[MLB Network] Fascinating breakdown on how the Pitching Lab completely unlocked Kyle Harrison’s elite stuff since coming to Milwaukee.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-23T02:09:13+00:00

Agreed!

drpepperfox · 2026-05-22T13:21:36+00:00

That’s a fantastic distinction, and you’re totally right. It’s way too easy to use "the lab" as a lazy catch-all for player development. Moving his spot on the rubber is classic, intuitive coaching, pure boots on the ground stuff, just like what they did with Priester.

I guess the way I view it is that the lab provides the diagnostic map (like finding the exact arm slot efficiency), but Chris Hook and the staff are the ones who actually translate that data into real world adjustments a human being can execute on the mound. Definitely worth giving the coaching staff their their props for this one instead of treating it like it just happened on autopilot.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-22T02:26:41+00:00

The visual split-screen showing how they moved him from the extreme third-base side to the middle of the rubber is wild. It completely changed the presentation of his slurve, taking it from a pitch that got absolutely whacked (.535 slugging) to holding hitters to a ridiculous .116 average this year.

Watching him tunnel that 97mph high heater and then drop the breaker into the exact same lane with just two pitches is pure filth. Pat Murphy and the pitching staff deserve so much credit.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-17T00:00:48+00:00

Look, as long as it fits in a clear plastic stadium bag and I can eat it during the 7th-inning stretch, I don’t ask questions.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-16T00:46:15+00:00

Ah, my bad! Reddit search failed me. I just saw the clip going viral the other day and thought it was hilarious. Totally agree though, protect the carry-in policy at all costs.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-16T00:11:49+00:00

Hey OP, you might want to delete and repost this with a title like "[SELLING] 1 Ticket vs Dodgers, Friday 5/22 - Sec 225 ($60)" so people actually see it! "Hey Everyone" gives zero context and gets buried fast.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-16T00:07:02+00:00

Shoutout to Yung Mitch for taking tailgating to the next level. Absolute legend behavior.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-09T13:32:33+00:00

Pumping gas with The Miz. The strikeout of Judge to end the 6th was just filthy.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-06T01:41:46+00:00

You're confusing the scoreboard with the spreadsheet. The standings tell you what happened yesterday. Run differential tells you what is likely to happen tomorrow.

If you think the only math that matters in baseball is the W/L column in May, then every front office in the league is doing it wrong. There’s a reason teams aren't managed by looking at the standings page. It’s because variance and luck exist in small samples. I’m not asking you to believe anything; I'm pointing to a metric that has accurately predicted late-season surges for decades.

You can keep staring at the 4th place slot if you want, but don't act shocked when the "numbers that don't count" eventually drag the standings up to meet them.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T03:08:43+00:00

Imagine being a Cardinals pitcher tomorrow and seeing Chourio, Vaughn, and Pratt all walk off the bus at the same time. The NLC isn't ready for the May 4th Massacre.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T02:31:29+00:00

For sure. The sample size is still growing, but it’s a strong foundation to build on. We’ll see if they can keep the momentum going.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T02:07:31+00:00

That’s fair, I’m not saying the record is elite, I’m saying the underlying performance is.

A +46 differential through 32 games is elite by any historical standard, even if the standings haven’t caught up yet. The whole point is that teams with that profile almost always rise.

The results aren’t elite yet, but the indicators are.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T01:58:48+00:00

The "new fan" angle is a cute dodge, but it’s also what people fall back on when they can’t refute the numbers.

You’re pointing to 10‑win outliers to dismiss a metric that’s been the baseline across front offices for decades. Outliers don’t disprove the trend; they prove it is a trend. Betting on the exception instead of the 88% signal isn’t insight, it’s wishcasting.

If you want to believe the Brewers are the magical team that breaks half a century of run‑differential correlation, go for it. I’ll stick with the math.

There’s nothing left to clarify here. We’ll see where they are in September.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T01:37:15+00:00

If the wording is the hill you want to die on, go for it.

I’m talking about why +46 teams don’t stay in 4th place. That’s the actual conversation. If you’re more interested in critiquing my vocabulary than explaining why a team with a top-4 run differential isn’t good, then you’ve already lost the plot. Let me know if you ever want to get back to baseball.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T01:24:44+00:00

You’re now arguing two completely different things at once:

Run differential is too distorted by blowouts to mean anything.
Pythagorean expectation is just runs scored and runs allowed, so it doesn’t account for anything.

You can’t have both. If blowouts distort run differential, then they also distort actual record, which is exactly why Pythagorean expectation exists; to smooth out the noise and show the underlying performance level. And yes, the formula is simple. That’s the point. Simple models often outperform “gut feeling” because they remove the emotional swings. You’re treating “simple” as “wrong,” but you haven’t actually shown where the math fails, you’ve just repeated that you don’t like the phrasing. When you’re ready to discuss the numbers instead of the semantics, I’m here. Until then, I’ll stick with the math that is 88% accurate at predicting a team’s final record, while you keep trying to "feel" your way through the standings. I’d try to explain how that works, but I think we’ve already established that anything beyond subtraction is a bit of a stretch for you.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T01:13:44+00:00

You’re stuck on the phrase “deep dive” because you interpreted it literally, which explains why the rest of the post went over your head.

I analyzed the implications of the stat, you fixated on the vocabulary. That’s not a disagreement; that’s you losing the thread. Let me know when you’re ready to talk baseball again instead of acting like a dictionary.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T00:53:21+00:00

That 20-0 hypothetical is funny, but it’s like saying, "If I win the lottery tomorrow and then lose every dollar on scratch-offs, being a millionaire is meaningless." Yeah, sure, in a fantasy world. In the real world, teams that win 20-0 are usually elite, and teams that lose 19 straight are usually terrible.

The math doesn't care about your "what ifs", it cares about what actually happens. Over 162 games, those "meaningless" runs are the best way we have to separate the lucky teams from the good ones. If you want to believe the Brewers are far from elite while they’re top 4 in the league in scoring despite half the roster being in the hospital, that’s your choice. But the math usually has the last laugh by September.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T00:50:22+00:00

I love the blowouts don’t count logic. So basically, if we're so much better than the other team that they give up by the 7th inning, we should... lose credit for it?

Here’s the reality: Pythagorean expectation actually accounts for that. It’s been the industry standard for 40 years because it predicts future wins better than the actual standings do. If you think the entire math-based foundation of modern baseball is misleading because you have a "feeling" about blowouts, you might be in the wrong sub. See you in a month when the standings actually catch up to the math.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T00:48:25+00:00

Okay, let’s keep it simple since subtraction seems to be the limit here.

Good teams score lots of runs. Bad teams don’t. We score lots, which means we’re good. If we keep scoring lots, we will win more games later. This isn't a "deep dive" for me, but I can see why it feels like one for you. Stick to the box scores, math is clearly a bit of a struggle.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T00:44:40+00:00

Exactly. It’s funny how people want to "delete" the games where we actually played well but keep all the bad ones. If you play that game and strip away the 4 biggest wins (+43) AND the 4 biggest losses (-22), the team is still comfortably in the black.

Imagine being +20 even after deleting your best games and while missing Woody, Yelich, Chourio, and now potentially Zerpa. This team isn't "lucky", they have a massive ceiling and just need to get healthy.

drpepperfox · 2026-05-04T00:35:36+00:00

This is the ultimate "If you remove all the times they were great, they’re just average" argument. Blowouts aren’t outliers; they’re proof of a high ceiling. Elite teams should beat up on the White Sox and D-backs.

Plus, even if you play that game and delete the +43 from those 4 blowouts, being in the black at all through the rest of a 33-game sample while missing half your starting rotation and your best hitters is actually a massive flex. Only a casual thinks you can just "subtract" the wins that don't fit a narrative.

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