Derek Jeter on Thursday delighted those New York Yankees fans lucky enough — or well-heeled enough — to go to his final home game. First he smashed a near home run (it ended up being a double) in the opening frame. Then he finished his Yankee Stadium career in storybook fashion with a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the ninth:In the minds of most Yankees fans, it was classic Jeter — The Captain stepping up in the clutch, like he’s been doing for years.Then again, Jeter has also had the misfortune of playing his entire career during the sabermetric boom, which for the longest time denied the very existence of a true clutch hitter. Contrary to pinstriped dogma, Jeter couldn’t be something that didn’t exist.Sabermetricians have since softened on that stance, and further research has shown there are players with a demonstrable ability to improve their hitting when it matters most. (Of course, most of those players are guys you’d never expect, provided you’re not a huge Scott Spiezio fan.) Sabermetricians have also devised ever more inventive ways to measure what it means to hit in the clutch, chief among them being Win Probability Added (WPA) and its derivatives.WPA measures the change in win probability resulting from each plate appearance, putting a number on how much every play moved the needle toward a win in either team’s direction. Naturally, clutch situations will carry more WPA weight, because those moments produce the largest swings in win probability; there’s even a metric called Leverage Index that tracks how crucial a given situation is relative to the average plate appearance in Major League Baseball.(To give an example of WPA in action, Jeter’s final plate appearance at Yankee Stadium began with a 69 percent chance of New York winning. When the plate appearance ended, the Yankees had a 100 percent chance of a win — having, you know, won the ballgame. Therefore, Jeter earned 0.31 units of WPA with that single, making it the most impactful hit of the game for the Yankees.)If you add up all of those incremental pieces of win probability throughout the season, you’ll arrive at the total estimated number of wins a player added at the plate, giving a great deal of weight to when the player’s numbers were produced.That’s WPA.But there’s also a way to measure what a player’s WPA would be if we didn’t weigh clutch moments so much heavier than ordinary ones. To do that, sabermetricians have developed WPA/LI, which divides a batter’s WPA by the average Leverage Index of all his plate appearances, effectively producing a context-neutral version of WPA.Because any discrepancies between the two metrics are necessarily driven by contradictions in performance between big and routine moments, the difference between WPA and WPA/LI has been used to quantify clutch performance. And Jeter — despite his reputation, despite hits like Thursday night’s game-winner — hasn’t hit appreciably better or worse in pressure situations than in typical ones.As is the case with a few notable advanced metrics, the “Clutch” figures at Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs don’t match up exactly (here, probably because of slight differences in the sites’ win probability models). But both data sets tell similar stories. According to Baseball-Reference.com, there have been 1,077 players to have 1000-plus career games since 1940, and Jeter ranks 634th in Clutch — right ahead of Nate McLouth, Nick Swisher and Shane Victorino. FanGraphs’ Clutch data only goes back to 1974, but among the 1,663 qualifiers with 1,000 or more plate appearances since then, Jeter ranks 639th, slightly outpaced by Deion Sanders. Relative to the universe of MLB players past and present, Jeter’s Clutch differentials are only remarkable for how unremarkable they are.Maybe that’s the point. This particular statistical conception of clutch focuses narrowly on just one definition of the term — how much a player’s numbers improved or declined in big moments — but ignores the baseline level of performance from which each player was starting. Sanders was a relatively mediocre hitter who was relatively mediocre in the clutch as well. By contrast, Jeter was a fantastic hitter (and not just “for a shortstop”) for most of his career, regardless of the circumstance, so it means something that he performed to his usual high standards in clutch situations as well. That’s how you end up producing as many career WPA as a Hall of Famer like Ernie Banks, for instance.If anything is puzzling about Jeter’s relatively average crunch-time metrics, it’s not the contrast against his game-raising reputation as Captain Clutch — a good amount of which was myth-making hooey anyway. It’s that his style of play has traditionally been quite conducive to outperforming one’s baseline statistics during high-leverage at bats. Running a regression between FanGraphs’ version of Clutch and its various component stats, including walk rate, strikeout rate, isolated power and speed score, the two metrics most strongly associated with a player’s Clutch number are a lack of strikeouts and a lack of power. Jeter’s career K-rate was 2.9 percentage points below the MLB average, and his career isolated power was 25 points below the norm, so you’d think he’d have a leg up in the clutch. Not so, say the statistics.But his curtain call at Yankee Stadium demonstrated those traits perfectly. On Wednesday, my colleague Jonah Keri wrote extensively about Jeter’s signature inside-out swing, and his propensity for going to the opposite field. About how Jeter perfected the art of going the other way through hours of practice, gaining the consistency required to shoot the ball precisely into the gap between the first and second basemen. It was fitting, then, that his walk-off single showcased all of that. Jeter the “technician” produced hits like Thursday night’s farewell stroke in clutch and non-clutch moments alike.
It’s Black Monday — the day after the NFL’s regular season concludes — when 20 to 25 percent of teams (usually of the non-playoff-bound variety) have historically begun their offseason by firing (or otherwise parting ways with) their head coaches. This year, the New York Jets have fired Rex Ryan, Mike Smith is out in Atlanta and Jim Harbaugh left the San Francisco 49ers in a mutual split. Further changes may be coming.Teams don’t take these coaching changes lightly, but for all the focus on the coaching carousel, it’s been difficult for researchers to figure out how much who’s wearing the headset matters.Teams that change coaches have a strong tendency to improve the following season, which could be taken as prima facie evidence that swapping in a new coach makes a profound difference. But it also could simply be the residue of regression to the mean. A poor record is generally required for a team to consider dismissing its coach, but much of the differences in NFL team records is due to luck and not the comparative skill levels of the teams themselves. When that luck evens out, the team appears to improve, even if its underlying skill didn’t change all that much.And this phenomena is essentially what the research on NFL coaching changes has found. Although the average team to change coaches since 1994 has seen its winning percentage improve from .383 to .428 the next season, that’s mostly regression to the mean at work. In fact, once we account for the teams’ previous Elo ratings and the inexorable pull that a .500 record exerts on NFL teams from year to year, there’s little evidence that changing coaches helps teams at all.The aforementioned sample of teams had an average Elo rating of 1437 at the end of the regular season with their old coach, which tends to translate to a .463 winning percentage the following year whether a team changes coaches or not. But the season after making the change, those teams averaged a .428 winning percentage — about 35 points lower than we’d have expected based on their previous Elo ratings. This may speak to broader institutional issues that are correlated with coaching changes but beyond the influence of the coach himself, such as dysfunctional ownership, a poor general manager or players who consistently win less than point-differential-based metrics would predict.These types of findings lend credence to the theory that NFL coaching changes offer franchises little more than the illusion of control over their future. While it may feel satisfying to fans and owners to fire a coach after a disappointing season, it’s tough to quantify the real benefits of such a move — if any even exist.
Yesterday TMZ got its hands on the mug shot of boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., taken moments after he turned himself into police to begin his 87-day jail sentence in Las Vegas stemming from a domestic dispute.Mayweather allegedly beat up the mother of his children while they stood by watching. While incarcerated, Mayweather initially will be kept out of general population to avoid conflicts with other inmates.He was sentenced to 90 days but received credit for three days already served.
Ohio State 11-18230%22% ▲ 216% Florida State 10-2138100%<1% ▲ 21<1% TeamCFPEloFPIConf. TitlePlayoffNat. Title Washington St. 8-42044530%<1% ▲ 21<1% Oklahoma 11-1331100%99% ▲ 3541% Notre Dame 10-26139—a<1% ▼ 21<1% We can think of the four playoff positions as belonging to the following teams: UCLA 8-42235210%<1% ▲ 21<1% Michigan St. 11-1541462%60% ▲ 138% Mississippi St. 8-42125220%<1% ▲ 21<1% Oklahoma looked impressive. Clemson and Alabama held their ground at the top. Iowa and Michigan State are now on a collision course. Stanford and North Carolina remain in the hunt, but don’t control their own fate. Ohio State lurks in the background.So ends the final weekend of regular-season college football. Now the conference championships will decide which four teams make the playoff. There were 13 teams in contention for a playoff spot going into this past weekend; coming out, only eight of them realistically have a shot now.Here are our updated projections following the Thanksgiving weekend games. (These numbers will change again on Tuesday night after the new committee rankings are released.) Utah 9-32337280%<1% ▲ 21<1% TCU 10-2191060%<1% ▲ 21<1% Alabama 11-121274%79% ▲ 1525% Toledo 9-22432480%<1% ▲ 21<1% Stanford 10-2961148%10% ▼ 6a2% Michigan 9-31021190%<1% ▼ 7a<1% Northwestern 10-21618560%<1% ▲ 21<1% Navy 9-21530440%<1% ▲ 21<1% RankingProbability of … Oklahoma St. 10-21119170%<1% ▼ 10<1% North Carolina 11-11491544%16% ▲ 6a2% Clemson 12-015756%74% ▲ 2113% Mississippi 9-3181150%<1% ▲ 21<1% Florida 10-212222326%<1% ▼ 12<1% Temple 10-225274947%<1% ▲ 21<1% Iowa 12-04122638%39% ▲ 8a3% Baylor 9-271740%<1% ▼ 21<1% College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings as of Nov. 24. Playoff probability changes are since Nov. 25; only changes greater than 5 percentage points are shown. Oregon 9-3177250%<1% ▲ 21<1% Oklahoma. Oklahoma wrapped up its regular season by winning the Big 12 championship on Saturday night, after an 58-23 domination of Oklahoma State. The Sooners now must wait for the final committee rankings to be released on Dec. 6, but by our model’s estimation they are shoo-ins to make the playoff (99 percent).Iowa or Michigan State. The Big Ten title match between Iowa and Michigan State is a de facto play-in game: the winner is almost certainly getting in the playoff. Michigan State is a 64 percent favorite according to the Football Power Index (FPI), and if the one-loss Spartans do prevail, our model gives them a 96 percent shot at making the playoff. If instead the undefeated Hawkeyes win, they’re in the playoff in 98 percent of our simulations.Alabama or an open slot. Alabama won on Saturday and will face Florida for the SEC championship. The Tide’s playoff odds rose to 79 percent, while Florida’s fell to below 1 percent following an ugly loss to Florida State. That means even an upset of Alabama probably wouldn’t be enough to get the Gators in. Instead, a Florida win could open the door for Ohio State or Stanford (if Stanford wins the Pac-12 title game — only about a 50/50 proposition, according to FPI). Our model even thinks there’s an outside shot Alabama could get in despite a loss next weekend, although we doubt the committee will agree.Clemson, UNC or an open slot. Clemson’s an absolute lock if it beats UNC in the ACC championship. If it loses — and the matchup is competitive, according to FPI — what happens next is anyone’s guess. Should UNC beat the Tigers, those odds only rise to 37 percent, meaning there’s a chance the committee could opt for Ohio State or Stanford instead. It’s also theoretically possible the committee could choose Clemson ahead of UNC even if Clemson loses, deciding Clemson’s superior schedule outweighed its head-to-head loss.
Usually, it’s pretty easy to figure out why an NBA team got better. The Sixers, who were the NBA’s most-improved team this year, got Joel Embiid and an extra 18 wins compared to last season. Houston, 14 wins better, got MVP-level play out of James Harden, who’s been a perfect fit for new coach Mike D’Antoni’s pace-and-space offense.Then there’s Utah, a team that was 40-42 last year, yet has pieced together a fringe NBA title contender this season. The Jazz’s improvement isn’t as straightforward as the Rockets’ or Sixers’, though — they did it by tinkering with the margins of a roster that had missed the postseason for four consecutive years, and they’re capitalizing on their two young stars finally coming of age.Perhaps the best comparison for this Jazz team is the Indiana Pacers from three or four years ago: Rudy Gobert is the Jazz’s souped-up version of Roy Hibbert, the leader of a very stingy defense that forces a ton of midrange jumpers. Gordon Hayward is the analog to Paul George, a talented wing player who can score over just about anyone. And Utah’s George Hill is … George Hill, who joined the team in July following an offseason trade and is now the conductor of a Pacers-like slow-paced offense. And even that lofty comparison to the two-time Eastern Conference finalists may be selling this club short; the Jazz shoot and pass the ball better and far more than Indiana ever did.Much of Utah’s jump stems from two key trades that bolstered each of those areas. The first deal landed Hill, a respected veteran point guard1In exchange for the No. 12 pick, Taurean Prince, in a three-team deal, and the other yielded skilled forward Boris Diaw2Diaw cost the Jazz Olivier Hanlan, the 42nd pick in 2015, and a 2022 second-rounder.. Both players, who once played for San Antonio, have helped the Jazz become a rare team that has been able to replicate the Spurs’ style. Watch the Jazz for long enough, and you can see San Antonio’s influences baked into some of Utah’s offensive plays and sets; particularly when Diaw is on the floor3The Jazz threw more passes than any other team during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The Spurs ranked third and fifth, respectively..Video Playerhttps://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/spursaction.mp400:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.Video Playerhttps://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/utahspurs-likeaction.mp400:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.The team’s transactions weren’t the sexiest, which is reflected by the NBA’s national TV ratings, in which the Jazz still rank near the bottom of the league. But as of now, those two moves — plus the Joe Johnson signing — look prescient. Hill, despite battling injuries all season, forced opponents to guard the perimeter more honestly and logged a career-high scoring average. Diaw, Utah’s best passer despite playing power forward, finished with a team-high six assists in the Game One victory over the Clippers. And Johnson, who connected on 41 percent of his 3s during the regular season, had 21 points in the series opener, including the game-winning floater at the buzzer4There were a flurry of Twitter users who didn’t know Johnson played for the Jazz until they saw him hit the dramatic shot to win Game One.But the offseason moves alone wouldn’t have made the Jazz this formidable. Utah needed Hayward to take the next step. Among the most notable improvements that he has made: Hayward has grown considerably stronger, giving him the ability to be more aggressive and absorb more contact as he barrels toward the basket following curls and dribble handoffs. Aside from connecting on a blistering 69 percent of his shots at the rim this year — one of six wings to shoot that well on 200 shots or more — Hayward also managed to log a career-best 45 and-1 situations where he scored despite getting fouled. By contrast, he was blocked just 43 times all season. To put that into context, it’s pretty rare for wing players to finish with more and-1s than shots blocked in a given season; this year LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard were the only other wings to accomplish the feat5Among players with at least 30 and-1s.Video Playerhttps://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/hayward2.mp400:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.Video Playerhttps://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/haywardstrength.mp400:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.The other Jazz player who took the leap is also the reason the team’s die-hard fans can’t sleep at night: How injured is Gobert? It’s not clear how long he’ll be out with his knee hyperextension and bone bruise. The Jazz managed to squeak by without him on Saturday, but as Tuesday’s Game Two highlighted, the defense sans Gobert may be too porous to win this series6The Jazz have allowed the Clippers to shoot 79 percent from inside of five feet this series when using small-ball lineups, according to ESPN Stats & Information Group. That number shrinks to a more respectable 62 percent when Utah uses two traditional bigs on the court at once., let alone compete with Golden State, who will almost certainly be waiting for them in the conference semifinals.But should Utah get a healthy version of its best player back — and yes, Gobert’s incredible jump in offensive efficiency, paired with his stellar defense, makes him the club’s most-valuable player — the Jazz can make some noise. They owned the third-best defense in the association this year, behind San Antonio and Golden State, and excel at defensive rebounding and limiting team’s opportunities in transition. Playing the percentages, the defense surrenders the NBA’s lowest share of corner 3-point attempts, and the only true soft spot they possess on that end is by design: They rank near the top of the league in terms of how frequently they goad opponents into taking inefficient midrange jumpers.Yet their entire defensive scheme, which often calls for wings to switch assignments and aggressively crowd their opponents along the 3-point line, works to perfection because of Gobert’s incredible mobility and impact around the rim. Watch this regular-season sequence against Portland, for instance. Damian Lillard seemingly pulls the trigger on his shot a beat quicker than he normally would to avoid Gobert. Then Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu grabs an offensive rebound, but opts against going for the putback because of Gobert’s presence.Video Playerhttps://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/scaredofgobert.mp400:0000:0000:15Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.When teams are actually bold enough to bring the ball inside against him7Opponents take just 31 percent of their shot attempts at the restricted area with Gobert on the court, down from 36 percent when he’s on the bench., it frequently turns out to be a mistake.Video Playerhttps://fivethirtyeight.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/gobertswat.mp400:0000:0000:00Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.Gobert, who led the NBA in defensive win shares and blocks, held foes to 49 percent shooting from within six feet, 12.5 percentage points beneath their average and the best rate among centers8Among those who have played at least 50 games. Fellow Defensive Player of the Year candidate Draymond Green’s rim-protection stats were equally impressive, at 48 percent while holding players 13.2 points under their averages. But Green is considered a forward on NBA.com..As tense as this moment is for Jazz fans, the offseason may prove to be even more stressful. Hayward, 27, and Hill, 30, become unrestricted free agents at season’s end, leaving the small-market club — which has the league’s smallest payroll — with tough financial choices9The team also faces a tough decision on big man Derrick Favors, who’s getting a pretty high-profile audition with Gobert sidelined. as it seeks to build on its first 50-win season since the 2009-10 season with Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan.But those decisions can wait a bit. After all, winning — and doing it now, in this postseason, with this core group — is the strongest case a team like Utah can make to its pending free agents anyway.Check out our NBA playoff predictions.
Nearly a month removed from his withdrawal from the Players Championship, Tiger Woods and all the drama that surrounds him return to competition today at the Memorial Tournament.Maintaining the No. 1 spot atop the World Golf Rankings for the last five years, there is never a lack of public intrigue surrounding Tiger Woods.With his recent neck injury and issues with his personal life, however, the 14-time major champion has drawn even more headlines than usual in the last six months. It has been a rocky road for Woods dating back to his Nov. 27 car accident. From the admittance of his adulterous ways to his pending divorce, Tiger’s life off the course was a mess.Professionally, things started looking up for Woods following a strong showing at Augusta National in which he finished tied for fourth. Tiger’s moment of light was short lived. After missing the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship, Woods couldn’t even finish the following week at the Players Championship, withdrawing on the seventh hole during Sunday’s final round due to a sore neck. Resting and rehabbing his neck since the Players, Tiger is back at the Memorial trying to right the ship once again. “I think that life is moving forward … the last six months have been pretty tough, and I’m now starting to get into golf and starting to play golf again,” he said.Being the defending Memorial champion and having the most all-time wins of any player at Jack Nicklaus’ tournament, this week seems as good as any for Tiger to get back at it.“I’ve always had good memories here,” Woods said. “It’s nice to come back to a golf course when obviously I haven’t played a whole lot this year, but it’s nice to come back to a venue where I have played well.”While Muirfield has treated him well, it remains to be seen whether Woods’ game is back to the form that golf fans are accustomed to, especially considering his recent break-up with longtime swing coach Hank Haney.“I’ve hit the ball much better,” Woods said. “It’s just like anything, though. It’s great to hit it at home, but I need to bring it out here.” For the time being, Tiger is using video to analyze his own swing and says as of now he has no plans for hiring a new coach.Even with the recent neck injury and mediocre play of late, Tiger’s competitors know not to count him out this week.“Anytime Tiger is in the field, you know you are going to have to be on top of your game to win,” said 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover.For many, after playing just nine competitive rounds all season, simply making the cut would be a victory in and of itself, but for Tiger Woods nothing is out of the realm of possibilities. “I never like to assume what he can and can’t do because he proves us all wrong all the time,” said Aussie golfer Adam Scott. Woods will take to the course at 12:44 p.m. today to begin his first round of play alongside Steve Stricker and Jason Bohn.
Wide receiver Duron Carter, son of Ohio State legend Cris Carter, has left OSU and enrolled at a community college in Kansas, coach Jim Tressel confirmed Monday in a statement released by the OSU athletic department.Carter caught 13 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown in his freshman season, but was ruled academically ineligible for the Rose Bowl. He also sat out all of spring practices because of academic issues.BuckeyeSports.com first reported Carter’s withdrawal from OSU. According to the report, Carter enrolled at Coffeyville Community College. Division I athletes can transfer to a non-Division I school without losing a year of eligibility. An athlete transferring to another Division I school must sit out a year.Carter would still have three years of eligibility remaining should he transfer to another Division I school or back to OSU after a year at Coffeyville.Carter posted a message on his Twitter account Monday morning, saying: “yes, the rumors are true.”He posted Monday afternoon that he would ideally return to OSU after getting his academics back on track, saying: “yes i would love to go back to OSU! im a buckeye all the way!”Tressel also announced that defensive lineman Keith Wells will not be a part of the team in 2010. Wells saw limited action as a freshman in 2008, then redshirted last season.
After the offseason from hell, the Ohio State football team could enter a phase the program not seen in Columbus in a long time. Because of the recent dominance of OSU football over the last decade, these four words have been seemingly absent from the central Ohio vernacular: It’s a rebuilding year. Tuesday, quarterback Terrelle Pryor announced that he would not be returning to OSU for his senior season. Pryor had a 31-4 record as a starter at OSU, second most wins by a quarterback at OSU, behind Art Schlichter. Pryor passed for a career total of 6,177 yards, ran for 2,164 yards and was responsible for 74 touchdowns. That is 444 points of offense, driving away in a Nissan 350Z. Who is going to step up as Pryor’s replacement? Eventually it will be Braxton Miller, a true freshman from Huber Heights, Ohio. For now, Miller is an unrefined passer, a threat on the ground and 100 percent unproven. When Pryor announced his departure through his attorney on Tuesday, almost immediately, “Braxton Miller” was trending on Twitter in Columbus. It is evident that Buckeye fans are ready for the next chapter, but unfortunately for them, the storybook ending is a long way off. Miller was shaky at best in the jersey scrimmage that replaced the Spring Game this year, and got most of his production against the second-team defense. While he has the athletic ability to succeed, Miller has yet to take a snap in front of an opposing defense at the collegiate level. On top of being without Pryor, the 2011 squad will be without running back Dan Herron for the first five games of the season. Herron led the team in rushing in 2010 with 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns. The Scarlet and Gray will also be without DeVier Posey for the first five games of the 2011 season. Posey was the Buckeyes’ second-leading receiver, 100 yards behind team leader Dane Sanzenbacher, who had 948 receiving yards. OSU will also be without offensive lineman Mike Adams and defensive end Solomon Thomas for the first five games of the upcoming season. Linebacker Jordan Whiting earned a one-game suspension. In those five games, OSU will play at Miami (Fla.) and at home against Michigan State. These are two teams that could be difficult to beat without a productive offense. These deficiencies don’t even include a young squad that has to replace seven starters on the defensive side of the ball, two starters on the interior offensive line and the lack of experience at wide receiver. If that’s not enough to scream rebuilding year, what is? Former head coach Jim Tressel resigned from his position on Memorial Day, following conversations with athletic director Gene Smith. Tressel said it was “in the best interest of Ohio State” that he resign from his position. Tressel amassed a 106-22 record while at OSU. He went 9-1 against Michigan. He won a National Championship in 2002. And he is gone. OSU announced it would not be pursuing any other coaches until the conclusion of the 2011 season. The fate of the 2011 Buckeyes lies with interim head coach Luke Fickell. Fickell has never had a head-coaching job. Fickell is the team’s former assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and linebacker coach. No offense to Fickell, but with names like Urban Meyer, Bo Pelini, Jon Gruden and Mark Dantonio being thrown into the mix for 2012, his coaching experience is coming into question. The reality of the situation is that the Buckeyes are not a top-10 team. OSU is not going to breeze its way through the regular season. And in the first year the Big Ten has planned an official Big Ten Championship Game, OSU can count itself out of the Dec. 3 affair.
The Delta Routine has graced several stages with its rock ‘n’ roll, but the band isn’t so familiar with Columbus – and its about to change that this weekend. The Milwaukee-based group is scheduled to perform in Columbus 7 p.m. Sunday at Scarlet & Grey Café. Lead vocalist and guitarist Nick Amadeus said the band is looking forward to the Columbus tour stop and the fresh audience to come with it. He added the band has toured through parts of Ohio before but is excited to tour elsewhere in the state. “Cleveland was a little bit weird,” Amadeus said, laughing. “We wanted a change-up.” Amadeus also said The Delta Routine has drawn some of its influences from rock band Hero Jr., an Indianapolis-based band that is touring with The Delta Routine. Columbus-based band Up All Nights is also scheduled to perform with the groups at Scarlet & Grey Sunday. Comprised of Amadeus, keyboardist and vocalist Al Kraemer, guitarist and vocalist Victor Buell IV, bassist and vocalist Evan Paydon and drummer Kyle Ciske, The Delta Routine has had numerous lineup changes in members and instruments since its formation seven years ago. Amadeus said the band found some of its current members by chance at a fashion show. Another important part of the group though is its producer Mike Hoffman, who came across the band due to being a family friend of Amadeus. He’s been with the band from the group’s release of its self-titled debut album in 2007 up to its fourth and most recent release “Cigarettes and Caffeine Nightmares” Oct. 9. “Nick and the guys are very driven, inspired chaps. You know, the only kind I’ll work with,” Hoffman said in an email. “You gotta have rocket fuel in your veins if you’re gonna go anywhere. These guys are tanked up and ready to launch, always.” Referring to The Delta Routine’s music as rock ‘n’ roll with a bit of a pop element, Amadeus said he normally tries to take the lead on the songwriting aspect of albums by laying down some lyrics, then getting the main beat. He said, however, the band’s last album was a collaborative effort from the group. Brett Ruland, owner of Spoonful Records located at 116 E. Long St., said the rock scene is still very popular in Columbus and the turnout at The Delta Routine’s show should be pretty large. “That genre always sells well,” Ruland said. “Indie and rock are the bestsellers here.” Although Ruland said he has never heard of The Delta Routine, he said he’s open to listening to its music and getting himself and others in the rock ‘n’ roll scene familiar with it. Scarlet and Grey is located at 2203 N. High St. and will charge a $5 to $10 cover charge at the door for Sunday’s show.