| 19 October 2010
Brian MacPherson of the Projo is one of my favorite Red Sox bloggers. His most recent article about John Lackey is a great example of why he's so good. I suggest you read the whole post, but here are the key points:
Perhaps the biggest cause for concern [when reviewing his 2010 stats] is the way Lackey pitched to left-handed hitters, something he had to do far more often in his first season in the American League East than he had in the past. The lefties he has to face in his new division aren't going anywhere.
Lackey had never faced as many lefties (517) in a season as he did this season. He'd never allowed lefties to reach base at a higher clip (.364) than they did this season. His strikeout-to-walk ratio against lefties (1.57) was his lowest since his rookie season in 2002.
Among the lefties that gave Lackey trouble this season:
* Nick Markakis (18 plate appearances): .429/.556/.571
* Fred Lewis (15 plate appearances): .500/.600/.750
* Carl Crawford (13 plate appearances): .667/.667/1.083
* Adam Lind (12 plate appearances): .500/.500/.500
* Luke Scott (12 plate appearances): .364/.417/.636
* Bobby Abreu (11 plate appearances): .400/.455/.900
* Carlos Pena (11 plate appearances): .429/.636/1.000
[Lackey's curveball was not as effective against lefties as it was against righties.] FanGraphs doesn't break it down by lefty-righty split, but it's hard to believe it's coincidence that Lackey's curveball was measured as having the worst "pitch value" -- results of each pitch measured by runs scored or prevented -- in his career.
Maybe the solution is for Lackey to throw more changeups, a pitch that tends to be more effective when righties throw it to lefties (and vice versa) because of the way it moves. Maybe the solution is for Lackey to figure out a better way to throw his curveball to lefties.
Read the whole article here and tab Brian's blog as a must read.
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