The Best of RC+

by , — June 22, 2023 in RC+ Announcements

Hello again, RC+ readers!

We hope you’re as excited as we are about the up-and-coming, ahead-of schedule, relentless, and — most importantly — first-place Cincinnati Reds! This team has provided so much to talk about already, and we’ll be with you every step of the way to break it all down.

Over the four years since Steve and I launched Reds Content Plus, we’ve remained steadfast in our commitment to an ad-free experience for you, the reader. We spend our free time running the site not for money — but for our love of the Cincinnati Reds, the game of baseball, and detailed analysis.

Still, the reality is operating a website comes with expenses.

On Monday, Steve and I announced our annual fundraiser to help us pay for costs associated with running the website: web hosting, domain name, an SSL certificate, images. All that jazz. And, hey, we’re human — it’s also a nice way for us to know our work is appreciated!

We put a lot of time and effort into our posts at RC+, and we enjoy creating a variety of content to help you keep up with Reds baseball — from opponent previews and injury breakdowns to in-depth profiles on individual players and weekly columns such as Red Monday. Here are some of my favorite pieces we’ve published just since the 2023 season began:

We hope that if you find value in our work, you’ll consider donating. I promise it only takes a minute or two. You can contribute here now, or click the Support RC+ item in the top menu. Any amount is appreciated. Give $11 in honor of the longest Reds winning streak since 1957, or $44 to celebrate the electric arrival of Elly De La Cruz. Whatever you’re comfortable giving — even $1 — is genuinely appreciated.

If you contribute $10/month or $100 total, that makes you an Insider. Your name will appear on the honor roll list on the site’s front page. We’ll give special recognition to folks who surpass those amounts.

Steve and I want to again thank everyone who has donated to this point and helped us throughout the years, including our other authors. Whether or not you contribute, we hope you continue reading and supporting the site.

Go Reds!

Matt Wilkes

Matt Wilkes

Matt Wilkes got hooked on Reds baseball after attending his first game in Cinergy Field at 6 years old, and he hasn’t looked back. As a kid, he was often found imitating his favorite players — Ken Griffey Jr., Adam Dunn, Sean Casey, and Austin Kearns — in the backyard. When he finally went inside, he was leading the Reds to 162-0 seasons in MVP Baseball 2005 or keeping stats for whatever game was on TV. He started writing about baseball in 2014 and has become fascinated by analytics and all the new data in the game. Matt is also a graduate of The Ohio State University and currently lives in Chicago. Follow him on Twitter at @_MattWilkes.

1 Response

  1. Pinson343 says:
    June 23, 2023 at 12:13 AM

    I can’t currently comment on the RightStuff+ post, so I’ll comment here. I enjoyed the post and found the data interesting and often not surprising. But it alo illustrates how difficult it is to measure the quality of a pitcher without any reliance on results (difficult but not impossible, it will take a lot of work).

    Sims at the very bottom tells you something’s not quite right. Herget a better Pitching+ rating than Sims ?
    Let’s look at Sims vs. Gibault. In terms of performance, it’s a very small sample size, but Gibault is having his best season and Sims is not as far from his career norms. Sample size is not an issue in this comparison.

    For stuff, Sims gets 107 and Gibault 108. In 27 innings Sims has 34 Ks, given up 12 hits and 0 HRs.
    In 35 innings Gibault has 29 Ks, allowed 29 Hits, and 5 HRs. Hmm.

    For location, Gibault gets 100 and Sims 87, due to Sims high walk rate (16/27). Gibault’s walk rate isn’t good either (15/35).
    But something is amiss about the handling of “wildness in the strike zone”. Gibault has given up 5 HRs and Sims none because Gibault throws more pitches right down Broadway (obvious eye test). It is not at all surprising that Gibault is giving up HRs at a much higher rate than Sims, he always has and will continue to do so. The metric is very tough on pitches outside the strike zone but not tough enough on meatballs thrown right down Broadway.

    Even if you get command and location right, there’s more to being a good pitcher than that. How well does the pitcher pitch relative to the batter’s strengths and weaknesses. How well does he make adjustments and pitch to the situation. The other night Gibault was doing OK and a mound visit is made (unfamiliar hitter). Gibault proceeds to throw 4 pitches nowhere near the strike zone. He doesn’t adjust, walking two more batters with wild pitches. Does anyone have confidence he’ll adjust ? NO ! Bell the optimist didn’t, so no one else would. He brings in Sims, who escapes the jam by striking out two batters. Did any of us really object to his bringing in Sims ? I don’t think so, we had confidence that Sims would not treat the situation as if the bases were empty. With the bases loaded, Sims would attack the strike zone, as he’s done before.

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Reds Content Plus is a site for passionate fans of the Cincinnati Reds. Our staff of independent writers covers the performance of Reds players and the strategies of the Reds manager and front office. Our content builds on what you’ll find at other Reds fan sites. What separates RC+ is our use of (and explaining) advanced statistical measures. Whether it’s a sacrifice bunt, intentional walk, stolen base, bullpen use, pinch hitting or pulling the starting pitcher, we’ll dig into the numbers. If you want to support us, check out our Support Page.