Jeff Niemann vs Angels
In 2 career starts against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Tampa Bay right-hander Jeff Neimann has not fared well, losing both of the 2009 home and away games in his first year in the major league.
On 6/10/09, after dominating the Kansas City Royals for 9 full innings in a 2 hits, 1 walk, and 9 strikeout gem on 100 pitches, Niemann only lasted 3 2/3 frames as the Halos got to him early in Tampa Bay, to a tune of 7 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, and 3 K.
In his away start against the Angels on 8/12/09, Niemann pitched better, but not quite well enough and was pulled after logging 5 1/3 innings, as the Angels were once again able to produce, putting up 4 ER on 7 H and 3 BB, while striking out 4 times.
Jeff Niemann vs Angels Batters
Despite the fact that some of the damage during the two 2009 starts against the Angels were done by former-Halos (Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero, and Gary Matthews Jr.), the current regular bats of Anaheim, except for Bobby Abreu, Hideki Matsui, and Kendry Morales hit at least .333 or better for a collective BA of .300 in 30 plate appearances.
Trends and Injuries
Niemann has made 5 consecutive quality starts after his injury shortened season debut, with his latest accomplishment being the win at Seattle where he not only dominated the Mariners, but also overcame a near-epic proportion meltdown in which he threw 11 consecutive balls to walk the bases loaded.
The Angels have won 3 of the last 4 games after a 7-game slide, posting an 11-inning victory on a Juan Rivera sacrifice fly against the Rays last night.
Napoli blasted his 2nd home run of the season, going deep twice in the last 4 games, showing signs of life after a personal late spring training - all thanks to Mike Scioscia's mancrush on Jeff Mathis - but the rest of the Angels are batting a pultry .199 in the last 7 games as a group.
Opposing Pitcher
Scott Kazmir faces his former team for the first time with perhaps something to prove, having started this season off to a 7.11 ERA and just one quality starts in 5 attempts. Of the handful of Tampa Bay regulars Kazmir has faced, only Justin Bartlett has an average of over .111, as Gabe Kapler and Carlos Pena have gone a combined 1 for 12.
Kazmir won both of his 2 home starts in 2010, holding the opponents to a .220 BAA and 1.18 WHIP, but the 2 HR in 11 IP were opportune shots yielding 6 ER.
The Call: Sit
I'm going with the wait-and-see approach on this one, being cautious with the trigger on Jeff Niemann's road start against the Angels. In a small sample of 2 games, half the Halos lineup have hit Niemann pretty well and Scioscia will surely try to pull all sorts of small-ball stunts to disrupt the rhythm of Niemann. Prediction: ND, 6 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 7 K.
Showing posts with label tampa bay rays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tampa bay rays. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Start or Sit: Jeff Niemann at Mariners
In order to not only survive, but do well in fantasy, you have to keep your reality in check and away from your fantasy.
Just because you love the Seattle Mariners, you cannot load up on M's arms nor stock up on M's bats. Doug Fister will get pounded right when you finally decide to start him at home against the Oakland Athletics, and with or without help from his team, Milton Bradley is simply not a fantasy baseball contributor.
I'm talking about the M's not just because it's my hometown team that I've been following since 1990 - after a brief one year infatuation with the San Francisco Giants - but I am conflicted about starting the Tampa Bay right-hander Jeff Niemann against them at Safeco Field.
Putting my personal feelings for the M's aside, let's just get to the analysis.
Jeff Niemann vs Seattle Mariners Batters
Niemann's seen relative success against the bats of M's, holding the core group (Ichiro, Franklin Gutierrez, Ken Griffey Jr, and Jose Lopez) to BA of .250 or below in six or more plate appearances, except for Chone Figgins, who owns a 4 for 6 mark and 3 RBI. Despite the low BAA, the M's have made their hits count, with 3 of 7 hits being home runs.
Jeff Niemann vs Seattle Mariners
Niemann owns a 1-0 record against the Mariners in three starts, the lone win coming in his away start at Safeco, where he gave up three runs, all of them coming on a HR by Lopez in the 5th. In his second start at Safeco, he went on to give up two more HRs (Russell Branyan and Jr) and ended up yielding four runs in total, the latter two scoring with him pulled from the game. In his start against the M's at home, he gave up three runs, two of which came on a HR by Ichiro. In two starts at Safeco, Niemann has a 4.63 ERA, .094 WHIP and .190 BAA, giving up 6 ER on 8 H and 3 BB to go with 8 K in 11 2/3 IP.
Trends and Injuries
Niemann's K/9 has declined this year while he's been giving up more home runs, both of which are disturbing signs. On the other hand, he still owns an ERA of 2.96 to go along with WHIP of 1.02. His xFIP sits at 4.89, so we can bet that his ERA should balloon at any point.
The Mariners are on a 5-game losing streak as the Rays offense have seemingly awoke from a slumber, having scored 13 runs in the last two games after scoring just 5 in the previous 3 games at home against the Kansas City Royals. During the losing streak, the M's have scored just nine runs, batting a collective .190.
Opposing Pitcher
The Rays face Ryan Rowland-Smith, in a rematch of last September's game in Tampa that the M's ended up winning on what turned out to be a game-winning homer by Lopez in the 8th. The Hyphen is not having the same type of success he saw in the second half of last year after coming off the DL. Currently, he holds 5.28 ERA and 1.38 WHIP overall, but is holding opponents to a .167 BAA at home in two starts. The big Australian left-hander has been pretty tough against the Rays bats, holding them to a collective .233 BA, Willy Aybar, Carl Crawford, and Evan Longoria being the only Rays regulars with .333 or better BA.
The Call: Start
Putting my fondness for my M's aside, I'm cautiously optimistic about Niemann's chance at a win and pretty good peripherals.
Just because you love the Seattle Mariners, you cannot load up on M's arms nor stock up on M's bats. Doug Fister will get pounded right when you finally decide to start him at home against the Oakland Athletics, and with or without help from his team, Milton Bradley is simply not a fantasy baseball contributor.
I'm talking about the M's not just because it's my hometown team that I've been following since 1990 - after a brief one year infatuation with the San Francisco Giants - but I am conflicted about starting the Tampa Bay right-hander Jeff Niemann against them at Safeco Field.
Putting my personal feelings for the M's aside, let's just get to the analysis.
Jeff Niemann vs Seattle Mariners Batters
Niemann's seen relative success against the bats of M's, holding the core group (Ichiro, Franklin Gutierrez, Ken Griffey Jr, and Jose Lopez) to BA of .250 or below in six or more plate appearances, except for Chone Figgins, who owns a 4 for 6 mark and 3 RBI. Despite the low BAA, the M's have made their hits count, with 3 of 7 hits being home runs.
Jeff Niemann vs Seattle Mariners
Niemann owns a 1-0 record against the Mariners in three starts, the lone win coming in his away start at Safeco, where he gave up three runs, all of them coming on a HR by Lopez in the 5th. In his second start at Safeco, he went on to give up two more HRs (Russell Branyan and Jr) and ended up yielding four runs in total, the latter two scoring with him pulled from the game. In his start against the M's at home, he gave up three runs, two of which came on a HR by Ichiro. In two starts at Safeco, Niemann has a 4.63 ERA, .094 WHIP and .190 BAA, giving up 6 ER on 8 H and 3 BB to go with 8 K in 11 2/3 IP.
Trends and Injuries
Niemann's K/9 has declined this year while he's been giving up more home runs, both of which are disturbing signs. On the other hand, he still owns an ERA of 2.96 to go along with WHIP of 1.02. His xFIP sits at 4.89, so we can bet that his ERA should balloon at any point.
The Mariners are on a 5-game losing streak as the Rays offense have seemingly awoke from a slumber, having scored 13 runs in the last two games after scoring just 5 in the previous 3 games at home against the Kansas City Royals. During the losing streak, the M's have scored just nine runs, batting a collective .190.
Opposing Pitcher
The Rays face Ryan Rowland-Smith, in a rematch of last September's game in Tampa that the M's ended up winning on what turned out to be a game-winning homer by Lopez in the 8th. The Hyphen is not having the same type of success he saw in the second half of last year after coming off the DL. Currently, he holds 5.28 ERA and 1.38 WHIP overall, but is holding opponents to a .167 BAA at home in two starts. The big Australian left-hander has been pretty tough against the Rays bats, holding them to a collective .233 BA, Willy Aybar, Carl Crawford, and Evan Longoria being the only Rays regulars with .333 or better BA.
The Call: Start
Putting my fondness for my M's aside, I'm cautiously optimistic about Niemann's chance at a win and pretty good peripherals.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
My Starter is a Batter's Bull's Eye
In 2008, I (we?) lost Chris Young (not to be confused with Krispie Young) thanks to an Albert Pujols comebacker. Ouch.
This year, it was Jeff Niemann's turn to become the batter's bull's eye, getting smacked square on his back right shoulder by a Miguel Tejada shot. Some luck.
Good thing I pocketed caution from the wind and benched Niemann today against the Baltimore Orioles.
The preliminary word from the Tampa Bay Rays camps is that Niemann is day-to-day with a bruised shoulder. Yes, his throwing shoulder. Place him on the 15-day DL! Yes, at least give us that much: a free roster spot to work with.
This year, it was Jeff Niemann's turn to become the batter's bull's eye, getting smacked square on his back right shoulder by a Miguel Tejada shot. Some luck.
Good thing I pocketed caution from the wind and benched Niemann today against the Baltimore Orioles.
The preliminary word from the Tampa Bay Rays camps is that Niemann is day-to-day with a bruised shoulder. Yes, his throwing shoulder. Place him on the 15-day DL! Yes, at least give us that much: a free roster spot to work with.
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