Norris Sick, May Miss Start

[MdSooner]

Agreed. think Matusz could have made an impact in that series with all the LHB's but I don't see how anyone can think that Matusz is a better choice to start than Norris ... even now. I doubt Matusz even believes he can get RH hitters out.

It isn't LHB's. The problem with playing the Yanks is they have multiple switch hitters

[CA-ORIOLE]

It isn't LHB's. The problem with playing the Yanks is they have multiple switch hitters

Well, I wouldn't want him starting.

[Nevermore]

Do you think the umps really care about unpleasant feedback?

Seriously, umps and constituency has been a problem for decades.

There is some evidence that umpires, referees, etc. tend to favor the home team.

http://blog.philbirnbaum.com/2011/01/scorecasting-is-home-field-advantage.html

relevant excerpt from my link:

Baseball

5. In baseball, the authors looked at the percentage of called pitches that are strikes. In crucial situations (high leverage), home teams got a lot more favorable calls. But in low-leverage situations, it was *road* teams that got more favorable calls. "This makes sense," the authors write. "If the umpire is going to show favoritism to the home team, he or she will do it when it is most valuable -- when the outcome of the game is affected the most. You might even contend that it noncrucial situations the umpire might be biased against the home team to maintain an overall appearance of fairness."

6. " ... the success rates of home teams in scoring from second base on a single or scoring from third base on an out -- typically close plays at the plate -- are much higher than they are for their visitors in high-leverage/crucial situations. yet they are no different or even slightly less successful in noncrucial situations."

7. Over a large sample of 5.5 million pitches, "called strikes and balls went the home team's way, *but only* in stadiums without QuesTec ... Not only did umpires not favor the home team when QuesTec was watching them, they actually gave *more* strikes and *fewer* balls to the home team. In short, when umpires knew they were being monitored, home field advantage on balls and strikes didn't simply vanish; the advantage swung all the way to the visiting team."

8. In low-leverage situations, even in non-QuesTec parks, there was no bias at all.

9. The authors then analyzed pitches using Pitch f/x data, to see how many pitches were miscalled based on the recorded location. For pitches on the corner of the strike zone, there were more miscalls in the home team's favor than in the visiting team's favor. The home advantage was largest on full-count pitches, followed by other three-ball counts, other two-strike counts, and, lastly, all other counts. So, the more crucial the pitch, the greater the HFA.

10. "Over the course of the season, all of this adds up to 516 more strikeouts called on away teams, and 195 more walks awarded to home teams than there otherwise should be, thanks to the home plate umpire's bias. And that includes only terminal pitches -- where the next called pitch will result in either a strikeout or a walk. Errant calls given earlier in the pitch count could confer an even greater advantage on the home team."

11. "This adds up to an extra 7.3 runs per season given to each home team by the plate umpire alone. That might not sound significant, but cumulatively, home teams outscore their visitors by only 10.5 runs in a season." [That latter number isn't correct ... in 2010, it was 23.5 runs. 23.5 runs equals 2.35 wins out of 81, which is a .530 winning percentage. (UPDATE: Oops! I forgot to adjust for the home team not batting in the bottom of the ninth when leading. If you adjust for that, the home advantage is a lot bigger than 10.5 or 23.5 runs.)]

[CA-ORIOLE]

I'm not sure why you and RZ seem to think I'm advocating Matusz to take Norris' spot. I was asked if Matusz was my choice and I said no that McFarland was until Gausman returned. I also said I think Matusz' stuff is now starter quality but his command isn't. I wasn't heaping praise by a longshot. His stuff has taken a clear step forward this year, but he still can't command with any consistency and, as another post pointed out, I'm still not a big fan of his make up.

HOWEVER, Matusz has more of a chance than Norris right now. Norris has even less command and worse stuff. His slider is currently awful about 50% of the time.

No offense and you know I respect your opinion, but other than Norris being horrible now and Matusz's makeup I disagree with about all of this. Matusz can execute good pitches "at times" as can any pitcher, yes but he can't execute good pitches consistently. That's not necesarilly a command issue (which I agree is also problematic) that's a stuff issue. I'm not seeing any great strides i the quality of his stuff. I'm seeing flashes that he has shown in the past. I also know he was given extra attention this spring. He will get crushed by RHB's that will surely be stacked against him as a starter. I think you can make a case might have fared better bet yesterday in Yankee Stadium with their LHB's and short porch but that's about it and I'm not at all confident in that working. Bad as he's been I'd go with Norris over Matusz in almost any other scenario right now.

[Can_of_corn]

There is some evidence that umpires, referees, etc. tend to favor the home team.

http://blog.philbirnbaum.com/2011/01/scorecasting-is-home-field-advantage.html

relevant excerpt from my link:

That is a good read but a bit dated (2011). Wouldn't mind seeing what the numbers looked like from last year.