Tim Hudson

[CrazyPsycho]

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He's had oblique problems, and won't throw his nasty splitter anymore

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Hence, less K's, and hence, less groundballs = more sucky.

[kyleb]

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theory: oakland told their pitchers to stop striking guys out and trust their defense. the style stuck.

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This is true. The pitching coaches have made the starters develop two-seam fastballs (you will note that Zito has increased his GB ratio) and encourage them to throw them late in the count. Mulder and Hudson were both excellent at doing this - Hudson especially so. Hudson was instructed to throw two-seam fastballs and changeups to get the hitters out in front and to lessen the strain on his chronic oblique problems, and it worked wonders - but a recurring problem like chronic oblique strains will eventually ruin a pitcher, typically sooner rather than later.

The trade that everyone thought was a giant ripoff for Beane was really a one-year salary dump and an exchange of damaged goods. Beane very rarely gets ripped off in trades - the same can be said for Schuerholz.

[Sunny Mehta]

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pitchers' K rates usually consistently decline throughout their careers. only the really good ones keep it up as tehy get older.

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yeah, I agree....though, Hudson's rate dropped by almost half from '99 to '04 which is a little weird....although it makes more sense after reading the posts about the A's encouraging two-seamers, gb's, etc......

I find that interesting because I was always under the impression that the A's have kinda had to skimp in the defense department....and groundball pitchers need a good defense behind them (gb's on average go for hits more than fb's).....maybe Beane's coming around on the importance of defense?.....

incidentally, with all the analytical stats available now for pitching and hitting, I'd have to say that the value/analysis/importance of defense is still the thing least understood statistically at this point.....at least to me.....

[kyleb]

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I find that interesting because I was always under the impression that the A's have kinda had to skimp in the defense department....and groundball pitchers need a good defense behind them (gb's on average go for hits more than fb's).....maybe Beane's coming around on the importance of defense?.....

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After OBP was undervalued (and isn't now), defense was the next undervalued asset, which Beane acquired in droves. Which explains the Mark Kotsay re-signing, probably.

[crockpot]

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After OBP was undervalued (and isn't now), defense was the next undervalued asset, which Beane acquired in droves. Which explains the Mark Kotsay re-signing, probably.

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a good rule of thumb is: if billy beane makes a move you don't understand, he knows something you don't.

[kyleb]

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After OBP was undervalued (and isn't now), defense was the next undervalued asset, which Beane acquired in droves. Which explains the Mark Kotsay re-signing, probably.

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a good rule of thumb is: if billy beane makes a move you don't understand, he knows something you don't.

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Right, like signing Jermaine Dye and Jason Kendall.

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

(Obviously they were okay signings at the time, but in hindsight, jeez. Plus WTF is up with Dye on the White Sox compared to the A's.)

[Jack of Arcades]

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After OBP was undervalued (and isn't now), defense was the next undervalued asset, which Beane acquired in droves. Which explains the Mark Kotsay re-signing, probably.

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a good rule of thumb is: if billy beane makes a move you don't understand, he knows something you don't.

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eh, not all the time. he's made a lot of WTF moves. Trading jeremy giambi, signing Esteban Loaiza, re-signing Scott Hatteberg, etc.

[kyleb]

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signing Esteban Loaiza,

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You really think this is a WTF move?

[crockpot]

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Right, like signing Jermaine Dye and Jason Kendall.

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

(Obviously they were okay signings at the time, but in hindsight, jeez. Plus WTF is up with Dye on the White Sox compared to the A's.)

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dye had some major knee problems during his time with the A's, and reports are they didn't fully clear up until this year.

if you look at dye's '00 numbers and consider the market at the time of the signing (right after the a-rod, manny and hampton contracts), locking dye up for three prime seasons and $30m was reasonable, if a bit of a stretch. also beane might have figured it would help convince giambi to re-sign (or decided he needed dye's bat if giambi left).

[crockpot]

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eh, not all the time. he's made a lot of WTF moves. Trading jeremy giambi, signing Esteban Loaiza, re-signing Scott Hatteberg, etc.

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i think esteban loaiza was the best marquee SP signing of last winter, although it didn't pan out. hatteberg i'll agree was bad at the time and in hindsight, but rules of thumb don't apply every time. the a's did have a bunch of 1B in the minors who didn't pan out so well (koonce, johnson, et al)