Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Who am I?

Since the start of 2010, I've gone 25-12 with a 2.79 ERA (143 ERA+) and 1.16 WHIP. Over my last 31 starts, I'm 13-5 with a 2.03 ERA (194 ERA+) and 1.06 WHIP.

Last year, I made seven starts in which I went at least 7 innings and gave up 3 or fewer runs (2 or fewer in five of them) and got either a loss or no decision.

I am:

(Hold to mirror) Oteuc ynnhoJ.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Jason Kipnis is what he was

Last year, Cleveland's Jason Kipnis got 150 PAs. He posted an .841 OPS and 132 OPS+. He scored 24 runs and had 7 HR, 19 RBI and 5 SB. He had 11 BB. His BABIP was .313.

This year, Kipnis has 152 PAs. He has an .838 OPS and 135 OPS+. He has 22 runs, 6 HR, 22 RBI and 6 SB. He has 13 BB. His BABIP is .305.

His WAR was 1.2 last year. It is 1.1 this year.

One area of improvement: He has reduced his strikeouts from 34 to 24.

Friday, May 11, 2012

A's for production

Brandon Inge is batting only .222, with a .293 OBP, in his nine games for Oakland, but the A's are getting some bang for their buck.

Inge has five extra-base knocks, including two grand slams, in his 41 plate appearances. He has 13 RBI, thanks to three 4-RBI games.

Monday, May 07, 2012

Max Scherzer makes me crazy

Chances are, Max Scherzer is either going to be really good, or really bad, whenever he takes the mound.

Looking at his Game Scores for this year, he has gone: 15 (really, really bad), 60 (really good), 48 (mediocre), 31 (really bad), 35 (really bad), 74 (really, really good).

Last year was much the same. He had an 81, two other starts above 70 and eight more at 60 or better. He also had six others of 55 to 59. So that's 17 of 33 starts in the really good to really, really good range.

He also had a 12 and two 13s. He had a 29 and three starts between 31 and 34. He also had four between 40 and 44. So that's 11 in the really bad to really, really bad range.

Justin Verlander last year -- realizing this is not a fair comparison -- had only six starts below 53, with his worst being 32.

David Price had only two starts worse than 37, with a low of 22. Jon Lester had six lower than 44, with only one lower than 25 (a 12). Mark Buehrle, who I don't think anyone would suggest has Scherzer's stuff, had seven below 43, with a low of 12.

Scherzer is maddening because when you watch him throw those really good games, you cannot understand why he has so much trouble in other ones. I thought he would harness this stuff and become an ace, but it might never happen.

Friday, May 04, 2012

Beastie Boys of summer

I'm not a Mets fan, but kudos to the Metropolitans for tonight's idea to honor Adam Yauch, better known as MCA, with all Beastie Boys walk-up music. Yauch passed away earlier today. Here is the lineup, from Anthony DiComo's MLB blog.

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Choking on a baker's dozen

It was an interesting night in MLB. In fact, something rather rare happened, and I'm not referring to the Zambrano-Zito matchup. And I'm also not talking about Jered Weaver's no-hitter.

No, this rarity happened in Atlanta, where the Braves rallied multiple times for a crazy 15-13 victory over the Phillies. With Roy Halladay as Philly's starter. Very weird.

"It was just a weird game all the way around," Braves catcher Brian McCann said on MLB.com. "Stuff you never see happened tonight. I've never been a part of a game quite like this before. Tonight was something that you never see."

Consider this, according to data on baseball-reference.com, since the start of the 2010 season there were 168 games in which a team scored 13 or more runs heading into last night. None of those teams lost. Going back to include 2009 and teams scoring 13 or more runs were 245-1.

I'm guessing no one would've seen this coming, especially with Doc on the mound. It was the 8th walk-off HR for Chipper Jones and his first since May 17, 2006. That one also came in the bottom of the 11th inning, a 3-run blast with Atlanta trailing by a run.

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Catching some Zs

Carlos Zambrano faces Barry Zito tonight in San Fran. They have faced each other previously, but it is rare for starting pitchers whose surnames begin with "Z" to square off.

From what I've pieced together, Zito also faced Victor Zambrano, and Carlos and Victor started against each another. The only other instance, according to an old Jayson Stark note, came in 1925 when Boston's Paul Zahniser and Washington's Tom Zachary met.