Matt Klaassen

mattklaassen

Matt Klaassen lives in the Greater Toronto Area, where he spends most of his time reading and writing obituaries. For some reason, he is allowed to write for FanGraphs several times a week. If you just can't get enough of Matt, you can also follow him on Twitter.

Recent Posts

Fogging the Measure: Brian “TOOZ” Matusz is Awesome Now

Posted by Matt Klaassen under Baltimore Orioles, Brian Matusz, Fogging The Measure, Postseason on Oct 09, 2012

Do you know what would be awesome? If Brian Matusz turned out to be related to 1970s NFL player and semi-famous 1980s actor John “Tooz” Matuszak (Caveman with Ringo Starr and Olivia Newton-John!). What, you don’t remember Tooz? Oh, man, you really missed out. I’m kind of surprised to learn that he isn’t that Ogre guy from Revenge Of The Nerds. No matter, I guess I should probably stick to writing about Brian Matusz.

Last night, the 25-year-old southpaw played a key roll in the Orioles 3-2 victory over the Yankees. Matusz had a bit of a shaky beginning to his appearance, but when he came back out for the eight he got three straight outs after giving up a single. It was a big moment for Matusz, who after being a hot prospect and showing some promise as a starter in 2010, had his pumpkin turn into an unmitigated disaster in 2011. This discouraging trend carried through to this season, until he was transitioned to the bullpen near the end of the regular season by manager Buck Showalter.

In his new role with team, Matusz has pitched very well, and after last night, he obviously looks like a savvy inclusion on the Orioles’ post season roster.

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Fogging the Measure: Catcher Defense Ratings, Final 2012 Edition

Posted by Matt Klaassen under Buster Posey, Fogging The Measure, St. Louis Cardinals, Yadier Molina on Oct 04, 2012

Wow, what a season. And with such a big comeback at the end.

I am referring, of course, to our final look at the Getting Blanked Catcher Defense Ratings for 2012. Was there something else that happened?

When we last examined the rankings, a new leader had emerged. Will his work over the last month of the season hold the tide against the waves of challengers trying to unseat him and claim the title of Getting Blanked’s best defensive catcher? An answer to this, some other random comments, and, crude ratings of the defensive value of every catcher who saw time behind the plate in 2012, all after the jump …

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Fogging The Measure: Upton Enigma

Posted by Matt Klaassen under B.J Upton, Fogging The Measure, Free Agency on Sep 27, 2012

The list of upcoming free agent position players is what’s politely referred to as interesting. With an increasing number of players signing long-term extensions before they ever meet free agency (and looking at the recent Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Braun, and Joey Votto contracts, why not?), the pickings are increasingly slim, and it looks like it is going to be that way for a while.

Obviously, Josh Hamilton and David Ortiz are two big names on the list, but neither is an obvious high-demand guy like (to stick with just a few examples), say Prince Fielder last year, Carl Crawford the year before (yeah, he really was in demand back then), or Mark Teixeira in the 2008-2009 off-season.

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Fogging the Measure: Margins of Error and the 2012 AL MVP

Posted by Matt Klaassen under Fogging The Measure on Sep 20, 2012

In case you haven’t been following things: there is a heck of a race going on, to see who is really the most valuable player in the league. That league, of course, is the National League, where Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen, and Buster Posey are all having great seasons for playoff contenders (or former contenders, in the case of McCutchen). One could also make good cases for players like Chase Headley, David Wright, and Yadier Molina, among others.

Yes, perhaps MVP arguments are silly. Some will say that the awards really “don’t matter.” My reply to that is there are many things that don’t really matter, for exmample, sports. So argue away.

Given the excitement and debate (that should be) going on around the National League MVP, it is only fitting that topics of discussion (at least on my Twitter feed) have been dominated by the American League MVP. While Mike Trout is running away with the “stathead (to use Jerry Crasnick’s term) ballot,” there is dissent on others.

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Fogging the Measure: The Injury Halo

Posted by Matt Klaassen under Fogging The Measure, Kansas City Royals on Sep 13, 2012

Get this: injuries are bad for baseball players and their teams. It is a tough and shocking truth, but I’ll be brave enough to put it out there.

Recovered yet?

I don’t think I need to elaborate on that point, at least not on the obvious dimensions: the lost playing time, the (usually) inferior replacements, and so on. However, something quite different has struck me this year: the way season-ending injuries can make players look better than they should. I call it the “injury halo.”

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Fogging the Measure: Success is Not Enough for the Yankees

Posted by Matt Klaassen under Derek Jeter, Fogging The Measure, New York Yankees on Sep 07, 2012

The Yankees are in trouble. Sort of. Back on August 1, they were 6.5 games ahead of both Tampa Bay and Baltimore, and seemingly cruising to another American League East title. Things have not gone well with respect to the standings for the Yankees — while they played just over .500 ball in August, both the Orioles and Rays got very hot. After last night’s loss at Camden Yards, New York is tied with Baltimore for first and only two games up on Tampa Bay. Fans and Yankees-aligned bloggers understandably are getting antsy.

According to Cool Standings, things aren’t that much different today than they were at the beginning of August. On August 1, Cool Standings gave the Yankees about a 92 percent chance of making the playoffs. Today, Cool Standings puts the Yankees chances of making the playoffs at “only” 79 percent. This is not to dismiss the incentive to win the division rather than get stuck in the new one-game wild card playoff – it’s to point out that the Yankees are quite unlikely to miss the playoffs.

This has not dissuaded some from taking the Yankees’ faltering hold on the division as an opportunity to severely criticize the teams’ moves of recent years, and see this as the bill coming due for expensive contracts for aging players. However, how much criticism is warranted of a team that is simply paying for services rendered?

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Fogging the Measure: Joe Mauer and the Helton Plan

Posted by Matt Klaassen under Fogging The Measure, Joe Mauer on Aug 30, 2012

So, yeah, Joe “Hometown Discount” Mauer did not get claimed off of the waiver wire. Shocker. Mauer is having a nice season after a miserable 2011. A .312/.405/.431 (134 wRC+) line is excellent for a catcher. It is very good for a player at any position. Unfortunately, Mauer is only about a half-time catcher these days, splitting time at first base and designated hitter. Combined with the money left on his contract (after this season, $138 million through 2018), he simply does not offer attractive value.

The Twins are awful this year, and as they rebuild, one of the many obstacles they face is the Mauer contract. It is a problem, but is in insurmountable? Not necessarily. The path of Todd Helton and the Colorado Rockies offers a (somewhat) reassuring reminder that these things can be worked around.

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