tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post3192307919841122992..comments2023-10-17T10:45:07.796-04:00Comments on FJB: Tyler Clippard: Least Deserving Nationals All-Star Ever?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post-58240166677234022382011-07-18T09:27:27.002-04:002011-07-18T09:27:27.002-04:00Clippard might have done his job better than anyon...Clippard might have done his job better than anyone on the Nats in the first half of 2011. I agree that the job of a relief pitcher is not one of the most important jobs on any team, especially a team that isn't contending, so Zimmermann, Espinosa, Morse, and probably others have been more valuable. But there is still an argument that doing your job better than anyone else does his job merits getting picked. Also, if you believe that the goal is to <i>win</i> the All-Star Game, then Clippard might have been the best choice.<br /><br />By the way, why has there been no talk of trading Clippard? All the focus is on Marquis, Coffey, and Nix. Among relievers, Coffey should bring something in return, but Clippard would bring more. I'd hate to lose him, but he is, after all, only a relief pitcher, so he's worth more to the contenders than to the Nats. And although he hasn't been closing, he's been just as good as Capps was last year and reasonably should bring just as much in return as Capps. How could the Nats pass that up?Doug/Michellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03094696236838595066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post-44638607657443197492011-07-16T10:47:33.693-04:002011-07-16T10:47:33.693-04:00"What would Zimmermann's K:BB rate be if ..."What would Zimmermann's K:BB rate be if he could go all-out and unload his fastball one inning at a time and benefit from favorable match-ups?"<br /><br />That's a fascinating question. Both the differential and the ratio would be staggering since he flat-out refuses to walk people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post-12124242821759522202011-07-15T17:38:15.003-04:002011-07-15T17:38:15.003-04:00WPA is at best 50% player performance, and the res...WPA is at best 50% player performance, and the rest is managerial usage. If you're looking at two pitchers used in identical leveraged situations, it will till you which pitchers got the best outcomes from those situations. WPA/LI adjusts for leverage, and Clippard is #7 in that category. Still very good, but not #1. And of course all of this is subject to massive small sample size variation.<br /><br />Using your method, the AS pitchers would have included big names like Eric O'Flaherty and Antonio Bastardo. Mariano Rivera would have been left home.Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14109288910583404941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post-33395488233631636212011-07-15T17:10:36.632-04:002011-07-15T17:10:36.632-04:00Tyler Clippard finished #1 out of all pitchers sta...Tyler Clippard finished #1 out of all pitchers starters and relievers in the NL and AL in WPA which is the best stat to judge relief pitchers who pitch high leverage innings. He was a deserving all-star.ffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15519715559791228117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post-38000413712332802002011-07-15T10:22:55.532-04:002011-07-15T10:22:55.532-04:00Clippard or Capps on the "Who the hell is he,...Clippard or Capps on the "Who the hell is he, and why is he an All-Star?" scale.<br /><br />On merit, Capps, I'd say. Although he wasn't a bad choice per se, given the history of "It's a bad team, so let's just select the closer with some saves" picks.Basilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10346481140960787459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post-28547494439696972552011-07-14T18:56:38.673-04:002011-07-14T18:56:38.673-04:00Well, you can get into the tired old debate about ...Well, you can get into the tired old debate about what qualifies someone as an all-star. Should it be true star quality? Like, whether a player is well-known? Should it be the guys who have had the best half season? <br /><br />If it was me, I would dramatically scale back the number of RPs in the game, for more or less the reason you say. But I think if you narrowed to let's say 2-3 RPs you could have a credible group of pitchers who really are great pitchers who happen to be used in a relief role, rather than washed out starters who are enjoying a hot 50 innings.Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14109288910583404941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post-82195772453082875392011-07-14T17:10:24.055-04:002011-07-14T17:10:24.055-04:00If you are going to look at this in a sort of WAR ...If you are going to look at this in a sort of WAR view (which you don't explicitly say but is kind of implied) than no Clip should not have made it. But then really no relief pitcher makes it. Personally, I like that all types of players make it (including middle relievers). <br /><br />Also, it's not like Clippard is just some failed starter who got sent to the bullpen so he has some value. He has turned into a dominant pitcher in that role. <br /><br />And yeah, the worst is either Capps or Guz.Stevenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06101502397393877984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2074246508221440257.post-81502286056141429042011-07-14T12:22:36.173-04:002011-07-14T12:22:36.173-04:00Come on. You know it's Matt Capps. At least Cl...Come on. You know it's Matt Capps. At least Clippard is a good relief pitcher. <br /><br />Capps rolled into the 2010 ASG with 39.2 IP, 3.18 ERA, 1.412 WHIP, 7.5 K/9. His WAR was around .5 and had a -.745 WPA.XaK Bauschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16933702138850003832noreply@blogger.com