Clearing the Bases

Clearing the Bases: going through some of the most notable links from the past week...

Here's some new information on BABIP that goes contrary to what sabermetricians had previously believed;. In the past, it had been stated that a pitcher's batting average against excluding BBs, Ks, and HRs (aka BA on Balls In Play) was not something he could control, and instead was based more upon luck and the defense behind him, but this new research shows that pitchers do indeed have some control. I had kind of suspected this for a whlie - after all, the best BABIPs tend to belong to the best pitchers - but here's some actual proof that there is a correlation. (Link courtesy of Rob Neyer - insider-only)

College baseball really hasn't taken much of a foothold nationwide yet, but ESPN and other media groups are really trying to push the sport, and I think it's kind of working (and I'm glad). So what better way to increase your sport's popularity than by banning blogging from the press box?

Staying kind of on the same topic...Even I have some trouble getting into the MLB draft; these players are usually at least two or three years away from making an impact, and I've never seen them play before. Still, Carlos Gomez has some absolutely wonderful video analysis of the top 10 draft picks. It's probably worth reading, not so much for the actual information but to see what kind of things he looks for in a prospect.

The Twins may soon call up Matt Garza to replace the struggling Scott Baker, and, as a Twins fan, it's about time. Baker does have a future as a back of the rotation starter, but he's not ready right now, and Garza's too talented to leave in Rochester for another three months. (Link found via Buster Olney)

Guess what? A New York columnist said something stupid!

Scott Boras and Jayson Stark have a rather heated discussion over one of Boras' clients, Andrew Jones. J.C. Bradbury chimes in with his take.

Random video of the week: How long did it take this guy to pull off this shot? And wouldn't they have gotten kicked out of the bowling alley by then?