Each week, SB Nation’s Jeff Sullivan provides commentary on five up-to-date statistics you’ll probably want to know. They are not the five most important statistics in baseball, but much like SB Nation’s Jeff Sullivan, they’re kind of a big deal.
No Justin Morneau, No Problem For The Red-Hot Twins
With Many Losses And Few Home Runs, The Mariners Are In Pursuit Of A Miserable Mark
The Marlins’ Infield Defense Has Done The Pitchers No Favors
AJ Burnett’s Decline May Be Tied To His Curveball
In 2008, hitters missed nearly half the time they swung at Burnett’s curveball. Now they’re making contact with well more than three-fifths of their swings, and though a contact rate of 64.6% on a curve is still rather good, it isn’t spectacular. It isn’t what it was.
And you can see this show up in his splits. In 2008, after getting ahead in the count, Burnett struck out 42.9% of opposing hitters. In 2010, that’s down to 31.7%. His curveball isn’t getting as many whiffs, which means he isn’t getting as many whiffs, which means he isn’t getting as many strikeouts, which means he isn’t having as much success.
That’s a problem. Unfortunately for the Yankees, I don’t have the solution. With three years and $49.5 million left on AJ Burnett’s contract, they’re going to want to find it. They’re going to at least want to look everywhere they can.
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