MisterCellaneous: April 2009

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Interesting things I found on Baseball-reference.com

Did you know that, according to the similarity score method, the most similar player in baseball history to Trais Hafner is ... Mark Teixeira? Hafner's on-base percentage is higher, but Teixiera's batting average and slugging percentage are better.
I'd have never guessed it, but here's the page that will show you the result.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Is the fat lady warming up?

So the Indians are 0-5 to start the season. What does this mean?
I wish I could find some stat that told me the records of all team that started a season 0-5. I'd guess their final records weren't very good.
That said, it's isn't time to panic yet. The Tribe could win six of seven games, be back at .500 and nobody would complain.
To do that, they have to do two things: 1. Pitch better, and 2. Hit more consistently.
I am encouraged by the way Victor Martinez and Travis Hafner have been hitting. But, that's not enough to win consistently.
I really think this team has a chance to be very, very good. They are talented and deep. Even their weakest spot, the starting rotation has a lot of possibilities to turn to if their pitchers start to fail.
I guess we'll see.

Bob Feller should be in the “Prime 9”

I was up late last night, and I was watching the MLB Network. The show “Prime 9” was on, highlighting the nine greatest seasons by pitchers. Since it was something like 1:30 a.m. and I didn’t take notes, I can’t remember exactly how the list went.
However, do know I’d make some changes.
The most glaring omissions were Bob Feller’s 1946 season and Nolan Ryan’s 1973 season.
1946 was the first full year Feller pitched in the majors after missing four seasons serving in the Navy during World War II. He was 26-15 with 36 complete games, 10 shutouts and four saves. He set a record that year with 348 strikeouts in 371 innings. Oh yeah, Feller also threw a no-hitter that year.
For his effort, he finished sixth in the MVP voting (This was in the days before the Cy Young award was awarded.).
In 1973, Ryan broke Feller’s record with 383 strikeouts in 326 innings. In addition, he threw not one, but two no-hitters. Ryan's record was 21-16 with four shutouts. He finished second in the Cy Young voting.
Simply put, I can’t understand why they failed to include these two seasons in which pitchers set new records for strikeouts, perhaps the best way to measure pitching dominance. In addition to the strikeouts, they also threw no-hitters. How "Prime 9" could have left those years off the list is beyond me.
The primary argument against Feller was that he walked too many hitters. During his historic season, he walked a league-leading 153 batters. But, his ratio of strikeouts to walks was better than 2-1. His walks to innings pitched ratio wasn’t that bad either, considering he pitched 371 innings, almost double the total considered outstanding by today’s pitchers.
Ryan, likewise, suffers because of his walks. He led the league with 162, but, like Feller, his ratios were good.
Also, you could argue Ryan only won 21 games that year and lost 16. Not a bad record, but hardly dominant. This is something experts say about his whole career: Lots of Ks, but not enough Ws. However, consider the team as a whole was 79-83, well below .500. Ryan was pitching for a team that was, at best, mediocre and still won 21 games. I’d say that’s an accomplishment.
To make room for Feller and Ryan, the seasons I’d consider removing from the "Prime 9" list include: Greg Maddux in 1995, Perdo Martinez in 2000 and Dwight Gooden in 1985. All three were dominant performances, but none of them set a record. None threw a no-hitter. They were all great efforts, but I'd say none matched Feller's 1946 and Ryan's 1973.
Forced to pick between those three seasons, I’d be inclined to led Maddux stand, and drop the other two. Maddux had a lower ERA (1.63 vs. 1.74) and more wins (19 vs. 18), and fewer walks (23, vs. Perdo’s 32.).
I’d strike Gooden because he had a great year, but you could find lots of other similar seasons, such as Roger Clemens in 1986.
How would I rank my "Prime 9?" I am not entirely sure, mainly because I didn't keep close track of which years they picked for some of the old-time pitchers.
I’d definitely start with their ninth-place season as number one: Steve Carlton in 1972. Carlton won 27 games, which was almost half of his team’s total. To win that many games on a team that bad was probably the best season anyone ever had.
Second, I'd put Sandy Koufax in 1966 when he was just way better than anyone else. He was in the middle of MLB Network's list.
Third would probably be Feller’s 1946 season, and so on.
I’d put Ryan’s 1973 season at sixth or seventh, for what it’s worth. I'd probably make Maddux's 1995 ninth.
If I can find the original list, I’ll make a new entry with my suggestions for a complete “Prime 9.”

MySpace DHP again

I have not linked to these in a while. There are now a couple of trade paperback collecting the comics from DHP online. They collect the best of the online material. I'd recommend them, but then again, you can just go to the site and read all 21 issues online for free. Take your pick, I guess.