TIM WAKEFIELD - 2009 PITCHING STATS - 572 BF / 129.2 IP / 4.58 ERA / 1.442 WHIP / 72 K / 50 BB / 12 HR

Most Effective Pitch (per Fangraphs): Fastball - Saved +1.52 runs above average per 100 thrown (threw 210 fastballs)
Fastball Velocity: 72.4 mph (10% of pitches were fastballs)

Vs Good (850+ OPS) Hitters: 200 BF (35%) - 335 AVG / 409 OBP / 528 SLG / 938 OPS
Vs Poor (less than 715 OPS) Hitters: 174 BF (30%) - 253 AVG / 335 OBP / 396 SLG / 731 OPS

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* - It’s strange that 2009 was the first time that Wakefield has made the all-star team in that the 129 innings last season was his FEWEST since he came to Boston in 1995. His strikeouts per 9 innings (5.0) was the LOWEST in 15 years. His WHIP (1.442) and hits per 9 innings (9.5) were his HIGHEST since the 2000 season. His walks per 9 innings (3.5) was his HIGHEST since 2001.

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* - In his career, Wakefield has faced 100+ batters in 74 different months and last April was just the 2nd time that he has not allowed a HR in a month in which he’s faced 100 or more batters. The other was August, 2007.

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* - Wakefield tossed consecutive complete games on April 15 and 22, the 7th time in his career that he has gone the route in successive starts and the first since 2005.

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* - In his career, Wakefield has faced 11 different players who are now in the Hall of Fame.  Those HOF’s have batted just .227 against Wakefield (32-141) with 5 HR (Ripken and Sandberg have 2 each) and just a .688 OPS (.319 OBP; .369 SLG).  Not included is the one single in five AB (.200 AVG; .400 OPS) by newly elected (but not yet inducted) Andre Dawson against Wakefield.

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* - Wakefield had 15 starts in 2009 where he allowed an OBP under .400 and the Red Sox went 13-2 in those games, tied for the highest such winning percentage in the majors last season (min. 15 such starts):

.867 - Tim Wakefield, BOS (13-2)
.867 - Joba Chamberlain, NYY (13-2)
.818 - Jason Marquis, COL (18-4)

Wakefield’s ERA was 3.20 in those games and 9.64 in the five starts where he allowed an OBP above .400. Over the previous two seasons combined, Boston went 12-9 when Wakefield held opponents to an OBP under .400.

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* - Over the last three seasons, Wakefield has thrown his fastball about 12% of the time. As he has gotten older, his heater has slowed down, averaging 74.7 MPH in 2007, 72.8 in 2008, and 71.9 last season. However, check out the percentage of swings and misses on Wakefield’s fastballs over the last three seasons:

2007 - 5.8%
2008 - 8.5%
2009 - 12.4%

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* - When Wakefield allowed a triple on August 26 to Paul Konerko of the White Sox, it snapped a streak of 42 consecutive starts without allowing a triple, the 4th longest by a Red Sox pitcher since 1954:

51 - Mike Nagy (1969 - 1971)
45 - Pedro Martinez (1998 - 2000)
43 - Tom Brewer (1955 - 1956)
42 - Tim Wakefield (2008 - 2009)

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* - Only 9 pitchers have allowed an OBP of under .500 on full counts while facing at least 25 full counts in every season since 2002: Tim Wakefield, CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Mark Buehrle, Javier Vazquez, Barry Zito, Joel Piniero, Livan Hernandez, and Jamie Moyer.

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* - Wakefield was touched for 15 hits on 0-2 counts last season which led to a career high .231 batting average allowed on 0-2. It was the 3rd highest such average allowed in 2009 (min. 60 such BF):

.267 - Carl Pavano, CLE/MIN
.254 - Nick Blackburn, MIN
.231 - Tim Wakefield, BOS

It was the 4th highest such average allowed by a Red Sox pitcher since they began tracking the stat in 1988 (same mins.):

.241 - Tim Wakefield, 2001
.238 - Mark Portugal, 1999
.236 - David Wells, 2005
.231 - Tim Wakefield, 2009

The BEST ever (at least since ‘88) in the AL was Boston’s Pedro Martinez, who ended 81 AB that season on 0-2 pitches by fanning 53, retiring 24 on batted balls, and allowing 4 hits, for a batting average allowed of .049. One more thing: Pedro is also the all-time career leader (again, since ‘88) in lowest average allowed on 0-2 counts, having allowed just an .099 average (113 out of 1,137).

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* - Over the last three seasons, 112 runners have attempted to steal while Wakefield was on the mound, the most in the majors in that span:

112 - Tim Wakefield
91 - AJ Burnett
81 - Chris Young

However, their success percentage against Wakefield has been “just” 81% in that span (91-112), close to the major league average of 77%. Here are the highest success percentages allowed by pitchers over the last three seasons (min. 50 SB attempts):

98% - Chris Young (79-81)
91% - John Danks (51-56)
91% - Greg Maddux (61-67)

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* - The awesome site Fangraphs tracks results by pitch type for each pitcher and applies a “linear weights” formula to estimate runs saved above or below average. It provides a nice way to illustrate the fickle nature of the knuckleball. Here are the monthly runs saved compared to average for Wakefield’s knuckler last season (per 100 knuckleballs thrown):

April: +2.40
May: -1.15
June: +1.46
July: -1.89 (fewer than 200 thrown)
August: +1.85 (fewer than 100 thrown)
September: -3.16

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* - Wakefield had five starts in 2009 in which he threw fewer than 60% strikes and the Red Sox went 3-2 in those starts. That’s as many wins in such starts by Wakefield than in the previous four seasons combined (3-16). Overall, the Red Sox went 18-20 (.474) when their starter threw fewer than 60% strikes last season. The Yankees were 32-22 (.594) in those games.

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* - Wakefield also had the only two Red Sox starts of 2009 in which at least 75% of pitches were strikes. In fact, of the last nine such starts by Red Sox pitchers (dating back to 2005) Wakefield has six of them. In his career, Wakefield has 9 such starts, but his ERA in those starts is an ugly 5.56, the highest by any of the 33 pitchers since 1954 with six or more starts throwing 75% or greater strikes:

5.52 - Tim Wakefield (4.37 ERA in other career starts)
5.02 - Brad Radke (4.12)
4.72 - Mike Mussina (3.61)
4.54 - Carlos Silva (4.92)
4.50 - Josh Towers (4.79)

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* - Finally, here’s where Tim Wakefield ranks among Red Sox pitchers since 1901 (and the next pitcher he is poised to pass, where applicable):

Games Started - 1st (388)
Batters Faced - 1st (11,684)
Appearances - 2nd (525) - Bob Stanley (637)
Wins - 3rd (175) - Cy Young, Roger Clemens (192)
Losses - 1st (150)
Strikeouts - 2nd (1,869) - Roger Clemens (2,590)
Innings Pitched - 3rd (2,711) - Cy Young (2,728) and needs 65 to pass Clemens (2,776) for 1st

Wakefield has also allowed the most ever by a Red Sox pitcher in these categories: Hits Allowed (2,615), Runs Allowed (1,480), ER Allowed (1,309), Walks (1,012), HR Allowed (357), Hit Batsmen (163), and Wild Pitches (99).

CLAY BUCHHOLZ - 2009 PITCHING STATS - 399 BF / 92.0 IP / 4.21 ERA / 1.380 WHIP / 68 K / 36 BB / 13 HR

Most Effective Pitch (per Fangraphs): Slider - Saved +2.17 runs above average per 100 thrown (threw 160 sliders)
Fastball Velocity: 93.5 mph (55% of pitches were fastballs)

Vs Good (850+ OPS) Hitters: 155 BF (39%) - 288 AVG / 357 OBP / 504 SLG / 861 OPS
Vs Poor (less than 715 OPS) Hitters: 121 BF (30%) - 241 AVG / 305 OBP / 343 SLG / 648 OPS

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* - Here are a couple of promising trends: Buchholz’ line drive percentage has decreased each year from 28.8% in 2007 to 20.9% in 2008 to 17.6% last year. Also, he’s throwing more groundballs as his groundball/flyball ratio has also increased each year: 1.18, 1.52, 1.88.

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* - Buchholz’ had 4 “clunkers” (starts allowing 6+ ER) in 2009, accounting for 25% of his starts. Only four pitchers had a higher percentage of clunkers in 2009 (min. 15 starts):

36% - Luke Hochevar, KC (9-25)
27% - Scott Kazmir, TB/LAA (7-26)
27% - John Smoltz, BOS/STL (4-15)
26% - Livan Hernandez, NYM/WAS (8-31)
25% - Clay Buchholz, BOS (4-16)
25% - Justin Masterson, BOS/CLE (4-16)

Atlanta’s Jair Jurrjens had zero clunkers in 34 starts last season, slightly more than San Fran’s Tim Lincecum (0-32) and Toronto’s Ricky Romero (0-29).

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* - Prior to 2009, Buchholz had just two clunkers in 18 career starts. Here’s the difference, though: In his 16 “non-clunker” starts in 2007 and 2008 (in other words, those starts in which he allowed FEWER than 6 ER), his ERA was still 4.78. In his 12 non-clunkers in 2009, his ERA was a sparkling 1.92. That’s progress.

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* - The Red Sox scored 10 or more runs in 5 of Buchholz’ 16 starts in 2009 (31%), the highest percentage in the majors (min. 15 starts):

31% - Clay Buchholz, BOS (5-16)
25% - Jorge de la Rosa, COL (8-32)
21% - AJ Burnett, NYY (7-33)
21% - Scott Baker, NYY (7-33)

Seattle never scored 10 runs in any of Felix Hernandez’ 34 starts in 2009 and his streak currently stands at 42 consecutive starts with less than 10 runs of support.

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* - Buchholz was the only player in the majors last season to get thrown out on the bases (remember that pinch-running adventure?) without ever getting a plate appearance all season. In fact, the last major leaguer to get put out running the bases (not including CS or force plays) without ever coming to bat was in 2001, when Detroit’s Jermaine Clark did it in his rookie year. Clark went on to amass 92 PA over the next four seasons while playing for five different teams.

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* - Out of 399 batters faced by Buchholz last season, only 4 came with the bases loaded (1.00%). That’s a low percentage, but still not among the league leaders (Arizona’s Danny Haren, 0.44%) or the Red Sox all-time leaders for a single season (since 1974; min. 300 BF):

0.33% - John Dopson, 1992
0.41% - John Dopson, 1989
0.42% - Bret Saberhagen, 1999

Also, interesting are the Red Sox pitchers who have faced the HIGHEST percentage of batters with the bases loaded since 1974. It’s not surprising that these names also top the “Heart Attack Reliever” list as well (min. 300 BF):

7.49% - Mark Clear, 1982
7.23% - Mark Clear, 1984
6.79% - Heathcliff Slocumb, 1996
5.73% - Diego Segui, 1974

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* - Buchholz has been very tough in his career after he gets ahead 0-2, allowing just a .121 average, .143 OBP, .168 slugging percentage, and .311 OPS. Among Red Sox pitchers since 1988 that have gotten ahead 0-2 on at least 150 batters in their careers, Buchholz ranks 2nd in OBP allowed and 3rd in batting average allowed, slugging % allowed, and OPS allowed.

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* - Over the last two seasons, Buchholz has allowed 31 third inning runs in 31 starts. Opponents have put up a .418 OBP in the third inning against Buchholz during that span, the highest in the majors (min. 125 third inning PA):

.418 - Clay Buchholz, BOS
.406 - Nate Robertson, DET
.399 - Daniel Cabrera, BAL

I’ll warn you, the statistics below should probably carry an “R” rating and are not for the squeamish:

JASON VARITEK - 2009 Batting: 425 PA / 209 BA / 313 OBP / 309 SLG / 703 OPS

Pitch Handled Best: Slider - Produced +2.67 runs above average per 100 seen (he saw 155 sliders)
Pitch Handled Worst: Curve - Produced -2.09 runs above average per 100 seen (he saw 184 curves)

Versus Best AL Pitchers (ERA <3.85): 91 PA / 107 AVG / 176 OBP / 167 SLG / 342 OPS
Versus Worst AL Pitchers (ERA >5.25): 100 PA / 341 AVG / 455 OBP / 720 SLG / 1174 OPS

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* - Varitek’s .107 average against the AL’s best pitchers (those with ERA’s below 3.85) was the 2nd lowest in the league. Only Red Sox teammate Nick Green was worse (min. 50 such PA):

.089 - Nick Green, BOS (5-56)
.107 - Jason Varitek, BOS (9-84)
.118 - Taylor Teagarden, TEX (8-68)
.121 - Travis Snider, TOR (7-58)

The best average against the AL’s best pitchers in 2009 (same mins.) belonged to Matt Holliday while he was with Oakland:

.359 - Matt Holliday, OAK
.340 - Derek Jeter, NYY
.336 - Torii Hunter, LAA

As a team, the Red Sox hit just .226 against the league’s best pitchers in 2009. Only Texas (.215), Detroit (.225), and Baltimore (.225) were worse.

There is more discussion of how the Red Sox have fared against top pitchers from Lou Merloni (here) and Alex Speier (here).

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* - Since 1993, there have been 22 AL players that have batted .220 or less and gotten 400+ PA in a season. Jason Varitek is the only one that has had TWO such seasons (2008 and 2009).

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* - Varitek hit 10 HR at Fenway Park in 2009, just the 3rd time in his career that he has reached double figures in circuit clouts at home in a season. The other seasons were 1999 (12) and 2003 (13). Those 10 homers came in 208 Fenway plate appearances (1 every 20.8) last season after he hit just 15 at Fenway over the previous three seasons combined (in 661 PA; 1 every 44.1).

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* - Varitek’s 2009 road batting average (.182) was a career low and was the 2nd lowest road mark in the majors (min. 200 road PA):

.174 - Ken Griffey, Jr., SEA
.182 - Jason Varitek, BOS
.188 - Cesar Izturis, BAL

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* - Varitek has a total of two extra-base hits on 0-2 counts versus right-handed pitchers in the last five seasons (136 PA).

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* - After the all-star break, Varitek’s .489 OPS last season was the lowest in the AL post-break since 2003 (min. 150 PA):

.489 - Jason Varitek, BOS (2009)
.518 - Alexi Casilla, MIN (2007)
.519 - Jose Lopez, SEA (2007)

It was the 3rd lowest by a Red Sox in the last 55 years:

.428 - Glenn Hoffman, 1982
.465 - Jackie Gutierrez, 1985
.489 - Jason Varitek, 2009
.491 - George Scott, 1968

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* - Varitek has hit .192 over the last five years from September 1 through the end of the season, the lowest mark in the majors in that span (min. 300 Sept/Oct PA). Pssst. Look who is 3rd worst:

.192 - Jason Varitek
.206 - Craig Counsell
.208 - Mike Cameron

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* - Over the last three seasons, Varitek has batted .167 with runners in scoring position and 2 outs, the lowest average in the AL during that span (min. 150 PA):

.167 - Jason Varitek
.189 - Lyle Overbay
.192 - Jack Cust

Adding to that problem is the fact that his slugging percentage in those situations (.278) is also the lowest in the AL during that span:

.278 - Jason Varitek
.299 - Bobby Crosby
.305 - Mark Teahen

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* - I know what you’re thinking: Varitek’s numbers in September/October with RISP and 2 outs must be pretty bad, right? Well, among AL players with at least 30 such plate appearances over the last three seasons, he actually has the 3rd lowest average:

.034 - Nick Swisher (1-29)
.136 - Vladimir Guerrero (3-22)
.138 - Jason Varitek (4-29)

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* - 91.5% of attempted stolen bases were successful against Varitek in 2009, the highest percentage allowed in the AL since they began tracking the stat in 1987 (min. 80 games played at catcher). Now, you have to be a little careful with these numbers because the Red Sox pitching philosophy is more advantageous to base stealers than that of most teams. But from 1998 through 2007, Varitek gunned down 22.6% of runners attempting to steal. But then in 2008 it fell to 18.8% success, followed by just 8.5% last season.

One more thing: This is a bit of a “back of the envelope” stat, but over the three seasons ended in 2008, Varitek was the catcher as 3,038 opposing hitters reached first base (via single, walk, or hit by pitch). In those same three seasons, there were 165 steal attempts against Varitek, roughly 5.4% of runners reaching first base. In 2009, however, a whopping 12.1% of opponents reaching first base attempted to steal against Varitek (118 out of 979).

MANNY DELCARMEN - 2009 PITCHING STATS - 278 BF / 59.2 IP / 4.53 ERA / 1.642 WHIP / 44 K / 34 BB / 5 HR

Most Effective Pitch (per Fangraphs): Changeup - Saved +0.88 runs above average per 100 thrown (threw 242 changeups)
Fastball Velocity: 93.9 mph (65% of pitches were fastballs)

Vs Good (850+ OPS) Hitters: 102 BF (37%) - 321 AVG / 436 OBP / 524 SLG / 959 OPS
Vs Poor (less than 715 OPS) Hitters: 74 BF (27%) - 191 AVG / 247 OBP / 294 SLG / 541 OPS

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* - With 241 career relief appearances, Manny Delcarmen ranks 10th on the all-time Red Sox list. He needs 36 appearances to move into 4th place and would trail only Bob Stanley (552), Mike Timlin (394), and Dick Radatz (286).

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* - Delcarmen allowed runs in 13 of his last 24 appearances in 2009 (from July 28 through the end of the season), compiling an 8.59 ERA in that stretch, the highest in the majors (min. 20 appearances):

8.59 - Manny Delcarmen, BOS
8.51 - Matt Albers, BAL
8.27 - Scott Linebrink, CWS

That poor stretch came right after Delcarmen had allowed runs in just 7 of the previous 57 outings (from August 19, 2008 through July 27, 2009). He had an ERA of 1.49 during that span, the LOWEST in the majors (min. 50 appearances):

1.49 - Manny Delcarmen, BOS
1.55 - Jeremy Affeldt, CIN/SF
1.66 - Francisco Cordero, CIN

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* - Delcarmen allowed 15.4 baserunners per 9 innings in 2009, the highest by a Red Sox reliever since 1991 (min. 50 IP):

15.4 - Manny Delcarmen, 2009
15.2 - Julian Tavarez, 2006
14.7 - Manny Delcarmen, 2006
14.6 - Derek Lowe, 2001

It was the 3rd highest in the AL in 2009 (min. 59 IP):

16.2 - Brian Bass, BAL
15.9 - Matt Albers, BAL
15.4 - Manny Delcarmen, BOS

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* - Over the last three seasons, Delcarmen has allowed lefthanded batters just a .198 average, the 5th lowest average allowed by an AL pitcher in that span (min. 350 LHB faced):

.179 - Jonathan Papelbon
.183 - Joe Nathan
.186 - Joakim Soria
.196 - Mariano Rivera
.198 - Manny Delcarmen

Note that all five are righthanded pitchers. The best mark by a lefty in that span is .203, by CC Sabathia.

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VICTOR MARTINEZ - 2009 Batting: 237 PA / 336 BA / 405 OBP / 507 SLG / 912 OPS

Pitch Handled Best (full season): Fastball - Produced +2.42 runs above average per 100 seen (he saw 1,421 fastballs)
Pitch Handled Worst: Slider - Produced -1.62 runs above average per 100 seen (he saw 352 sliders)

Versus Best AL Pitchers (After Joining Boston; ERA <3.85): 79 PA / 286 AVG / 367 OBP / 400 SLG / 767 OPS
Versus Worst AL Pitchers (After Joining Boston; ERA >5.25): 51 PA / 340 AVG / 392 OBP / 447 SLG / 839 OPS

Let’s start off with a bunch of “After Coming to Boston” stats and leaderboards (including only August 1 through the end of the season):

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* - Martinez ranked 5th in AL batting average after becoming a Red Sox (min. 200 PA):

.373 - Joe Mauer, MIN
.358 - Derek Jeter, NYY
.345 - Denard Span, MIN
.344 - Robinson Cano, NYY
.336 - Victor Martinez, BOS

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* - The Red Sox offense definitely received a boost from adding Martinez to the lineup. Here are some team totals before and after Martinez’ arrival:

Runs per Game: 5.16 before (4th) ; 5.77 after (2nd)
Batting Avg: .264 before (7th) ; .279 after (4th)
On-Base Pct: .347 before (5th) ; .359 after (2nd)
Slugging Pct: .442 before (5th) ; .474 after (2nd)
OPS: .789 before (4th) ; .833 after (2nd)

These improvements were also seen in road offense, where the Sox desperately needed help:

Runs per Game: 4.60 before (7th) ; 5.19 after (4th)

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* - Martinez hit .365 on the road after coming to Boston, 2nd best in the AL in that span (min. 100 PA):

.379 - Denard Span, MIN
.365 - Victor Martinez, BOS
.364 - Derek Jeter, NYY
.359 - Joe Mauer, MIN

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* - His 24 road RBI beginning August 1 was tied for 3rd in the AL:

27 - Alex Rodriguez, NYY
25 - Adam Lind, TOR
24 - Victor Martinez, BOS (tied with three others)

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* - Martinez hit 7 road HR after coming to Boston. Here are the team leaders for the last two months of the season:

9 - Jason Bay
7 - Victor Martinez
7 - David Ortiz
5 - JD Drew

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* - “After Joining Boston”: His 41 RBI ranked 9th in the AL … .405 OBP ranked 6th and .912 OPS ranked 11th … His .444 road OBP ranked 3rd … Martinez saw 4.28 pitches per plate appearance, which was 6th in the AL but 3rd on the Red Sox behind Youkilis (4.36) and Ortiz (4.34).

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We’ll finish with a few notes on Victor’s career to date:

* - Since 2002 (the year Martinez broke in), Victor Martinez has hit .299, the 2nd highest average in the majors during that span among players who’s primary position is catcher (min. 1,000 PA):

.327 - Joe Mauer
.299 - Victor Martinez
.293 - Brian McCann
.292 - Ivan Rodriguez

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* - Martinez’ career average of .311 after the all-star break is 2nd best (by players who are primarily catchers) since 1954 (min. 1,200 PA):

.315 - Joe Mauer
.311 - Victor Martinez
.298 - Mike Piazza
.298 - Joe Torre
.298 - Jason Kendall

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* - In his career (since 2002), Martinez has 126 “go ahead” RBI, easily the most in the last 8 seasons by “primarily a catcher”:

126 - Victor Martinez
116 - Bengie Molina
105 - Ivan Rodriguez
101 - AJ Pierzynski

Keep in mind that Victor’s 126 was exactly half as many “go ahead” RBI as Albert Pujols (252), who led the majors during that same span.

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* - Martinez has hit .366 and .386 during the last two Aprils, and his .376 combined April average over the last two seasons is 2nd highest in the majors during that span (min. 100 PA):

.377 - Chipper Jones
.376 - Victor Martinez
.369 - Alberto Callaspo
.355 - Manny Ramirez
.353 - Chase Utley

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* - ONE LAST THING: Martinez has a .393 career batting average as a pinch hitter (11 for 28), tied for 7th best since they began tracking the stat in 1974 (min. 30 pinch hitting appearances). Look at who’s 3rd all-time:

.500 - Tommy Harper (13 for 26)
.452 - Jack Wilson (14 for 31)
.414 - Lou Merloni (12 for 29)

So THAT’S why they call him “Utility Lou”!

In today’s Red Sox Review, we take a quick look at Rocco Baldelli and then I’ve cleaned out my notebook with a few random nuggets that I stumbled across in the course of my research that I thought were interesting. I hope you do as well.

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ROCCO BALDELLI - 2009 Batting: 164 PA / 253 BA / 311 OBP / 433 SLG / 744 OPS

Pitch Handled Best: Cutter - Produced +7.52 runs above average per 100 seen (he saw 31 cutters)
Pitch Handled Worst: Changeup - Produced -2.52 runs above average per 100 seen (he saw 80 changeups)

Versus Best AL Pitchers (ERA <3.85): 38 PA / 189 AVG / 189 OBP / 351 SLG / 541 OPS
Versus Worst AL Pitchers (ERA >5.25): 35 PA / 233 AVG / 343 OBP / 400 SLG / 743 OPS

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* - It’s really a shame that Baldelli’s health problems will keep him from having what could have been a stellar career. Here are Baseball-Reference’s “Most Similar Batters By Age” comps for Baldelli:

After Age 21: Hall of Famer Tris Speaker
After Age 22: Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski
After Age 23: Former Red Sox’ Ellis Burks
After Age 24: Former All-Star OF Rondell White
After Age 25: Rip Repulski - Played 9 ML seasons in 50’s and 60’s, hitting 106 HR (including 3 for Boston in 1961), and one all-star appearance.
After Age 26: Jackie Brandt - Hit 112 HR in 11 seasons in 50’s and 60’s and appeared in two all-star games.

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* - Baldelli ranks 8th on the Rays all-time HR list with 52. He is 6th on their all-time list in RBI (234).

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* - In his career, Baldelli has 59 steals but has never been picked off, the 12th most SB since 1990 without getting picked. Here are the top 5:

160 - Paul Molitor
121 - Michael Bourn
117 - Alex Rios

Jason Bay ranks 9th with 66 SB and 0 pickoffs while Dustin Pedroia checks in 20th with 47 steals without getting picked.

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* - Baldelli had 3 RBI in Game 3 of the 2008 ALCS at Fenway, but never drove in 3+ runs in any game in 2009.

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* - Rocco hit .193 vs right-handed pitchers in 2009 and now has hit a combined .211 against them over the past three seasons. This after starting his career hitting .282 against RHP from 2003-2007.

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* - 6 of his 11 HR (54.5%) over the past two seasons have come leading off innings, the 2nd highest percentage in the AL in that span (min. 10 total HR):

64.7% - Jacoby Ellsbury (11 of 17)
54.5% - Rocco Baldelli (6 of 11)
52.9% - Ichiro Suzuki (9 of 17)
51.9% - Curtis Granderson (27 of 52)

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RANDOM MLB/RED SOX NUGGETS

* - In 1997, Red Sox Darren Bragg was rated at +20 fielding runs in the OF, the best mark in the AL, based on Baseball-Reference’s “Total Fielding Runs Above Average”. It’s the 5th best season on defense by a Red Sox outfielder since 1990:

+25.0 - Coco Crisp, 2007
+24.0 - Darren Lewis, 1999
+21.8 - Jacoby Ellsbury, 2008
+21.0 - JD Drew, 2009
+20.3 - Darren Bragg, 1997

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* - Remember Bernie Carbo? Carbo hit 96 HR in his career in 2,733 AB and hit 2 in the ‘75 World Series in 7 AB. One of them was big. REALLY big. In fact, that one homer is all that most people remember about him. Did you know that Carbo had a .454 OBP in 1970? That was the 4th highest OBP in the NL in the 56 seasons between 1936 and 1991 (min. 450 PA):

.466 - Joe Morgan, 1975 Reds
.460 - Eddie Stanky, 1950 Giants
.459 - Jack Clark, 1987 Cardinals
.454 - Bernie Carbo, 1970 Reds

He was a pretty good baseball player.

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* - Did you know that Magglio Ordonez did not reach base by way of error for 279 straight games (from Sept. 9, 2007 through Sept. 14, 2009), the 3rd longest such streak since 2000. Then from September 15 through the end of the 2009 season, he reached on error 3 times, tied for the most in the majors in that span.

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* - In 2009, the Marlins set a major league record by using 4 or more pitchers in 30 (thirty!) consecutive games between August 21 through September 22. During a single season, the Red Sox have never had a streak of more than 10 such games in a row (July, 2007).

HIDEKI OKAJIMA - 2009 PITCHING STATS - 258 BF / 61 IP / 3.39 ERA / 1.262 WHIP / 53 K / 21 BB / 8 HR

Most Effective Pitch (per Fangraphs): Split/Change - Saved +0.91 runs above average per 100 thrown (threw 228 split/changeups)
Fastball Velocity: 87.3 mph (57% of pitches were fastballs)

Vs Good (850+ OPS) Hitters: 126 BF (49%) - 263 AVG / 333 OBP / 447 SLG / 781 OPS
Vs Poor (less than 715 OPS) Hitters: 58 BF (22%) - 200 AVG / 286 OBP / 300 SLG / 586 OPS

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* - Okajima is one of just four relievers since 1954 with 60+ appearances and an ERA below 3.50 in each of his first three seasons:

Hideki Okajima - 2007 through 2009 (Boston)
Luis Ayala - 2003 through 2005 (Montreal/Washington)
Kaz Sasaki - 2000 through 2002 (Seattle)
Dick Radatz - 1962 through 1964 (Boston)

No reliever has done it in each of his first FOUR seasons.

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* - Okajima’s career OPS allowed in road games is .554, the lowest in the majors over the past three seasons (min. 400 such batters faced):

.554 - Hideki Okajima
.562 - Carlos Marmol
.576 - Chris Carpenter

Okajima now ranks 4th in all-time road OPS allowed (since 1954; min. 400 road batters faced) behind a couple of familiar names:

.531 - Jonathan Papelbon
.536 - Mariano Rivera
.542 - Bryan Harvey
.554 - Hideki Okajima
.556 - Billy Wagner

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* - Okajima has allowed an OPS below .500 in May during each of his first three seasons, becoming only the 5th pitcher since 1954 to do that in three consecutive Mays (min. 40 batters faced each May):

Hoyt Wilhelm - 1967 through 1969
Jeff Reardon - 1984 through 1986
Byung-Hung Kim - 2000 through 2002
Trevor Hoffman - 2005 through 2007
Hideki Okajima - 2007 through 2009

No pitcher has ever done it in four straight seasons.

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* - Boston’s lackluster infield defense didn’t help Okajima last season as 12 out of 81 balls hit on the infield were hits (a .148 average). He had allowed only 8 such hits in the previous two seasons combined (out of 170; .047 average). Here are the 2009 AL “leaders” in infield hits allowed per 9 innings (min. 60 IP):

1.85 - Brad Ziegler, OAK
1.77 - Hideki Okajima, BOS
1.71 - Brian Duensing, MIN

A Non-Okajima Item: Manny Delcarmen allowed only 0.46 infield hits per 9 innings last season (3 in 59 IP), the lowest figure on the team. So it’s hard to believe, but he was somewhat “lucky” in this regard, meaning that his 2009 season (4.53 ERA) could have been worse.

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* - Okajima has not allowed multiple extra-base hits in a game since allowing two doubles on August 17, 2008, a streak of 84 consecutive appearances. It’s the 4th longest such streak by a Red Sox pitcher since 1954:

134 - Jim Corsi (1997-1999)
90 - Heathcliff Slocumb (1996-1997)
85 - Sparky Lyle (1970-1971)
84 - Hideki Okajima (2008-2009)
74 - Jonathan Papelbon (2006-2008)

The major league record is 383 straight appearances, set by Ray King from 2002-2006. The longest current streak is 265 by George Sherrill.

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* - During August last season, Okajima allowed 2+ hits in four consecutive relief appearances of one inning or less. He is the first Red Sox pitcher to do that in six years (Todd Jones in 2003) and only one Red Sox reliever has done it in five straight (Pete Schourek, 2001). The major league record is six straight, last done by Houston’s Brandon Puffer in 2002. Over those six appearances, he allowed 19 hits and 13 ER in 5.2 disastrous innings.

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* - By going 6-0 in 2009, Okajima became the 20th pitcher in the last 45 years to win at least 6 games while losing none without making any starts. He is the 2nd Red Sox pitcher to do it, joining Tom Burgmeier, who went 7-0 in 1982.

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* - Okajima is the all-time leader in career ERA among pitchers who were born on Christmas Day (since 1900; min. 100 IP):

2.72 - Hideki Okajima
3.54 - Charlie Lea
3.73 - Ned Garver

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* - Okajima’s average fastball last season was 87.3 miles per hour and his split/change was 82.0, a difference of 5.3 MPH, the 7th smallest difference in the majors among the 166 pitchers who threw at least 200 fastballs and 100 changeups. Also among the seven smallest differences were Ramon Ramirez (4.8, 2nd) and Josh Beckett (5.3, 7th). The biggest difference? Oakland’s Dallas Braden, who threw fastballs at 87.9 and changeups at 72.3, a difference of 15.6 MPH.

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* - MORE NOTES: Okajima has handled lefties on the road to the tune of 0 for 12 last season and 2 for 26 (.077) in his career… Okajima had much better success in 2009 when the first pitch was put into play. In 2007, he allowed a .375 average on the first pitch, followed by .387 in 2008, and .125 last season… His increasing rate of falling behind 3-0 is a concern: 3.31% in ‘07; 4.65% in ‘08; 7.36% in ‘09. League average is about 5.2%… Okajima’s average fastball of 87.3 miles per hour was the slowest of all Red Sox pitchers with 500 or more fastballs thrown last season.

DANIEL BARD - 2009 PITCHING STATS - 212 BF / 49.1 IP / 3.65 ERA / 1.277 WHIP / 63 K / 22 BB / 5 HR

 
Most Effective Pitch (per Fangraphs):  Slider - Saved +2.39 runs above average per 100 thrown (threw 217 sliders)
Fastball Velocity: 97.3 mph (73% of pitches were fastballs)

 
Vs Good Hitters (850+ OPS):          87 BF (41%) - 214 AVG / 345 OBP / 471 SLG / 817 OPS
Vs Poor Hitters (less than 715 OPS): 62 BF (29%) - 241 AVG / 317 OBP / 315 SLG / 631 OPS

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* - Bard’s July allowed line of .103 AVG / .100 OBP  / .128 SLG / .228 OPS over 40 batters faced was spectacular.  The OBP allowed (.100) was the 2nd lowest allowed by a pitcher in July since 1960 (min. 40 BF):

.091 - Jeff Nelson, NYY (1997)
.100 - Daniel Bard, BOS (2009)
.102 - Jeff Shaw, CIN/LAD (1998)

The OPS allowed (.228) was the lowest allowed in July in the majors in 2009 (same min.):

.228 - Daniel Bard, BOS
.296 - Mike Adams, SD
.331 - Matt Guerrier, MIN

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* - Bard’s average fastball velocity of 97.3 miles per hour was the 2nd fastest in the majors last season (min. 500 fastballs thrown):

97.7 - Jonathan Broxton, LAD
97.3 - Daniel Bard, BOS
96.6 - Brian Wilson, SF

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* - Bard allowed a .545 OPS to right-handed batters in 2009, the 5th lowest by a Red Sox rookie since they began tracking the stat in 1974 (min. 100 RHB faced):

.367 - Jonathan Papelbon, 2006
.512 - Hideki Okajima, 2007
.542 - Luis Aponte, 1982
.543 - Dana Kiecker, 1990
.545 - Daniel Bard, 2009

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* - When Bard got to two strikes on hitters in 2009, he struck them out 50.8% of the time, the highest percentage by a Red Sox rookie since they began tracking the stat in 1988 (min. 100 two strike counts):

50.8% - Daniel Bard, 2009
49.3% - Jonathan Papelbon, 2006
44.7% - Rich Garces, 1996
44.4% - Hideki Okajima, 2007

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* - After getting ahead 0-2, Bard struck out 32 out of 50 batters (64%), the 2nd highest percentage by an AL rookie in the last 20 years (min. 50 such BF):

65.3% - Francisco Rodriguez, LAA (2003)
64.0% - Daniel Bard, BOS (2009)
63.6% - Kazahuo Sasaki, SEA (2000)

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* - Did he tire, get figured out, or a little of both?  From July 1 through September 9, Bard faced 103 batters and fanned 42 of them (40.8%), the highest percentage in the majors during that span:

40.8% - Daniel Bard, BOS
35.4% - Michael Wuertz, OAK
34.5% - Luke Gregerson, SD

After September 9, he struck out only 4 of the last 25 batters he faced (16%). 

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* - As a team, the Red Sox turned double plays on just 12.4% of balls put in play in DP situations last season, the lowest percentage in the major leagues (Tampa was 29th at 13.4% while the Angels were 1st at 18.1%).  Opponents grounded into 4 double plays with Bard on the mound (out of 22 balls in play in DP situations).  It was the highest DP% on the Red Sox last season:

18.7% - Daniel Bard (4-22)
13.2% - Ramon Ramirez (7-53)
10.7% - Takashi Saito (3-28)
  8.3% - Manny Delcarmen (3-36)
  6.5% - Hideki Okajima (2-31)
  0.0% - Jonathan Papelbon (0-27)

Those six Sox relievers combined to get 19 double plays off of 197 DP situation balls in play (9.6%).

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* - When the first pitch of an AB was a strike, Bard went on to record 48 strikeouts (52% of opponent AB). But when the count started 1-0, he fanned just 15 (21% of AB). That difference of 30.8% was the highest in the AL among pitchers with at least 20 opponent AB through each count:

30.8% - Daniel Bard, BOS (52% after 0-1; 21% after 1-0)
28.4% - Octavio Dotel, CWS (46% ; 18%)
28.4% - Carlos Torres, CWS (37% ; 9%)