Don Cooper says work fast

DBITL @ BTB:

For pitchers that threw 500 or more qualified pitches (pitches that meet the requirements for tracking pitch times) in 2010, here are the 20 major league leaders and major league trailers for time between pitches.  Measurements are in seconds:

1. Mark Buehrle, 16.0
11. John Danks, 17.5

Also, Dan Hudson is at #4 and Clayton Richard is at #19. As a team the White Sox are second with a 19.1 average.

Using 1500 qualified pitches as a cutoff point, to filter out relief pitchers, we get:

1. Mark Buerhle, 16.0
2. John Danks, 17.5

Clayton Richard is at #5. For complete charts and in graphic form, hit the link!

John Ely earns win #3 (3 K / 1 BB)

Boxscore:

LA Dodgers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Ely(W, 3-1)	6.0	8	2	2	1	3	0	3.41
Kuo	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1.93
Troncoso	0.2	1	1	1	1	0	1	5.06
Weaver, Jf(H, 3)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.38
Broxton(S, 10)	1.0	3	1	1	0	2	0	1.45
Totals	9.0	12	4	4	3	5	1	4.28

Ely: 28 K (7.96 K/9), 4 BB (1.14 BB/9), 8.24 H/9, 1.04 WHIP, 3.41 ERA in 31.2 IP

Video clips of his starts:
http://mlb.mlb.com/search/media.jsp?player_id=518655

Juan Pierre has a 63 OPS+ and a .293 wOBA.

UPDATE: More ex-Sox pitchers wins:

Clayton Richard:

San Diego	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Richard(W, 4-2)	7.0	7	1	1	0	6	0	2.73
Adams, M(H, 12)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3.72
Bell(S, 12)	1.0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0.95
Totals	9.0	9	1	1	0	8	0	3.03

Gio Gonzalez:

Oakland	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Gonzalez, G(W, 5-3)	8.0	2	0	0	1	5	0	3.46
Bailey, A(S, 7)	1.0	1	0	0	1	2	0	1.08
Totals	9.0	3	0	0	2	7	0	4.01

Update: Here are some stats for the guys the Sox traded away:

Player	ERA+	tRA+	ERA	tRA	FIP	xFIP
John Ely (Dodgers)	117	136	3.41	2.97	1.83	3.25
Clayton Richard (Padres)	136	109	2.73	4.19	3.07	4.08
Gio Gonzalez (A’s)	119	114	3.46	3.84	3.47	4.25

Definitions:

ERA+: “ERA measured against the league average, and adjusted for ballpark factors. An ERA+ over 100 is better than average, less than 100 is below average.”

“tRA+ is equal to [((lgTRA - tRA`) / lgTRA) + 1] * 100. This formula puts tRA+ on the same scale as wOBA+’

“tRA involves assigning run and out values to all events under a pitcher’s control and coming up with an expected number of runs allowed and outs generated in a defense and park neutral environment. tRA is on a R/9 scale.”

FIP: “Fielding Independent Pitching, a measure of all those things for which a pitcher is specifically responsible. The formula is (HR*13+(BB+HBP-IBB)*3-K*2)/IP, plus a league-specific factor (usually around 3.2) to round out the number to an equivalent ERA number. FIP helps you understand how well a pitcher pitched, regardless of how well his fielders fielded. FIP was invented by Tangotiger.”

xFIP: “Expected Fielding Independent Pitching. This is an experimental stat that adjusts FIP and “normalizes” the home run component. Research has shown that home runs allowed are pretty much a function of flyballs allowed and home park, so xFIP is based on the average number of home runs allowed per outfield fly. Theoretically, this should be a better predicter of a pitcher’s future ERA.”

MLB.com’s 2010 Sox prospects and organization preview

Top 10 prospects:

Clevelan Santeliz, RHP: A setup man extraordinaire at Birmingham last summer, the Venezuelan prospect was added to the 40-man roster after posting an 0.96 ERA in 40 games and striking out 52 batters in 56 1/3 innings. He moved to the closer role at the end of the season and collected 10 saves. Throwing a fastball in the mid-90s and a plus slider, he pitches with a lot of energy and is a ton of fun to watch.

organization preview:

LHP David Holmberg (2[nd round]) is a high school star out of Florida who has four solid pitches, with a fastball that touches 90 mph, a 12-6 curve, a changeup and a slider. He also has a good feel for the mound.

RHP Kyle Bellamy (5) out of Miami is a fast-track prospect who combined for a 1.23 ERA in 20 games in relief between Bristol and Kannapolis, walking just two while striking out 32 in 22 innings. He limited hitters to a .169 average and then moved on to the Arizona Fall League, where he had a 1.59 ERA in five games.

RHP Justin Collop (6) out of Toledo had a 2.72 ERA in 15 games for Great Falls, striking out 33 in 39 2/3 innings and limiting Pioneer League hitters to a .257 average.

RHP Ryan Buch (8) out of Monmouth had the best fastball in the Draft class, one that touched the high 90s, as well as a curveball with plus potential. In 16 games in relief, he had a 3.38 ERA and limited hitters to a .183 average at Great Falls.

FutureSox Review of Prospects Traded Away in 2009

Costanza:

The White Sox have traded away many prospects over the last couple of years but to date none of them have come back to bite the Sox. Here I will review all of the prospects traded away by Kenny Williams in 2009 and will try to determine whether this latest crop of former prospects will come back to haunt the White Sox in the future. …

Dubee is putting up some nice numbers after he got traded to Pittsburgh for Andy Phillips.

Clayton Richard update

Padres.com:

While the Chicago White Sox are still waiting for Jake Peavy to make his first official pitch for the team, the Padres are getting plenty of mileage out of one of the four pitchers they obtained in the trade with the White Sox on July 31. Clayton Richard, who gets the start Sunday for the Padres in the final game of a three-game series with the Rockies at PETCO Park, will make his ninth start for the team and his first against Colorado. Richard is 4-2 with a 5.40 ERA in eight starts and has shown promise at times and has struggled at others.

Here are Clayton Richard‘s home/away splits from B-R:

I   Split W L  W-L%   ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV   IP  H  R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF  WHIP SO/9 SO/BB
     Home 3 0 1.000  1.88 4  4  0  0   0  0 24.0 16  5  5  2 12   0 22   0     1 96 1.167  8.3  1.83
     Away 1 2  .333 10.69 4  4  0  0   0  0 16.0 29 19 19  4 11   0  9   0     0 85 2.500  5.1  0.82

Seems like, Clayton should put a ‘I love Petco Park’ poster above his bed!

Fangraphs haz tRA

FG:

Good news everyone. tRA has made its way to FanGraphs thanks to Graham MacAree of Lookout Landing and statcorner.com. tRA is currently located in the player pages under the batted ball section of stats. Directly from the StatCorner glossary: tRA involves assigning run and out values to all events under a pitcher’s control and coming up with an expected number of runs allowed and outs generated in a defense and park neutral environment. tRA is on a R/9 scale and does not involve any regression of the rates.

some tRAs for 2009:  Mark Buehrle (5.15), John Danks (4.50), Jake Peavy (3.17), Gavin Floyd (5.01), Jose Contreras (4.24), Bartolo Colon (6.01), Clayton Richard (5.01)

Fangraphs’ tRA is different than statcorner’ tRA though:

There are a couple things which are different between the StatCorner version of tRA and the version implemented on FanGraphs. The main difference is we’re using Baseball Info Solutions batted ball stats instead of Gameday batted ball stats. The other difference, though probably not as major is we’re using different park factors.

the statcorner values: Buehrle, Mark (4.50), Danks, John (4.00), Peavy, Jake (3.17), Floyd, Gavin (4.26), Contreras, Jose (3.65), Colon, Bartolo (4.70), Richard, Clayton (5.01)

BTW, here’s a more detailed introduction to tRA. And here.

Phil Rogers’ crystal ball

Division races, Offseason moves, and the Jake Peavy trade:

The White Sox (specifically, Jerry Reinsdorf, Ken Williams and Rick Hahn) don’t get enough credit for wisely managing their payroll. Even with Jake Peavy, they have only about $61 million commited in salary next season. The big issues — once Dye and Thome are resolved — will be what to do with expensive closer Bobby Jenks and whether to count on Scott Podsednik to play center field and hit leadoff. …

Rich Lederer on the Jake Peavy trade

Rich Lederer:

Peavy is a fantastic pitcher when healthy but, like an overpriced stock, may not be a good value at this point. He is clearly worth more to a team like the White Sox than the Padres.

BTW, THT’s Adam Guttridge doesn’t like it at all.

John Sickels on the Jake Peavy trade

John Sickels:

Jake Peavy from the Padres to the White Sox for Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell, and Dexter Carter. One proven excellent (when healthy) starter in exchange for four arms. I like it from San Diego’s perspective, given their current situation. Richard can slot into the rotation immediately, and Poreda has a chance to be a closer if his command holds. Russell is an OK middle relief type, while Carter has a live arm and excellent numbers in low-A ball. If Peavy’s ankle recovers fast enough he will help the White Sox down the stretch, but I think they gave up quite a bit to get him.

Kenny Williams, Ozzie Guillen, and Clayton Richard on the Peavy trade (video)

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5854357
(2:45)

Also, Peavy and Towers discuss trade:

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=5853775
(3:54)

THT on the Peavy trade

Aaron Peroda?

Signed for 3 more years at 52 million dollars, the White Sox now will be paying him as roughly a 4 WAR player when you assume a slight decline phase and factor in a discount for a long term deal. So does Peavy figure to be worth that much? Well, ZIPS thinks him currently capable of a 3.24 FIP. If you raise that .5 points for moving out of PETCO and moving to the tougher league, than he projects to be about a 4.5 WAR player over a full season. Considering that the White Sox are right in the mix of the playoff race this year, and there are no teams who figure to run away with the division next year, this certainly seems like a good return for the White Sox.

Sox get Jake Peavy

whitesox.com:

The Chicago White Sox have acquired right-handed pitcher Jake Peavy, a two-time All-Star and the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner, from the San Diego Padres in exchange for left-handers Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard and right-handers Dexter Carter and Adam Russell.

MLBTR:

3:35pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, via Twitter, says the White Sox confirmed they just got Peavy.  Brock agrees – Peavy approved the trade this time.  Peavy is owed $56MM through 2012, or $74MM through 2013 if the Sox exercise his option.

Peavy’s gamelog shows he last pitched on June 8.

Ken Rosenthal:

Peavy, 28, is currently on the disabled list with a strained tendon in his right ankle. The date of his return is uncertain. He is signed for $15 million next season, $16 million in 2011 and $17 million in 2012, with a $22 million club option for 2013.

Peavy’s agent: “I think Jake just got to the breaking point,” Axelrod said. “One team wanted him bad enough, and the other team wanted to get rid of him.”

Bartolo Colon, Clayton Richard, Randy Williams: DL, rotation, bullpen (UPDATE)

Scot Gregor:

The Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve placed Colon on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 25) due to right elbow inflammation. In turn, they purchased the contract of left-hander Randy Williams from Class AAA Charlotte. Colon was scratched from tonight’s against the Twins and Jose Contreras was tabbed to fill in. The move allows manager Ozzie Guillen to keep Richard in the rotation. Richard won his last start on Sunday, beating Detroit.

Randy Williams’ stats.

Merkin looks on the probable pitching assignments.

UPDATE: Mark Gonzales says the pitching assignments for the series against the Yankees are: Floyd, Richard, Danks, Buehrle.

Thome derailed

Merkin:

Tuesday’s pregame was a newsworthy one for the White Sox, and not just because of the Mark Kotsay-for-Brian Anderson trade made with Boston. Manager Ozzie Guillen announced that designated hitter Jim Thome would be sidelined for the final two games of the series against the Twins at the Metrodome with back soreness, aside from a possible pinch-hitting appearance. Guillen followed up that comment with the official move of Clayton Richard back to the bullpen.

Bartolo Colon, Clayton Richard, Josh Fields: rotation, bullpen, AAA

Sox Net:

Joe Cowley is reporting that the White Sox will make room for newly acquired 1B/OF Mark Kotsay on the 25 man roster by sending 1B/3B Josh Fields to AAA Charlotte. The move won’t be made official until Wednesday, which is when Kotsay is expected in the Sox dugout. The Sox have also announced the lefty Clayton Richard will be sent to the bullpen with Bartolo Colon replacing him as the 5th starter.