Marlins Sign Heath Bell to 3 year, $27 Million Deal

[nny]

career #'s

[Jay]

For those who care his splits indicate he performed just as well or better away as he did at home with the Padres every year except 2008. So yeah he obviously cannot pitch away from petco.

[Valid]

Some basic numbers for perspective:

2011

Home: 2.15 ERA, .230 BAA, 2 HR
Road: 2.88 ERA, .213 BAA, 2 HR

2010

Home: 2.25 ERA, .229 BAA, 1 HR
Road: 1.59 ERA, .213 BAA, 0 HR

2009

Home: 2.49 ERA, .201 BAA, 2 HR
Road: 3.08 ERA, .230 BAA, 1 HR

2008

Home: 2.33 ERA, .191 BAA, 2 HR
Road: 4.81 ERA, .263 BAA, 3 HR

2007

Home: 2.64 ERA, .176 BAA, 3 HR
Road: 1.46 ERA, .192 BAA, 0 HR

So yeah; 2008 was really the only year he was poor on the road, and oddly enough, in those five years with SD, he allowed twice as many homers at Petco than he did away from it.

[Fritz]

But if Volstad starts against Houston or Oakland he gon do so good.

[Mainge]

Those are good numbers. I still am not a fan.

[Valid]

Those are good numbers. I still am not a fan.

Yeah I don't really like putting that much money down on a closer, either. Still, it definitely makes the team better, and if the Marlins are really serious about becoming a team that perennially goes out and spends money (and I truly think they are), then the contract might not end up being that big of an issue.

[Jay]

But if Volstad starts against Houston or Oakland he gon do so good.

but if it looks like rain he still gonna do bad

[Metes]

Apparently Heath introduced a sinker last year, which caused him to pitch to contact more.

Per Fangraphs, his out-of-zone contact rate jumped from 57% to 68% (career is 58.6%), however this didn't correlate to an increase in GB%. LD% went up from 17.9% to 21.3%

It's hard to glean too much from this because it's only 60 IP we're talking about, but in my mind it somewhat mitigates the declining K rate, since his velocity hasn't dropped. I think it's more about approach and pitch selection, and hopefully some tweaks will get things back on track next year.

[Omar]

Yeah I don't really like putting that much money down on a closer, either. Still, it definitely makes the team better, and if the Marlins are really serious about becoming a team that perennially goes out and spends money (and I truly think they are), then the contract might not end up being that big of an issue.

I think the most exciting part is what the contract means, much like the Ozzie one. Spending big on a closer is generally the behavior of a big club with a big wallet. Bell, on top of what he brings to the bullpen, makes me much more confident that we'll be signing the bat and arm we need.

[Beef]

I have learned that that is what they want you to think.

and it only cost them $27M

[Bobbob1313]

Apparently Heath introduced a sinker last year, which caused him to pitch to contact more.

Per Fangraphs, his out-of-zone contact rate jumped from 57% to 68% (career is 58.6%), however this didn't correlate to an increase in GB%. LD% went up from 17.9% to 21.3%

It's hard to glean too much from this because it's only 60 IP we're talking about, but in my mind it somewhat mitigates the declining K rate, since his velocity hasn't dropped. I think it's more about approach and pitch selection, and hopefully some tweaks will get things back on track next year.

I think the fact that it's 60 innings means that it's hard to glean much from any single season. The difference between a 7 k/9 and a 9 k/9 is an extra strikeout every 4 and a third innings, roughly.

[Metes]

Here's another analysis with PitchFX data at Fangraphs. It's a good read:

http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/ind...among-closers/

[Party]

Apparently Heath introduced a sinker last year, which caused him to pitch to contact more.

Per Fangraphs, his out-of-zone contact rate jumped from 57% to 68% (career is 58.6%), however this didn't correlate to an increase in GB%. LD% went up from 17.9% to 21.3%

It's hard to glean too much from this because it's only 60 IP we're talking about, but in my mind it somewhat mitigates the declining K rate, since his velocity hasn't dropped. I think it's more about approach and pitch selection, and hopefully some tweaks will get things back on track next year.

Great find.

[Erick]

Did I say something wrong last night/early morning? I think my post got deleted or something. Or maybe I never even clicked on "submit reply." Confused.

[Party]

I deleted a whole lot of shenanigans. If you were caught in the crossfire, I apologize.