Jose Veras and 2-0 and 2-1 Pitches Are Most Important

Think the first pitch is the most important? Or maybe that 1-1 pitch? Nope. According to my research, the most important pitches are the 2-0 and 2-1 pitch. I looked at the data based on the count for every game played in 2009 through last Thursday, May 28th (found here in this Google Docs Spreadsheet).

The most amazing part of the research was the idea of first pitch strikes. As a pitcher, you're actually better off throwing a ball then laying one over and letting the batter put the ball in play. So the idea of just throwing strikes on the first pitch is an overrated one; throwing first pitch strikes is what you're looking to do as a pitcher. The subtle difference is you want to make sure that it's not just throwing a ball over to get a strike.

Now is where I need to harp on the idea that Jose Veras can't be on this team. The OPS against Jose Veras on the first pitch is just under 300 points greater than the league average. He walks a lot of guys, but when he doesn't, he lays over fastballs on the first pitch. The Yankees have a lot of arms in the minor leagues. Someone needs to understand how to pitch a little better than Jose Veras, no?