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The Ensured Loss

This is a follow-up inspired by K-Man’s article on BJ Ryan and specifically the discussion about use of relief pitchers and the statistics used to measure their usefulness.

Relief pitcher’s appearances in games that their team is losing are treated marginally by statistics. The major categories to measure a reliever’s success are traditionally W/L, K, ERA SV% and the Games Held% and Inherited Runners Scored.

Now, relief pitchers do not take as many decisions as starters for obvious reasons. There is also a trend of current relievers not taking as many decisions as relievers in the 1960-1980s. This is a result of the use of a higher quantity of relief pitchers. I cannot say that all relief pitchers, on average, have more or less appearances but they do average less innings pitched. The below graphic shows that while, games and GF have remained as a very comparable ratio across the ages usually between 75-85%, IP and W+L have been diminishing in the last dozen years.

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OK Blue Jays (Let’s Play Ball!)

This week’s MP3 is the treasured theme song for the Toronto Blue Jays, “OK Blue Jays (Let’s Play Ball)”.

It is sung by a fictional group “The Batboys” and has been around since the 1985 ALCS. Ever since then, it has been played during the 7th inning stretch and currently has been remixed into some sort of dance song, but expect nothing but the best old school original version from your boys at Mop Up Duty. This baseball “fight” song exemplifies the politeness for which Canadians are known for. Some things to note:

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Why baseball is the best sport

 

For today’s article I thought I would throw down a little rant as we like to do at mopupduty.com.  This is my ode to baseball and why it is better than every other sport.

Unlike the NHL which changes rules every day it seems, there have been no rule changes since 1908 in baseball (sac-fly rule). I am not including the DH rule in this discussion because it only affects the AL.  Why mess with something that is perfect?

You don’t have to be affluent to take part in it. You don’t need a ton of equipment to play - just a bat, a ball, and a glove…. and you can even make the glove out of cardboard.

 

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2006 All-Star Team

Below is my Major League first and second team all-stars for the 2006 season. This article was originally written on September 25th, so keep that in mind when I quote statistics. In many cases, first and second team nominees could be switched without too much of an argument, highlighting the parity amongst elite players this season.
Catcher:

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Gene Mauch Pennant Meltdowns

Gene Mauch was a long-time major league manager who, after an unspectacular journeyman-playing career was hired as 35-year-old manager with the 1960 Phillies.  He led the Phils to respectability in the National League having 6 consecutive winning seasons before accepting the skipper’s job with the expansion Expos.  He led the Expos until 1975.  He improved the ‘Spos by 19 games in their sophomore season and set them up with the players and tools needed to challenge for NL supremacy in the late 70s and into the 80s.  He spent 5 seasons in Minnesota before becoming bench boss in Orange County with the Angels in 1981.  He retired in 1987 with 1901 career wins as a manager, currently twelfth all time.  He is the Phillies all-time leader in manager wins.  He ranks third all time on the Expos, Angels and Twins all time manager wins list.  Despite this success he never managed in the World Series and took agonizing routes to stay out of the big show.  Here are some examples.

 

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