By James Bailey Would you rather be lucky or good? Over the course of 162 games it helps to have both on your side. Of course, even with a fair dose of luck, some guys still aren’t all that productive. When scanning through the Bill James Handbook I like to note discrepancies between a pitcher’s [...]
From the category archives:
Analysis
By Thom Henninger When the New York Yankees secured their 27th World Series title with a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday, it was eight years to the day that Luis Gonzalez delivered a broken-bat single off Mariano Rivera in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2001 Fall Classic. That hit [...]
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By Thom Henninger The Phillies are in the midst of six days off before opening the 2009 World Series in the Bronx on Wednesday. Going into the 2007 World Series, the Colorado Rockies were on a 21-1 surge before sitting for eight days and were swept by the Boston Red Sox. Time off worked against [...]
By Thom Henninger The ninth inning was a potential hazard for a few playoff teams with struggling closers, and the biggest question mark was the Phillies’ Brad Lidge. He posted a 1.95 ERA and converted all 41 of his save opportunities in 2008, but didn’t come close to that performance this season. The right-hander was [...]
By Thom Henninger As many as four playoff teams may play October baseball with their closers struggling to get people out. After recording a 1.95 ERA and 41 saves without blowing a single opportunity in 2008, Philadelphia’s Brad Lidge has struggled in 2009 and begins the final series of the regular season at 0-8 with [...]
By James Bailey Every time it looks like things are about settled in the American League, one of the down-and-outers sneaks back into the picture. A week ago the Tigers were on the brink of backing into the Central Division crown. They woke up Thursday morning with a 4.5 game lead, down from 7 games [...]
By James Bailey As hot as the Rockies have been lately, they own just the fourth best record in baseball since the All-Star break. The Yankees, who were three games behind Boston at the break, have gone on a sick tear since then, winning at a .755 clip (40-13). Their +92 run differential is the [...]
By James Bailey The most precarious job in baseball is that of a closer. In the game’s version of “king of the mountain” a relief ace holds his job until someone else comes along and knocks him off his perch. Rare is the dependable long-term fireman, such as Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. In the [...]
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By Thom Henninger Six weeks ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers had the most wins in the major leagues and looked like the team to beat in the National League. They were 25 games over .500 on the final day of July, after Jason Schmidt and three relievers had blanked the Atlanta Braves on three hits.
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By Thom Henninger Matt Kemp has seen most of his 2009 plate appearances from the No. 7 spot in the Dodgers lineup. One might expect him to be batting higher in the order, considering he ranks second on the team to Andre Ethier in runs, home runs, extra-base hits, total bases and RBIs.
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