A look at Bud Norris against lefty batters and one other take

Since joining the Orioles, Bud Norris has struggled when facing left-handed batters. The not so good news is that his stats against left-handed batters were only slightly better with Houston. Norris is 3-1 with a 5.53 ERA over six games and five starts with the Orioles since they acquired him July 31. The O's are 5-0 in his five starts and that is despite the fact he has allowed 11 runs in 10 1/3 innings over his last two starts. As an Oriole, Norris gives up an average of .277 vs. right-handed hitters but an average of .333 and OPS of 1.020 against lefty batters. In his last start, Friday against Oakland, A's lefty batters were 8-for-16 with a double and two homers off Norris. While with Houston he gave up an average of .306 and OPS of .860 against lefty batters. He allowed 10 of his 11 homers while with the Astros to left-handed batters and four of four he has allowed as an Oriole have come against lefty batters. Over his career, by the way, Norris does not have such pronounced splits. Lefties hit .271 and right-handed batters hit .252. None of this means Norris can't pitch well against Boston or get the job done against left-handed batters, but it is something worth watching tonight and the rest of the year. Did he really say that?: I get that the sabermatricians are not a fan of so-called "old school stats" like batting average, homers and RBIs, but did Brian Kenny really say that the Triple Crown just doesn't matter to younger fans who have embraced advanced stats? He did say words to that effect this afternoon on MLB Network. Miguel Cabrera is trying to win a second straight Triple Crown and Chris Davis and his homer total could keep him from that. It's OK if some of you embrace advanced stats and we all should never stop trying to learn about this great game and all of its statistics. But to diss the importance of the Triple Crown - something that has happened just 16 times since 1887 - to try and make a point is going way, way too far. Swing and a miss, Brian.