June 7, 1984 - The Crazy 88's

Game #607 - Cincinnati Reds, 5 @ San Diego Padres, 8

The Reds carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth with all runs unearned thanks to errors by Dave Dravecky and Graig Nettles.  But the Padres put up three runs thanks to an RBI double by Terry Kennedy, a sacrifice fly by Gary Templeton, and an RBI single by Alan Wiggins. 

They further extended the league with two runs apiece in the sixth and seventh.  Wayne Krenchicki added a solo homer in the seventh and a RBI double in the eighth for the Reds, but it wasn't enough to overcome the San Diego lead.

Winning Pitcher - Dave Dravecky
Losing Pitcher - Jeff Russell
Save - Goose Gossage
Player of the Game - Alan Wiggins, 2-4, 2R's, RBI, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Perez, Tony Gwynn, Goose Gossage

Game #608 - Houston Astros, 7 @ San Francisco Giants, 8

Jack Clark got the party started in the bottom of the first with a solo homer off Mike Scott.  The Astros came raging back in the second, though.  Craig Reynolds knocked in Denny Walling and then Bill Doran plated Phil Garner and Reynolds to give Houston a 3-1 lead.

It didn't last long.

Mike Scott surrendered four unearned runs after a two-out error by Garner.  It stayed 5-3 in favor of the Giants until the fifth inning.  Mike Krukow fell apart and allowed four runs to score.  Reliever Greg Minton gave up two hits that tagged Krukow's ERA.  But the Giants tied the game in the bottom half of the inning with two bases loaded walks.

It was still tied at 7-7 when Bill Dawley toed the rubber for Houston in the bottom of the eighth.  Dawley has been one of the very best relievers in the league this season, but Bob Brenly didn't get the memo.  He took Dawley DEEP for a solo blast to break the tie!  Gary Lavelle retired the side in the top of the ninth to save the game.

Winning Pitcher - Frank Williams
Losing Pitcher - Bill Dawley
Save - Gary Lavelle
Player of the Game - Bob Brenly, 3-4, HR, 2RBI, BB

June 7, 1984 - Midwest Maestros

Game #705 - Texas Rangers, 0 @ Minnesota Twins, 2

It had been a few games since two pitchers managed to go the distance in the same game, but that's exactly what happened here.  Mike Mason of the Rangers and Ed Hodge of the Twins were the unlikely dueling pitcher heroes of the game.  Tim Laudner and Kirby Puckett managed RBI singles in the second and that would account for all the runs in the game.  Mason scattered eleven hits (four of those in the second inning) and added six strikeouts.  But it wasn't enough to overcome Hodge, who was making his first start of the season after exhausting all of his relief appearances.  He only permitted four hits and three walks while he blanked Texas over nine innings.

Winning Pitcher - Ed Hodge
Losing Pitcher - Mike Mason
Player of the Game - Hodge, CG SHO
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett

Game #706 - Chicago Cubs, 7 @ Montreal Expos, 2

It was a scoreless game until the top of the third when Ryne Sandberg cranked a one-out double to plate Bob Dernier.  Leon "Bull" Durham was the next batter and took a David Palmer fastball all the way into the right field bleachers.

Montreal chipped away at that 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth.  With Tim Raines standing on second and two outs, Tim Wallach found the gap to triple Raines home.  Wallach trotted home when the next batter, Mike Stenhouse, singled off Dennis Eckersley.  Eck calmed down after that and actually pitched through the eighth inning as the Cubs pulled away later in the game.

Winning Pitcher - Dennis Eckersley
Losing Pitcher - David Palmer
Player of the Game - Leon Durham, 2-4, 2B, HR, 3RBI, 2Rs, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg, Dennis Eckersley, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

June 7, 1984 - Battles for Second Place

Game #703 - Seattle Mariners, 5 @ Kansas City Royals, 8

The charging Kansas City Royals continued their march up the AL West standings, starting the game in third place with the Mariners just a game ahead of them.  Ed VandeBerg got into a heap of trouble in the bottom of the second as his own fielding error, along with another glove blunder from right fielder Dave Henderson, allowed four Royals to cross home plate.  KC posted another run in the third and then chased VandeBerg out of the game in the fourth after RBI hits from Darryl Motley and Steve Balboni.

In the top of the seventh the Royals saw their 8-0 lead come into trouble.  Bud Black surrendered a walk and three straight hits before getting pulled in favor of Danny Jackson.  The Mariners scored three that inning and then two more in the eighth, and suddenly they only had a three run lead.  But Dan Quisenberry came in for the ninth and got Henderson, Ken Phelps, and Barr Bonnell to all fly out quietly for a Royals win.  They're now tied for second with the M's.

Winning Pitcher - Bud Black
Losing Pitcher - Ed VandeBerg
Save - Dan Quisenberry
Player of the Game - Darryl Motley, 4-5, 2 2Bs, 2Rs, RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett

Game #704 - Atlanta Braves, 5 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 3

Atlanta entered the game just a game and a half behind the Dodgers for second place in the NL West.  They scored first in the top of the first with an RBI from (not that) Randy Johnson that plated Claudell Washington.  Bob Welch settled down after that, striking out seven Braves until Washington launched a two-run homer in the fifth to give Atlanta a 3-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth a Dale Murphy error allowed Bob Welch to score from first.  Welch was on first because of a Craig McMurtry fielding gaff.  Mike Scioscia lined out to Rafael Ramirez with R.J. Reynolds on first, but the liner injured Ramirez and now he'll be out for the next ten games.  That brought up Pedro Guerrero, who is stone cold this Statis Pro season despite having a good 1984.  He finally showed life by roping a triple to plate Reynolds and reduce the Atlanta lead to one run.

The Braves managed two more runs to L.A.'s additional run in the eighth, and Donnie Moore locked it down in the bottom of the ninth to give Atlanta the win.  They're now just a half game back of the Dodgers.

Winning Pitcher - Craig McMurtry
Losing Pitcher - Bob Welch
Save - Donnie Moore
Player of the Game - McMurtry, 6IP, ER, 3Hs, 4Ks

June 7, 1984 - Out of Leftfield

Game #701 - California Angels, 4 @ Chicago White Sox, 2 (10 innings)

Mike Witt and Floyd Bannister were the dueling starters in this match-up and both looked good.  The first run of the game didn't cross home plate until the top of the fourth.  Brian Downing reached  on a fielding error by Vance Law.  Downing moved to third on a two-out double by Juan Beniquez, and then scored on a Rob Wilfong single.  Beniquez also tried to score but got gunned down at home by Ron Kittle.

And that was the only run of the game until the bottom of the ninth!  Witt was still on the mound, trying to complete the shutout.  But he walked Greg Luzinski with one out.  Mike Squires came on to pinch-run and then Rudy Law hit an RBI double to tie the game!  Witt left the game after that and Luis Sanchez got the final two outs to send the game into extra innings. 

The White Sox bullpen was a bit depleted, so Salome Barojas was charged to keep the game tied.  He immediately walked Bob Boone but induced a double play from pinch-hitter Rod Carew.  But then Ron Jackson walked, Gary Pettis singled and Brian Downing...HOMERED!  Three-run blast!  Greg Walker launched his own solo shot in the bottom of the tenth but it wasn't enough to overcome the Angels' left fielder.

Winning Pitcher - Luis Sanchez
Losing Pitcher - Salome Barojas
Player of the Game - Brian Downing, 2-5, HR, 2Rs, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk

Game #702 - Toronto Blue Jays, 3 @ Detroit Tigers, 4

This was the last of a four game series against the two best teams in Statis Pro.  The Blue Jays had a 2-1 series lead, so Detroit was desperate to dismiss Toronto with a loss.

Both teams had studs on the mound; Dave Stieb and Jack Morris.  Morris was the stronger pitcher through the first three innings as Stieb had to work out of several jams.  The wheels finally fell off in the bottom of the fourth.  Dave Bergman singled and scored on a Howard Johnson double.  HoJo crossed home plate on a Marty Castillo triple, his fourth of the season.  Whitaker then knocked Castillo in on an RBI single.  Stieb would load the bases before getting Chet Lemon to ground into a double play but that's as far as Stieb would pitch on the day.

Detroit held a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh before Ernie Whitt launched a ball into the rightfield bleachers to tie the game at 3-3.  It stayed tied heading into the bottom of the ninth.  Alan Trammell was first up, and ended up on second after a disastrous error by Garth Iorg.  That brought up Kirk Gibson, facing fellow lefty Bryan Clark.  Gibby ripped a walk-off double, though, to win the game!!!  The Tiger leftfielder was the hero!!!

Winning Pitcher - Willie Hernandez
Losing Pitcher - Bryan Clark
Player of the Game - Kirk Gibson, 3-4, BB, 2B, GWRBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell, Jack Morris

June 7, 1984 - The 700 Club

Game #700 - Milwaukee Brewers, 0 @ Boston Red Sox, 12

I can't believe it, but we've reached 700 games played in this Statis Pro season.  It took a little over six years to get here.  The closer to the all-star break we get, the more momentum I feel like I'm gaining.  It also means the season is approximately one-third complete.  The thought of this taking another twelve years, though, is quite daunting...

Speaking of daunting...the Boston Red Sox offense!  Nobody scored until the bottom of the fourth.  That's when the Red Sox scored three runs off a homers from Rich Gedman and Bill Buckner.  They added SIX more runs in the fifth, including Gedman's second fence-clearing of the game.  Meanwhile, Oil Can Boyd pitched a complete game shutout. 

Winning Pitcher - Oil Can Boyd
Losing Pitcher - Mike Caldwell
Player of the Game - Boyd, CG SHO, 5K's, 4H's, 2BB's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Robin Yount, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

A New Look with New Stats

Now that I'm on the cusp of game #700 of the Statis Pro season I thought it was time to shake up the look of the blog and the way I share the statistics from the season.

When it comes to the graphics and design of the blog I am hardly an expert and have no experience with Photoshop.  I rely on the available designs from Blogger.  I stumbled upon the "stars and stripes" layout and thought it would work for the site.  Baseball, after all, is the national pastime.  I really like the new look.  I'm still tinkering with the columns on the left and right of the posts but I made the concerted effort to separate the stats so the American League was on one side and the National on the other.  I think they're easier to read now.

This past Christmas I was blessed with some spending cash and decided to bone up on some modern baseball writing, specifically on how sabermetrics can be useful and new methods for statistical analysis.  I zeroed in on three books:  Keith Law's Smart Baseball, Brian Kenny's Ahead of the Curve, and Jay Jaffe's The Cooperstown Casebook.  If you follow Keith Law at all online or via Twitter you know what you're going to get.  That being said, if you are a sabermetric skeptic (say that three times fast...), it's a surprisingly inviting read to be a better fan and to have an open mind about the new math of baseball.  Kenny's book was much more aggressive about abandoning the poorly informed traditions and methods in baseball.  I enjoyed both immensely, even if I'm not completely sold on Kenny's campaign for eliminating the traditional starting pitcher role.  (I'm still in the middle of Jaffe's book, which is a highly entertaining read...)

Over the past couple of years of playing Statis Pro I was already better incorporating some sabermetric strategies, including lineup construction (best hitter in the #2 spot, best slugger in the #4 spot, etc.) and use of the bullpen (not being afraid to use your best reliever earlier than the ninth inning - to hell with the "save").  Where I really got convicted was on some of the stats I've so diligently recorded and presented to you, the readers.  Pitcher wins, saves, and RBIs aren't particularly informative when evaluating a player's ability.  Even OPS - maybe the best accepted "modern" stat by baseball traditionalists - is crude and problematic in that it combines two different measures.  It's similar to saying "apples plus oranges equals appleoranges."

So, in order to better understand some of the new statistical measures, I've added new statistical categories to my spreadsheets and, in turn, have added them to the blog.  Here's a brief rundown of what's new:

ISO - Isolated Power.  This stat helps recognize all hits aren't created equal.  Simply put, to determine ISO, you subtract your batting average from your slugging percentage.  The higher the number, the more power you use when making successful contact with the ball.  The current Statis Pro leaders are Kirk Gibson in the American League and Darryl Strawberry in the National League.

wOBA* - Weighted On-Base Average.  This measures overall offensive value, particularly related to the weighted advantage of a single compared to a home run, etc.  I was quite proud that I could create a formula in my excel sheet to calculate it.  I did face one small snag, though.  When I first started this endeavor years ago, I would record sacrifice bunts and sacrifice flies in the same column.  A true wOBA only uses sacrifice flies.  This is really annoying but I can't possibly go through all 699 previous games and parse out how the sacrifices were recorded.  So, I've added an asterisk to signal that it's not quite a true wOBA but close enough.  The current Statis Pro leaders are Mike Young in the AL and, you guessed it, Darryl Strawberry in the National.

wRAA* - Runs Above Average.  This was another fun formula that calculates how many more runs a player is worth on offense compared to an "average" player.  I have to add the asterisk here too because wRAA incorporates wOBA.  The current leaders are, again, Mike Young (33 runs) and Darryl Strawberry (27).  But it's also fun to see who is the most average (theoretically, "zero" runs) player and below average (negative score).  In the American League Al Cowens of the Mariners (0.3) is the closest to average and Dick Schofield (-16.9) is the worst regular.  In the NL it's Rafael Ramirez with a dead average 0.0 ranking and Dale Berra of the Pirates as the worst (-16).

K/9, BB/9, and HR/9 - Strikeouts per 9 Innings, Walks per 9 Innings, and Home Runs Allowed per 9 Innings.  These are a little more self-explanatory, but for pitchers, taking a look at these ratios helps evaluate talent independent of total innings pitched.  For instance, Fernando Valenzuela leads the National League in strikeouts partially because he's started more games than some of his competitors.  But, he only ranks third in K/9, so some folks  have a better ratio than Fernandomania.

RA - Run Average.  This is similar to Earned Run Average in that the lower the number is the better.  However, with RA, this doesn't give pitchers a pass for runs that score as a result of a fielding error.  If you subscribe to the theory that pitchers are responsible for the runs that cross home plate, no matter how they originally got on base, this is the stat for you.

FIP - Fielding Independent Pitching.  This stat is useful when trying to eliminate the impact of defense on a pitcher's results as well as the good/bad luck on batted balls in play.  Sabermetricians claim this is a "truer" value of pitching success than ERA.  This was another squirrely formula to create for an excel sheet but I pulled it off.  The current FIP leaders are Bud Black in the AL and Kurt Kepshire (???) of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League.

Forcing myself to learn these stats and incorporate them in the league leaders columns was a lot more fun than I expected.  If this is all new to you I hope this brief primer has been worthwhile.  I really want to thank Fangraphs for their wonderful explanations of these advanced measures.

As always, thanks to all of you who continue to read the recaps and visit the blog.  It's an obscure hobby for sure, but your patronage makes it all worthwhile.  If you have suggestions for other stats you'd like to see just let me know in the comments below!

June 6, 1984 - Sutter Like Butter

Game #699 - Philadelphia Phillies, 2 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 4

After playing this 1984 season of Statis Pro for a few years now, you develop attachments and animosity for certain teams.  The Cardinals are a team I've grown to dislike.  In real life, the Cardinals are probably my second favorite team next to my Baltimore Orioles.  Both of my parents are from St. Louis and their hometown pride has rubbed off on me over the years.

But in Statis Pro, I've grown to loathe them.

I think this is because they're winning too much.  They are way out in front of the NL East at this point and I can't quite figure out why.  There is no doubt they have one of the best bullpens in the league, but a lot of their other players are hitting or pitching way above their intended outcomes.  This might normalize over time, but we're a third of the way done and they've shown no sign of coming back to earth.

Today's game was another example of their good luck in Statis Pro.  Danny Cox was reduced to a 2-5 rating when he drew an "81" for the "stuff" category, meaning he was at a distinct disadvantage against his opponent, Hall of Famer Steve Carlton.

It didn't matter.

It was a scoreless game when Willie McGee took Carlton deep in the fourth for just his second homer of the year.  The Phillies took the lead in the top of the seventh, finally doing damage to Cox with back to back RBI singles by Von Hayes and Tim Corcoran.  But in the bottom of the seventh David Green and Tom Herr each recorded a single with one out.  Carlton then got tossed for arguing strikes with the umpire, which led to Kevin Gross coming into the game.  He walked two straight batters, which plated Green to tie the game.  That brought up Bruce Sutter, who had come in for relief in the top half of the inning to get Mike Schmidt out with two runners on.  I didn't want to waste Sutter for just one out in the game, so I let him hit.  Gross whiffed him, but threw the pitch wild, allowing Herr to score and Sutter to take first on the error.  After yet another run plated on a Lonnie Smith walk, Gross got yanked without recording an out in favor of Al Holland, who got Terry Pendleton to line out into a double play. 

Jeff Lahti came on in the top of the ninth and loaded the bases with no outs.  Just as it looked like the Phillies would grab a come from behind win, Lahti got three straight pop outs from Corcoran, John Wockenfuss, and Mike Schmidt.  Sutter notched his sixth win on the season for his inning and a third of work.

Winning Pitcher - Bruce Sutter
Losing Pitcher - Steve Carlton
Save - Jeff Lahti
Player of the Game - Sutter, 1 1/3, W, K
Hall of Famers in the Game - Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Bruce Sutter

June 6, 1984 - NL West Action

Game #697 - Houston Astros, 0 @ San Diego Padres, 7

San Diego put up three runs in the bottom of the third as Bob Knepper was struggling.  Tony Gwynn singled home Ed Whitson, Carmelo Martinez hit a sacrifice fly to score Alan Wiggins, and then Gwynn scored on a Kevin McReynolds hit.

The Padres picked up another run in the sixth when Steve Garvey singled home Martinez.  It was three more runs in the eighth as Frank DiPino worked his second inning of relief.  Kevin McReynolds launched a two-run homer and then Garvey hit a solo shot as well.  Meanwhile, starter Ed Whitson scattered six  hits across seven scoreless innings and Craig Lefferts retired six in a row to secure the victory for the brown and yellow.

Winning Pitcher - Ed Whitson
Losing Pitcher - Bob Knepper
Player of the Game - Ed Whitson, 7IP, 0Rs, 2Ks
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn

Game #698 - Atlanta Braves, 8 @ San Francisco Giants, 3

The Giants jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first when Bob Brenly took Rick Camp deep for a two-run homer.  The Braves liked the look of that, because they replicated the feat twice in the fourth.  Glen Hubbard hit a two-run bomb with Gerald Perry on and Dale Murphy did the same with Claudell Washington on first two batters later.

In the top of the seventh (not that) Randy Johnson hit the fourth two-run home run of the game to extend Atlanta's lead to 8-2.  In the bottom half of the inning Jack Clark hit a solo shot but the Giants were as good as done by then.

Winning Pitcher - Rick Camp
Losing Pitcher - Mark Davis
Player of the Game - Dale Murphy, 3-4, HR, BB, 2Rs, 2RBI

June 6, 1984 - In A New York Minute

Game #695 - Boston Red Sox, 3 @ New  York Yankees, 15

Don Baylor started the scoring in the bottom of the first with a solo bomb off Roger Clemens, who was making just his second start of the season.  Boston responded in the top of the second, though, by plating three runs off Joe Cowley to give them a two-run lead.

It didn't last long.

In the bottom of the fifth Clemens completely fell apart.  Oscar Gamble launched a three-run homer and two outs later Baylor tagged him for his second moonshot of the game.  New York scored three more runs after Clemens' exit to put up an eight-spot in the inning.  The Yankees exploded for six more in the eighth as the BoSox were absolutely demolished.

Winning Pitcher - Joe Cowley
Losing Pitcher - Roger Clemens
Player of the Game - Don Baylor, 3-4, 2HRs, 3RBI, 3Rs, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Dwight Evans, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

Game #696 - New York Mets, 5 @ Pittsburgh Pirates, 4

New York scored all five of their runs in the top of the fourth.  Pirates starter Larry McWilliams got himself into a jam when he loaded the bases for Ron Gardenhire.  Gardy walked to score Darryl Strawberry and leave the bases juiced.  Up stepped catcher Mike Fitzgerald, who crushed a ball over the left field fence for a grand salami! 

The Pirates chipped back, even scoring a run in the ninth off closer Jesse Orosco, but time ran out and the Mets claimed the victory.

Winning Pitcher - Walt Terrell
Losing Pitcher - Larry McWilliams
Save - Jesse Orosco
Player of the Game - Mike Fitzgerald, 2-4, GS, 4RBI