Thursday, April 23, 2009
3rd Quarter
What jumped out at me when looking quickly at the Reds's pitching/defensive numbers (T-6th in RA), is just how good the Pirates' numbers are. I knew the Pirates' staff has been pitching very well of late, and certainly noticed that they swept the heretofore scorching Marlins at PNC this week. What I didn't know is the Pirates have been the stingiest team in the league in terms of runs allowed. This the Pirates we're talking about here.
Their 50 RA are four better than the Dodgers. They lead the league in ERA at a nifty 3.07, buoyed by a league-best four shutouts. Sustainability? I don't know. They're whiffing batters at a less-than-pedestrian rate (their 77 Ks is the worst mark in the NL). They are, however, among the staunchiest of staffs in terms of allowing free passes, home runs and hits. In the latter category they're second in the league behind L.A. with only 115 hits allowed in these first 2+ weeks of the season. So with all these balls in play, either they have an excellent defense or they've been hit-lucky . . . or something somewhere in the middle. If that K-rate stays that low, it will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh's other numbers start coming back to Earth.
Pittsburgh's starters to date:
Pat Maholm -- 3-0, 2.03
Zach Duke -- 2-1, 2.95
Ross Ohlendorf -- 1-2, 3.00
Ian Snell -- 1-2, 4.24
Jeff Karstens -- 1-0, 3.60
Not exactly the 1970 Orioles, but they're hanging in there so far. And the sweep of the Marlins was impressive regardless; Florida had been flying coming into that series.
Celtics still up 20 here in the 3rd quarter.
What jumped out at me when looking quickly at the Reds's pitching/defensive numbers (T-6th in RA), is just how good the Pirates' numbers are. I knew the Pirates' staff has been pitching very well of late, and certainly noticed that they swept the heretofore scorching Marlins at PNC this week. What I didn't know is the Pirates have been the stingiest team in the league in terms of runs allowed. This the Pirates we're talking about here.
Their 50 RA are four better than the Dodgers. They lead the league in ERA at a nifty 3.07, buoyed by a league-best four shutouts. Sustainability? I don't know. They're whiffing batters at a less-than-pedestrian rate (their 77 Ks is the worst mark in the NL). They are, however, among the staunchiest of staffs in terms of allowing free passes, home runs and hits. In the latter category they're second in the league behind L.A. with only 115 hits allowed in these first 2+ weeks of the season. So with all these balls in play, either they have an excellent defense or they've been hit-lucky . . . or something somewhere in the middle. If that K-rate stays that low, it will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh's other numbers start coming back to Earth.
Pittsburgh's starters to date:
Pat Maholm -- 3-0, 2.03
Zach Duke -- 2-1, 2.95
Ross Ohlendorf -- 1-2, 3.00
Ian Snell -- 1-2, 4.24
Jeff Karstens -- 1-0, 3.60
Not exactly the 1970 Orioles, but they're hanging in there so far. And the sweep of the Marlins was impressive regardless; Florida had been flying coming into that series.
Celtics still up 20 here in the 3rd quarter.
