Pitching: http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/pitching/league/nl Batting: http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting/league/nl I was looking up and down SF's lineup and noticing how that with the exception of Sandoval, Kepp and Beltran (the latter two having not been with them all season) no one bats better than the .240's. Dead last in fact in team batting at a .239 clip. Even Houston bats .259 Yet, 2nd best in pitching era. Just thought the disparity between the two was interesting.
Based on anecdotal evidence, Carlos Lee has to be among the league "leaders" of getting thrown out by outfielders.
Heh... seems like it. And as I type this, it almost happened again right there trying to stretch a 2B.
Yep, it is interesting... also tells you that building around pitching is the best way to go for most teams. It's hard to be world beaters in both areas if you aren't the Yanks or Red Sox so if you can only be strong in one area, pitching is it. Teams that hit are more fun to watch for the average fan but unless they have good pitching to go with it, they usually don't go far.
What struck me as a bit odd was not that they were just not so good in hitting, but actually terrible. .239 as a team? And without newly acquired Beltran and Kepp, maybe below .230? I agree, good pitching is better than good hitting on most days, but this bad?
It's awful and it has to be frustrating for their fans... and pitchers. One risk of building like this is that when those good pitchers become FAs and can not only get bigger bucks but more run support elsewhere, well... How many more wins would Matt Cain have in his career if he spent most of it on a league average or better offense? He notoriously gets poor run support like we're seeing this afternoon. It should also be noted that losing Posey was significant. And Huff has come down to earth this season. Despite it all, they're still in the postseason hunt. That's what elite pitching can do for you.
Today's game reminds me a bit of those days. Great pitching (bad hitting?), low score, lots of strikeouts.
Yep... and we got Roger and Andy in a rare way... at the ends of their careers simply because they were from Houston. That doesn't happen often. Roy O, who was known for not talking much throughout his career, ended up bursting out of frustration at the end of it. He was a bit spoiled though. He had much better run support for much of his career than the likes of Lincecum and Cain. Point being, pitchers obviously hate the feeling of taking the mound game after game knowing that they have to be nearly perfect. So, even if the money is the same, that will play into FA negotiations.
I guess the only way to keep an elite pitching staff happy is to have a payroll that approaches $200M.
Speaking of Oswalt, I heard Philly booed him yesterday. He's been injured most of the season like in 09. Karma
Yep... they'll turn on you real quickly in that city. And they've pretty much already punched their postseason ticket. Rough year for Roy. I hear Beltran got booed at home as well. It's worth mentioning that even if Roy left on a sour note, intentionally or unintentionally, he helped expedite the inevitable rebuild. He stated more than once that that was among his reasons for wanting to be traded, in addition to the obvious last chance at a ring. He kept his mouth shut and was a dominant pitcher for most of his career. I didn't get as upset as others about how he departed. Statistically, he was arguably the best pitcher in Astros history. Zach Levine did a nice advanced numbers break down on that.
Schafer getting some tough strike calls in crucial situations in this series. The last 2 were borderline and understandable but the one the other day was simply horrible. Probably 6 inches inside.
