EXCERPT: Read the Rest at The Extrapolater  

Voodoo Sabermetrics reminds us that our love for the team includes our love of individual players. We usually have a favorite superstar hitter or pitcher or both. But what about those guys that you just… like? Maybe someone who pinch hits or steals a base now and then. Maybe an aging vet who is like an extra coach in the dugout. Rather than judge everyone by their stats, we’re going to use unique categories and scoring methods to check out baseball’s characters.

Our High Voodoo Council are:

Jack Cobra from 3manlift.com Neighbor Quotient and Scrappiness
Texas Gal from Ladies… Hottness and Behavior
Uncle Sunil from Hurricanes Are For Drinking Atomic Mass and Exposure
Gary Gnu from The GNUru Fantasy Sports Clutchness
Sooze from Babes Love Baseball Jollyness
TC from Mr. Thursday’s Curious Mechanism Appearance and Quotability
Extra P. from The Extrapolater Name Quality (including nicknames)

Today we’re looking at a pitcher with a very bright future ahead of him. If I were starting a pool on when he’d stop carrying Todd Jones’ golf bag and take the closer job for himself, I’d pick a date in the near future. In addition, his personality can go from fastball to off-speed at a moment’s notice.

Clutchness: How fitting we feature the man who takes the mound to the Jimi Hendrix song “Voodoo Child” in this week’s edition of Voodoo Sabermetrics. Joel Zumaya’s legendary fastball and rock star attitude are reminiscent of Voodoo Sabermetrics’ poster boy Pedro Cerrano’s teammate Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn- talk about Deja Voo Doo.

Although Zumaya has garnered much attention due to his +100 MPH heater, Zumaya’s reliability in the clutch is questionable. Much like Rick Vaughn (as well as former Cub Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams), Zumaya has been known to add a few grey hairs to Jim Leyland’s already silver locks. In 6 save opportunities, Zumaya was able to produce just 1 save. On top of that, Zumaya was sidelined during the 2006 American League Championship Series by a wrist injury while trying to emulate his idol Jimi Hendrix on the Play Station 2 game, “Guitar Hero”.

Despite that, opponents hit only .187 off Joel Zumaya. Even more impressive is the fact that opponents hit just .197 against him in the 7th inning or later with the batting team either ahead by one run, tied or with the potential tying run at least on deck. While Zumaya can’t be considered one of the Clutchiest relievers in the league, he is well on his way. The scary thing is he is only 22 years old!!

GNUru Clutchness Factor: 7.25

Read the Rest at The Extrapolater 

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