Sam Fuld's Selective Aggressiveness

Sam Fuld (TBA) is off to a great start, hitting for a high average and getting on base at a great clip, just what the Rays want from a lead-off hitter.  Through Friday's games, however, Fuld's .395 OBP was based almost entirely on his .366 BA, as he drew just four walks.  Often, a lack of walks indicates a hitter is a free swinger, but that does not seem to be the case with Fuld.

Pitchers try to keep the ball away from Fuld, but they also tend to keep their pitches, mostly fastballs, in the strike zone:

Sam Fuld pitch frequency, 2011.So far, Sam is doing a good job of distinguishing balls from strikes.  His swings tend to be in the strike zone:

Sam Fuld pitch frequency on swings, 2011.The pitches he takes are good pitches to take, out of the strike zone or on the edge:

Sam Fuld pitch frequency on taken pitches, 2011.In fact, Sam is a selective hitter.  Since he doesn't have much major league experience at the age of 28, the opposition rightly assumes he's not that good a hitter.  Rather than pitch him carefully, they challenge Fuld.  With a long minor league career behind him, Sam is experienced, and that is paying off with him killing the fastballs pumped into the strike zone.  At some point, pitchers will realize this is not the way to approach Fuld, and we'll see how he adjusts when he sees fewer fastballs and more pitches on the edges.

Orioles Pitching Dominating Rays Hitters

The Baltimore Orioles shut down the Tampa Bay Rays offense in their first matchup of the season, allowing 3 total runs, one in each game.  Here's a look at how the O's pitching staff located their pitches over the weekend:

Orioles Pitching (4/1-4/3) (Click to enlarge)

The Orioles effectively pitched lefties and righties away the whole series.  The result: Rays batters could barely muster any offense.

Rays vs. O's (4/1-4/3) (Click to enlarge)

Due to injury, Evan Longoria only batted six times the whole series, which certainly hurt the Rays offense.  A fairly potent Detroit Tigers offense comes to Baltimore today.  It will be the first test of the season for young righty Jake Arrieta, and another chance for the entire O's ballclub to show just how much they've improved this year.

Park Factors

Johnny Damon saw nearly a 100 point drop in OPS from his 2009 season with the Yankees to his 2010 season with the Tigers (.854 to .756).  His home OPS had an even larger gap (.915 to .794).

Johnny Damon Home Offense (click to enlarge)

Yankee Stadium played a big role in helping Damon to a successful 2009 season at the plate.  While it ranked in the bottom half of stadiums in offensive park factor that year, Damon took advantage of the short porch in right, with all 17 of his home HRs finding their way there. The low offensive rating for Yankee Stadium was likely balanced by the Yankees' high-powered offense that hit equally well on the road; Yankee Stadium would jump up to 2nd in the league in offense in 2010 behind Coors Field.

While Comerica park ranked in the bottom half of the league in offensive park factor in 2010, unlike Yankee Stadium it is a much tougher park for left-handed hitters.  It might not get any easier this season for Damon as Tropicana ranked dead last in park factor offense in 2010.