In The Lab: Two Ways of Looking at Astros Pitching

There is always more than one way to look at numbers and ultimately there are many more than two ways. However, we are going to look at Astros pitching by breaking it down month by month and comparing starters and relievers. We will start with the breakdown of starters versus relievers. This is one area where I am going to have to get on my soapbox.

I'm not a statistician by trade. I don't work for a professional sports team. I am not advising teams on what they can or should do with numbers. I am merely explaining some of the things they are probably talking about behind closed doors. Obviously, analytics themselves get a bad rap from some folks. I've heard them on shock jock radio, podcasts, on internet message boards, and in the comments on articles. Essentially, the supposition is that we are ruining the games themselves.