http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ge-fullcount080409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Halladay talks with Rangers were above board
By Gordon Edes, Yahoo! Sports Aug 4, 9:17 pm EDT
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Changing places: Our statistical analyst, Ari Kaplan of ariball.com, offers observations about some of the big leaguers who changed teams at the trading deadline:
• Victor Martinez(notes), Red Sox: He may have a catcher’s speed, but Martinez proves surprisingly nimble scoring from second base on a single, doing so 13 of 18 times this season. As a left-handed hitter, his biggest hole is low and away off the plate (no hits in 39 swings). As a righty, it’s low and inside (no hits in 16 swings).
• Jarrod Washburn(notes), Tigers: Great command of curve, above average command of slider, but the separation between his fastball, which averages a hair over 88, and changeup is just 5.5 miles an hour. That’s a big reason a whopping 91 percent of the swings at his changeup make contact.
• Matt Holliday(notes), Cardinals: A line-drive machine. Forty-seven percent of the balls he puts in play are line drives; the big league average is 20 percent. Throw him a changeup at your peril; he’s batting .464 on changeups he puts in play.
• Jake Peavy, White Sox: He’s probably a month away from coming back, but when he does, note how infrequently he throws a fastball to a left-handed hitter in a hitter’s count – only 22 percent of the time when it’s 2 and 0 (the average is 74 percent). On 3-and-1 counts, he threw a slider 35 percent of the time; the norm is four percent.
• Nick Johnson(notes), Marlins: If you expect him to chase, don’t throw Johnson a high pitch. He swung at just eight percent of 147 high pitches; the average is 31 percent.
• Scott Rolen(notes), Reds: The veteran third baseman shows an impressive knack of handling the cutter; 23 percent of his hits and sacrifices have come against that pitch.
• Nate McLouth(notes), Braves: McLouth gets ahead in the count 57.5 percent of the time, but has had trouble handling pitches high and tight (no hits in 18 swings).
• Jerry Hairston Jr.(notes),, Yankees: Hairston not only brings the Yanks defensive versatility, but he was successful on 85 percent of his 29 bunt attempts.