Monday, May 04, 2009
Better Late Than Never
The dose of soggy mid-spring weather has put a pall over things, canceling baseball games left and right in the eastern part of the country and halting any momentum toward summer. Much has transpired over the past few days.
The Boston Celtics-Chicago Bulls series, of which I'd spent many a word on in this space, came to an anti-climactic end Saturday night. The weekend went by fast, to say the least, and after a sizable dose of yard work, I found myself dozing on the couch, on-and-off for a better part of the late Sunday afternoon. Although I watched a few innings of the Sox-Rays game, baseball was on the back burner.
The weather report was dreadful tonight for the Bronx, with a steady rain forecasted until after midnight. And although it looks as if they're playing in perpetual drizzle, the Sox and Yankees are at it again. They started close to 9:30 EST, guaranteeing that I'll be nodding out no later than the 6th inning. For now, the Sox hold a 2-0 lead putting together single runs on the board in the first two frames off an erratic Phil Hughes. Lester's on his game, with five of his six outs coming on K's.
On Thursday and Friday, I went over some of the team stats as of the morning of May 1. My initial goal was to do a stats "round-up" after the completion of each month. I don't know if I'll be able to meet that meager goal, and I feel a little silly posting stats that are now four days old, but I've done the work . . . so . . . I'm going to post it. These are just general team stats, nothing flashy, intended to provide a general barometer of where various teams stood heading into the second month of the season.
Perusing the Stats v. 1
April 2009 Round-up
American League Offense
Runs Scored
142 Toronto
128 New York
126 Boston
123 Texas
117 Cleveland
Runs Scored - Bottom 5
79 Oakland
93 Minnesota
93 Seattle
97 Chicago
97 Kansas City
Team OBP
.366 Toronto
.364 Boston
.362 New York
.358 Cleveland
.352 Baltimore
Team OBP - Bottom 5
.311 Seattle
.313 Oakland
.328 Minnesota
.329 Texas
.331 Kansas City
Team SLG
.497 Texas
.473 New York
.472 Toronto
.463 Boston
.448 Tampa
Team SLG - Bottom 5
.322 Oakland
.372 Seattle
.386 Minnesota
.413 Chicago
.416 Baltimore
OPS - RISP
.922 Boston
.881 Seattle
.872 Toronto
.860 Texas
.856 Detroit
OPS - RISP - Worst
.614 Oakland
.696 Minnesota
.711 Chicago
.724 Los Angeles/Anaheim
.731 Cleveland
American League Pitching & Defense
Runs Allowed - Top Five
82 Kansas City
82 Oakland
84 Seattle
98 Chicago
103 Tampa
Runs Allowed - Bottom Five
144 Baltimore
136 New York
129 Cleveland
127 Texas
116 Minnesota
ERA
3.47 Seattle
3.62 Kansas City
3.71 Oakland
4.29 Detroit
4.34 Toronto
ERA - Worst
5.81 Cleveland
5.79 New York
5.75 Baltimore
5.70 Texas
5.26 Minnesota
Missing Bats (K/9)
7.98 Kansas City
7.39 Boston
7.32 Toronto
7.11 New York
7.01 Baltimore
Better Have Glove Men Behind You (K/9)
5.51 Texas
5.58 Los Angeles
6.14 Minnesota
6.51 Oakland
6.57 Chicago
No Souvenirs Staffs (Home Runs Allowed)
13 Seattle
16 Chicago
16 Kansas City
18 Oakland
20 Los Angeles
Whiplash (HR Allowed)
40 Baltimore
33 Texas
30 Cleveland
28 New York
27 Toronto
Free Passes - Stingiest (BB Allowed)
62 Minnesota
69 Seattle
70 Baltimore
70 Los Angeles
72 Detroit
Free Passes Come Easy (BB Allowed)
94 Cleveland
93 Boston
88 Oakland
88 Toronto
87 Tampa
Defensive Efficiency (Baseball Prospectus)
Flashing the Glove
.711 Toronto
.707 Oakland
.705 Tampa
.703 Seattle
.700 Detroit
Iron Gloves and Slow Feet - Defensive Efficiency
.654 Baltimore
.663 Los Angeles
.671 Chicago
.672 Cleveland
.680 Boston
National League Offense
Runs Scored
133 St. Louis
131 Los Angeles
119 Philadelphia
112 Florida
108 Colorado
Runs Scored - Fewest
77 San Francisco
78 Houston
78 Cincinnati
84 Arizona
85 Atlanta
Team OBP
.381 Los Angeles
.369 St. Louis
.362 New York
.356 Washington
.349 Philadelphia
Team OBP - Worst
.308 Arizona
.315 Houston
.315 Cincinnati
.318 San Francisco
.329 Florida
Team SLG
.464 Philadelphia
.450 St. Louis
.445 Los Angeles
.444 Colorado
.432 Milwaukee
Team SLG - Worst
.371 Cincinnati
.381 Houston
.383 San Francisco
.396 Chicago
.394 Arizona
OPS - RISP
,917 Atlanta
.899 St. Louis
.895 Philadelphia
.827 Los Angeles
.826 Florida
OPS - RISP Worst
.649 Houston
.690 San Francisco
.682 Arizona
.690 Chicago
.698 Washington
National League Pitching/Defense
Runs Allowed
75 Pittsburgh
80 San Francisco
90 Atlanta
92 Houston
92 Cincinnati
Runs Allowed - Bottom Five
124 Washington
115 San Diego
112 Philadelphia
108 Colorado
105 Arizono & Florida
ERA
3.41 Pittsburgh
3.65 St. Louis
3.90 San Francisco
4.06 Atlanta
4.11 Cincinnati
ERA - Worst
5.63 Philadelphia
5.46 Colorado
5.15 Washington
4.90 San Diego
4.70 Chicago
Missing Bats (K/9)
8.71 Atlanta
8.58 Chicago
8.31 San Francisco
7.79 Philadelphia
7.60 Los Angeles
Better Have Some Glove Men Behind You (K/9)
5.46 Pittsburgh
5.94 Washington
6.40 Colorado
6.47 Houston
6.53 Cincinnati
No Souvenirs Staffs - Home Runs Allowed
10 Atlanta
15 St. Louis
16 Florida
16 Los Angeles
17 San Francisco
Whiplash - Home Runs Allowed
40 Philadelphia
27 Colorado
27 Chicago
26 Washington
24 Arizona
Free Passes - Stingiest (BB Allowed)
73 Arizona
74 Philadelphia
78 St. Louis
78 Atlanta
79 Houston
Free Passes Come Easy (BB Allowed)
89 Florida
88 Milwaukee
88 San Diego
87 Cincinnati
86 Pittsburgh
Defensive Efficiency (Baseball Prospectus)
.740 Pittsburgh
.715 Los Angeles
.710 Cincinnati
.710 Milwaukee
.698 New York
Iron Gloves & Slow Feet - Defensive Efficiency - Worst
.669 Colorado
.672 Atlanta
.680 San Diego
.681 Houston
.681 Washington
The dose of soggy mid-spring weather has put a pall over things, canceling baseball games left and right in the eastern part of the country and halting any momentum toward summer. Much has transpired over the past few days.
The Boston Celtics-Chicago Bulls series, of which I'd spent many a word on in this space, came to an anti-climactic end Saturday night. The weekend went by fast, to say the least, and after a sizable dose of yard work, I found myself dozing on the couch, on-and-off for a better part of the late Sunday afternoon. Although I watched a few innings of the Sox-Rays game, baseball was on the back burner.
The weather report was dreadful tonight for the Bronx, with a steady rain forecasted until after midnight. And although it looks as if they're playing in perpetual drizzle, the Sox and Yankees are at it again. They started close to 9:30 EST, guaranteeing that I'll be nodding out no later than the 6th inning. For now, the Sox hold a 2-0 lead putting together single runs on the board in the first two frames off an erratic Phil Hughes. Lester's on his game, with five of his six outs coming on K's.
On Thursday and Friday, I went over some of the team stats as of the morning of May 1. My initial goal was to do a stats "round-up" after the completion of each month. I don't know if I'll be able to meet that meager goal, and I feel a little silly posting stats that are now four days old, but I've done the work . . . so . . . I'm going to post it. These are just general team stats, nothing flashy, intended to provide a general barometer of where various teams stood heading into the second month of the season.
Perusing the Stats v. 1
April 2009 Round-up
American League Offense
Runs Scored
142 Toronto
128 New York
126 Boston
123 Texas
117 Cleveland
Runs Scored - Bottom 5
79 Oakland
93 Minnesota
93 Seattle
97 Chicago
97 Kansas City
Team OBP
.366 Toronto
.364 Boston
.362 New York
.358 Cleveland
.352 Baltimore
Team OBP - Bottom 5
.311 Seattle
.313 Oakland
.328 Minnesota
.329 Texas
.331 Kansas City
Team SLG
.497 Texas
.473 New York
.472 Toronto
.463 Boston
.448 Tampa
Team SLG - Bottom 5
.322 Oakland
.372 Seattle
.386 Minnesota
.413 Chicago
.416 Baltimore
OPS - RISP
.922 Boston
.881 Seattle
.872 Toronto
.860 Texas
.856 Detroit
OPS - RISP - Worst
.614 Oakland
.696 Minnesota
.711 Chicago
.724 Los Angeles/Anaheim
.731 Cleveland
American League Pitching & Defense
Runs Allowed - Top Five
82 Kansas City
82 Oakland
84 Seattle
98 Chicago
103 Tampa
Runs Allowed - Bottom Five
144 Baltimore
136 New York
129 Cleveland
127 Texas
116 Minnesota
ERA
3.47 Seattle
3.62 Kansas City
3.71 Oakland
4.29 Detroit
4.34 Toronto
ERA - Worst
5.81 Cleveland
5.79 New York
5.75 Baltimore
5.70 Texas
5.26 Minnesota
Missing Bats (K/9)
7.98 Kansas City
7.39 Boston
7.32 Toronto
7.11 New York
7.01 Baltimore
Better Have Glove Men Behind You (K/9)
5.51 Texas
5.58 Los Angeles
6.14 Minnesota
6.51 Oakland
6.57 Chicago
No Souvenirs Staffs (Home Runs Allowed)
13 Seattle
16 Chicago
16 Kansas City
18 Oakland
20 Los Angeles
Whiplash (HR Allowed)
40 Baltimore
33 Texas
30 Cleveland
28 New York
27 Toronto
Free Passes - Stingiest (BB Allowed)
62 Minnesota
69 Seattle
70 Baltimore
70 Los Angeles
72 Detroit
Free Passes Come Easy (BB Allowed)
94 Cleveland
93 Boston
88 Oakland
88 Toronto
87 Tampa
Defensive Efficiency (Baseball Prospectus)
Flashing the Glove
.711 Toronto
.707 Oakland
.705 Tampa
.703 Seattle
.700 Detroit
Iron Gloves and Slow Feet - Defensive Efficiency
.654 Baltimore
.663 Los Angeles
.671 Chicago
.672 Cleveland
.680 Boston
National League Offense
Runs Scored
133 St. Louis
131 Los Angeles
119 Philadelphia
112 Florida
108 Colorado
Runs Scored - Fewest
77 San Francisco
78 Houston
78 Cincinnati
84 Arizona
85 Atlanta
Team OBP
.381 Los Angeles
.369 St. Louis
.362 New York
.356 Washington
.349 Philadelphia
Team OBP - Worst
.308 Arizona
.315 Houston
.315 Cincinnati
.318 San Francisco
.329 Florida
Team SLG
.464 Philadelphia
.450 St. Louis
.445 Los Angeles
.444 Colorado
.432 Milwaukee
Team SLG - Worst
.371 Cincinnati
.381 Houston
.383 San Francisco
.396 Chicago
.394 Arizona
OPS - RISP
,917 Atlanta
.899 St. Louis
.895 Philadelphia
.827 Los Angeles
.826 Florida
OPS - RISP Worst
.649 Houston
.690 San Francisco
.682 Arizona
.690 Chicago
.698 Washington
National League Pitching/Defense
Runs Allowed
75 Pittsburgh
80 San Francisco
90 Atlanta
92 Houston
92 Cincinnati
Runs Allowed - Bottom Five
124 Washington
115 San Diego
112 Philadelphia
108 Colorado
105 Arizono & Florida
ERA
3.41 Pittsburgh
3.65 St. Louis
3.90 San Francisco
4.06 Atlanta
4.11 Cincinnati
ERA - Worst
5.63 Philadelphia
5.46 Colorado
5.15 Washington
4.90 San Diego
4.70 Chicago
Missing Bats (K/9)
8.71 Atlanta
8.58 Chicago
8.31 San Francisco
7.79 Philadelphia
7.60 Los Angeles
Better Have Some Glove Men Behind You (K/9)
5.46 Pittsburgh
5.94 Washington
6.40 Colorado
6.47 Houston
6.53 Cincinnati
No Souvenirs Staffs - Home Runs Allowed
10 Atlanta
15 St. Louis
16 Florida
16 Los Angeles
17 San Francisco
Whiplash - Home Runs Allowed
40 Philadelphia
27 Colorado
27 Chicago
26 Washington
24 Arizona
Free Passes - Stingiest (BB Allowed)
73 Arizona
74 Philadelphia
78 St. Louis
78 Atlanta
79 Houston
Free Passes Come Easy (BB Allowed)
89 Florida
88 Milwaukee
88 San Diego
87 Cincinnati
86 Pittsburgh
Defensive Efficiency (Baseball Prospectus)
.740 Pittsburgh
.715 Los Angeles
.710 Cincinnati
.710 Milwaukee
.698 New York
Iron Gloves & Slow Feet - Defensive Efficiency - Worst
.669 Colorado
.672 Atlanta
.680 San Diego
.681 Houston
.681 Washington
