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2010 Baseball Thread No. 2 (which was my Little League number!)

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Moderator1, May 5, 2010.

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  1. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    For every Rick Porcello, there's a dozen kids who blow their arms out doing the exact same thing.
     
    RickStain, May 9, 2010
    #109
  2. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    I remember reading something where Al Jackson threw 215 pitches in a 15 inning game for the Mets in the early 60s, and not surprisingly, lost the game.
     
    Baron Scicluna, May 9, 2010
    #110
  3. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    No win for Lincecum today thanks to awful Giants bullpen and defense and the wind at Citi Field
     
    spnited, May 9, 2010
    #111
  4. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    Rick Porcello will be in the minors by the end of the month the way he's pitching -- 7.50 ERA.
     
    TheSportsPredictor, May 9, 2010
    #112
  5. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    Tyler Clippard about to work his vulture magic for the Nats once again.
     
    TheSportsPredictor, May 9, 2010
    #113
  6. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    Brad Lidge earns his first save with a 1-2-3 inning against the Braves, but two balls were hit to the warning track and knocked down by the wind.
    Welcome back, Brad. We've missed you.
     
    Batman, May 9, 2010
    #114
  7. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    13-13

    Dear Pirates,
    We're sending flowers and chocolates. Happy Mother's Day.
    Thanks so much. Again.
    Love,
    The Nats
     
    Moderator1, May 9, 2010
    #115
  8. old_tony

    old_tony Well-Known Member

    Percentage-wise cycles are much rarer.

    On any given night, the most opportunities there are for a no-hitter is 30 (if all 30 teams are playing and ever starting pitcher does it). On that same night of 15 games, the opportunities for a cycle are 144 in the American League (9 X 16) and 112 (8 X 14) -- I'm being fair and not counting the pitcher's spot as a cycle opportunity) in the National League.

    So on a full-schedule night or day, there are 256 opportunities for a cycle and 30 for a no-hitter.

    Yet in the history of baseball there have been 264 no-hitters and 289 cycles. Percentage-wise, it's not even close.
     
    old_tony, May 9, 2010
    #116
  9. Herbert Anchovy

    Herbert Anchovy Active Member

    That is something.
     
    Herbert Anchovy, May 9, 2010
    #117
  10. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Yes but the emphasis on plate discipline, much less the size of ballparks, was far different. Back then pitchers could get away with firing a belt high fastball against a lot of guys knowing there's a good chance it'd get tracked down in some of the more cavernous stadiums.

    Likewise, players simply weren't hitting as well back then. For instance I just randomly took the 59 Yankee team and looked at them on baseball reference. Mickey Mantle's .904 OPS was the highest on the team. After that only Moose Skowron and Yogi Berra had anything in the .800s. Starting rightfielder Hank Bauer had a .682 OPS. Only Mickey Mantle had a higher OBP than .350. Plus pitchers still batted then.

    Another average team, the 55 Tigers, had one player, Al Kaline, with an OPS over .822 (it was .967 at the age of 20) that season. That team had just five players with 10 or more homers, and only two players with 20 or more. Likewise just three players had an OBP over .350. The three bench players with more than 200 plate appearances that season had an OPS of .594 or LOWER. And the pitcher hitting ninth.

    Those were two random, average teams. Hitting in the big leagues is far, far better now than it ever has been, steroids or not. And thus pitching has gotten far, far harder on an arm, and just harder in general.
     
    Flying Headbutt, May 9, 2010
    #118
  11. Della9250

    Della9250 Well-Known Member

    http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/93051189.html

    Robin Roberts' scoffs from heaven:

    On Sept. 6, 1952, Roberts went for his 23rd victory against the tough Boston Braves. It did not go well for Robbie. After eight innings - and why was he still in there? - it was 6-6. Robbie had allowed five earned runs on nine hits. He pitched a scoreless ninth and the game staggered into extra innings. In fact, despite allowing nine more hits for a total of 18 in a game the Phils won, 7-6, in the bottom of the 17th on a Del Ennis walkoff, Roberts hung eight more goose eggs on Boston.

    When Robin got the final out in a 1-2-3 inning - one of his few clean frames - he had faced 71 batters. He struck out only five. So, if you assume a conservative average of five pitches per hitter, you can also assume that Robbie's pitch count was well into the 300s.
     
    Della9250, May 9, 2010
    #119
  12. Flying Headbutt

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    And spnited, contrast that with the 2008 Orioles team, which won 68 games and was dog shit. None of their regulars had an OPS lower than the .711 that 22-year-old Adam Jones had. They had a revolving door at shortstop that season which was collectively far more putrid, but no one had more than 161 plate appearances that season at that position. Just wanted to make that caveat clear. The bench was terrible, sure, but that's what you expect out of one of the five worst teams in baseball. But even then, the top eight guys playing for them that season averaged out to have better numbers. Plus there were five guys hitting 20 homers, and a sixth who had 15. The OBP wasn't that great, generally (and again, what you'd expect from a bad team) but they still had enough power to make you pay for a mistake, which players from the 50s and 60s didn't to the same degree.
     
    Flying Headbutt, May 9, 2010
    #120
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