http://www.hardballtimes.com/main Baseball. Insight. Daily. en studes@hardballtimes.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-10T11:32:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/offseason-decisions-should-the-royals-trade-soria/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/offseason-decisions-should-the-royals-trade-soria/#When:05:04:15
The question that I ask is whether it is better to use their closer as bait to fill those holes for now and in the future. Would the return be worth what they would be giving up?

What Can They Get?

If you would have asked me this at the end of the season, I would have likely been a bit down on Soria’s trade value. He had a down year, posting his worst numbers as a major leaguer. His rate stats were all down significantly. His ERA, FIP, WAR, strikeout rate, walk rate, home run rate, WPA, and swinging strike rate were all career worsts. His arsenal still looks very much like that of a successful pitcher. His average velocity is still very close to what it has been in the past. He hasn’t gone from throwing high 90’s to the high 80’s. He’s never been the kind that has thrown smoke, and he hasn’t lost the low 90s velocity with which he came into the big leagues. His curve and slider are still very effective pitches. It also seems worth mentioning that his xFIP was only half a run lower than it had been in 2010, when he was still accepted as an elite reliever in his prime.

Aside from the qualitative aspects of Soria himself, there are intervening facts to look over. First, since the end of the season, we have seen several teams give fairly expensive contracts to “proven closers” on the free agent market. The most obvious of these is Jonathan Papelbon, who inked a deal for four years totaling $50 million with a vesting fifth year at $13 million.

Then there was Joe Nathan, who looked awful this year upon returning too quickly from Tommy John surgery. He got two years at seven million each with a nine million dollar team option for 2014.

Heath Bell signed with the Marlins for $27 million over three years with a $9 million option for 2015 that can vest. Bell himself is an example of a far more dangerous investment than Soria. He is coming out of a run-scoring environment that inflated his numbers. His strikeout rate crashed. His WAR, FIP, xFIP, and ERA all declined. He also is several years older than Soria. I am not alone in being pessimistic about him.

These three big contracts happened after there was a significant drama that took place in Philadelphia involving Ryan Madson. Madson is a perfectly good reliever, and a good example of how you can manufacture a reliever just as effectively as you can buy one. He was very good as a closer after years of doubt from the Philly coaching staff and front office. They only put him in the role because everybody else was either injured or wildly ineffective. So before the Papelbon signing, the Phillies reportedly were on the verge of signing Madson to a four-year contract for $44 million to be their permanent closer.

With all this in mind and given the risk inherent in relievers given that even the best tend to burn brightly but briefly before fading away and joining the Eric Gagnes of the world in the “where is he now?” file, note that Soria has one of the friendliest contracts in baseball. He is locked up through the 2014 season at a total of just under $23 million, but each season is an option year. The team can walk away if he blows out his shoulder or starts walking everybody in the stadium.

Given the overheated market for closers, Soria and his contract should have plenty of trade value, even if you don’t buy the idea that he is a good bet to bounce back in 2012 when he doesn’t overuse the cut fastball.*

*This is a popular theory among Royals fans and analysts used to explain how everything could have declined in 2011 given that his velocity and breaking balls all seemed to be fine.

Do they have somebody in line to take the job and are they at a point in the success cycle where they should even care?

It’s funny you ask that. Despite the free agent market being absolute insanity, the Royals signed reclamation project Jonathan Broxton to a one-year pact worth $4 million with $1 million in incentives. Broxton was awful in 2011, finishing off the decline from 2009, when he was among the best relievers in baseball. He had bone spurs in his elbow removed and when he attempted to come back from the surgery to remove those bone spurs, he felt some pain in his shoulder. Obviously, health is a concern, which is why he was so cheap compared to the other experienced firemen. But if he can regain some manner of health, he obviously has a lot of upside.

In the event that Soria is traded and Broxton’s arm blows up, you have a gaggle of young relievers who either performed well or demonstrated skills that could portend a career ending games and getting handshakes from teammates. Aaron Crow has been tagged as a potential conversion into the rotation. I have my doubts as to the potential effectiveness of that particular project given his complete inability to throw an effective changeup and his utter failure as a starter in the minors. I see him as a fastball/slider reliever only.

Other candidates include undersized fastball maniac Greg Holland, righties Blake Wood and Louis Coleman, and everybody’s favorite fun sized lefty Tim Collins. It would be a short-term downgrade to go from Soria to any of these options, but would likely not be disastrous. The team’s xFIP from relievers was 17th in baseball even with the down year from Soria and one of the worst disasters in baseball history from Vin Mazzaro. In a year when most of the innings in the pen came from pitchers who were just breaking in, the bullpen wasn’t a liability.

So What do they Need?

Well, the obvious short-term need and potentially the biggest long-term need is in the rotation. As it stands today, they enter the season with a rotation of Jonathan Sanchez, Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen, Felipe Paulino, and Danny Duffy. That is a stronger rotation than what they entered 2011 with, but it isn’t likely to propel them forward in an effort to compete for the AL Central crown in 2012. It is more likely to hold serve in case the young hitters explode. Sanchez, Paulino, and Duffy in particular have the ability to post gaudy strikeout totals and/or produce even more gaudy walk rates.

They also may or may not need a center fielder. Lorenzo Cain is penciled in as the starter. He will help the pitchers quite a bit as his glove is a big upgrade over that belonging to Melky Cabrera. But he might not be a big league caliber hitter. Behind him is Mitch Maier, who is a classic fourth outfielder and Jarrod Dyson, who I feel pretty certain is not and will not be a big league caliber hitter. The position is not strong in the minors either.

Short Term? Long Term?

A big question at hand is whether the Royals should be pushing to compete in 2012 after finishing 27 games out in the division in 2012. There is a case to be made that if they can get to around 84 or 85 wins, they might luck into being in the hunt. Detroit was dominant, but with a roster that was set up to work on the strength of their stars. This is still a team that started Ryan Rayburn, Delmon Young, and Brandon Inge on the corners not occupied by Miguel Cabrera. They are also vulnerable to regression from Alex Avila, Doug Fister, Jhonny Peralta, Brennan Boesch, and Jose Valverde.

The Indians also rode the backs of a small number of players that carried the rest of the team. Carlos Santana is good, and several players like Jason Kipnis are promising, but they need big comebacks by Shin-Soo Choo and a repeat performance from Asdrubal Cabrera.

The White Sox and Twins were grease fires for most of the year dealing with gaping wounds in their lineups all year, declining farm systems, and organizational chaos that led to management changes in the offseason.

The Royals themselves seem to be hedging their bets thus far. The trade that brought them Jon Sanchez was an exchange of two players who are free agents following 2012, so it feels more like shuffling temporary assets. One team sent a bit of organizational depth in outfielders to the other team because they needed a competent starting pitcher. The other team sent that organizational depth in starting pitching for an outfielder who can outhit the pitchers.

They also tied up Jeff Francoeur and Bruce Chen for two years each. This is a short term gamble on two players who performed well in KC after years of disappointing returns and a nomadic existence. Their contracts are worth $22.5 million combined. Chen is the riskier investment, as he is a finesse lefty who has learned how to get by with weak stuff by never walking anybody. But he is also the cheaper investment. Frenchy gets the majority of the cash, but his skill set is demolishing lefty pitchers and playing a competent corner outfield. He’ll only be 29 years old when the contract is finished while Chen will be 36 at the end of 2013.

The longest commitment the team has on the books is with Billy Butler, who will turn 26 in April. He is signed through 2014 with an option for 2015. The team is wide open and rose into the top half of the AL in run scoring for the first time since 2003 and only the third time in a year that began with a two. They did this despite having the lowest payroll in the game by a margin of more than $5 million and despite ending the season with the youngest roster in all of baseball by a margin of almost a year and a half.

The team was 12th in the league in quality starts and runs allowed. To have a real shot at this thing you have to improve that. If there is a deal available out there that will offer a short and long term improvement in the rotation, but would send Soria away, then the Royals have to at least kick the tires. There are starting pitcher prospects in Omaha and Northwest Arkansas, but they are all best described as unready. The gap between Holland or Crow or a healthy Broxton and Soria might be significantly less than the difference between the worst performer in the Royals rotation and the replacement you would be bringing in.

Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-12-06T05:04:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards-season-finale-volume-2/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards-season-finale-volume-2/#When:05:02:15
If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

Joe Carter Award

Alfonso Soriano’s skills have devolved to a point where he will hit for power, but nothing else he does is useful. He is nobody’s idea of a good defensive outfielder. He isn’t terrible with the glove, but he just doesn’t stand out among left fielders, which in itself is a damning statement. He doesn’t run the bases well. He still strikes out enough to make hitting for average an unlikely event. And he doesn’t draw walks, ever, which combines with his inability to hit for average to make his OBP an albatross. Only Houston drew fewer walks than the Cubs, and Soriano’s 27 in 508 PA was a leading cause.

But despite all of this, Soriano’s power enabled him to drive in 88 runs, the same number as Justin Upton. Upton batted .289/.369/.529. Soriano batted .244/.289/.469. And he still has three years at $18 million each remaining on his contract.

Adam Lind was similarly bad, going .251/.295/.439 but still finding a way to collect 87 RBIs.

Josh Willingham was a perfectly acceptable everyday player, but his season total of 98 RBIs would traditionally be used as some sort of proof that he is some kind of modern titan. But his overall line of .246/.332/.477 and WAR of 2.1 and 1.8 paint him more accurately as better than adequate but nothing special.

Mark Trumbo suffers from Soriano disease. Hitting for power is all he has: 87 RBIs, .254/.291/.477 for the Halos.

Raul Ibañez is most likely finished: 84 RBIs, .245/.289/.419.

Rey Sanchez Award

I mentioned a couple weeks ago how much it hurts to see the once great Vladimir Guerrero reduced to this. He’s a DH without power and while he has never been a patient hitter, the fact that he only amassed 44 extra-base hits in 590 plate appearances did not help the walk rate. .290/.317/.416 isn’t helpful. He was replacement level this year.

Juan Pierre has been alternately useful and useless through his career. That is a large function of his extreme skill set. With no power and no walks (why would ever throw him anything other than straight down the middle when the worst that will happen is the same outcome as if you had walked him?), he is beholden to the whims of BABIP. But as with Vlad, this may be the end of the line for the old speedster. The value of his defense has dwindled to where his ability to run down flies doesn’t entirely make up for his possession of one of the weakest arms in the game. And his speed has left him a net negative on the bases.

The fact that Pierre hit .279 this season could be looked upon as a positive, but given that his line was .279/.329/.327 and he was 27 and 17 stealing bases, it just isn’t really a relevant fact anymore.

Jeff Keppinger went .277/.300/.377. Even given declining run scoring rates, that just isn’t helpful.

Jose Altuve came up and was a cause célèbre, but that was more because he is a tiny human than for his .276/.297/.357 performance. There will be better days ahead for the rookie.

Darwin Barney was another folk hero in 2011, but .276/.313/.353 was part of the problem on the north side, not part of the solution. He’s perfectly fine to have around as a part timer to fill in at multiple positions, but more than 500 at-bats of that? Pass.

Finally, I usually try to limit this category to players who posted batting averages over .275, but for Ichiro Suzuki, I will make an exception if only to point out .272/.310/.335 in 677 at-bats.

Harmon Killebrew Award

Evan Longoria batted .244. Despite the average, he still managed to be a six-win player. He did that by doing practically everything else well. He hit 26 doubles and 31 home runs. He walked 80 times. And he continued to be one of the better defensive third basemen in the game. It also bears mentioning that the very fact Longoria qualifies for this honor is likely a statistical fluke.

Carlos Santana went .239/.351/.457 with 35 doubles, 27 home runs, and 97 walks. Unlike Longoria, Santana’s low batting average/high secondary skill ways this season may be a trend likely to continue in future seasons, though maybe not to this extent.

Steve Balboni Award

Adam Dunn had a multi-tiered problem this season. The first is that while he has always struck out a lot, he set a new career high with whiffs in more than 35 percent of his plate appearances, following a similar increase last year that took him from 26 percent to 30 percent. So he is making much less contact than he was just two years ago. Add to that when he did make contact, he did much less with the contact. His percentage of fly balls that went for home runs cratered, ending at less than half his career rate. His infield fly percentage skyrocketed. And as a result of these things, his BABIP fell a lot as well. So while 177 strikeouts in 496 PA wasn’t his only problem, it contributed to making his .159/.292/.277 possible.

Austin Jackson isn’t awful as his defense in center is good and he has some secondary skills, but the whole package is compromised by his proclivity for strikeouts with the Tigers regular fanning 181 times in 668 PA. .249/.317/.374.

Miguel Olivo was retired on strikes 140 times in 507 PA. Not coincidentally, he ended the season batting .224/.253/.388 for the Mariners. He was an out machine in a lineup that desperately needed base runners.

Three true outcomes

Mark Reynolds finished with 37 home runs, tied with Albert Pujols for sixth in baseball. He walked 75 times, which tied him for 20th. And he struck out 196 times, second to only Drew Stubbs. This is the Mark Reynolds we know and love.

Curtis Granderson went 41-85-169 in 691 PA.

Mike Stanton went 34-70-166 in 601.

Jose Bautista’s 43-132-111 in 655 PA was remarkable. He led the majors in home runs and walks.

The anti-TTO

Keppinger went 6-12-24 in 400 PA for the Astros and Giants.

Josh Harrison of the Pirates went 1-3-24 in 204 PA.

A.J. Pierzynski went 8-23-33 in exactly 500 PA.

Juan Pierre posted a 2-43-41 in 711 PA.

Parity watch

Every year at the end of the year I recount and compare the records of baseball teams with those of the NBA and NFL. The NFL is a fun comp because they play almost exactly one-tenth of the schedule MLB plays. The NBA plays approximately half a baseball schedule, unless they are in a lockout and play no schedule whatsoever.

The best record in baseball this season belonged to Philly, who went 102-60 while the worst was the Astros, who went 56-106. The Astros actually won a series in September at home against the Phillies, beating Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels and outscoring the Phillies 10-4. They were swept in the other series against Philadelphia but the season’s run differential between the two clubs was 21-25 in favor of Philly. Baseball is the true sport of any given Sunday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday.

This was the equivalent of the best and worst NFL teams going 10-6 and 6-10. I hesitate to think of what chaos that would bring the NFL’s tie-breaking system when it was time to figure out which 12 teams make the playoffs. In the NBA, that would be a spread of 52-30 and 28-54.

In the NFL, the best record belonged to the New England Patriots at 14-2, the equivalent of a major league team going 140-22. Carolina went 2-14, which is a winning percentage worse than that achieved when the Cleveland Spiders were the de facto farm team of the St Louis Perfectos.

The Chicago Bulls boasted the NBA’s best record, equivalent to a 122-40 record in baseball. The hapless Minnesota Timberwolves went the equivalent of 34-128. The two squads played twice with Chicago winning both by a combined score of 221-173.

It also bears mentioning that we had significant upwards and downwards movement within the standings. Going all in provided the Brewers with a starting pitching infusion and a 19 game improvement in their records. The Snakes did them one better by going from 65 wins and the second worst record in the NL to 94 wins and a playoff spot as the NL West champion.

On the other side, we had the Twins going from 94 to 63 wins, from first to worst. The Padres went from 90 wins to 71.

The only team remaining in the hunt this season that has won the World Series recently is the St Louis Cardinals whose crown in 2006 stands as a monument to baseball’s unpredictability. If anybody but the Cards win it all, then we will have had 11 different teams win a championship in the last 12 years with only the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007 as repeaters.

My minimalist review of Moneyball the movie

I saw it. I liked it. My wife asked “So is that what you write about? Do you understand all of it?”

Best Player

AL: Bautista is my pick. I know that there is a lot of support for Justin Verlander and Jacoby Ellsbury out there and I figure that Miguel Cabrera has a chance to catch some first place votes from the BBWAA. But I still see Bautista as the best player in the league this season and that is all I would feel comfortable basing my vote on.

Among the things that annoys me most in the world of sports coverage is the constant insistence that we can and should try to crawl inside people’s heads to assign value to pressure situations and to grade the amount of stress each player overcomes and judge the players not on what they actually do but on what they do filtered through this silly prism of whether they did it under ideal mental circumstances. I don’t get it. I won’t do it. I think it takes us further from the truth of what happens in real life and simply acts as a vessel for us to put our preconceived opinions in and launder them into a supposedly unbiased opinion. It’s a pile of crap. Jose Bautista’s situation of being on a team that was not in playoff contention for much of the year did not enable him to operate with less pressure than Jacoby Ellsbury. It did not make his job easier. It did not make baseballs easier to hit or field. I don’t know what it was like to live in Bautista’s head this year and neither do you. So lets stop trying.

FanGraphs WAR lists Ellsbury as the best in the AL. Baseball Reference WAR lists Bautista. I don’t have enough of a statistics background to have an honest opinion on which is right. I do tend to put less weight in advanced defensive statistics than FanGraphs WAR seems to. Ellsbury obviously brings SOME kind of defensive value to the table as he is a good defensive center fielder while Bautista is an okay corner outfielder and third baseman. But it takes a lot of defensive value to make a .302/.447/.608 less valuable than a .321/.376/.552. The 39-point WOBA difference is a lot.

I wouldn’t list Verlander in my top 3. His 2011 was very good, but not so good as to be transcendent. It was very, very good. It was Cy Young worthy. But I don’t count it in a category above other recent great pitching seasons like Cliff Lee last season or Zack Greinke in 2009. So I go in order: Bautista, Ellsbury, Miguel Cabrera, Granderson, Pedroia.

NL: I think the NL turned out to be easier than the AL by virtue of Matt Kemp pulling away from the pack late in the year. How awful does the rest of your roster have to be in order to have Kemp, Kershaw, Kuroda, and still struggle as much as the Dodgers did this season. That’s simply a disgrace.

I don’t like the idea of 30-30 and 40-40 being big things that people care about. It is a nice novelty having one player who has that diverse a skill set, but it really doesn’t mean much. This statement is a well-worn path, but one of these numbers is A LOT more important than the other one. I don’t care much about stolen bases outside of fantasy baseball. I certainly care about them less than home runs, which bring in at least one run every time.

Kemp was great this year. I worry that he is in for a big batting average letdown next year given that he struck out at almost exactly his career norm, but bettered his career batting average by 30 points. The power, the patience, I think all of that is real, but if you want to bat .320 every year, you can’t strike out 159 times a season.

The rest of my ballot goes to Justin Upton, Ryan Braun, Troy Tulowitzki, and Joey Votto.

This year has been great. Thanks to everybody. The awards will pick back up where we left them in the spring.

Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-10-11T05:02:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards-season-finale-volume-1/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards-season-finale-volume-1/#When:05:03:15
If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

This week’s proof that assigning wins and losses to a pitcher is an arcane practice that must stop

Good luck division

Derek Holland had a good year. He was a three-win player by WAR (3.6 on FanGraphs, 2.7 on Baseball Reference) and throwing up a 113 ERA+ for the Rangers. He also went 16-5 with one of the best run support figures in baseball thanks to pitching for the boys from Arlington. He won two early season games where he allowed five runs in five innings. He also pulled seven no-decisions in starts where he allowed four or more runs. In one of those, he allowed seven. Contrast this with his losses, where in every single one of the five games in which he took the defeat, he allowed five or more runs. As long as he did not completely implode, he would at least get the no-decision. And sometimes even when he did implode, he still got the no-decision.

Jake Westbrook went 12-9 with a 78 ERA+ for the Cardinals. His last start of the season was one where he allowed five runs in two and a third. But what gets him here is a five-start stretch in late June and early July when he allowed opposing batters to hit .289/.325/.561 against him with seven home runs yielded in 27 and two thirds. And he went 1-0 with four no-decisions and a 5.53 ERA.

Max Scherzer’s first start of the season was one in which he won despite being pummeled for six runs in five frames as the Tigers tallied 10 runs. His final start was one where he won with four runs allowed in five and two thirds with his teammates scoring nine runs. In between those two victories, he had two more wins where he allowed five runs, a five-run no-decision, and a seven-run no-decision. Add it all up and you get a 15-9 record with an ERA+ of 92. He posted the best win-loss record of his career in the season when he had the worst ERA, ERA+, K/BB ratio, WHIP, and OPS against.

John Lackey was brutal this season and Red Sox fans have every right to complain loudly about the albatross that is hung around their team’s neck for the next three seasons. He makes $15.25 million each of the three years. If you want a piece of good news, you could point out that his FIP and xFIP were more than a run and a half lower than his actual ERA. Unfortunately that doesn’t get him to average this season as the ERA is 6.41 and the FIP/xFIP is 4.70/.4.71. The blow by blow details as follows: a win where he allowed six in five frames; a three-start stretch in June when he allowed three or four in each and went 3-0; two starts in 11 days in July when he went five and two thirds in each, allowing four runs in each with wins all around; a six-start stretch in July and August when he went 4-1 with a 5.26 ERA and a .308/.364/.519 line against and he allowed three, four, four, four, four, and five runs respectively in those starts; and two no-decisions in the middle of the Red Sox late-September collapse when he allowed four and eight runs. He finished the season at .500, 12-12

Bad luck division

Cole Hamels went 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA. He took the loss in two games where he went at least six and allowed two or fewer runs. He received no-decisions in games where he allowed two in seven, one in eight, two in six, three in seven, and one in seven. He came out of the season with the same record as Rick Porcello. And while Hamels’ ERA+ was 138, Porcello’s was 86. Opponents batted .214/.259/.337 against Hamels and .292/.339/.435 against Porcello.

Hiroki Kuroda went 13-16 with an ERA+ of 121, a career high. In his career he has an ERA+ of 114 and a 41-46 record. Even taking into account the flawed nature of ERA and the offense-depressing run environment of Dodger Stadium and the year 2011, his 3.07 is still very impressive. Kuroda only took three no-decisions all season and in those three starts combined, he allowed two runs in 20 frames. He also took the loss in four starts where he went at least five innings and allowed one or two runs.

Tim Lincecum is my wife’s favorite pitcher and she was disappointed when she learned that we had timed our vacation to San Francisco to miss any home starts for the Freak. More disappointing for Lincecum than not having my better half see him pitch in person is likely the fact that he threw up a 130 ERA+ with a .222/.302/.344 line against but still only managed a 13-14 record. He had three losses where he went seven innings and allowed only one run. He had two more losses where he went seven and allowed two runs and another where he went seven and allowed three. He added a pair of no-decisions where he went eight. In one of them, he allowed one run, in the other, he allowed none.

R.A. Dickey went 8-13 with a 113 ERA+. In his final eight starts, he was only 3-2 with an ERA under 2.00 and a .233/.286/.332 line against. He had six starts where he went at least seven innings and allowed two or fewer runs.

Doug Fister is our first AL contributor to the bad luck club. Most of his bad luck came as a member of the Mariners rotation. The lone exception is a seven-and-two-thirds, one-run-against performance at home against the Royals. With Seattle, he had a start where he went six, allowed one, no-decision; one where he went eight, allowed two, no-decision; one where he went eight, allowed one, no-decision; one where he went seven, allowed three, loss; two in a row where he allowed one in eight and got the no-decision; they were immediately followed by a loss where he allowed one in nine frames; and finally another one where he went seven and allowed three, only to get the loss. He ended the season with a 11-13 record and a 2.83 ERA. Taking only his time in the Pacific Northwest, he was 3-12 with a 3.33 ERA.

Paul Maholm had more starts where he had zero, one, or two runs of support than those where he received three or more. He had a 2.65 ERA in his six no decisions. This gives you a picture of how he can go 6-14 with a 3.66 ERA.

An old favorite in the category, Felix Hernandez had 14 starts with zero, one, or two runs of support and despite allowing a .228/.278/.321 line against with a four-to-one strikeout-to-walk ratio in those games, he went 3-9.

Vulture Award

Matt Belisle had three games where he blew the save and got the win. He actually blew seven leads and only received the loss once.

Francisco Rodriguez also had three blown save/win combos and one of the most egregious you are likely to find this year as he was blasted for three runs to blow the save against his old team the Mets, only to watch his teammates come back and give him the win.

Wes Littleton Award

Jonathan Papelbon and John Axford each recorded seven saves where they allowed a run. But Leo Nuñez takes the title going away because he had three saves where he allowed two runs, six where he allowed one or more. Nunez saved 36 games, good for eighth in the NL, but he had an ERA+ of 97.

I would also submit Carlos Marmol, who saved 34 games, but gave Cub fans heart attacks in a very solid percentage of them and he blew 10.

Brian Wilson saved 36, but had a WHIP of 1.47 and again, gave his team regular scares.

Please hold the applause

Michael Stutes received holds in two games where he allowed two runs. He retired one and two batters in those two games respectively.

Any sufficiently advanced defense is indistinguishable from pitching

I really love Jeremy Hellickson, but he had an ERA of 2.95 and an xFIP of 4.72. The Tampa defense was spectacular this season, but not that good. And his K/9 was 5.6 but his H/9 was 7.0.

On the other side, Jonathon Niese posted an ERA of 4.40 and an xFIP of 3.28 thanks to a .333 BABIP.

Zack Greinke posted an ERA of 3.83 and an xFIP of 2.56. He struck out a career high 28.1 percent of the batters he faced and posted the highest swinging strike percentage of his career.

Best Pitcher

AL: Justin Verlander gets the top prize here, but not by as much as some people think. The win total is there and that will convince the BBWAA that it is a runaway for him, but CC Sabathia, or as I like to call him, Carsten Charles, is reasonably close and has caught up in some of the advanced metrics. But I feel like I am wasting a bit of your time and mine listing stats that everybody who reads The Hardball Times has no doubt already looked at 50 times on FanGraphs and Baseball Reference. So I will just mention that batters as a whole hit .192/.242/.313 against him this season. The lowest OPS of any batter who qualified was Alex Rios, who finished the year at .227/.265/.348. The much-discussed Adam Dunn went .159/.292/.277. So in other words, Justin Verlander turned the average batter into something roughly equal to or slightly worse than the worst batter in baseball this year.

Down ballot: Sabathia, Dan Haren, Jered Weaver, Felix Hernandez

NL: I’m going for Roy Halladay. As tempting as Clayton Kershaw might be, I think the differences in ballpark and competition make Halladay a better pitcher. You know how I listed Verlander’s triple slash line against? Since his breakout back in 2001, batters have hit .248/.284/.358 in 9288 regular season plate appearances against Halladay. Think about that for a moment and consider the run-scoring environment in Toronto during the first five or so years of that run.

Down ballot: Kershaw, Cliff Lee, gap, Madison Bumgarner, Cole Hamels.

This year in franchise milestones

For the past several years, one of my favorite items in these season wrap columns has been recounting the many milestone wins and losses passed by major league teams over the previous season and looking forward to some notable milestones that might fall in the season to come. This started when the Phillies made headlines by becoming the first franchise in major spots history to pass 10,000 losses. I don’t remember similar headlines when the Giants became the first over 10,000 wins.

The Atlanta/Milwaukee/Boston Braves became the fifth team over 10,000 wins this season, joining the Giants, Dodgers, and Cubs. They currently sit at 10,034. They also joined the 10,000 loss club as they are currently at 10,027. They are the closest team to .500 as a franchise. The closest competition is Toronto, who currently sits at 35 games below .500.

The Reds will join the club early next year as they currently reside at 9,994 wins.

Among other teams with milestone wins were the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, San Clemente, Bellflower, and Neenach, who sprinted past 4,000 wins. They also played their 8,000th game early in the season.

The Rays end the season with 1,013 wins.

The St Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles passed 9,000 losses and end the season at 9,052.

The Giants passed 9,000 losses, though they are still 1488 games over .500.

The Marlins and Rockies each played their 3,000th game. And after 19 years of action, they are separated by two games.

Looking forward to next year, I have already mentioned the Reds and their quest for 10,000 wins. Next after them are the Pirates and Yankees. The Pirates are 205 games away from the milestone while the Yankees are 233 games away.

Seattle is 44 away from 3,000 losses.

If the Twins have a bad season, they will find themselves north of 9,000 losses, though the majority of those were from the days where they were the first iteration of the Senators.

The Astros are 56 away from 4,000 wins.

The Yankees currently sit as the team furthest from .500 on the positive side. They could lose 101 games every year for 58 years and still be barely above .500. The only other team more than 1,000 games over is San Francisco, and they are almost 1,000 ahead of the Giants 1488.

The Phillies are still 1,055 under .500 and would take more than 26 years of 101 win baseball to get close to breaking even, though at .473 they are ahead of the winning percentages of the Rays, Mariners, and Padres.

We will see you back here next week for the hitters.

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All stats are for the games starting Monday, Sept. 19 and ending Sunday, Sept. 25. If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

This week’s proof that assigning wins and losses to a pitcher is an archaic practice that must stop

Good luck division

Charlie Furbush went five innings, yielding six runs on 10 hits. He had bad luck on balls in play, but the two home runs he gave up didn’t help. He got the win in Cleveland.

Craig Kimbrel’s blown save took Ricky Nolasco off the hook for his six-and-two-thirds, five-run effort. So Nolasco walked away unscathed with a no-decision.

Because Brian Matusz was demolished by the Boston lineup for six runs in less than two frames and Chris Jakubauskas allowed another five, John Lackey’s eight-run, four-and-a-third effort went unnoticed by the official scorer.

Zach Britton got the win despite the Tigers scoring five runs in five innings off him.

Carl Pavano “earned” a no decision by getting touched up for five runs in six and a third but watching the Twins lineup somehow manage to score an equal number of runs in his time on the mound.

Bad luck division

Ricky Romero went nine innings, allowing only two runs on six hits and no walks. He got a no-decision as the Jays scored only two in regulation and then another after Romero was out of the game in the 10th.

Jeff Karstens allowed only one run in six innings, but as the Pirates were shut out by Ian Kennedy and J.J. Putz, one run was enough for the loss.

Tim Lincecum went seven, giving up two runs on eight hits and three walks. Clayton Kershaw went seven and allowed only one run to the Giants lineup and Lincecum got the loss.

Chris Volstad and Yovani Gallardo combined to allow two runs in 14 and a third on 13 hits, striking out 16, walking none. Neither received a decision.

Ryan Dempster and Chris Carpenter combined to allow two in 13 frames. No decisions there either.

Rodrigo Lopez and Kyle Lohse combined to allow one run in 13 frames. Lopez’s lead was blown by Carlos Marmol’s disintegration in the ninth inning.

Cole Hamels and R.A. Dickey: 14 innings, seven hits, two hits, four walks, 11 strikeouts, zero wins

Gavin Floyd allowed two runs to the Royals on three hits and two walks in eight innings. He struck out 10 but got the loss as the White Sox offense was shut down by Luis Mendoza.

Vulture Award

Joel Hanrahan’s first win of the 2011 campaign was credited to him upon his fourth blown save’s having been avenged by the Pirates offense against the red clad team from downstream.

Pedro Strop got the blown save/win combo for Baltimore in Detroit, taking Justin Verlander off the hook for the loss despite allowing five runs.

Wes Littleton Award

Brian Wilson was brought in with two men on and two out in the ninth to protect a four run lead. In times like this, you simply must bring in your "proven closer" to face such fearsome juggernauts as James Loney and Aaron Miles. Wilson allowed the two inherited runs as Loney singled. Then he got the save as Miles was retired to end the game. It was both an unimpressive performance and not really the threat that the word save would have you believe.

Please hold the applause

Daniel Bard got the loss and the hold against the Orioles with some help from Jonathan Papelbon. Bard left the contest with the lead but runners inherited by Papelbon scored and put the Red Sox behind for good.

Josh Stinson also pulled the loss/hold combo for the Mets in St Louis. Tim Byrdak was the one who allowed the inherited runs for Stinson.

And Jose Mijares did the same for the Twins in Cleveland.

Jason Motte got two outs but was charged with two runs. He started with a three run lead to protect and started off the inning by allowing a Carlos Ruiz double. He added to it by yielding a Jimmy Rollins triple to score Ruiz and a Shane Victorino RBI groundout that plated Rollins. He then had to be lifted as Chase Utley approached the batter’s box and the lead was down to one run.

Any sufficiently advanced defense is indistinguishable from pitching

Brandon McCarthy was denied the win by a Grant Balfour blown save, but he should be grateful for the luck that put him in position for the win in the first place as he struck out only one of the 27 Rangers he faced in seven innings of one-run baseball. Only six hits fell in play.

Joe Carter Award

Vladimir Guerrero drove in six runs while posting a punchless .242/.250/.303 line. It feels especially sad watching him be as bad as he has been this season.

Delmon Young also drove in six. At least he could say that he smacked a home run in the process. On the other hand he had fewer total bases than the broken down designated hitter that hit under .250 and whose only extra-base hits were a pair of doubles. .143/.194/.250 is just terrible. His line with the Tigers is down to .258/.280/.413, or exactly as bad as you would expect him to be.

Sanchez Award

If I wasn’t already busy feeling sorry for Vlad, Ichiro Suzuki would make for an almost equally appealing sympathy target. Ichiro is batting .273/.311/.338 this season and put up a .290/.281/.419 this week. To his credit he hit a pair of doubles and a triple, but he also grounded into a double play and went the week without walking in 32 PA.

Harmon Killebrew Award

Mike Stanton struck out in almost a third of his at-bats this week, which explains how he only hit one single. To his credit he also added a pair of doubles, a pair of missiles into the seats, and four walks.

Prince Fielder went .200/.360/.450 for the Brewers.

And Andrew McCutchen had a nice week despite a terrible batting average. All three hits he collected were for extra bases, one being a triple and the other two doubles. He also walked nine times in 25 PA and went 2-for-2 on the base paths.

Steve Balboni Award

In case you were curious, yes Adam Dunn is still striking out and not hitting for power. Nine strikeouts in 21 at-bats and a .095/.296/.190 line are not helping.

I’m not one who was overly excited about the Mariners trading for Trayvon Robinson. I still don’t think that the Dodgers should have given him away for some organizational soldiers, but I see a lot of weeks like this one in Robinson’s future. He fanned 12 times in 27 PA and posted a .115/.148/.115 line.

David Wright whiffed in half of his 20 at-bats and went .100/.217/.150.

Three true outcomes

Ryan Ludwick hit one home run, walked twice, and struck out seven times in 16 PA.

Mark Trumbo in a nutshell: two home runs, no walks, nine strikeouts in 29 PA.

Derrek Lee went 2-2-10 in 28 PA.

McCutchen is missing a category but his work in the other two makes his inclusion compulsory. 0-9-7 in 25 PA.

The anti-TTO

Juan Pierre went 0-1-0 in 24 PA.

Ben Revere went 0-0-2 in 38 PA.

This week’s MVP

AL: Jacoby Ellsbury collected 13 hits on the week in 35 PA. Four of those hits were home runs. He posted a .382/.400/.765. I still don’t buy him as an MVP candidate, but this week was the continuation of a very good year.

NL: Brandon Phillips went .478/.571/.826 in 28 PA with two doubles, two home runs, five walks. He was also 3-for-4 on the bases.

Next week we start on the season wrap. I will likely break it into two pieces with the pitching awards coming first and the hitting awards the week after.

Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-09-27T05:03:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards092011/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards092011/#When:05:04:15
All stats are for the games starting Monday, Sept. 12 and ending Sunday, Sept. 18. If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

This week’s proof that assigning wins and losses to a pitcher is an archaic practice that must stop

Good luck division

Rodrigo Lopez was touched up for five runs in five and a third. The Reds smacked four home runs off him. Despite his 33 game score, he got the win as the North Siders teed off for eight runs off Dontrelle Willis.

Tim Wakefield continued a season-long trend of pitching poorly but getting the win courtesy of Red Sox run support. This time he was shelled for five runs in six innings by the Jays but got the win because Boston smacked around Brandon Morrow and ended up tallying 18 runs in the contest.

Phil Humber yielded six runs in six frames on nine hits and two walks against the Royals. He squeaked out with no-decision thanks to Tim Collins.

Bartolo Colon and Henderson Alvarez combined to allow 11 runs in 10 innings on 16 hits and two walks. They struck out only four. Despite his 34 game score, Alvarez was in line for the win until Carlos Villanueva coughed up the lead and ended up with the loss that could have gone to either of the starters.

Colby Lewis was shelled for six runs in five and two thirds but received credit for the win because his teammates from Arlington scored seven and his bullpen held the Mariners scoreless for the remainder of the game.

Matt Cain was bailed out by his offense, which included a guy named Matt Cain that hit a two run bomb. Matt Cain the pitcher was pummeled for five runs in five frames by the Rockies. He got the win.

Bad luck division

Bud Norris gave the Astros seven innings of one-run baseball to work with. He allowed only four hits and one walk. The effort was in vain as Roy Halladay shut out an awful lineup that had five non-pitchers with OBP’s under .315 and none over .345.

Ivan Nova and Jason Vargas combined to allow just two runs in 14 innings. Neither got the win as it took 12 innings to decide the outcome.

It isn’t one of the best games you’ll see me highlight, but Matt Garza deserves at least a mention for getting a no-decision despite going nine innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and no walks.

Vulture Award

For the first time in quite a long time, I can’t find a reliever who blew the save and was then gifted the win as his teammates scored runs in the next half inning. So pulling a name from the list of relievers who had the random fortune to pitch right before the run support kicked, we will cite Waldis Joaquin retired Ty Wigginton and Mark Ellis for his first career win.

Wes Littleton Award

Royals mop-up man and Rule five pick Nathan Adcock inherited a five-run lead from start Everett Teaford and mopped up for three innings, getting a True Littleton three-inning save.

Chris Perez allowed two doubles, an RBI groundout, and a single before retiring Rene Tosoni to finally close out the game. That’s the same Rene Tosoni that ended the game with a season line of .169/.239/.261. The group of batters that pushed him to the edge was composed of studs like Joe Benson, Matt Tolbert, Ben Revere, and Trevor Plouffe. But since he had a three-run lead to start with, his two runs allowed don’t matter to the save statistic.

Please hold the applause

Henry Rodriguez went two thirds of an inning, walking three. He also threw a wild pitch and somehow in spite of all of this, he didn’t allow a run and got credit for a hold in a game where his team ended up winning 10-1.

Michael Stutes recorded two outs and allowed two runs on four hits against the Cardinals. Hold.

Any sufficiently advanced defense is indistinguishable from pitching

Jered Weaver struck out only one of the 30 Oakland batters he faced and still threw seven innings of one-run ball. Only five balls found pasture and a sixth was a solo home run.

Joe Carter Award

Juan Rivera found a way to drive in seven and still hit only .208/.269/.375 in 26 PA.

Alfonso Soriano plated six and went .200/.273/.300 in 22 PA.

Sanchez Award

In 27 PA, Jimmy Rollins put up a perfect Sanchez line of .296/.296/.296. That’s eight hits with exactly none of them being a double, triple, or home run and a week without a walk or a hit by pitch.

Jon Jay smacked seven hits in 23 PA. That was good. What is bad is that he did little else as he did not walk and only one of his hits went for extra bases.

Marco Scutaro went .300/.318/.400 in 20 PA.

Harmon Killebrew Award

Jason Bay only placed five batted balls out of the reach of fielders this week in 27 PA. He made up for that shortcoming by having two of the five be doubles and by walking six times. His line was a very respectable, though low on the slugging .238/.407/.333.

Steve Balboni Award
It seems incredible that Emilio Bonifacio has struck out 122 times this year in 601 PA while his career rate is 308 in 1524. This week was a banner week for his new-found hacktastic ways with 13 strikeouts in 40 PA. Thirteen strikeouts in a week is something for which his secondary skills cannot make up and he ended the week at .231/.231/.282.

Austin Jackson fanned 11 times in 28 PA and ended the week at .120/.267/.240.

Jackson’s teammate Wilson Betemit had a week that must have reminded Detroit fans of Brandon Inge at his worst. Betemit struck out nine times in 15 PA. .133/.133/.267.

Rockstar rookie Dustin Ackley had a bad week with 10 whiffs in 24 PA and an anemic .130/.167/.130 line.

As I am coming off of a long vacation where the only significant amount of baseball I watched was Monday’s Giants/Padres game where I was a paying member of the audience, it is reassuring to notice that some things haven’t changed. Miguel Olivo striking out nine times and giving his team a .190/.182/.381 face palm of a week is definitely something familiar, like your mother’s cooking or laundry fresh from the dryer.

Three true outcomes

B.J. Upton hit one home run, walked five times, and struck out 10 times in 31 PA.

Brandon Phillips went 4-4-9 in 31 PA.

Brandon Belt is missing a category, but 3-0-8 in 21 PA is impressive from a TTO perspective.

The anti-TTO

Young Dee Gordon went 0-0-1 in 32 PA.

Young Eric Hosmer went 0-0-2 in 28 PA.

Semi-young Neil Walker went 0-0-3 in 25 PA.

This week’s MVP

AL: Erick Aybar raised his OPS 36 points in one week over 540 plate appearances into the season. Anytime a shortstop smacks seven extra-base hits in a week, it is by definition a strong one. .455/.520/1.045 backs that up.

NL: Giant teammates (giant as in the team, not in the Kyle Blanks sense) Pablo Sandoval and Carlos Beltran went off this week. Panda smacked 11 hits consisting of four singles, a double, two triples, and four home runs. He also walked twice and prompted my wife to ask the question of why so many people at AT&T Park were wearing hats styled after pandas. His line ended up at an absurd .440/.481/1.120. Beltran went .455/.526/.848. Notably he hit four doubles and three home runs while also walking five times against two strikeouts. If any particularly wealthy Giants fans see my visit to the left coast as a good luck charm, I can be bribed into relocating.


Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-09-20T05:04:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards090611/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards090611/#When:05:03:15
All stats are for the games starting Monday, Aug. 29 and ending Sunday, Sept. 4. If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

This week’s proof that assigning wins and losses to a pitcher is an archaic practice that must stop

Good luck division

Luke Hochevar got two wins this week. In one, he was great, allowing only one run and four base runners in eight frames. In the other he was charged with five runs in seven innings on eight hits and two walks. But Alex Gordon and the Royals lineup made Max Scherzer their own piñata and all Hochevar had to do was endure for long enough to collect his win.

Because Anthony Swarzak was shelled for eight runs in four and a third, Zach Stewart was able to yield six runs in four and two thirds and escape with a no-decision.

Jered Weaver was shelled for six runs in five frames by the Twins. He managed to get the win despite a game score of 32 as his teammates scored 10 runs and the bullpen tossed four shutout innings.

Jose Arredondo’s blown save ensured that neither Johnny Cueto nor Chris Carpenter would take the loss despite their allowing a combined 11 runs in 11 innings on 16 hits and three walks. More on this game in a minute.

Dillon Gee has a great name. I don’t know if I have ever mentioned that. He had a terrible game and still escaped with a no-decision. Gee was charged with six runs in five innings. He even allowed Tom Milone to hit a three-run home run on the first pitch he ever saw as a major league batter.

Bad luck division

Brandon McCarthy went eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out 10 and induced 10 groundball outs in 28 Cleveland batters faced. He still got the loss because the White Elephants only scored one run.

Doug Fister held the Royals to one run in seven and two thirds, striking out six, walking none. He received a no-decision.

Vulture Award

Aaron Crow blew the save for Danny Duffy, who had been slammed for five runs in five innings. The Royals lineup then came back to smash Phil Coke, handing Crow a cheap win.

Shawn Camp also got the win/blown save combo. He did his while only allowing inherited runs to score.

Arredondo’s blown save also served as a prelude for Marc Rzepczynski to give up runs and hand Arredondo a vultured win.

Wes Littleton Award

Clutching a three-run lead, Carlos Marmol faced Eli Whiteside, Cody Ross, and Andres Torres. Because he hit Ross with a pitch, he also faced Jeff Keppinger. Any three-run save against the Giants where you don’t face Carlos Beltran and Pablo Sandoval should be questioned. Maybe two-run saves as well.

Kyle Farnsworth retired Robert Andino, Nolan Reimold, and J.J. Hardy to earn his 23rd save of the season. He was protecting a three-run lead and faced the seven, eight, nine, and leadoff batters in the Orioles lineup.

Please hold the applause

Jason Grilli got the hold/loss combo with some help from Jose Veras, who allowed two inherited Astros to score.

Alfredo Aceves also got the hold/loss combo. He did so with the help of Daniel Bard against the Yankees.

And Aneury Rodriguez against the Brewers.

All Mike Dunn had to do to get the hold is to keep Lucas Duda and Angel Pagan from hitting back-to-back home runs at Citi Field.

Rookie Dustin Ackley was the first batter Brian Fuentes faced. Ackley smacked a two-run home run and Fuentes still got the hold because in addition to a base runner, he also inherited a three-run lead.

Any sufficiently advanced defense is indistinguishable from pitching

Blake Beavan had a respectable showing, allowing three runs in seven innings on eight hits, taking a no-decision. It could have been much worse as he failed to strike out a single halo from the 26 he faced.

Joel Pineiro allowed only one run in seven innings on five hits. The one run was on a solo home run. Pineiro struck out only one of the 25 Minnesota batters he faced and only four balls found pasture. He got the win.

Joe Carter Award

Juan Rivera somehow drove in five Dodgers in a week when he had but two total bases. .100/.240/.100 is not helpful.

Jhonny Peralta plated seven while batting .273/.333/.384 in 24 PA.

Sanchez Award

Alex Rios collected seven hits in 21 at-bats. On the downside, all seven were singles, he failed to walk even once, and was caught stealing in his only attempt. .333/.318/.333.

Ichiro Suzuki went .300/.300/.400 in 30 PA.

Freddie Freeman and Salvador Perez each provided their teams with five hits in 17 at-bats. Two of Perez’s hits were doubles and one was a home run. He also walked once. Only one of Freeman’s hits went for extra bases and he did not walk. The other obvious difference is in positional value. Freeman’s line was .294/.294/.353. Perez ended the week at .294/.368/.588.

Harmon Killebrew Award

Carlos Santana only rapped out six hits in 25 at-bats. That is a sub-optimal .240 average. But secondary skills are a great thing. Santana had two doubles, two home runs, and four walks, leading to a very nice .240/.355/.560 line.

Johnny Damon posted a .200/.385/.650 line in 25 PA. Three of his four hits were home runs, and he walked five times.

Jayson Werth went a similar path, ending up at the Mendoza line, but walking six times and hitting a home run. He also went two-for-two on the bases. .200/.429/.400 is an unconventional but productive line.

And Justin Upton: .200/.500/.467 in 22 PA.

Steve Balboni Award

Brandon Allen struck out an impressive 15 times in 33 at-bats and ended the week with a .182/.289/.242 line.

Mark Reynolds did Mark Reynolds things, fanning 14 times in 27 PA and having a week that will happen when you make that little contact: .130/.259/.304.

Three true outcomes

Ryan Howard smacked three home runs, walked five times, and struck out nine times in 32 PA.

Brian McCann went 1-3-9 in 23 PA.

When did Emilio Bonifacio learn to take a walk? His 56 in 2011 accounts for 44 percent of his career total. This week he went 0-7-9 in 40 PA.

Matt Kemp went 1-12-8 in 31 PA.

The anti-TTO

Angel Pagan went 0-0-3 in 31 PA.

Mike Moustakas went 0-1-2 in 31 PA.

This week’s MVP

AL: Wow. Austin Jackson went .529/.543/.971 in 35 PA. He smacked 10 singles, three doubles, three triples, and two home runs. He also walked once and stole two bases and was not caught. That was a nice week in any context, but especially given that he has been bad all season, going .260/.324/.396.

NL: David Wright made a lot of contact. He made a lot of hard contact. .500/.594/.808 is spectacular. Wright only struck out twice in 32 PA and walked six times. Five of his 13 hits were doubles and one was a home run.

Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-09-06T05:03:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards083011/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards083011/#When:05:03:15
All stats are for the games starting Monday, Aug. 22 and ending Sunday, Aug. 28. If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

This week’s proof that assigning wins and losses to a pitcher is an archaic practice that must stop

Good luck division

Anthony Vasquez was shelled for six runs in five and a third but got the win anyway as Zach McAllister yielded a 10 spot to the Mariners lineup, defying all odds. The bullpens combined to throw nine and a third giving up three runs while striking out nine.

The starters in the 22-9 Yankees/A’s slugfest did about what you would think they would do: 12 runs in seven innings on 17 hits. On the plus side, they only walked one and neither received the loss.

Bud Norris and Alex White combined to allow 10 runs in 11 frames on 13 hits and five walks. Neither got the loss. White was in line for the win until Matt Belisle blew the save. Belisle got the win as the Rockies scored to take back the lead.

The next day, Wandy Rodriguez and Aaron Cook combined to allow 12 in 11 innings and each walked away with a no-decision.

Fausto Carmona was charged with six runs on eight hits in six and a third against the Royals. He squeaked out a no-decision as the Royals bullpen coughed up the lead.

In the Sunday night game, Jered Weaver and the Rangers lineup spared Colby Lewis the indignity of a loss as the Rangers righty was smoked by the Angels offense for five runs in six innings. Weaver allowed seven.

Bad luck division

Chris Carpenter gave up one run in eight innings on five hits, a walk, and a hit batsman. He struck out seven and ended up with a no-decision because the Cardinals could only score one run off Nate Eovaldi and a quartet of relievers.

Wade Davis threw nine innings, allowing only two runs yet walked away without the win because the Rays bats waited until the 10th inning to score their third run.

Vulture Award

Chris Perez blew his fourth save and got bailed out by Brandon League and Shin-Soo Choo.

Mark Melancon blew his fifth save and the Astros subsequently handed him his seventh win.

Wes Littleton Award

Andrew Bailey entered with a three-run lead and immediately allowed a leadoff Jorge Posada home run. He also allowed a Russ Martin double and walked two. The second of the two walks plated the second run of the inning. He got one of the ugliest saves you are likely to see.

Francisco Cordero allowed two runs on two hits. He also let loose a wild pitch. Three run saves are possible even when you pitch badly.

Please hold the applause

Greg Holland, who has been spectacular this year overall, allowed a double, a triple, a walk, and two runs in two innings. He inherited a three run lead and the Royals scored another pair between his two innings. They scored another two runs immediately after he left the game.

Any sufficiently advanced defense is indistinguishable from pitching

Clay Hensley struck out only one of the 21 Phillies he faced in five and two thirds. Only three hits fell fair and one of those was a home run so the defense didn’t have a chance at that one.

Joe Carter Award

Amazingly, Juan Rivera drove in seven while batting .174/.231/.348.

Marco Scutaro went .219/.257/.344 and found a way to collect six RBI.

The Oakland duo of Coco Crisp and Josh Willingham drove in six each and ended the week at .222/.267/.481 and .222/.267/.407 respectively.

As a contrast, the normally harmless James Loney posted a .444/.483/.778 line with five extra base hits and drove in six. Joey Votto slugged 1.000 with four home runs and drove in six.

Sanchez Award

Vladimir Guerrero smacked eight hits in 26 PA. However, only one of those hits went for extra bases and it was a double. He also failed to walk. .308/.308/.346 doesn’t work for a designated hitter.

Delmon Young posted an anemic .303/.303/.364 line in 33 PA.

Delmon’s teammate Magglio Ordonez looks well past done as his .273/.273/.273 line in 11 PA doesn’t look that different than his .230/.282/.298. I always liked Magglio and it’s sad to see his end look so grizzly.

Jonathan Lucroy went .273/.273/.318 for the Brewers while Chief Justice Jon Jay didn’t help the Cards close the gap when he went .273/.304/.364.

Harmon Killebrew Award

Curtis Granderson got a hit in less than a quarter of his at-bats, but three of his hits went over the fence and he chipped in five walks on his way to a nice .217/.400/.609 line.

Steve Balboni Award

Mike Carp fanned in half of his 28 plate appearances on his way to a putrid .111/.172/.222 week.

Geovany Soto would have killed for Carp’s week, striking out in 10 of his 21 PA and flailing his way to a .000/.091/.000 week. Yeah. It was that bad.

Jim Thome will have weeks like this one. 11 K, 21 PA, .053/.143/.211. He will also have weeks when all of those rate stats will be four to five times higher than that.

Three true outcomes

Brandon Allen smashed three home runs, walked four times, and struck out 14 times in 35 PA.

Jay Bruce posted a 2-4-10 in 28 PA.

Alex Gordon gave the Royals a 2-3-9 TTO week in 23 PA.

Nick Swisher went 5-5-7 in 26 PA.

Granderson: three-five-seven in 28 PA.

Troy Tulowitzki: 3-5-8 in 27.

Chris Young: 2-6-7 in 27 PA.

The anti-TTO

Rafael Furcal went 0-1-1 in 27 PA.

Delmon’s 0-0-2 in 33 explains a lot about why he was in the Sanchez category, as does Vlad’s 0-0-2 in 26.

This week’s MVP

AL: Adrian Gonzalez needs a nickname. That aside, his week featured five homers and four walks to go with six singles and a double. His line for the week was .387/.457/.903 in 35 PA.

NL: Corey Hart stuffed the stat sheet this week with eight singles, a double, a triple, three home runs, two steals with no CS, and three walks in 29 PA. .500/.552/.962.

Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-08-30T05:03:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards082311/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards082311/#When:10:03:15
All stats are for the games starting Monday, Aug. 15 and ending Sunday, Aug. 21. If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

This week’s proof that assigning wins and losses to a pitcher is an archaic practice that must stop

Good luck division

Pitching for the Yankees has its benefits, as Ivan Nova demonstrated against the Royals. Nova was shelled in five and a third, getting charged with seven runs on nine hits. He also flung two wild pitches and posted a game score of 23 and a WPA of -.558. He got the win as the Yankee lineup had its way with Danny Duffy.

Francisco Liriano was pelted for five runs in six frames on nine hits. But Rick Porcello yielded six runs in six innings and Liriano got the win.

Porcello had a second bite of the apple this week as he was run from the game on Sunday by Cleveland with five runs in three and two thirds charged to the Detroit hurler. Ubaldo Jimenez was torched for eight in three and a third. Neither can say it was just a bad day for pitchers as the two bullpens combined to allow two runs in 10 frames.

James Shields: seven and a third, 12 hits, seven runs, no decision. More on this game later.

Brad Mills was terrible, yielding six runs in three innings. Jason Vargas allowed eight and took the loss.

Trever Miller’s blown save took Michael Pineda off the hook despite the big rookie’s five runs in as many innings. Pineda gave up three home runs, walked four, and still got a no-decision.

Ubaldo and Gavin Floyd combined to allow 10 runs in 10 and a third on 14 hits and two walks. They each escaped blame for the loss in a game that went 14 innings.

Kevin Correia escaped with a no-decision as he allowed six runs in six innings and was spared the loss when the Reds bullpen imploded.

Bad luck division

It actually raised his ERA, but you have to feel for Roy Halladay throwing nine innings, allowing only three runs with 14 strikeouts against only one walk and still getting the loss as the Phillies lineup failed to figure out Josh Collmenter and a trio of relievers.

Yovani Gallardo and Chad Billingsley combined to throw 15 innings, allowing only two runs on eight hits and two walks, striking out 14. Neither got the win.

Guillermo Moscoso held the Jays to one run in eight innings, striking out seven against only one walk and three hits. But Toronto shut out Oakland and Moscoso got the loss.

Tim Lincecum allowed one run on five hits and two walks, striking out seven in seven innings and walking away with the loss as Mike Minor and the Braves bullpen shut out the horrible Giants lineup.

Colby Lewis and Jered Weaver combined to allow one run in 14 innings on 10 hits and three walks. Lewis was the one that did not allow a run and he was in line for the win until Mike Adams blew the save.

Vulture Award

Matt Capps was unable to prevent a sac fly when he entered with a one-run lead. So he blew the save. The two runs the Twins lineup scored off Jose Valverde made Capps a winner shortly thereafter.

Francisco Rodriguez also got the win/blown save combo. His came after Chris Capuano and Randy Wolf each had horrific outings and spared the former Brewer the indignity of a loss.

Heath Bell got the combo on Sunday against the Marlins.

Wes Littleton Award

Alfredo Aceves shut the Royals out for three and two thirds for the save in a game that ended 7-1 for the True Littleton. It was one of the more challenging True Littletons you will find as he was facing a respectable lineup and entered with “only” a four-run cushion.

Joakim Soria made Royal fans sweat as he entered the game up two runs on the Yankees. His inning went as follows: fly out, single, single, walk to load the bases, sac fly, runners advance to second and third on a passed ball, walk, strikeout.

Possibly the only thing standing between Andrew Bailey and a blown save was over-aggressive base running as Blake Davis was thrown out at home to end the game when there would have been two outs and runners on the corners. Bailey had already given up two singles and a double in three consecutive at-bats.

Leo Nunez put a man on base and then allowed a two-run pinch-hit home run to Jason Giambi. He still got the save. This is the beauty of the three-run save. You can do a terrible job and still get credited as if you did something miraculous.

Please hold the applause

Brad Lidge entered the game with a two-run lead and retired Wilson Ramos, pinch hitter Alex Cora, and Ian Desmond to get the hold.

In the James Shields game, Jamey Wright entered the game for the Mariners protecting a two-run lead, walked B.J. Upton, then allowed a ground-rule double, an RBI groundout, walked Sam Fold and then walked Desmond Jennings. He was lifted having retired nobody with the bases loaded. He got the hold because Seattle still clung to a one-run lead, though with the bases loaded and nobody out, expecting that lead to survive the inning is foolish. The next batter hit a three-run double off Jeff Gray. Wright would have gotten the hold/loss combo had Shields not allowed Wily Mo Pena to tie the game in the next half-inning.

Any sufficiently advanced defense is indistinguishable from pitching

Jordan Zimmerman managed to shut out the Reds for five and two thirds despite striking out only one of the 25 batters he faced.

Joe Carter Award

Juan Pierre drove in six runs in 28 at-bats. That is unlike the Juan Pierre we all know and love. He also bat .286/.286/.393, which is almost exactly the Juan Pierre we all know and love.

Justin Morneau also plated six and he “hit” .174/.231/.217.

Sanchez Award

Eduardo Nunez collected seven hits in 22 PA. That was muted by the fact that only two of the seven went for extra bases, both being doubles, and he didn’t walk at all. .318/.318/.409 isn’t helping the Yankees.

Pierre’s .286/.286/.393 certainly qualifies.

Juan Rivera went .286/.313/.357. Even in this offensive environment, that is not what you want from a defensively limited corner outfielder.

Harmon Killebrew Award

It isn’t MVP material, but Hunter Pence gave the Phillies a nice .238/.407/.429 with a home run, a double, and six walks.

Steve Balboni Award

Travis Hafner struck out 12 times in 25 at-bats, which goes a long way towards explaining his .160/.250/.280 week.

Copy that with Rick Ankiel, who fanned 11 times in 25 at-bats and went .200/.231/.200.

Baltimore third baseman Josh Bell has now become the other Josh Bell as the Pirates signed the outfield prospect this week. The current other Josh Bell whiffed eight times in 18 at bats and went .222/.333/.222, though that may be seen as a potential sign of progress as the notoriously unselective 24-year-old found a way to walk three times.

Three true outcomes

Dan Uggla smacked two home runs, walked four times, and struck out 10 times in 30 PA.

I don’t think of Russell Martin when I go into researching this category but here he is, going 3-2-9 in 25 PA.

I do think of Mike Stanton, who didn’t disappoint, going 4-4-5 in 25 PA.

Josh Willingham went 3-3-8 in 24 PA.

Have opposing pitchers decided to never throw Jose Bautista a strike ever again? 2-10-3 in 27 PA.

Alex Avila gave the Tigers a 1-6-5 in 25 PA.

The anti-TTO

Brett Gardner had bad luck on balls in play, posting a .214/.258/.286 line. He gave BABIP a lot of opportunities, going 0-1-0 in 29 PA.

Ichiro Suzuki went 0-0-1 in 28 PA.

This week’s MVP

AL: With a hat tip to Joey Bats, who reached base 18 times, this week goes to Avila, who went .526/.640/.947. It bears mentioning that Avila is neck-and-neck with Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta in the race to be the second most valuable Tiger this year after Justin Verlander, all currently in the 4-5 win range according to both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference.

NL: Nick Hundley joins Avila as catchers having a particularly good week within a good season. Hundley rapped out a dozen hits: four singles, three doubles, four triples, and a home run. Yes, I just said a catcher hit four triples in a week. And yes that is strange, especially since it constitutes 80 percent of his season total and 40 percent of his career’s total. He has 205 PA this year, 1017 in his career and this week had many triples in a career where he just did not hit triples. Novelties aside, .500/.520/1.083 is serious production from a catcher.

Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-08-23T10:03:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards081611/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards081611/#When:05:03:15
All stats are for the games starting Monday, Aug. 8 and ending Sunday, Aug. 14. If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

This week’s proof that assigning wins and losses to a pitcher is an archaic practice that must stop

Good luck division

Homer Bailey and Jason Hammel only managed to get through a total of seven frames and yielded 11 runs on 10 hits and two walks. They gave up two homers each and struck out the same number. Neither got the loss, though the right unit got the win as the Rockies bullpen threw five innings and only gave up one run.

Jordan Lyles and Jason Marquis in the start where he didn’t pitch on a broken leg were each pummeled. They allowed seven runs each in a combined nine innings on 21 hits. Lyles was in line for the win until Wilton Lopez coughed up his sixth lead of the season. Neither got the loss.

Chad Billingsley and Vance Worley went eight and a third combined, getting shelled for 11 runs on 14 hits and six walks. No decision.

Because of Mark Melancon’s inability to hold a lead, Joe Saunders was able to allow five runs in six innings and walk away without the demerit of a loss.

With Darren Oliver’s help, Matt Harrison was bombed for six runs in five and a third. Oliver was on the mound for two of the six as he inherited them from Harrison. With the help of everybody on the Rangers that was not named Darren Oliver, Harrison escaped without the loss. The lineup shelled Rich Harden and the Oakland pen and Harrison was scot-free.

Bad luck division

Don’t fault Jhoulys Chacin for the Rockies’ loss. He threw eight innings, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks, striking out nine. His teammates scored all of one run in support of his efforts.

In a matchup of two admittedly bad lineups, six pitchers combined to allow zero runs in 18 innings and walked away with no win. This group was led by Astros starter Bud Norris, who threw seven shutout innings, striking out eight.

Charlie Morton and Shaun Marcum combined to throw 15 frames, allowing one run each. They received matching no-decisions.

Luke Hochevar and Jeremy Hellickson combined to throw 14 and a third innings, allowing two runs on 11 hits and five walks, striking out 14. Casey Kotchman won the game for the Rays long after the starters had gone to ice their shoulders and elbows.

Vulture Award

Alfredo Aceves got his eighth win of the year by blowing the save and then watching as his teammates made Glen Perkins look ridiculous.

Matt Albers for Boston also against the Twins.

Then Glen Perkins in the same matchup the next day, the third time in the series turns it around and receives a victory despite blowing the lead instead of handing it to somebody else.

And Jesse Crain got the win/blown save combo against Baltimore.

Jake McGee didn’t blow a save, but his only contribution to the game was allowing a three-run home run before Aaron Crow and Joakim Soria imploded and handed him a win that nobody saw coming.

Wes Littleton Award

In protecting a three run lead, Daniel Hernandez retired Jimmy Paredes, Clint Barmes, and Humberto Quintero.

Please hold the applause

The Phillies' eighth inning demonstrates the point of this award nicely. Michael Stutes started the inning with a 4-1 lead. He started off by allowing a Matt Kemp single, then a steal that advanced Kemp to second base. An Aaron Miles single then plated Kemp and Miles advanced to second himself on an error by Stutes. After the harmless James Loney flied out, Stutes was lifted for Brad Lidge, who proceeded to walk Rod Barajas. Then came pinch hitter Juan Rivera who singled home Miles. Dee Gordon then grounded into a fielder’s choice. Lidge advanced the runners to second and third with a wild pitch. And Lidge then escaped the inning grasping a one-run lead when Tony Gwynn Jr attempted to bunt himself on base. Both Stutes and Lidge received a hold. Neither really helped the Phillies in their attempt to win the game and turned a three-run lead into a one-run lead.

Any sufficiently advanced defense is indistinguishable from pitching

In his first win of the season, Chien-Ming Wang struck out one of the 21 Cubs he faced in six scoreless innings. It is to his credit that he induced 12 groundball outs, but that is a lot of balls in play with only one hit against.

Randy Wolf struck out one of 28 St Louis batters in eight innings. Only five hits found pasture and only one run was scored against him.

Joe Carter Award

Adam Lind drove in six runs on the week. This was in spite of batting only .154/.148/.346.

Alex Gonzalez also plated six. He smacked two home runs but did nothing else with the stick. .207/.207/.414.

Sanchez Award

Jonathan Lucroy posted a perfect Sanchez line of .316/.316/.316 in 19 PA.

Andy Dirks went .292/.320/.375 in 25 PA.

Emilio Bonifacio has been great for fantasy owners who need steals, but his .280/.308/.320 line this week didn’t help the Fish.

Kosuke Fukudome’s one plus skill is plate discipline, so when he goes a week without a walk, chances are he isn’t going to help Cleveland much. .280/.308/.360 in 26 PA.

Harmon Killebrew Award

Joey Votto has the secondary skills to overcome a bad BABIP week. Of his five hits on the week, two were home runs and one was a double. He also chipped in seven walks, which took his line to .238/.429/.571 in 28 PA.

Pablo Sandoval went .238/.333/.524 for the Giants.

Jose Bautista only collected four hits and of those, only one was a home run. But his walk rate still made him a productive player at .235/.409/.412.

Josh Willingham gave the White Elephants a nice week. .217/.357/.565 in 26 PA.

John Buck had one of the more extreme lines you will see this week at .188/.350/.563 in 20 PA.

Steve Balboni Award

Mark Reynolds did nothing but strike out this week, fanning 12 times in 26 PA and ending up at .038/.038/.038.

Chris Iannetta has good weeks and he has bad weeks. This was a bad week with eight strikeouts and a .118/.250/.176 line.

Three true outcomes

There are reasons why Buck had the week he had. He accumulated two home runs, walked four times, and struck out eight times in 20 PA.

Jay Bruce was a crazy TTO hitter this week. 5-2-9 in 27 PA.

Jayson Werth went 1-3-10 in 24 PA.

Curtis Granderson was 5-5-6 in 27 PA.

The anti-TTO

Chase Utley went 0-0-0 in 27 PA.

This week’s MVP

AL: Did we ever figure out what happened during the half season where David Ortiz looked like Big Great Grand Papi? He looked absolutely finished. He looked like 2011 Adam Dunn with a bat that looked slower than a Molina family footrace. This week he only struck out twice in 26 PA, walked four times, homered three times, and ended up at .500/.577/.955 for the Red Sox.

NL: I’m calling it a draw between two corner outfielders. I mentioned Jay Bruce earlier. Those five home runs were engine driving his .440/.481/1.120 week. Fellow young corner outfielder Justin Upton drove three doubles, three home runs, stole two bases, and walked once in 28 PA for a .481/.517/.926 week.

Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-08-16T05:03:15+00:00 http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards080911/ http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/tht-awards080911/#When:05:03:15
All stats are for the games starting Monday, Aug. 1 and ending Sunday, Aug. 7. If you are a new reader, reference the week one column for category explanations.

This week’s proof that assigning wins and losses to a pitcher is an archaic practice that must stop

Good luck division

Randy Wolf was pummeled for five runs in six frames. But the Brewers lineup did that much and more to Edwin Jackson in Jackson’s Cardinals debut. Wolf got the win.

Josh Tomlin and John Lackey combined to give up 10 runs in 12 and two-thirds on 18 hits. They each gave up a pair of home runs. They handed the responsibilities off to their bullpens and walked away with no-decisions.

Jaime Garcia and Shaun Marcum were shelled for 13 runs in 11 frames. The 10 relievers who split the remaining 11 innings combined to allowed two runs. The game went into extra innings and neither starter was held accountable for his poor work.

Courtesy of his teammates' destruction of Gavin Floyd, A.J. Burnett was able to escape with a no decision while getting blasted for seven runs in four and a third. The Yankees bullpen also shut out the White Sox for the remainder of the contest.

Rodrigo Lopez was charged with six runs in four innings. The Cubs bullpen allowed zero runs over the remaining five and Lopez was let off the hook in what ended up being a victory over the Pirates.

Ubaldo Jimenez was punished to the tune of five runs in as many innings by the Rangers. But Derek Holland was worse, not even making it out of the second inning before getting dinged for six runs. Jimenez was in line for the win before Chris Perez allowed two runs and blew the save. This ensured that neither starter would see the loss.

Jon Niese got the win despite allowing five Atlanta batters to score in five innings.

Dillon Gee allowed five runs in five innings, highlighted by three home runs and three walks. No decision.

Bad luck division

Mat Latos allowed only one run in seven innings on six hits, striking out six, walking none. Hiroki Kuroda and the Dodgers shut out Latos and his teammates and Latos walked away with a loss.

Jered Weaver threw nine shutout innings against the Mariners. He struck out eight and only allowed eight base runners but had to settle for a no-decision as the Angels offense waited until after he left the game to score a run.

Charlie Morton has had a tough run-in lately with regression, but he did well on Wednesday, allowing only seven base runners in as many shutout innings. But his Pirate teammates were shut out by Matt Garza, Sean Marshall, and Carlos Marmol and Morton walked away with a no-decision.
Vulture Award

Leo Nuñez allowed a two run homer to Lucas Duda to blow his fourth save of the year. Mike Stanton turned around the next half inning and made Nunez a winner by launching a grand slam off Jason Isringhausen.

Joaquin Benoit got the blown save/win combo against the Rangers.

We had three on Sunday alone. Nick Masset did it against the Cubs. Mitchell Boggs against the Fish. Tyler Clippard against the Rockies.

Wes Littleton Award

Fredi Gonzalez removed Jonny Venters, who had thrown all of 12 pitches to retire the Nats in the eighth for Craig Kimbrel? Why? Because clearly since Venters is the setup man and not the closer he can’t be trusted to retire the likes of Jesus Flores, who ended the game with a season line of .194/.219/.226, Jonny Gomes (.212/.338/.398) and the corpse of Rick Ankiel (.240/.302/.376) protecting only a two-run lead.

Please hold the applause

Kerry Wood took the mound inheriting a three-run lead in the eighth inning. After two batters, that lead was down to one. He got the hold as he held on to finish the inning.

Any sufficiently advanced defense is indistinguishable from pitching

Tim Hudson struck out two Mets in seven innings. Only three of 23 balls in play found pasture, only one run scored, and Hudson found himself with the victory.

Joe Carter Award

The BABIP that accompanied Billy Butler’s recent power spike collapsed this week and he ended up at .227/.240/.409 in 23 PA. Despite that, he still managed to find a way to drive in eight runs, the same number as Dan Uggla, who singled seven times and blasted four home runs. It was a good week to bat behind Alex Gordon.

Sanchez Award

It isn’t awful for a second baseman in today’s run scoring climate, and he’s done great work this year. But Dustin Pedroia’s .321/.323/.357 in 31 PA this week was pretty weak. Getting caught two of the three times you try stealing a base isn’t helpful either.

His double play partner’s .316/.316/.368 isn’t good either.

Ichiro Suzuki went .308/.308/.308 in 26 PA.

Ichiro’s teammate Miguel Olivo went .294/.294/.294 in 17 PA.

Kosuke Fukudome went .294/.294/.353 in 34 PA for Cleveland. Like Pedroia, he went one for three on the base paths. What happened to the plate discipline?

Danny Valencia went .286/.286/.286 in 21 PA.

Harmon Killebrew Award

In 16 plate appearances, Kurt Suzuki, who is not well known for his secondary offensive skills, batted .231/.375/.615. All three of his hits were of the extra base variety and he walked three times.

Steve Balboni Award

Emilio Bonifacio struck out 10 times in 29 PA. .143/.172/.179 logically followed given his historic lack of power or patience.

Adam Dunn went back to doing Adam Dunn things; eight strikeouts, 23 PA, .143/.217/.286 line.

Three true outcomes

Geovany Soto hit two home runs, walked three times, and struck out nine times in 26 PA.

Ryan Howard went 3-2-11 in 27 PA.

Carlos Santana went 2-3-11 in 30 PA.

Matt Holliday didn’t strike out as much as you would want for the category, but 4-7-6 in 32 PA is impressive in its own right.

Jose Bautista is still Jose Bautista: 2-4-7 in 26 PA.

The anti-TTO

Ichiro gave the Mariners a 0-0-1 in 26 PA.

I’m not entirely sure Ezequiel Carrera is a real person and more importantly, a real name. I have scenarios bouncing around in my head involving a random Triple-A journeyman and witness protection. I think I saw that on a USA Network program though. Whether real or not, the spreadsheet in front of me says 0-0-2 in 24 PA.

This week’s MVP

AL: What got into Casey Kotchman this year? The guy is posting a 148 OPS+ right now. If you add his 2009 and 2010 OPS+ together, you only get 162. In the toughest offensive year in 20 years, the guy reemerged from uselessness to bat .336/.396/.467. This week he increased his home run total for the year by 50 percent and produced a line of .478/.556/.783 in 26 PA.

NL: Matt Holliday went .400/.545/.920 for the Cardinals. They really needed that.

Click here to learn about THT's download subscriptions.]]> John Barten 2011-08-09T05:03:15+00:00