Stats about Izzy
Jason Isringhausen is having a season to forget as the closer of the St. Louis Cardinals. Although he has 31 saves, a very respectable total, he has blown 9 saves, for a 78% save percentage, which is the 4th worst listed on the Closer Report by closers with 20 save opportunities or more.
Looking at stats for Izzy, I was curious to see what else was true statistically.
Looking at the same closer report as well as other splits, I compiled these stats, which I found to be interesting:
Izzy has compiled a WHIP(Walks+Hits Per Inning Pitched) of 1.38, which again, among listed closers with 20 opportunities, is 4th worst.
He has 7 losses, worst among listed closers.
His K/BB ratio is 1.47, the worst among closers with 20 opps. Meanwhile, his K/9 is actually not bad at 8.28, which is middle of the pack among closers. (this tells us that it's not that Izzy's lack of strikeouts that keeps that K/BB ratio so bad, but rather his high walk total.)
Against left-handed batters, Izzy gives up the line of .371/.432/.803 (On-base/Slugging/OPS)
The closest player equivalent would be Edgar Renteria(Yes, I know he's right-handed, but statistically, it's the closest). Renteria this year has compiled the very similar stats of .372/.437/.809. So everytime Izzy faces an average lefty, he turns them into a player of Renteria's stature(not a superstar, but definitely a very above average player).
For those of you with ESPN Insider access, you can look at his pitching zones, which shows you how often a pitcher throws to a certain area either on or off the plate. Against right-handed hitters, Isringhausen pounds the outside corner 58% of the time. He goes inside only 24% of the time. (The remainder are down the middle, not differentiating high from low.)
Again, going back to the idea of Izzy's problem being walks, his BAA(Batting Average Against) is a very strong .210. There are plenty of closers who are better, but .210 is very similar to the stats of Trevor Hoffman(.208), Mariano Rivera(.220), Francisco Rodriguez(.206) and Mike Gonzalez of the Pirates(.213) who incidently is perfect in save opportunities this year(24/24).
Lastly, Izzy's Ground ball to fly ball ratio this year is on pace to be the 2nd worst of his career at 1.14. His career worst was 1.07 in his last season in Oakland. Conversely, his BEST season was LAST year when he posted a 1.73 ratio, a very good indicator, arguably his best season as a Cardinal(2.14 ERA, 39/43 Save%).
Do any of these stats give us an answer for what Isringhausen needs to do differently? I guess it tells us he needs to cut down on the walks, but anyone who watches the game could have said that. They are interesting stats(at least to me though) that give us a little insight of just how bad Isringhausen has been this year.
Last note - I have actually typically been an Isringhausen supporter. He seems to be one of the dividing points among Cardinals fans. Most either adamantly support him as a good closer or can't stand him because he seems to make situations overly dramatic with his walks. Despite the fact that I think he's been a good closer in a Cardinals uniform, this year he's been pretty bad.
Looking at stats for Izzy, I was curious to see what else was true statistically.
Looking at the same closer report as well as other splits, I compiled these stats, which I found to be interesting:
Izzy has compiled a WHIP(Walks+Hits Per Inning Pitched) of 1.38, which again, among listed closers with 20 opportunities, is 4th worst.
He has 7 losses, worst among listed closers.
His K/BB ratio is 1.47, the worst among closers with 20 opps. Meanwhile, his K/9 is actually not bad at 8.28, which is middle of the pack among closers. (this tells us that it's not that Izzy's lack of strikeouts that keeps that K/BB ratio so bad, but rather his high walk total.)
Against left-handed batters, Izzy gives up the line of .371/.432/.803 (On-base/Slugging/OPS)
The closest player equivalent would be Edgar Renteria(Yes, I know he's right-handed, but statistically, it's the closest). Renteria this year has compiled the very similar stats of .372/.437/.809. So everytime Izzy faces an average lefty, he turns them into a player of Renteria's stature(not a superstar, but definitely a very above average player).
For those of you with ESPN Insider access, you can look at his pitching zones, which shows you how often a pitcher throws to a certain area either on or off the plate. Against right-handed hitters, Isringhausen pounds the outside corner 58% of the time. He goes inside only 24% of the time. (The remainder are down the middle, not differentiating high from low.)
Again, going back to the idea of Izzy's problem being walks, his BAA(Batting Average Against) is a very strong .210. There are plenty of closers who are better, but .210 is very similar to the stats of Trevor Hoffman(.208), Mariano Rivera(.220), Francisco Rodriguez(.206) and Mike Gonzalez of the Pirates(.213) who incidently is perfect in save opportunities this year(24/24).
Lastly, Izzy's Ground ball to fly ball ratio this year is on pace to be the 2nd worst of his career at 1.14. His career worst was 1.07 in his last season in Oakland. Conversely, his BEST season was LAST year when he posted a 1.73 ratio, a very good indicator, arguably his best season as a Cardinal(2.14 ERA, 39/43 Save%).
Do any of these stats give us an answer for what Isringhausen needs to do differently? I guess it tells us he needs to cut down on the walks, but anyone who watches the game could have said that. They are interesting stats(at least to me though) that give us a little insight of just how bad Isringhausen has been this year.
Last note - I have actually typically been an Isringhausen supporter. He seems to be one of the dividing points among Cardinals fans. Most either adamantly support him as a good closer or can't stand him because he seems to make situations overly dramatic with his walks. Despite the fact that I think he's been a good closer in a Cardinals uniform, this year he's been pretty bad.
posted by Matt at 4:43 PM
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