Britton on the use of analytics in New York vs. Baltimore

[Ohfan67]

14 minutes ago, tntoriole said:

Zach didn’t much need those analytics when he was an actual closer...unlike whatever he is now for the MFYs.  Best to just shut up, Zach, old buddy. 

Do you want to keep your head in the sand? 

[tntoriole]

41 minutes ago, Ohfan67 said:

Do you want to keep your head in the sand? 

If you think Zach saying something in a NY newspaper changes anything, ok.  Zach just needs to pitch better and talk less trash about the team that made him a big leaguer. 

[Chavez Ravine]

I think the next big thing will be to combine analytics with robotics. Wouldn’t hitters do better if they had a few days practicing against a realistic robo Kershaw before they faced him for real in a playoff game? Vice versa for pitchers. That realistic practice seems way more practically useful and translatable to players than scouting notes, no matter how detailed and context specific they are.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

How is the Yankees analytics data helping them out tonight? 

(Seriously though I know people that could help the Orioles beef up their analytics department.)

[Satyr3206]

19 minutes ago, Chavez Ravine said:

I think the next big thing will be to combine analytics with robotics. Wouldn’t hitters do better if they had a few days practicing against a realistic robo Kershaw before they faced him for real in a playoff game? Vice versa for pitchers. That realistic practice seems way more practically useful and translatable to players than scouting notes, no matter how detailed and context specific they are.

I don't claim to know much about, or follow anything about robotics, but that sounds like it would cost more than the entire FO staff makes.

[Chavez Ravine]

1 hour ago, Satyr3206 said:

I don't claim to know much about, or follow anything about robotics, but that sounds like it would cost more than the entire FO staff makes.

I don’t know much either. But it would be fun to find some smart people, give them 31 million dollars (Darren O’Day’s salary), and tell them to build a robo Kershaw.

[Enjoy Terror]

3 hours ago, tntoriole said:

If you think Zach saying something in a NY newspaper changes anything, ok.  Zach just needs to pitch better and talk less trash about the team that made him a big leaguer. 

Talking trash? This should benefit the Orioles... like “don’t you all realize how much better the Orioles could be with good information?

[mdbdotcom]

8 hours ago, tntoriole said:

If you think Zach saying something in a NY newspaper changes anything, ok.  Zach just needs to pitch better and talk less trash about the team that made him a big leaguer. 

Britton has given up two runs in his last 13 appearances, including 10 in September and three in the postseason. How much better do you think he should pitch?

[tntoriole]

7 hours ago, sdmarkakis said:

You have to be ultra-sensitive to think of this as "talking trash"

Guess you just want the Orioles to suck forever.

Oh yes, that is why I have spent over 50 years watching them and over 17,000 posts on this board.  No, I love the Orioles AND hate all things Yankee.  Some fans on this board don’t have that second part as much.  And, yes, there is a certain amount of piling on, kicking a team while it is down that I don’t appreciate from former players.  I have identified and been a vocal critic of Orioles management and the ineptitude displayed by Potter for decades, but the issue is separate for me from this particular tactic.  Do you think Zach’s intent was “let me really help out my former team by pointing out in a NY paper how they really suck compared to the Yankees?”   As if this is really an unknown in the universe out there? 

 

[tntoriole]

2 hours ago, mdbdotcom said:

Britton has given up two runs in his last 13 appearances, including 10 in September and three in the postseason. How much better do you think he should pitch?

Is he their closer?  Has he pitched better before?  I think I recall him pitching better before. 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, tntoriole said:

Oh yes, that is why I have spent over 50 years watching them and over 17,000 posts on this board.  No, I love the Orioles AND hate all things Yankee.  Some fans on this board don’t have that second part as much.  And, yes, there is a certain amount of piling on, kicking a team while it is down that I don’t appreciate from former players.  I have identified and been a vocal critic of Orioles management and the ineptitude displayed by Potter for decades, but the issue is separate for me from this particular tactic.  Do you think Zach’s intent was “let me really help out my former team by pointing out in a NY paper how they really suck compared to the Yankees?”   As if this is really an unknown in the universe out there? 

 

And that is why players respond with canned cliches to almost all questions.

Heaven forbid they answer honestly and get raked over the coals by an offended fan.

 

I think Britton was just being honest.

[theocean]

13 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

And that is why players respond with canned cliches to almost all questions.

Heaven forbid they answer honestly and get raked over the coals by an offended fan.

 

I think Britton was just being honest.

Britton has always been a great interview. Smart guy who isn't afraid to speak his mind and answers questions with substance - but he always keeps it professional.

[theocean]

10 hours ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

How is the Yankees analytics data helping them out tonight? 

(Seriously though I know people that could help the Orioles beef up their analytics department.)

Ha! That's true. Analytics are helpful, but yeah - at a certain point, you gotta throw the ball across the plate and execute. An excel spreadsheet by itself isn't going to turn Mike Wright into Nolan Ryan.

[LookitsPuck]

16 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Britton has one of the best seasons a reliever has ever had his last healthy season in Baltimore. How much more could analytics change that?

Plus it doesn’t seem like other teams’ pitchers are that smart to see how to find Davis’ holes in his swing to to throw low and away breaking balls to Jones, Machado, and Schoop. 

Britton *had* one of the best seasons a reliever has ever had his last healthy season in Baltimore, true. But once your stuff degrades, you need to creatively find ways to get hitters out at a better clip.

The real unknown is just how much of Britton's ineffectiveness last year and this year w/ the O's was due to injury. His walk rate exploded in 2017 and his strikeout rate has fallen off a cliff since 2015/2016. 

That said, when your stuff starts to stink, maybe it's throwing a different pitch? Maybe it's knowing which hitters to attack and how? Maybe it's understanding that a certain pitch in a certain count hitters sit on? And so on and so forth. 

The thing about analytics is that they are *just numbers*. It's how you report those numbers not just to the managers, but to the players....and how effectively you do so.

[Redskins Rick]

2 minutes ago, LookitsPuck said:

Britton *had* one of the best seasons a reliever has ever had his last healthy season in Baltimore, true. But once your stuff degrades, you need to creatively find ways to get hitters out at a better clip.

The real unknown is just how much of Britton's ineffectiveness last year and this year w/ the O's was due to injury. His walk rate exploded in 2017 and his strikeout rate has fallen off a cliff since 2015/2016. 

That said, when your stuff starts to stink, maybe it's throwing a different pitch? Maybe it's knowing which hitters to attack and how? Maybe it's understanding that a certain pitch in a certain count hitters sit on? And so on and so forth. 

The thing about analytics is that they are *just numbers*. It's how you report those numbers not just to the managers, but to the players....and how effectively you do so.

Well said.

I think there is such a fine line, these guys walk, between being able to get the job done, and just a few slivers of degrades steps in and they become hittable.