Some intereting stats to ponder

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The Straightshooter
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This is from ESPN Insider: Buster Olney's weblog


Some early-season statistics with late-season relevance:

1. Minnesota's bullpen has an ERA of 2.45. That's more than a run better than the White Sox, more than 1½ runs better than the Yankees, almost three runs better than that of the Red Sox. And it figures that Ron Gardenhire will continue to keep his relievers fresh; going into Sunday's game, the Twins' relievers had thrown just 136, fewer than any bullpen other than White Sox (126).

Jesse Crain, the reliever who was warming up when Joe Nathan finally tired out against the Yankees last October, has been exceptional, allowing only two earned runs in 25 appearances. Juan Rincon has bounced back from the steroid mess and has 29 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. Opponents are batting .095 with runners in scoring position against J.C. Romero. It's a formidable group, again, that could/should help Minnesota make the playoffs, and give the Twins a chance to play deep into October.

2. The Yankees rank 11th in the AL in ERA, at 4.35. I've written a lot about how the clubhouse chemistry dramatically changed for the Yankees after the 2001 World Series and that will continue to be a problem whenever pressure heightens, but their biggest practical problem this year is that they have subpar pitching. They won't get to October for the first time in more than a decade if Randy Johnson, Mike Mussina and Carl Pavano don't pitch better.

They did a great job at taking advantage of Oakland and Seattle during their May streak of success, allowing only 35 earned runs in 108 innings, for a 2.92 ERA. Against the rest of the league, however, the Yankees' staff has an ERA of 5.04. They can't win with that.

3. Danny Kolb has a ratio of 2.14 walks and hits per inning. He has proven he can't be the Braves' closer, and while they have some good middle relievers, they are going to need somebody to finish games; they've got to make a deal at some point, whether it's Danny Graves or Danys Baez or Bob Wickman (if and when the Indians start looking toward 2006) or Jose Mesa.

4. The Orioles have scored five runs or more in 31 of their 55 games. Sure, they should be desperately seeking another starting pitcher to protect themselves against the possibility that Erik Bedard's injury might be a year-long problem, and they should be talking about adding a proven run-producer like Mike Sweeney (They wanted to sign Carlos Delgado to a $30 million deal in the offseason, and that's close to what it would cost them to get Sweeney).

But their offense – a constant force – should keep them in contention the whole summer, making up for other weaknesses. The Orioles lead the AL in slugging percentage (.482) and rank third in on-base percentage, at .344.

5. The Nationals have a 3.10 ERA at home. They've lost Jose Vidro to injury long-term, they've lost Brad Wilkerson and others to more minor injuries, their shortstop (Cristian Guzman) is getting booed regularly in RFK. You look at their lineup and you can't imagine where the next clutch hit is going to come from.

But they pitch well at home, everybody from the recently fined Tomo Ohka to the workhorse Livan Hernandez, and they win at home. And as long as that continues, the Nationals will hang in the NL East race.

6. The Rangers have outscored their opponents by 62 runs – the largest margin in the American League.

The Angels might want to consider that as they sit back and wait for their offense to fire without Vladimir Guerrero. They've got to add now; they can't sit back and wait for Vlad to come back, because the Rangers just keep getting better.

7. Jake Peavy has lost once since last Sept. 7. Assuming there are no complications from the respiratory infection that prevented him from starting Sunday, Peavy will be going out there every fifth day as the Padres fight to hold onto their lead in the NL West. He's the best pitcher in the division, the best possible anchor.

8. Jim Thome has three homers, and Philadelphia is right in the middle of the NL East race. He's going to hit and carry the Phillies for a few weeks at some point this season, and the fact that they've survived without his production, and are playing very well now, should be taken as a positive.

9. Juan Pierre is about 150 days from free agency. He has scored 100 runs in each of the last two seasons, but so far, he is struggling as he nears the open market. Pierre is an intense guy who drives himself hard and you have to wonder if his push to do especially well this year might be a factor in his recent struggles. He's hitting 66 points lower than last year, and his on-base percentage is 50 points lower than in 2003. They'll need more from him if the Marlins are going to vault into first place – and on paper, they should be the best team in this division.

10. The Boston bullpen has an ERA of 5.27. That's last in the AL, and well-earned – the Red Sox bullpen has allowed the highest slugging percentage by far, at .453 (K.C. is next to last, at .405), and it has the lowest ratio of strikeouts per nine innings (5.68) in the league and the second lowest ratio of strikeouts to walks (1.71).

The good thing is that general manager Theo Epstein has the time to address the problem with a trade or, perhaps, the likely shift of Bronson Arroyo or Tim Wakefield to the bullpen. But there is this quandary: how much should they trust closer Keith Foulke, who has held opponents scoreless in 16 of his 25 outings but has looked very shaky.
 

Nonsequential
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ego, great read!! Thanks! You always post stuff that's intersesting and helpful, it's appreciated!
 

W-R-X Champion
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Today's Fun Major League Baseball Stat

The Colorado Rockies are 13-5 at home last 18 in Interleague
play.............

(smile)
 

The Straightshooter
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thanks Gamebreaker, always trying to find us an edge!!!
 

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