Interesting Roger Clemens splits...
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by Kwitt11
Here are a couple interesting stats on Roger Clemens that I noticed a little while back...
First-pitch hitting: So far, batters are hitting .345 off Clemens on the first pitch. This could be easily chalked up to the small sample size (only 9 starts coming into today), except it's not a new thing with Clemens. From 2004-2006, batters hit .324 off Clemens, bettered only by their number on 2-0. Major league hitters overall hit best on 2-0, but they don't typically hit nearly that well on the first-pitch. I don't really have an explanation for this, but it's worth pointing out...
Lefty/Righty splits: This year, Clemens has actually been tougher on lefties than on righties, but in 2006 (over twice as many starts), righties OPSed a putrid .514 off Clemens, while lefties put up a respectable .690. This one I think I can explain - Clemens' off-speed stuff isn't great anymore, and he doesn't trust his breaking balls against lefties. This means he has to be mostly a two-pitch pitcher (fastball-split) against LHB, only mixing in the very occasional curve and slider (I remember Reyes took Clemens deep on a first-pitch curveball back in June), while he can throw three pitches (FB-split-slider) to righties.
