However, this same basic maneuver can also occur by simply pinch-hitting for the pitcher while on offense and then placing the pitcher in for whichever player makes the last out of the inning.  If the team takes the lead (and subsequently does not lose it), the just-substituted-for pitcher gets credited with the win.

The problem is this: if this scenario occurs before the 5th inning, the starting pitcher cannot get the win, so it'll almost certainly be the next guy who pitches that will get the win.  But given that a position player is the opne who was inserted for the pitcher, why wouldn't

Continue reading "More Thoughts on MLB Pitching Statistics"

Continue reading "What Weve Seen of the Chicago Cubs and Michelle Beadle"

It was the NATIONALS!!! Going into that four-game series, the Washington Nationals were 26-61.That's THIRTY-FIVE games UNDER .500. They're terrible. This is a team still trying to find what direction they're going in, just controversially changed managers, and their only All-Star (Ryan Zimmerman) has been slumping. Now, giving the Nats their due credit, I do believe they're going to be a good team eventually. They have some pieces in place and they will have Stephen Strasburg and possibly Bryce Harper up in the next few years. They are a team that has excellent patience at the plate and some solid young players (i.e. Zimmerman, Nyjer Morgan, Garrett Mock, John Lannan). But they're NINE games behind the Cleveland Indians, the team with the second worst record in baseball. 

Continue reading "Perfect Cubs transition Nationals to Phillies"

     I moved to Western Maryland a couple of weeks ago and this is part of my ongoing attempt to learn about the sports interests here.  Baseball-wise it’s the Pirates, Orioles, and Nationals, and I wanted to get into the one with the best current chance of a playoff push.  The Nats are obviously out and the Orioles are 14 games behind first in a ridiculously hard division, so that leaves the Pirates, a tantalizing Homer-pick at 9.5 behind in the absurdly mediocre NL Central.  On paper it looks possible that any team could take it, and I hoped that statistical analysis would show some obscure Pirates advantage that could take them over the top, but I just can’t find it.  I’m not saying that an X-factor doesn’t exist, just that anyone who claims there is one is obviously from Pittsburgh.  In fact, this team so cries for the use of the “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” comparison that I spent ten whole minutes looking up how I could work it in.  And here it is:  Mario Brega, who played Cpl. Wallace, the big cross-eyed prison guard in the film who beat up Tuco to get the name of the cemetery the money was buried in for Angel Eyes ,died 15 years ago this month.  So to honor his memory, here’s a breakdown of the Pirates in the spirit of that great film (I resisted using a corresponding pirate-based ranking system, i.e.; Avast Ye Maties, Walk the Plank, and Totally Somalian because even I have standards).

Continue reading "Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Break Analysis"

Also, I wonder what the rules are concerning rosters resuming suspended games.  What if the whole team was replaced in the interim?  That team would have a distinct advantage in bench players and pitchers available over the other team.  And what if Hanrahan had been traded to the Astros?  Could he have come into the game in the bottom half, given up the winning run, and earned both the win and the loss?  This one deserves some thought. 

Continue reading "Another Reason Why MLB Needs Team Pitching Statistics"

Everyone once in a while I hear a player say on TV that their division is the toughest in baseball.  I never really know who to believe because it seems to change every year.  Right now in 2009, I’m picking AL East as the toughest division in baseball.  Take a look:

AL East                  W           L              Games behind

Continue reading "Take a Look at the Standings"

In those seven innings, Zimmermann gave up only 5 hits, a run, a walk, and 6 strikeouts.  This guy is only 23 years old.  I’m impressed and plan on following up on this guy, I hope he keeps doing this well (just not against the Sox). 

Meanwhile, Red Sox pitching was just the opposite.  After Smoltz was taken out of the game, Bard came in for an inning and gave up 2 hits, 2 runs, and a walk.  I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Bard should go back down to AAA for a month or two.  I want to see him back in Boston in September, but right now I don’t think he’s ready.  Following Bard was Saito, who also gave up 2 runs and 2 hits, one of which was a homer.  But before any of this happened, Smoltz had gone 5 innings while allowing 7 hits, 5 runs, a walk, and striking out 5.   

Continue reading "Dont Worry About SmoltzYet"

Continue reading "Posadas shoulder holding up nicely for the Yankees"

Among the highlights:

I saw Evan Longoria hit home runs – his 15th and 16th - on back-to-back nights.  The first shot got the Rays on the board in the first inning on Tuesday en route to their 12-4 win over the Rockies, whose 11-game winning streak came to an end.

I watched Rays’ phenom David Price pitch against Aaron Cook, who in my opinion should have been the MVP of last year’s All-Star Game.  (People have a hard time voting for a player from the losing team, but Cook was more valuable to the N.L. than J.D. Drew was to the A.L.)  Price got knocked around for four runs in the second inning, but recovered to last seven innings while allowing five runs.  He was outpitched by Cook, however, who went seven innings and gave up just three runs.  Each surrendered two home runs, but the ones hit off Cook were both solo shots (including Longoria’s).  In addition to a solo homer, Price served up a three-run bomb.

Continue reading "Mile High Baseball"