Race recap for Monday 9/26/11: The art of fiction is on life support
Posted by John Autin on September 27, 2011
-- Orioles 6, Red Sox 3: It's a 2-game season for Boston and Tampa. (Unless....) Chris Davis drove in the tying run in the 5th and the go-ahead with 2 out in the 6th, after which the #9 hitter Robert Andino -- a hero in 2 of Baltimore's 3 wins in Fenway last weekend -- hit a 3-run, inside-the-park HR. His straightaway drive sent Jacoby Ellsbury on a fly pattern all the way to the wall, where he briefly gloved it with an over-the-shoulder grab, but lost control on contact. Ellsbury lay dazed for a split second, but he flipped the ball to the nearby J.D. Drew, who made a strong relay to Dustin Pedroia. Andino steamed around 3rd and would have been out at the plate, but Pedroia's laser arrived on a short hop and skipped by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
- Josh Beckett allowed 6 runs in his 2nd straight start against Baltimore, this time with 11 baserunners in 6 IP; he's won once in 4 starts this month. BoSox SPs in September are 4-13, allowing 8.24 runs per 9 IP. Tuesday's starters are Erik Bedard (who did not seem fully recovered from injury in his last start) vs. Zach Britton, who's won 5 of his last 7 outings.
- Boston put 16 men on base, but went 2-10 with RISP -- 0-3 by Carl Crawford, who went 0 for 5. They got the tying run to the plate in the 9th, but Adrian Gonzalez flied out and Jed Lowrie (who hit a go-ahead HR in the 4th) went down swinging.
- Baltimore is on a 10-5 run, all against teams that are in the playoffs or fighting to get there. At 14-12, the O's are on the verge of their first winning month. But where were the fans tonight? The opener of the final homestand drew just 22,000. It's been a disappointing year, but the club has been playing its heart out for 2 weeks to put a hurt on their division rivals.
-- Rays 5, Yankees 2: Tampa overcame their mistakes and fought out of an early 2-0 hole, scoring 3 in the 3rd off Hector Noesi and adding 2 insurance runs against the Yanks' B staff. The Rays lost a run in the 1st when B.J. Upton declined to slide on a play at home (fine work by 1B Jorge Posada and C Russell Martin), and they botched a 1st-and-3rd double-steal attempt in the 3rd, with Posada doing it all; first he made quick work of a rundown tag, then fired a perfect off-balance throw to nail Evan Longoria at home.
But in between, Upton made amends with a tying 2-run double, and Johnny Damon fought off the slanty offerings of Raul Valdes and trickled a go-ahead single into RF, his 2,721st hit tying him with Lou Gehrig at #57 all-time.
- James Shields came within an out of his 12th CG, but he walked Eric Chavez on his 117th pitch and was lifted. He finished the regular season (we think) at 16-12, 2.82, with a franchise record 249.1 IP; he's just the 2nd Tampa pitcher ever to reach 16 wins.
- Desmond Jennings made a terrific running catch in the 5th, robbing Derek Jeter of a leadoff double with a sno-cone catch in left-center. He nearly made a better one racing the other way in the 4th, but the ball ticked off the end of his glove.
- New York played most of their regular lineup the whole game; Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher sat.
- Eduardo Nunez is now 5 for 11 with a HR against Shields, and he owns 2 of the 6 steals the RHP has allowed this year. But Shields got a little revenge by picking him off 1st base in the 7th, with 1 out and a 2-run gap. It was Shields's 14th pickoff this year, after 10 total in past years.
- Kelly Shoppach (solo HR off Valdes) has just 39 hits and a .181 BA, but 11 HRs. He began tonight with a career .530 SLG/.903 OPS against lefties, then notched another southpaw HR.
Meanwhile, in the senior circuit....
-- Astros 5, Cardinals 4: With a chance to tie for the wild-card lead, St. Louis tied the game with 2 in the top of the 8th, when Lance Berkman doubled after a double-steal by Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday. But with the lead run on 3rd and 1 out, Jon Jay popped out and Nick Punto grounded out on a close play (and a perfect example of why you don't slide into 1st base). They threatened again the 10th when Yadier Molina doubled with 1 away, his 4th time on base; but nothing good was in the Cards from that moment forward.
Molina tried to take 3rd on Ryan Theriot's grounder back to the mound, and Theriot was caught stealing to end the inning. In Houston's half, Octavio mishandled a bunt after a leadoff double, putting men on the corners for Angel Sanchez. The light-hitting infielder did the one thing he does very well at the plate, pushing a squeeze bunt to the right side of the mound, where Dotel's attempted scoop-and-flip failed as Brian Bogusevic slid across with the winning run.
- Rafael Furcal left the game with a tight hamstring.
- Pujols has been sitting on 98 RBI for the last 4 games. He's had at least 103 RBI in each of his 10 prior seasons.
- Jake Westbrook goes up against the rookie Henry Sosa Tuesday night.
-- Braves-Phillies: Atlanta scored 2 runs on 4 hits in the first 2 innings before their offense stalled again. Well, Cliff Lee can do that to any team. A Jimmy Rollins HR tied it in the 5th, and went ahead in the 6th when Shane Victorino tripled and scored on a single by Raul Ibanez off the freshly-summoned lefty Eric O'Flaherty. Ibanez was hitting .200 vs. LHPs, and O'Flaherty had a .188 mark vs. LHBs. Victorino and Ibanez teamed up for an insurance run in the 8th off Jonny Venters, another lefty, who had held LHBs to a .118 BA (9 for 76).
The Braves threatened in the last 2 frames, but Chipper Jones (who homered off Lee in the 1st) ended the 8th on a 4-6-3 DP with 2 aboard, and Ryan Madson earned the save by putting down the dangerous lefties Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann and Jason Heyward, each as the tying run.
- Despite an 0.99 ERA, O'Flaherty has let in 9 of 29 inherited runners.
- The Braves went 1-10 with RISP and fell to 9-16 this month, and 6-10 against the Phils this year.
- Lee finished at 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA (3rd), and career highs of 232.2 IP (3rd) and 248 Ks (2nd).
- Victorino's 16th triple tied him with Jose Reyes for the MLB lead.
- It won't get much easier for Atlanta in the last 2 games; they'll face Roy Oswalt (perhaps pitching for a spot in the NLDS rotation) and then Cole Hamels. Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson will go for the Braves.
Other notes:
-- Detroit 14, Cleveland 0: Remember that epic streak Justin Verlander had earlier this year? Not the wins streak, but that 7-game stretch in June-July in which he went 7+ IP on 1 ER or less each time? That tied him with 2 other pitchers for the longest such streak in the last 25 years. Well, his new teammate, Doug Fister, just tied it. And Fister's run has been perhaps more commanding than Verlander's.
With 8 scoreless IP tonight (3 hits, no walks, 9 Ks), Fister has allowed 4 ER (5 total) in his last 7 starts and 52.2 IP, with 28 hits, 4 walks and 50 Ks. Verlander's WHIP was 0.75 during his streak; Fister's WHIP is 0.61. He's now 8-1, 1.78 with Detroit (including a 3-IP, 0-ER relief win).
- Miguel Cabrera (3-5) extended his lead in the batting race to .343-.338 over Adrian Gonzalez (1-3, 2 walks). Not that Gonzalez is concerned with such things right now....
- 8 of Detroit's 9 starters had at least 2 hits, the 2nd time this month they've done that. They've only done it 15 other times since 1919. All 9 starters scored a run, a Detroit first in the last 3 years.
-- How close would you like your NL batting race? After a 3-for-4 night, Jose Reyes leads the resting Ryan Braun by a point, .334-.333 (or .33396 to .33273). Meanwhile, Matt Kemp hit his 38th HR in his 1st AB, a 3-run shot that propelled LA to their 81st win and broke a tie for the NL HR lead. Kemp leads in RBI by 8, but he went hitless the rest of the night and is at .324. The good and the bad of Jose were on view in his last AB: with a man aboard, 1 out and himself as the tying run, Reyes ripped a double down the RF line (breaking a virtual BA tie with Braun); running less than full speed all the way -- which I can't fault, given his tenuous hammy -- he inexplicably rounded 2nd base too far and was caught off by a relay throw behind him. It may have cost the Mets a tie, as the next man singled; they lost by 1 run and fell to 33-46 at home (43-38 away).
September 27th, 2011 at 1:21 am
Nobody has mentioned that Lee's less than perfect performance ensured Kershaw would win the first NL Triple Crown since 2007.
But then, for most of the people here, he is a non-entity.
I think a lot of people are going to be upset if Kershaw wins the Cy Young. He will be the most unknown Cy Young winner in recent history, and it is possible that he is having the fluke year like Gagne, but he deserves it.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:10 am
Oooop! Did Ellsbury just lose the MVP by dropping that ball?
September 27th, 2011 at 2:13 am
Does anyone else think the Red Sox collapse is directly related to John Lackey leaving his wife?
September 27th, 2011 at 2:13 am
Nobody has been banging the Devil Rays drum like I have all season!
September 27th, 2011 at 2:14 am
The Angels lost and are now eliminated.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:21 am
1- I don't think there's anything flukish about Clayton Kershaw.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:24 am
Maybe you missed Braun's pinch hit double tonight (to go along with a HBP)
He is 186-557 = .33393
Reyes, after going 3-4, is 177-530 = .33396
!!!
September 27th, 2011 at 2:29 am
•Miguel Cabrera (3-5) extended his lead in the batting race to .343-.338 over Adrian Gonzalez Actually, I think Mike Young is closer to Cabrera than Adrian? Maybe by a .00000001 points!
September 27th, 2011 at 2:31 am
Yes, I got out my pencil and paper and Micheal Young is second in the AL batting race to the Detroit Tiger that drinks grape soda now.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:33 am
Neither the Brewers nor the Mets have ever won a batting crown, the Brewers came closest in 1982 with Robin Yount. Going into the final day of the season Willie Wilson was hitting .332 and sat out (booooo) and Yount had to play with the Brewers season on the line. Yount was entering day at .328, and proceeded to go 3-4 with 2 HRs to finish at .331. Not sure how proud Wilson should feel about winning that.
Yount did ended up winning the MVP and the Brewers the pennant so hopefully those feats will be repeated (which would make the Brewers the only team to win both pennants)
September 27th, 2011 at 2:35 am
Young's Avg = 337.62057877
Gonzalez's Avg = 337.60000000
September 27th, 2011 at 2:38 am
With Ozzie Guillen in the news: Who did he beat out for the 1985 AL rookie of the year award? (Hint, I am a brewers fan)
September 27th, 2011 at 2:41 am
Hamel's would have to pitch on 3 days rest to start Wednesday. The rumor is that he is going to pitch 1-2 innings somewhere in the middle of the game in an attempt to vulture a win.
Oswalt has already wrapped up the 4th spot in the playoff rotation as Worley has already been moved to the bullpen.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:45 am
@12 Catcher
September 27th, 2011 at 2:46 am
@12 Not a catcher, but a Mexican!
September 27th, 2011 at 3:05 am
@12, that would be the 2nd best AL pitcher of 1986-88, I presume.
September 27th, 2011 at 3:06 am
Checking WAR, it's 2nd best in MLB, with a wide margin over anybody but Clemens.
September 27th, 2011 at 3:06 am
@1, Kershaw is hardly unknown anywhere, let alone here.
I certainly don't view him as a one-year wonder never to repeat this season. Ian Kennedy, however, probably never will.
September 27th, 2011 at 3:12 am
@17 Correct, Teddy Higuera. Without him the Brewers would join the Mets in another dubious have not club (along with no batting crowns), he threw the franchise's only no-hitter.
September 27th, 2011 at 3:30 am
Re: Kelly Shoppach and slugging
Shoppach is also the last player to record 5 XBHs in a game (2008). Only others to do this since 1919 are:
- Shawn Green (2002)
- Steve Garvey (1977)
- Willie Stargell (1970)
- Joe Adcock (1954)
- Lou Boudreau (1946)
September 27th, 2011 at 3:35 am
Isn't there a famous story about Lou Gehrig flying out to deep, deep center at like 450 ft in his 4 HR game? Usually a blast good enough for an XBH.
September 27th, 2011 at 3:52 am
Topper @ 12 The first name that came to my mind was Dale Sveum. But I see not only did he beat out Teddy but Ernest Riles, another Brewer, finished third.
September 27th, 2011 at 6:36 am
I think that John Autin covered Minnesota's demise, recently......but this is sorta on topic.
At the end of the day, on July 30, the Twins were 50-57. Despite scuffling all year, and needing, worse than anything, a major league level pitcher, they were only a mere 6 games behind Detroit (having put together a good run, to get to that point).
At this same point, Detroit was 56-51, and 1 1/2 games in front of Cleveland.
Then, I heard about the Fister trade. "It's over."
Since then, Detroit has went 36-16......and Minnesota, with their stellar corps of starting pitching, has went 11-42. So much for the nice new COSTLY stadium producing results.
Again, I'm tired of hearing about the "big market-small market" schism. When Minnesota was "small market" they would never made as boneheaded a move, as to trade a prime, ready for the majors, catching prospect for an (I'd say) average relief pitcher. Ramos's replacement would, save Adam Dunn, be the worst player in the AL this year. (although, I'm quite sure that Dunn would be more valuable, were he the catcher, and Butera the DH- sorry that I didn't crunch the numbers.)
Nor did the Twins front office get the job done this year. Yeah, NY, etc, they do have big advantages. But, then, there's Tampa Bay........whose payroll, I believe is a quarter of MN's this year??? And no one even gives a damn about them. Conversely, the Twins have done well, attendance wise, this year. And fans care. A lot.
On some level, your organization can either get it done, or they can't. If they can, and are hamstrung by money inequities, then I'm willing to listen. But if they can't........
September 27th, 2011 at 7:32 am
Nash you're a butthole, and boring.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:10 am
@John Autin: declined to slide, double-steal attempt , a close play.
Some odd base-running choices by Rays & Cards last night.
Thanks for the update.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:13 am
@24: Love ya, Timmy. What now, now that your boy Ozzie is gone??
September 27th, 2011 at 8:34 am
@Topper
If I'm correct (and I think I am), it was actually Juan Nieves who threw the Brew Crew's only no-hitter (1987), although Higuera was a far, far better pitcher. As a fellow Brewers fan, I applaud remembering Higuera. He's one of those guys who may one day be lost to history for all but Brewers fans, but he's probably the 2nd best pitcher in team history (I'd still probably take Sheets over him, but in my mind those two's accomplishments are greater than the Mike Caldwells and Pete Vuckovichs of the world).
September 27th, 2011 at 8:46 am
Did y'all notice that the attendance-in Tampa-for last night's Rays/Yankee game was an announced 18,772? I know, it's a lousy stadium and a bad location. But 18,772?
September 27th, 2011 at 8:53 am
Topper @19.
C'mon man, you got the easy one wrong. I will chalk it up to lack of sleep and posting at 3:12. It was Juan Nieves that threw the no-hitter for Milwaukee in 1987 during their 13-0 start.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:53 am
@27 Dang Doom, you beat me too it.
September 27th, 2011 at 9:29 am
@23 The Twins are not small market. They drew 3 million fans at Target Field and had the 5th highest payroll. I really hope they do not lose 100 games. If you took the 3 million in attendance and muliplied it by $50 a ticket spent at the game (ticket price plus concessions) that's $150 million, easily covering payroll. They also get tv money from FSN and merchandising revenue for jerseys, hats, etc. - and not just from the Pro Shop - you have to include stores like Target, Walmart, and others. There is absolutely no way you can sell the Twins as small market in the 9th largest metropolis in the U.S.
September 27th, 2011 at 9:40 am
I love it that a slide into first base could cost the Cards the playoffs.
September 27th, 2011 at 9:46 am
Look up, Jeremy, I think there's something flying over your head.
September 27th, 2011 at 9:56 am
"Desmond Jennings made a terrific running catch in the 5th, robbing Derek Jeter of a leadoff double with a sno-cone catch in left-center. "
That catch may have cost Jeter a chance at .300 this season as he finished the game 0-3 instead of 1-3 dropping his season avg 2 points to .298.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:02 am
@31, It's not as simple as saying $50/ticket and 3M attendance equals $150M the Twins have to spend on payroll. They must pay taxes on all of that revenue. They also have other expenses well beyond the payroll. I'm not suggesting you're wrong that the Twins aren't a small market team, just that it's not as simple as counting attendance and assigning a random dollar amount per ticket.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:14 am
@7, Topper -- I realized as soon as I shut my computer that I hadn't checked back for the final Brewers box. And, sure enough....
September 27th, 2011 at 10:23 am
Kershaw unknown, a non-entity? Good lord.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:25 am
@13, Travis -- I realize now that Hamels won't start Wednesday. But I was just repeating the scheduled starters as listed on ESPN last night.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:27 am
I know this blog has been mentioned as being to pro-Phillies in the past, but come on! They get to 100 wins for only the 3rd time in ~140 years! Also a chance to tie and possibly win the most in franchise history.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:29 am
@18, RobMer -- It's unlikely that Kennedy (or any specific pitcher) will ever win 21 games again. But I see nothing flukish in his season except the W%. He's very good, and always has been so, except when hurt.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:30 am
@39, Jimbo -- I reported many times in recent weeks on Philly's chance of setting a franchise wins record. Then they went and lost 8 straight the moment they clinched. Since they had no apparent interest in the record, I lost interest, too.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:39 am
@28, Mike L -- I noticed the Rays' attendance this morning. I wish it were shocking; it sure is disappointing. I'm wondering who might show up for the possible playoff game with Boston on Thursday.
I will say, from watching the Yankee broadcast, that the Rays fans who did show up last night made some noise for their boys.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:43 am
@24 -- Does Timmy need a time-out?
September 27th, 2011 at 10:45 am
If Cabrera wins the batting title and with his overall numbers, could he possibly steal the MVP award now? The guy has been on fire in September.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:51 am
In regards to attendance for the Tampa Bay Rays...
Bad Stadium
Bad Location
Event Town
Everyone is from elsewhere, No multi-generational family
tradition for a team.
There really is alot to do
My perspective is having lived in South Florida for 31 years.
It is the same here with our teams. Look at the Dolphins attendance.
They may not sell out another home game this year, except against
the Jets.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:52 am
The Phillies finally earned their 100th win of the season. Which means this year Hunter Pence has played for both a 100-win team AND a 100-loss team. Has this ever happened before?
September 27th, 2011 at 11:17 am
After last night's BAL/BOS game, Robert Andino has 941 career plate apperances without a triple. He does, after last night's game, have an inside the park homer.
Is there a way to check how many players have an inside-the-parker without having hit a triple?
September 27th, 2011 at 11:18 am
@45-
Jason, everything you said is 100% accurate. I have been down to Fla for the Dolphins/Jets games and visited the Rays stadium in May this year. I liked the fact that parking was only $5 (compared to $35 for Yankee Stadium). However, the town itself is not great, although there are bars within walking distance of the stadium that did have some nice talent at them. The initial Rays ownership made a real bad deal there and have to find a way out of it.
September 27th, 2011 at 11:41 am
From what I saw Andino should have had a triple last night. The ball beat him by several steps and the catcher misplayed it. Could or should have been a triple and an error IMO.
September 27th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
@46 - Eddie Murray played for the '79/'80 O's who won 102/100 respectively, and then the infamous '88 O's who lost 107.
September 27th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
Some notes:
1. Is anyone else encouraged that Cabriael's post #1 makes no mention (scathing or otherwise) of umpires?
2. Johnny Damon fought off the slanty offerings of Raul Valdes and trickled a go-ahead single into RF
John, the English language called, confused. It's not accustomed to being so deftly wielded in daily recaps of baseball games.
3. It was Shields's 14th pickoff this year, after 10 total in past years.
While acknowledging Shields's feat, I note with pride that my man Jerry Garvin still holds the single-season pickoffs record, with 23 as a rookie in 1977 for the first-year Blue Jays.
4. [T]his year Hunter Pence has played for both a 100-win team AND a 100-loss team. Has this ever happened before?
Right now there's no easy way to research this topic on B-Ref. I've suggested to Sean a couple times adding some kind of notation ("1", "a", etc.) to the yearly team pages to indicate players who played for more than one major-league team in that year. Sean probably has good reasons for not having added this feature (for all I know he's working on it right now), but I'll add this comment in the hope that others who would like to see such a feature could mention it to Sean also.
Slightly off the topic itself, Bob Miller had some interesting travels: 1962 Mets (40-120) to 1963 Dodgers (99-63, won WS); midseason trade from 1971 Padres (60-101) to 1971 Pirates (97-65), won WS); midseason trade from 1973 Padres (another 100-loss team) to 1973 Mets (82-79, but went to WS).
September 27th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
@35. I completely understand that there's more to it. I thought I read that an average family of 4 spends $200 at a game, hence $50. I'm also not taking into account the luxury suites, the Budweiser deck, etc. for revenue. I also understand that the Twins need to pay off their portion of the stadium, fund the minor league system (which is horrible), and pay the other employees who work for them. My point was just that the Twinkies are not small market. The Vikings, Wild, and Timberwolves have never been considered small market.
One last thing, hope the Cards enjoyed that head-first slide into first by Punto - he probably would have been safe if he had run through the base.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
@47, Eric -- Good observation on Andino. Alas, we do not seem to have the tools at present to find other players with 1+ IPHR and 0 triples.
I tried, by first using the Event Finder to round up this year's IPHRs, saving that search, then doing a Season Finder for triples, filtered on the saved search. It didn't work -- it does not seem possible to do a filtered search based an an Event Finder.
September 27th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
@51, KT, #1 -- You had to go and call attention to it.... 🙂
September 27th, 2011 at 2:51 pm
@49, Stan Cook -- I looked at that replay a few times. The ball reached Saltalamacchia on a short hop -- tough to corral with a catcher's mitt.
The official scorer's test for charging an error is whether a fielder would have made the play with "ordinary effort." I would have been shocked if an error were charged on the catcher.
September 27th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Thanks Dr Doom, not sure how I confused those two. Lo siento
September 27th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Partial list of players who played on both a 100-win team and a 100-loss team in the same season:
Hunter Pence, 2011 Astros (L) to 2011 Phillies (W)
Jeff Weaver, 2002 Tigers (L) to 2002 Yankees (W)
Carlos Peña, 2002 A's (W) to 2002 Tigers (L)
Brian Edmondson, 1998 Braves (W) to 1998 Marlins (L)
Jay Powell, 1998 Marlins (L) to 1998 Astros (W)
Fred McGriff, 1993 Padres (L) to 1993 Braves (W)
Larry Brown, 1971 Indians (L) to 1971 A's (W)
Ramón Webster, 1971 Padres (L) to 1971 A's (W) (he finished the season with the Cubs)
I'll list pre-1970 players after I've had time to review the transaction logs.
September 27th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
John Autin, perhaps Pedroia should be charged with the error then?
September 27th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Are the 1998 Marlins the only team ever to lose 100 games a year after winning the World Series?
September 27th, 2011 at 4:40 pm
@58, Anthony -- Why must there be an error on that play? Did you watch the relays? It struck me as excellent work by both Drew and Pedroia.
Pedroia takes the throw from Drew while standing in shallow right-center field with his back to the plate. He has to turn and fire as soon as he gets the ball. If he hesitates long enough to figure out how much time he has to make a controlled throw, the chance could be lost.
He turns and makes a strong, on-target throw. It's unreasonable to expect a more accurate throw under the circumstances. A fielder with "ordinary effort" would not have made a better play.
It is not necessary to charge an error to account for the runner scoring even though the throw beat him by a couple of steps. It seems to me that the official scorer took the totality of the play into account. To me, it would be just as unreasonable to fault Pedroia as it would be to fault Ellsbury for losing control of the ball when he hit the fence. It's a home run.
September 27th, 2011 at 4:48 pm
@59, Anthony -- I believe the '98 Marlins are the only team to lose 100 the year after winning the WS.
The 1915 A's went 43-109 the year after losing the WS (capping a 5-year run with 4 pennants and 3 championships).
September 27th, 2011 at 6:58 pm
57- that's already more 100/100's than I would have guessed. My initial thought was Dave Kingman, but he merely played for one 100 win team and two 90+ loss teams in the same year. (And an 88 loss team.)
September 27th, 2011 at 8:24 pm
@40, John Autin, we may not be too far off here. My short comment was driven by @1's statement regarding Kershaw, who has established himself as one of the elite pitchers in the N.L. this year, and a pitcher who I believe will remain an elite-level pitcher (good health willing) for years to come.
Kershaw's record simply reinforces how good he is. Ian Kennedy's excellent record, however, hides someone I view as an okay pitcher. Kershaw's won-loss record may decline, but his pitching will remain top flight. I expect both Kennedy's record and his overall pitching to decline. His BABIP suggest a bit of luck. I wouldn't be surprised if he has an ERA in the .3.60-4.00 range. Kershaw has also had luck on the BABIP side, but I have greater faith that his overall skills will overcome BABIP regression. I don't have the same faith in Kennedy.
Nice pitcher but not as good as he's shown. Kershaw, however, has an excellent chance to remain at this level. That was my point.
September 27th, 2011 at 11:30 pm
Last game of the season coming up. We still have absolutley no idea who will be playing who, and there are only 2 teams who know where they will be playing on Friday night and Saturday (Yankees in NY and Phillies in Philly). As far as the other 6 teams, no idea.
September 28th, 2011 at 1:02 am
@63, RobMer -- Kershaw is a cut above, no doubt.
But Kennedy's 8.0 SO/9 and 3.6 K/BB this year are nothing to sneeze at.
September 28th, 2011 at 1:14 am
Very glad to see there are other Brewer/baseball fans who could correct that Higuera/Nieves error earlier. And Yount, by the way, made a diving catch in CF in 9th for that Nieves no-no in '87. "The Kid" also won 2 MVPs ('82 and '89), and i think another Brewer, Braun, deserves it this year...
September 28th, 2011 at 2:34 am
Players who played on both a 100-win team and a 100-loss team in the same season, continued:
1969: Kevin Collins, NYM (W)-Mon (L); Donn Clendenon, Mon (L)-NYM (W)
1967: Jack Lamabe, NYM (L)-StL (W) (began season with White Sox)
1963: Steve Hamilton, Wsa (L)-NYY (W)
1962: Joe Pignatano, SFG (W)-NYM (L) (in his last at-bat of '62, also the last AB of his career, he hit into a triple play)
1961: Art Ditmar, NYY (W)-KCA (L); Deron Johnson, NYY (W)-KCA (L); Bud Daley, KCA (L)-NYY (W); Bill Fischer, Det (W)-KCA (L); Ozzie Virgil, Det (W)-KCA (L); Reno Bertoia, KCA (L)-Det (W) (began season with Twins); Gerry Staley, KCA (L)-Det (W) (began season with White Sox); Chuck Cottier, Det (W)-Wsa (L); Hal Woodeshick, Wsa (L)-Det (W)
1954: Bob Kennedy, Cle (W)-Bal (L); Bob Chakales, Cle (W)-Bal (L); Vic Wertz, Bal (L)-Cle (W); Marlin Stuart, Bal (L)-NYY (W); Bob Kuzava, NYY (W)-Bal (L)
1941: Vito Tamulis, Phi (L)-Bro (W); Lee Grissom (Bro (W)-Phi (L)
1940: Johnny Rizzo, Cin (W)-Phi (L) (began season with Pit); Morrie Arnovich, Phi (L)-Cin (W)
1939: Joe Gallagher, NYY (W)-SLB (L); Roy Hughes, SLB (L)-NYY (W)-Phi (L) (didn't play for Yankees)
1932: Ivy Andrews, NYY (W)-Bos (L); Gordon Rhodes, NYY (W)-Bos (L); Danny MacFayden, Bos (L)-NYY (W); Wilcy Moore, Bos (L)-NYY (W)
1915: Herb Pennock, Pha (L)-Bos (W); Jack Barry, Pha (L)-Bos (W)
1911: Willie Hogan, Pha (W)-SLB (L)
1910: Doc Miller, ChC (W)-Bsn (L)
1909: George Browne, ChC (W)-Wsh (L)
1905: Bob Hall, NYG (W)-Bro (L)
1904: Doc Marshall, Phi (L)-NYG (W)-Bsn (98 L)-NYG (W)
I reviewed the transaction logs; however, since I took note of only trades made directly between 100-win and 100-loss teams, I may well have omitted some players from this list.
September 28th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Welcome to the blog, Vito Tamulis! 🙂
And what a roller-coaster rookie season for the aptly named William Riddle "Doc" Marshall!
Kahuna rocks!
September 28th, 2011 at 10:51 am
Roy Hughes’s 1939 season is probably the biggest roller coaster of any player I’ve listed. Hughes was a light hitter (78 career OPS+, five career HR in 2,877 PA, XBH less than 20% of overall hits) and a true 2B/SS/3B utilityman. On June 13, 1939, the Browns, who finished 43-111, traded Hughes with cash to the Yankees (106-45) in exchange for outfielder Joe Gallagher. Hughes was assigned to the Yanks’ AA team in Newark, where he batted .374 (40 for 107) while making only two errors at third base. Presumably, the Yankees, who were playing Joe Gordon at 2B, Frank Crosetti at SS and Red Rolfe at 3B, wanted to drum up trade interest in Hughes. (The Yankees’ only reserve infielder, Bill Knickerbocker, got into a combined four games at second and short in 1939; Rolfe played every inning at third.) If so, they succeeded, for on July 13, the Yankees traded Hughes to the Phillies (45-106) for pitcher Al Hollingsworth.
Hughes put a 55 OPS+ in 65 games at second base for those woebegone Phillies, then disappeared into the Dodgers’ and Cubs’ minor-league systems for four seasons, resurfacing as the Cubs’ main utility infielder in 1944 and 1945. He started six of the seven games at shortstop for the Cubs in the 1945 World Series.
In 1939, though, Hughes played for two really dreadful 100-loss teams, and was a rung away from also playing for probably the greatest of the 1936-39 Yankees teams.
September 28th, 2011 at 4:56 pm
@65, John Autin, as far as I can tell from our notes, we agree, but my guess is you probably have a slightly higher view of IPK in coming seasons.
I have a positive view (I even drafted him for my fantasy team), and he will be a keeper for 2012, but I believe he's at the extreme end of his ability and I don't expect a similar year moving forward. I can see similar years coming from Kershaw. (I'm talking about the level of pitching for both, not the meaningless won-loss records.)
I could be wrong. I certainly wouldn't be the first person to sell Kennedy a bit short. One of his greatest skills has always been his ability to miss bats, from the minors through the majors. Yet I don't think I am selling him short since I've always been a supporter. I like outliers. Players that show conventional wisdom wrong. There have been many who question Kennedy's ability to succeed on the MLB level. I was never one of them. I just don't think he's this good!
September 30th, 2011 at 8:56 pm
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October 8th, 2011 at 7:37 am
Guten Tag Webmaster, dein WordPress-Blog was beim Nachricht schreiben immer öfters wie hängen geblieben, dann kam eine weiße Seite trotzdem informativer Blog. Grüße aus Bayern