Byline: Max Offen Sichtlich
Off Topic
Team Votes Vidaca Most Valuable Pitcher
September 14, 2056
Sacramento pitcher Felix Vidaca threw two scoreless innings tonight against the Hawaii Tropics, entering the game in the ninth inning with the score tied, and holding the Tropics to only a single, unproductive hit. In doing so secured his 8th victory of the season.
“Par for the course,” said starter Roberto Vazquez after the game. “That’s just Felix. He’s the best pitcher in the game right now.”
That’s a truth every Mad Popes in the clubhouse agreed with, picking up the chant “Ne-bras-ka! Ne-bras-ka!” for several minutes. It’s a chant a lot of teams are going to have to get used to as they come to the Basilica for the rest of the season, as fans have been chanting it for some time now.
“It’s been awhile since a bullpen arm has won it, but I think now’s the time,” agreed pitching coach Gilberto Campos.
The case is an interesting one, because Vidaca, who came over last year after a trade with Atlantic City and was immediately dropped into the stopper’s role, unlike other candidates, does not lead any one statistical category. Instead, he’s second in the league in ERA (2.54), and second also in FIP (3.09). He’s only #8 in K/9 (7.9). His .249 BABIP is good, but nowhere near Des Moines candidate Tommy Akers, who has dropped an eye-popping .228.
He does lead the league in average against (.204), but is only fifth in WHIP (1.07).
He’s third in holds.
In other words, Felix Vidaca isn’t being used in ways that will lead to blazing numbers, and there are a few candidates who will pass the eyeball test pretty well, probably the best being the aforementioned Akers, who sits at 18-7, 2.38 and has thrown 204 innings. Others in the mix are Vancouver’s Phil Cole (17-10, 3.04, 249 IP), and Nashville’s Billy Kelly (18-4, 2.90, in 183 IP). You could add in guys like Vidaca’s Sacramento teammate Robert Hanson (18-5, 2.73) and dark horse Brody Picot from Yellow Springs (8-9, 2.62), but one guesses the Akers/Cole/Kelly axis of evil are the dominant candidates.
“No disrespect to any of them, but Felix is more valuable,” Vazquez said, shaking his head. “You watch him going out there every day with the game on the line and performing like that and you have to just boggle. The whole thing is really wearing on a guy, but Felix … man … he’s good.”
The numbers bear Vazquez out.
Vidaca has thrown 149 innings to date, and with two weeks left in the season he projects to something over 160 IP. His 8-6 record comes with 12 saves. But mostly it comes with two very important numbers, which we’ll present in tabular form:
| Picher | FIP- |
|---|---|
| Felix Vidaca | 72 |
| Billy Kelly | 74 |
| Robert Hanson | 77 |
| Brody Picot | 85 |
| Tommy Akers | 88 |
| Phil Cole | 91 |
In other words, removing the impact of fielding, and adjusting for ballparks, Felix Vidaca is the best pitcher in the Frick League. Kelly is second, followed closely by Hanson. Then there’s a gap.
Still, there’s the issue of innings pitched. Kelly, at 183, has about 35 more IP than Vidaca, and you can say that’s worth something. I mean, it is, right? Of course. But then let’s look at the value of those innings. As a starter, when his team gets him a big lead, Kelly can sometimes coast. When Vidaca pitches, you can pretty much guarantee it’s a big moment. It’s baseball, and sometimes he loses (not his 6 losses), but his margin for error is never wide. Here’s the proof:
Pitcher Leverage Index.
| Pitcher | pLi |
|---|---|
| Felix Vidaca | 1.26 |
| Brody Picot | 1.06 |
| Phil Cole | 1 |
| Robert Hanson | 1 |
| Tommy Akers | 0.96 |
| Billy Kelly | 0.95 |
Bottom line, as a stopper, Vidaca is always in tight spots. His margin for error slim, hence the value when he succeeds is huge. Nashville scores a lot of runs. So many that Kelly pitches in below average Leverage. As does Akers. With Yellow Springs, Picot is often on a hairline margin, but to be humbly honest, Yellow Springs isn’t in the hunt (and Picot’s FIP- really rules him out anyway).
Add in the fact that this season has seen one of the major elements of the rotation out on the IL for essentially the entire year, and you get the idea of what those innings meant.
So, yes.
We’ll see where the vote goes. But Sacramento fans and teammates know that Felix Vidaca is the Nebraska Winner in the Frick league.
| Player Name | Age | B | T | OVR | POT | Stu | Stu P | Mov | Mov P | Con | Con P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Vidaca | 30 | 0 | R | 50 | 50 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Source | Ht | Wt | BABIP - P | HR-P | Velo | Sta | Hold | GB/FB | #Pitches | #Pit-6+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade | 6'1" | 195 | 7 | 9 | 101 | 5 | 6 | 60 | 4 | 3 |
Reminds me of my statistics class. Spin it!