Posted on Sat, Aug. 01, 2009 10:15 PM
Royals notes: Bannister touts xFIP as best evaluation stat for pitchers
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. | Brian Bannister after his last start — one the Royals won but in which he settled for a no-decision — declared a won-lost record might be the worst way to judge any pitcher.
“It’s the worst stat in baseball because it’s so hard to pull off,” he said. “There are so many other ways you can be evaluated, but everybody comes back to that.”
Those words seem grumpy and self-centered in cold type, which is unfair. Bannister offered them in the same clinical but softly upbeat manner in which he always discusses pitching.
But it begs an obvious question as Bannister heads into his start this afternoon when the Royals continue their four-game series against Tampa Bay at Tropicana Field.
What is the best way to judge a pitcher?
“I think the ultimate stat for a pitcher is xFIP,” Bannister said before pausing and offering a wry grin. “I know that’s getting really technical. It’s fielder independent pitching adjusted for your home-run rate back to the league average.
“That shows a pitcher’s true level of talent. Baseball doesn’t have a strength-of-schedule element like college football does.”
He’s right. It is technical.
It could be that xFIP was what Matt Damon scratched out on the blackboard in “Good Will Hunting.” The overall goal is to assess how well a pitcher performed regardless of his teammates’ defensive performance or factors related to game conditions or ballpark configuration.
If Bannister sounds a little like stats maven Bill James with an arm good enough to put theory into practice in the big leagues, well, that’s exactly how he sees himself. You can hear him explain his approach in his own words in an extended interview with Joel Goldberg on Royals Live before today’s game.
“In any given year,” Bannister said, “a pitcher’s schedule can be fortunate. The ballparks he pitches in can be bigger — pitchers’ parks. That’s never talked about in the game of baseball, which is why I think xFIP shows a pitcher’s true talent level better than any single stat.”
Streak ends at 13
Alberto Callaspo’s hitting streak ended at 13 games when he went zero for three.
It was the longest of the season by a Royal — and had been the longest active streak in either league — but it ends five shy of his career best.
Callaspo had an 18-game streak last September that ended when he went hitless in the season finale.
Callaspo is batting .339 in his current streak with 19 hits in 56 at-bats, which has raised his average from .294 to .301. He has six hitting streaks this season of seven games or more.
Rehab update
Gil Meche is scheduled to throw 55 to 65 pitches today while testing his lower left back in a rehab start for Class A Wilmington against Salem. It will be Meche’s first game action since muscle spasms forced him to leave a July 11 start against Boston after 3 2/3 innings. If all goes well, Meche will rejoin the Royals’ rotation next week.
Etc.
•Callaspo’s two errors pushed his club-leading total to 14. The Royals lead the American League with 56 errors.
•Bruce Chen has lost 13 games since his last big-league victory. His career record is 35-43.
Posted on Sat, Aug. 01, 2009 10:15 PM
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