Newbury College and Bridgewater State got together for a Division III baseball game this past Monday at Bridgewater’s home field.

The two teams combined for 58 runs.

The home team scored 57 of those runs.

Anthony DiClemente 0.0 IP (7 batters faced), 7  ER, ERA: Infinity
William Maddock 1.0 IP, 5 ER, ERA: 45.00
Jamison Torres 2.0 IP, 19 ER, ERA: 85.50
Homas Mathew 2.0 IP, 11  ER, ERA: 49.50
Brian Fish 1.0  IP, 2  ER, ERA: 18.00

Attendance was listed at 50 … they each received the gift of a run named after them.

(My thanks to buddy Richard Senzel for the heads-up on this one)

As part of ESPN’s Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit, Guy Lake (part of the "Talented Mr. Roto" team) advised on the draftability of certain players who were injured during 2006 (see below)

ESPN baseball injury update for 2007

One comment about the Astros’ Morgan Ensberg made me sit up and take notice (emphasis mine).

======================
"Ensberg suffered through a horrible year after injuring his shoulder
diving for a foul ball. Note that despite the injury Ensberg actually
improved his plate patience (101 walks) from 2005 (85) in 13 fewer games."

======================

Now, if you were battling a shoulder injury, wouldn’t you want to limit the number of pitches you actually swung at … be more selective as a way of protecting against tweaking the shoulder again? 

Ensberg’s walk rate actually started to skyrocket in 2005 (perhaps not-so-coincidentally, his first season of 500+ plate appearances),  His number of pitches per plate appearance took off then too, which also leads to his higher K rate:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year	PA	BB	BB%	K	K%	#P/PA
2003	441	48	11%	60	14%	3.70
2004	456	36	8%	46	10%	3.56
2005	624	85	14%	119	19%	3.94

Let’s look at 2006, before the shoulder injury on June 9, during his fight to play through it (6/10-7/9), and then his return from the inevitable DL stint and rehab (8/1-9/29).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	K	BA	OBP	SLG	BB%	K%
4/3-6/9	266	219	56	11	1	18	44	54	.256	.380	.562	17%	20%
6/10-7/9	83	57	9	3	0	1	24	16	.158	.422	.263	29%	19%
8/1-9/29	146	111	26	3	0	4	33	26	.234	.411	.369	23%	18%
tot	495	387	91	17	1	23	101	96	.235	.396	.463	20%	19%

I don’t have number of pitches per plate appearance for these three sections, but for the year, he saw an average of 4.23 pitches per PA.  Here are the rates by month:

April 4.27

May 4.18

June 4.28

July 4.14

Aug 4.11

Sept 4.46

Interestingly, he was at his MOST patient during September, when he was supposedly fully healed, and the Astros needed his bat in the race for the division.  He wasn’t swinging at more/bad pitches (his K rate being consistent throughout the year), he was just more selective.

(For comparison sake, of those with enough PAs for the batting title, only 7 players saw a higher average of pitches per PA, and they are the typical names of patience and OBP: Giambi, Nick Johnson, Frank Thomas, Abreu, Burrell, Youkilis and Thome.)

He started the season on a torrid homerun pace, and though his BA slipped, he improved on his 2005 BB rate.  The month in which he fought through the injury saw him walk roughly 3 out of every 10 PAs, a Bondsian rate.  Upon his return, his XBH power didn’t come back at anywhere near 100%, but his walk rate was still at a career high.

So … this may in fact be the growth in one aspect of Ensberg’s "skill set", but 2006′s BB rate needs to be seen in a certain perspective. 

We’ll see what the addition of Carlos Lee does for the continuance of this positive trend.

In the never-ending dissection of A-Rod’s "clutchness," here is yet another look.

I took the players who amassed a minimum of 500 PAs with 2 outs and runners in scoring position since the beginning of the 2000 season (44 names), and compared their average to all other situations.  I expressed the difference between the two averages not in terms of raw b.a. difference (.300 – .250 = .050), but in terms of one’s percentage of the others (.300/.250 =  +20%).  This allows for a fairer baseline comparison of who boosts their individual baseline performance in clutch situations.

Here are the results:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	ALL   OTHER			2 OUT /   RISP
Player	AB	H	BA	AB	H	BA	diff
Garret Anderson	3600	1049	.291	555	174	.314	7.8%
Manny Ramirez	3100	986	.318	444	148	.333	4.7%
Jeromy Burnitz	3065	750	.245	462	117	.253	3.4%
Derek Jeter	3811	1202	.315	442	141	.319	1.1%
Bobby Abreu	3639	1089	.299	384	116	.302	0.9%
Richie Sexson	3123	840	.269	428	116	.271	0.8%
Jeff Kent	3376	1022	.303	446	135	.303	0.1%
Torii Hunter	2983	807	.271	508	137	.270	-0.2%
Joe Randa	3026	851	.281	464	130	.280	-0.4%
Brian Giles	3486	1029	.295	396	116	.293	-0.7%
Bernie Williams	3165	914	.289	435	124	.285	-1.3%
Lance Berkman	3199	979	.306	395	119	.301	-1.6%
Vladimir Guerrero	3550	1170	.330	367	118	.322	-2.3%
Pat Burrell	3030	786	.259	497	125	.252	-2.9%
Vinny Castilla	2842	721	.254	464	114	.246	-3.0%
Craig Biggio	3557	955	.268	413	107	.259	-3.5%
Rafael Palmeiro	2789	757	.271	402	105	.261	-3.8%
Troy Glaus	2914	754	.259	410	101	.246	-4.9%
Miguel Tejada	3945	1179	.299	537	151	.281	-6.0%
Preston Wilson	2944	783	.266	462	115	.249	-6.4%
Adrian Beltre	3482	958	.275	470	121	.257	-6.6%
Rafael Furcal	3477	1003	.288	435	117	.269	-6.7%
Jimmy Rollins	3585	989	.276	412	106	.257	-6.8%
Carlos Delgado	3294	970	.294	427	117	.274	-7.0%
Scott Rolen	2900	842	.290	493	133	.270	-7.0%
Mike Lowell	3313	921	.278	506	129	.255	-8.3%
Carlos Lee	3586	1034	.288	492	130	.264	-8.4%
Alex Rodriguez	3745	1150	.307	450	126	.280	-8.8%
Magglio Ordonez	3051	955	.313	426	120	.282	-9.9%
Jim Thome	2908	818	.281	424	105	.248	-11.8%
Edgar Renteria	3502	1033	.295	491	126	.257	-12.9%
Steve Finley	3078	841	.273	437	104	.238	-12.9%
Orlando Cabrera	3535	969	.274	467	111	.238	-13.2%
David Bell	2913	762	.262	454	103	.227	-13.2%
Jorge Posada	2891	811	.281	478	115	.241	-14.1%
Shawn Green	3654	1041	.285	469	114	.243	-14.7%
Jeff Conine	2877	838	.291	429	106	.247	-15.2%
Eric Chavez	3374	939	.278	437	102	.233	-16.3%
Paul Konerko	3328	973	.292	496	120	.242	-17.2%
Johnny Damon	3913	1168	.298	455	110	.242	-18.9%
Andruw Jones	3589	993	.277	568	127	.224	-19.0%
Derrek Lee	3126	918	.294	406	94	.232	-21.0%
Jim Edmonds	2863	848	.296	400	93	.233	-21.3%
Jermaine Dye	3076	882	.287	433	97	.224	-21.9%

Garrett Anderson improves his batting average by about 8% in clutch situations, while Jermaine Dye may need a pinch-hitter in the clutch, losing nearly 22% off his "normal" BA.

A-Rod DOES lose a bit of his edge in these situations …. but he’s far from a slouch.

The greatest thing since sliced bread (for a sabermetrician)

Now you can search from 50 years worth of baseball boxscores for particular plays/linescores/events ….

Amazing!  … and WELL worth the $29.95 per year ….

Early this week, I mentioned how the Devil Rays were on the verge of becoming the first team in over 60 years to go .500 or better at home while playing .250 or worse on the road.
The set-up for the D-Rays run to infamy

Well, with their 6-3 loss today in Cleveland, they’ve managed to do it!
D-Rays run off the side of the road games

Congrats to the D-Rays!

Loyal readers may remember my June 2005 post regarding the history of large team home/road winning percentage disparities …

The last iteration of the home/road splitsville discussion

Well, with 6 games to go, your 2006 Tampa Bay Devil Rays have a shot at becoming the first team in over 60 years to play at least .500 ball at home while playing UNDER .250 ball on the road.

The others … (with home and road records respectively)

Team Year GM W L Win%      Team Year GM W L Win% diff.
PHA    1945 77 39 35 .527       PHA 1945 76 13 63 .171 .356
BLA   1902 64 32 30 .516        BLA 1902 77 18 57 .240 .276

Tampa has finished its home games for the year, going 41-40 (.506).  They currently sit at 19-56 (.253) on the road, with 3 games in Boston and 3 in Cleveland to end the season.  If they can lose 5 of those 6 games, they will finish 20-61 (.247) on the road.

The stats geek in me is rooting for 5 losses …

With tonight’s 10-8 loss to Milwaukee, the Giants have now given up a remarkable 113 runs over their past 12 games, while scoring 73.  (They’ve actually been able to win 3 of those games, including a shutout).  When is the last time a team has given up that many runs over a 12-game stretch? 

Tm   StartDate      EndDate      Games    W-L   RS     RA

—+—–+———–+———–+———–+———————–
CHC 1999-06-20  1999-07-03    66-77     4-8     81    130

(The pre-humidor Rockies gave up at least 113 runs over a 12-game stretch on numerous occasions, but the Cubs allowed the MOST runs over a 12-game stretch in recent history.  Three of those 12 Cub games DID take place at Coors.  The Giants played 3 of their games at Coors during their current streak.)

Now, if you exclude ANY games involving Coors Field, you have to go all the way back to 1977 to find a worse 12-game stretch for runs allowed ….

Tm    StartDate     EndDate       Games    W-L    RS   RA
—+—–+———–+———–+———–+———————-
ATL 1977-04-24   1977-05-07    15-26     0-12    37  114

Spot them 7 runs, make 6 errors … and STILL win.

The Chicago Cubs did something last night that had only been done 22 times previously in modern Major League history … win a game in which they committed at least six errors.

Here are the prior occurences, thanks to Retrosheet:
Download 6errorwins.xls

and yes … this means that no team has EVER won a game in which they committed MORE than seven errors.

The Phils’ Ryan Howard now has 52 homers, and .300+ average while having struck out 153 times.  That’s a pretty rare "triple crown" …

Here are the players who have struck out at least 153 times while hitting at least .300 in a season, (regardless of the # of homers):

Player                   YEAR SO AVG

Bobby Bonds          1970 189 .302

Sammy Sosa          1998 171 .308

Sammy Sosa          2000 168 .320

Andres Galarraga  1996 157 .304

Alfonso Soriano       2002 157 .300

Mo Vaughn             1996 154 .326

Mo Vaughn             1997 154 .315

Andres Galarraga   1988 153 .302

Sammy Sosa          2001 153 .328

… and here are the players to hit at least 52 homers while batting at least .300 in a season (regardless of the # of Ks):

Player                    YEAR     HR       AVG   

Barry Bonds            2001       73     .328   

Sammy Sosa           1998       66     .308   

Sammy Sosa           2001       64     .328   

Babe Ruth               1927       60     .356   

Babe Ruth               1921       59     .378
Jimmie Foxx           1932       58     .364
Hank Greenberg      1938       58     .315
Luis Gonzalez          2001       57     .325
Alex Rodriguez        2002       57     .300
Hack Wilson            1930       56     .356
Ken Griffey Jr.        1997       56     .304
Mickey Mantle         1961       54     .317
Babe Ruth               1928       54     .323
Babe Ruth               1920       54     .376
Ralph Kiner             1949       54     .310
Alex Rodriguez        2001       52     .318
Willie Mays             1965       52     .317
Mark McGwire         1996       52     .312
George Foster         1977       52     .320
Mickey Mantle         1956       52     .353
Jim Thome             2002       52     .304

   

… so finally, here are the players who have hit at least 52 homers, with a .300+ average while K’ing at least 153 times

Player                        YEAR     HR       AVG      SO
Sammy Sosa               1998       66     .308      171
Sammy Sosa               2001       64     .328      153   

The Yankees’ Chien-Ming Wang got his 16th win this week, and with it has put his name into the outskirts of the AL Cy Young race.

He’s done this despite K’ing less than 3 per 9 innings (62 Ks in 187 IP).

Wang’s stats

Here are the 10 most-recent pitchers who have won at least 16 games in a year while striking out less than 3 per 9 innings.

Name                YEAR W K/9

Jeff Ballard       1989 18 2.59

Andy Hawkins    1985 18 2.72

Scott McGregor 1983 18 2.98

Mike Caldwell    1982 17 2.62

Tommy John     1980 22 2.65

Bill Lee             1979 16 2.39

Bob Stanley       1979 16 2.33

Ross Grimsley    1978 20 2.87

Paul Splittorff    1978 19 2.61

Lary Sorensen    1978 18 2.50