Posts Tagged Curt Schilling

Cliff Lee Hates Walks

Lee is having a unique season.

If Kevin Youkilis is the “Greek God of Walks,” does that make Cliff Lee his mortal enemy? It’s an interesting query to ponder, considering Cliff Lee’s complete refusal to walk batters this season. At this pace, Lee is set to shatter the single season record for K/BB ratio. Given that the record for highest K/BB isn’t as universally celebrated as the single season home run or RBI leaders, let’s take a closer look at Cliff Lee’s historic season.

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , , , ,

No Comments

Top 10 Baseball Non-Steriod Controversies Of Past Decade

The World Baseball Classic is my #1 non-steriod controversy.

The World Baseball Classic is my #1 non-steriod controversy.

Several media outlets are releasing their “Best Of’s” lists for the past year and decade. Yahoo! Sports has released a couple already, but one I wanted to comment on was their “Top 10 Baseball Non-Steroid Controversies”.

Here is my list

1. World Baseball Classic

2. Bartman

3. ASG Tie

4. Grady Leaving Pedro In

5. Umpiring Meltdowns/Instant Replay

6. Torre Leaves Yankees

7. Schilling’s Bloody Sock

8. Contraction Threats

9. Sosa Corked Bat

10. Pierzynski Reaches

Here is my reasoning…

1. WBC. This has driven owners, agents and everyone in baseball except Bud Selig nuts. The premise to make the game more “global” is a myth, and the WBC is something that Selig cites as an “accomplishment” during his time as Commissioner. The issue nearly everyone has with it is the injury risk for players that are away from their teams during spring training. MLB teams are spending more money than ever on players and the last thing they want to see is an injury or ineffectiveness from their multimillion dollar asset. Finally, the best players from each respective county haven’t played in these games, so the WBC hasn’t really proven anything, except a giant waste.

Read the rest of this entry »

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

6 Comments

Stats That Interest Only Me

nolascoIf you own Ricky Nolasco in a fantasy baseball league, you’re probably aware that the highly-touted right-hander brought an ERA of 5.00 into tonight’s start at Philadelphia. While that ERA is disappointing, it obscures the fact that Nolasco has actually pitched quite well over the course of the season. With a strikeout-to-walk ratio over 4.00 and a strikeout per nine-inning rate of over 9.00, Nolasco’s command should not be in question. In fact, since 1901, no pitcher with K/BB and K/9 rates that high had ever qualified for an ERA title with an ERA near Nolasco’s. The worst ERA ever for a pitcher with rates that high was just 3.33, by Johan Santana in 2007. While Nolasco probably won’t be able to bring his ERA down to that level, it’s a pretty good indicator that his fantasy owners, and the ever-so-rare Marlins fan, don’t have too much to worry about with Nolasco down the stretch.

Worst ERA with K/BB Over 4, K/9 Over 9
Since 1901
Player ERA K/BB SO/9 Year Age Tm
1 Ricky Nolasco 5.00 4.21 9.08 2009 26 FLA
2 Johan Santana 3.33 4.52 9.66 2007 28 MIN
3 Justin Verlander 3.29 4.09 10.57 2009 26 DET
4 Curt Schilling 3.25 4.92 10.05 1998 31 PHI
5 Javier Vazquez 3.24 4.23 9.40 2003 26 MON
6 Curt Schilling 3.23 9.58 10.97 2002 35 ARI

Thanks, Baseball-Reference.

, , , , , , , ,

4 Comments