Posts Tagged Justin Verlander
2009 MLB Postseason Picks
Can A-Rod finally win a World Series?
It is here, the playoffs start Today and let’s see what Foul Pole 2 Foul Pole’s bloggers think about who will win it this year. Without further ado, here are the picks…
| Postseason Picks | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blogger | NYY-MIN | LAA-BOS | PHI-COL | LAD-STL | AL Champ | NL Champ | World Series Champ | World Series MVP |
| Matt Montgomery | NYY | BOS | PHI | LAD | NYY | LAD | NYY | Alex Rodriguez |
| Chris Cwik | NYY | BOS | COL | LAD | NYY | LAD | NYY | Mark Teixeira |
| Marco Radenkovich | NYY | BOS | COL | STL | NYY | STL | NYY | Mark Teixeira |
| Mark Cunningham | MIN | BOS | COL | STL | BOS | COL | COL | Troy Tulowitzki |
| Brian Hendricks | NYY | BOS | PHI | STL | NYY | STL | NYY | Mark Teixeira |
| Kevin Tracy | NYY | LAA | PHI | STL | NYY | PHI | NYY | CC Sabathia |
| Rene Delombard | NYY | BOS | PHI | STL | NYY | STL | NYY | CC Sabathia |
| Julia Lopez | NYY | LAA | PHI | STL | LAA | STL | LAA | Chone Figgins |
| Brad Galli | DET | LAA | COL | STL | DET | STL | DET | Justin Verlander |
A Bronx Bombing
The New York Yankees have lost one of their eight series’ since the All-Star Break, take a guess to whom. That’s right, everybody’s favorite Sox, the Chicago White Sox. Anyway, enough South Side love, this isn’t about them, it’s about the team the other Sox, just plain hate. The Yankees have exploded out of the All-Star gate winning 20 games out of a possible 26 and outscoring their opponents 139-103. Three losses to the White Sox, and three losses to the rest of their opponents, darn it, I just brought up the White Sox again.
Those opponents: Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Toronto twice, and Boston, with four of those teams fighting for the playoffs. Not only have the Yankees beaten some quality teams, but they have earned wins over the following pitchers: Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, James Shields, Matt Garza, Mr. Perfect Game Mark Buehrle, and future PGA tour man John Smoltz.
| Bombs Away | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankees This Season | Home | Road | ||||
| Games | 58 | 55 | ||||
| BA | .278 | .281 | ||||
| Runs Scored | 326 | 304 | ||||
| HR | 105 | 68 | ||||
| OBP | .362 | .357 | ||||
| *Entering Wednesday | ||||||
Ok, ok, the Yankees are having a great 2nd half, I get it, good teams go on hot streaks, so what? Well, the Yankees are putting themselves in the driver’s seat for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. That matters because the Yankees are hitting at New Yankee Stadium, as well as any other stadium, as if their games are at Williamsport, PA. (Little League World Series starts in nine days.) Entering Wednesday, the Yankees are 40-18 at home this season. They won 48 games at the Old Yankee Stadium last year.
Stats That Interest Only Me
If 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.
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