sabermetric data.

Fangraphs.com

Fangraphs.com is my favorite site and probably most trusted resource. The advantage of Fangraphs over Baseball-reference is that it includes more minor league information and that came in handy when breaking down the hitters and pitcher numbers from the past few weeks. They also include international numbers as well. Baseball-reference also has this information, but it takes a few extra clicks to get there. When I want this information in a hurry I go to Fangraphs.

Obviously, the graphs part of the name is key. They include a lot more of what I would call process data than Baseball reference. So, what exactly is process data? In short, it includes things like pitch velocity, spin rates, and exit velocity for hitters. So, if you want to know what a pitcher’s average curveball velocity or what a hitter’s chase rate, contact rate, or hard hit rate then Fangraphs is the fastest resource to get that information.

I should note that they do have access to leaderboards. Both Fangraphs and Baseball Reference have paid services that allow you to custom those leaderboards for your own research. I personally do not currently do that because the free versions give me everything I want, but people that want to go into even more detailed analysis should check those out.

Baseball Savant

Baseballsavant.com is another resource that more and more analysts are using. In particular, it includes some of the same information as Fangraphs, but uses more charts and graphics to show the information more graphically. That includes things like heat maps for hitters and tracking pitches for pitchers along with movement, velocity, and spin.

These numbers come in handy particularly when looking at individual performances early in the season. Hitters and pitchers can look great or horrible because of the numbers, but the underlying information may not match. Seeing it graphically is great for visual fans that want to see what the numbers are saying. The site also includes more underlying numbers that can explain why fielding numbers and base running numbers say what they do.

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As I said earlier, an analyst is only as good as his or her tools. The goal of this space is not only to analyze but to educate about how analysis gets done. I may be the analytics guy around here, but I am also a teacher at heart. As such, if you have ever had a question that has had you scratching your head, this is the space for you. Feel free to jump into the comments with a particular question. As we get closer to the actual season we will start going fast and furious into the actual numbers flying at us. Until then, enjoy the last few days of spring baseball while you can.