Winston-Salem, NC -- As a stat geek, I found this snippet in today's paper very interesting. I will be posting my annual MVP and Cy Young Winner predictions after season's end. While the focus of the season, the playoff race, has reached its apex, there are some other great stories that have fallen through the cracks. At the top of that list has to be the Washington Nationals. The Nats were predicted by many to have one of the worst seasons in baseball history -- in the ballpark (no pun intended) of 110-120 losses. I predicted a 63-99 season based on their pitching staff comprised of cast-offs and spare parts. The Nats, as of today, have 72 wins! That's one more than last year when they had Alfonso Soriano, Livan Hernandez, Jose Guillen, Jose Vidro and a healthy Nick Johnson on the roster. What was the best move that the Nats made last offseason? Hiring Manny Acta -- the guy knows how to use the bullpen, effectively communicate with his players and coaching staff, and rarely throws a tantrum. It's time to "acta-vate" baby!
Anyways, check out this stat, dug out by the Elias Sports Bureau, and reported by the Washington Post's Barry Svrluga (9/28/07):
"The final start of the season for left-hander Matt Chico will bring the last chance for the Nationals to become a statistical oddity. Washington has employed 26 pitchers this season -- including 13 starters -- yet no one has more than Jon Rauch's eight wins.
Moreover, no one has more than Chico's nine losses. Thus, should Chico get a win or a no-decision (tonight) in Philadelphia and Rauch not pick up two wins in relief, the Nationals will finish with neither a 10-game winner nor a 10-game loser. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that has never happened in a full season; it happened only in 1981 and '94, seasons shortened by labor strife."
12 comments:
I think next year the Nats will be competitive. With the new stadium, and the promises to spend some money, things can be looking good.
Have you seen Justin Maxwell? He is a kid from Olney who played for Maryland. He was tearing up the minors and just got called up for September. (He was in one of the low A leagues I believe) His first hit was a pinch hit grand slam. He looks real comfortable up here, and can't wait to see more from him.
The young pitchers that are getting a chance are getting valuable work in, and I'm happy with their production. The future is definitely bright. Much brighter than that of Baltimore.
C'mon Cakes...#5....no chirping in today? Isn't baseball statistics fun and exciting? You can always just talk about anything anyway. (I'm bored here)
Some of us have to work.... therefore we can't be "blogging" every minute of the day
The hottest football players:
SEAN TAYLOR - he's only 24?!!! I might have a chance...do you think mom and her family would approve of that since he is famous and awesome at football??!
Patrick Ramsey - they never gave him a real chance
Matt Linert - he's so dreamy
Eli - though not as good of a payer as Peyton, he sure beats him in looks
*Statisticlly, the figures show that these four have been picked the most(by ME)in a poll asking: which football players are most easy on the eyes?
The answer is NO. The family would not. Maybe Landry. What about Tom Brady? He's much sexier than those other quarterbacks, and much better.
OMG! How could I forget him! and he starred in an episode of a t.v. show.... does anyone know which show???
Tom Brady was in Stuck On You (Thanks IMDB)
So I just did some calculating, and this seems to be the worst week of picks collectively. Would you say that commish? The only one to come out good was the one who didn't make any picks, and got home teams. B dropped a few spots, and now is behind Barb. #5, (yes you will still retain that name), you keep that caboose warm for you and Cakes...its gonna be a long season.
First of all, I said what T.V. SHOW, not what movie....
Second, You can't cheat! it's a trivia question about what you know, not about how well you know how to look up things on the internet!
Try again...
I just didn't want katie to feel bad this week, PLUS you only got one more than me! PUNK!
Oh did you mean The Family Guy episode he was "in"
Here's a cool stat for B....this season is only the second one where no team finished with a winning percentage above .600, AND no team had one lower than .400. Not bad parity. Also, Arizona finished with the lowest wins (90) for a team with the best record in the league in quite some time.
I'm short on time today with everything going on down here, but I hope to catch up and update the blog tonight.
#5 will remain #5 (maybe #4 pending tonight), even if the Patriots win and I get a 5 for the week. Collectively, this is the worst performance I've ever seen in a week.
Did ya'll see the quote of the week (in the chart)??!!
The quote is classy...pure classy. I wish I had the moneys to take my lady to a Red Lobster.
Good luck with the move!
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