The son’s asleep, and I could be taking a nap or running, both things that would be good for my health. But love of one’s work is also good for your health, and I just realized how much I love breaking down a pitcher. Something about having a full set of pitches, each with their own ups and downs and interactions with the hitters, is very compelling. In Griffin’s case, I automatically just put him in the Big Ole Curveball section: big hump curveball, not great fastball, gives up the homers but has good control. It’s the Ted Lilly wing of baseball.

But, considering I hope to talk to him this year about his spike curve grip, it’s worth checking into his game again after a second strong year. Maybe he’s a little more than just a curveball.

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Since the end of the 2011 season, I have been a fan of Homer Bailey. After that year, I recapped his performance and finished with a command to readers to “go the extra dollar, as 2012 may finally be his year.” My crystal ball was obviously working, as 2012 was indeed Bailey’s breakout year, at least from a surface stats perspective. I then projected his first career sub-4.00 ERA and boldly predicted that he would outperform Ricky Romero.

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