Twenty Questions with Jake Borup

Originally posted by Chicks Dig the Long Ball.

Photo courtesy of statepress.com

Phillies pitching prospect Jake Borup joins the minor league party and played along for another round of Twenty Questions with the Baseball Ladies! (Click here to read teammate Jarred Cosart's round of Twenty Questions)

Jake was one of ten players from Arizona State University to be drafted in 2010, and was selected in the 23rd round by the Phillies. Posting impressive numbers in his young career, Borup held an 11-1 record with a 4.08 ERA over 16 games as a sophomore at ASU. Jake was invited to participate in the Florida Instructional League this past fall for the Phillies, and will most likely begin the 2010 season in Clearwater. We hope to see him in Lakewood later in the season, as well.

Jake and his wife, Kyrstin, were married over the summer and have recently found out they are expecting a baby boy! Follow Jake and Kyrstin on Twitter (@JakeBorup and @KyrstinBorup), and be sure to check out Kyrstin's blog "The Secret Life of a Baseball Player's Wife" as she documents the Borup Family's experiences at Spring Training and beyond.



What five pitchers would be in your dream starting rotation?

My top 5 would be (in no particular order): Bob Gibson, Cy Young, Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Roy Halladay.

What is your most embarrassing moment either on or off the field?

It happened when I was a freshman in college at Arizona State. We had team scrimmages in the fall, and this was my first time pitching in front of the coaches. I was super nervous to say the least. The first batter hits a bouncing ball over the third baseman’s head and gets a double. Well, I forgot the runner was on second and I picked over to first base, and threw it into no-man's land. It was embarrassing because the whole game pretty much stopped, and everyone was like “why’d he pick to first??” The runner literally walked home as everyone was laughing.

Do you have any "strange addictions?”

Nothing super strange. I chew my fingernails a lot. I hate it and have tried to stop. I’m thinking about dipping my fingers in vinegar as the day starts; maybe that’ll stop me. My wife will tell you I’m addicted to ESPN and Twitter.
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Simplifying Sabermetrics: OPS+

Installment Two: OPS+ (Adjusted On-Base Plus Slugging)

A few weeks ago we dove headfirst into the world of sabermetrics and discussed the ins and outs of OPS, or on-base plus slugging. We learned that OPS is the sum of a hitter’s on-base percentage and slugging percentage. On-Base Percentage (OBP) is essentially a players productivity – how often does he reach base out of X opportunities – and slugging percentage (SLG%) measures how far he typically goes when he gets on base – single, double, triple, or home run. Adding those two figures together give you OPS, which gives a better way to gauge a player’s relatively complete hitting profile.

We started with OPS because it was the stepping stone to more advanced statistics. Not too long ago, I was watching MLB Network and overheard Peter Gammons use the OPS+ stat while he was discussing Roberto Alomar’s Baseball Hall of Fame nomination. I had seen this stat before and knew it’s meaning, but it was one of the first times I could remember hearing a TV analyst use it as if it were just as commonly thrown around as batting average or runs batted in.

So what is OPS+ and what exactly is being “adjusted?” Before we go any further, let’s take a look at the formula:

Let’s break down the math a little bit first. A 100 OPS+ is considered league average, and each point above or below that represents a percentage point. We already know how to calculate a player’s OBP and SLG, but we have two new parts to the equation, *lgOBP and *lgSLG. These are adjusted OBP and SLG for each league, meaning it takes the pitchers out of the equation.
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Twenty Questions with Jarred Cosart

Courtesy phillysportscentral.com

Originally posted on Chicks Dig the Long Ball.

Lakewood Blueclaws pitcher Jarred Cosart was sweet enough to play along with CDTLB and sit down for Twenty Questions straight from the Baseball Ladies. Want to know more? Follow him on Twitter, @JarredCosart, where he frequently engages with the Phillies crowd while he gets ready to take on Spring Training when pitchers and catchers report in just 26 days!

What was the biggest thing you took away from being selected for the Futures Game?

I actually didn't get to play in the Futures Game, but it was a great honor to be selected to showcase my abilities with some of the best players throughout the minor leagues.

What would you do if you just inherited a pizzeria?

It would be interesting. I'd have to find someone who could take care of it and manage it while I was away. If I was unable to I might just sell it.

What secondary pitches have you been working on in the off-season?

I've mainly focused on long tossing and getting my arm in shape. I'm constantly focusing on my change up grip and making sure I keep the same arm action when I throw it,

What's the best concert you've been to?

This past year down in Florida, Nick Hernandez, Ryan Gugel, Tyson Gillies, Matt Way, and I all attended Darius Rucker, Jason Aldean, Easton Corbin and Dierks Bentley. It was a great atmosphere to be in and the artists were all some of the best country singers around. You can't beat a concert with a great group of friends and a great group of singers.
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Simplifying Sabermetrics

Week One: OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging)

One of the objectives of Chicks Dig the Long Ball is to educate, not replicate. Most of the baseball chatter you see these days doesn’t end with discussions of batting average and RBIs. Because we recognize that, this year we’ll be hosting a weekly baseball tutorial to assist you in better understanding more of the in-depth analysis you come across throughout the season.

Our getting-started guide can be found at the top menu under “Baseball 101” – this should be your first stop to learn the basics behind the game. There you will find fielding positions, pitch types, common phrases, etc. Each week we’ll build on what we already know, with the goal that over time you’ll be able to decode statisticians and sabermetricians like a pro.

You’ll notice as we get into some of the more complicated statistics that many of these formulas read like measurements of measurements. How many different ways does one person need to assess the same thing? Well, as any statistician will tell you, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. The more ways we have to measure, or quantify, something, the better picture we can paint when we start to add up all the parts of the whole. Essentially, there’s always more than one way to look at things, and sabermetrics helps us do that with baseball.

I want to start this week with a beginner offensive statistic: On-base plus slugging (OPS). Here is the formula:



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