While We’re Waiting… Kardiac Kyrie, Signing Day is Here and LaPorta’s Swing

While We’re Waiting serves as the early morning gathering of WFNY-esque information for your viewing pleasure. Have something you think we should see? Send it to our tips email at tips@waitingfornextyear.com.

Great breakdown of Kyrie’s game- “Many NBA guards never figure out how to convert shots in the lane at a high rate; Irving, who is listed generously at 6-foot-3, seems to have a knack for getting to the basket and scoring there. According to Hoopdata.com, Irving shoots 63 percent at the rim. This puts him in similar territory with Derrick Rose (62.9 percent), Tony Parker (62.4 percent), and John Wall (58.6 percent). In fact, Irving scores 1.292 points per possession near the rim, which puts him in the top 20 percent of all NBA players, according to Synergy Sports.” [Pruiti/Grantland]

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“LaPorta’s gains in hitting to the opposite field appear to reflect an improvement in his ability to hit breaking pitches (at least against RHP). As I noted last year, LaPorta sees very few fastballs. LaPorta was the only member of the 2011 Tribe to see less than 50% fastballs (49.2% according to fangraphs), and saw more sliders (22.5%) than anyone. The good news is that for the first time in his career he produced positive results (again based on fangraphs numbers) on both types of pitches. Changeups and curveballs were a different, and less encouraging, story. In summary, the good news is that LaPorta seems to have made some real adjustments last year that produced better results on at least some breaking pitches, giving him a better ability to utilize the whole field.

The bad news is these improvements still left LaPorta far short of being a good hitter.” [Let’s Go Tribe] Also, this on the Tribe’s newest.

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Signing day today. The carnage Urban Meyer is leaving in the Big Ten is impressive- “The Buckeyes’ class of 2012 now claims eight verbal commitments that also hold Michigan scholarship offers (this statistic still feels downgraded following Rich Rodriguez’ failed three-year quest to win the MAC, but it shouldn’t any longer). Counting Dunn, who was a soft verbal at best, Ohio State is a perfect 8-0 against Michigan in recruiting when it has a permanent staff in place. Hoke did all of his damage during the turmoil months against a phantom staff. He has been shut out since the new regime arrived. Meyer does not seem to give any damns about other coaching staffs’ head starts or verbal commitments. Another school that has a new coach with an inescapable narrative to overcome is Penn State, for whom Meyer has shown no mercy whatsoever.” [Ramzy/Eleven Warriors]

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Does a pitch actually have movement? Warning: science. [Nathan/Hardball Times]

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“I like Ramon Sessions just fine as a combo guard who, in limited minutes, can score on a team that occasionally lapses into severe offensive deficiency, but Boobie Gibson and Anthony Parker need to get healthy ASAP, because when Sessions is forced to shoulder too much responsibility, the results can be disastrous. I’ve noticed lately that he delivers some absolutely horrendous passes off of penetration. In the first quarter, he drove to the foul line, drew a double-team, then chucked a haphazard pass at an open Kyrie Irving, who had to gather the pass, re-balance himself, then missed a three that would have been uncontested had the pass been anywhere near his shooting pocket. He did something similar two possessions later, when he threw the ball over Varejao’s head as Andy was rolling toward the basket. Where Irving weaves through the defense and usually makes the correct decision, Sessions jumps in the air and either sprays a pass three feet to the left of a teammate or takes a contested jumper.” [McGowan/Cavs the Blog]