Appreciating the Unfolding Drama

Why am I bothering to do a skeletal update at nearly midnight, when I hope to do another one in the morning?  Because in the future they will believe that the Alleghenys were always in first place.  I want every possible record that there were brief shining moments when other teams were ahead of the A’s.

Also, our new Standings History function works best if we update every day.

 

Haviland:  W (-1), L 1;  (-2) – 8.  .318, .444, .409;  21 ip 14 er.  Days off skew results.  It looks like great offense, but the Dragons have been doing so well lately that Monday’s results only nudge their scoring up a little.

Last month the New York Times published a dire warning: statistics are threatening to ruin baseball. Some of you may be skeptical.  Our league’s arteries course not with salty red blood but with a  plasma of numbers. I have heard some of you talk about how the EFL enhances your enjoyment of baseball; how seeing one of your players in a box score gives you a little thrill.

Even so, let’s give the Times‘ Steve Kettmann a chance to make his case:

” When it comes to watching a matchup of, say, the Mets pitcher Matt Harvey and Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins, statistical analysis is about as helpful in deepening an appreciation of the human drama unfolding before us as it would be for a Pavarotti aria.

“Being alert to the twists and turns of a game is vital, since it’s the glimpses of character that emerge during these unlikely sequences that give baseball its essential flavor.”

We can test this proposition.  Here is the “play-by-play” of the bottom half of the first inning in yesterday’s Brewers — White Sox game, with Haviland’s Jeff Samardzija on the mound:

• Gerardo Parra singles on a sharp ground ball to right fielder Avisail Garcia, deflected by second baseman Micah Johnson.

• With Ryan Braun batting, Gerardo Parra steals (1) 2nd base.

• Ryan Braun reaches on a fielding error by shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Gerardo Parra to 3rd.

• Adam Lind grounds into a force out, second baseman Micah Johnson to shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Gerardo Parra scores. Ryan Braun out at 2nd. Adam Lind to 1st.

• Carlos Gomez homers (2) on a fly ball to center field. Adam Lind scores.

Ok, take note of how much you are savoring the glimpses of character revealed in that sequence of plays.

Now, here’s a statistic for you: at that point in the game, Samardzija’s ERA for the day was 54.00.

So, let’s take a vote:  how many of you more fully appreciated the unfolding human drama after being told Samardzija’s ERA?  Put your hands up.  I thought so.  Eight out of nine fans enjoy the play more deeply with the statistical information than without it.

 

Old Detroit:  L, 7 – 7. .222, .276, .556; 2 ip, 2 er.  

Pittsburgh:  W, 6 – 2. .375, .500, .438;  13 ip, 4 er .  I don’t know, maybe Kettmann is onto something. Here are some statistics:  the Alleghenys are now only 2.7 games back.  Late in April they were 5.5 games out. Their line keeps rising in the Standings History.  I look at those numbers and get depressed.

Cottage: W 1, L (-1); 2 – 0.   .333, .455, .677; 0 ip, 0 er.  Yunel Escobar went 5 for 5.  All singles.

Peshastin: W, 3 – 3. .250, .333, .375;  7 ip, 1 er. Scherzer had a nice outing, and J.T. Realmuto continues to make them forget… whoever that was in Miami:  2 for 3 with a walk. 

Flint Hill: W (-1), L 2.  5 – 13. .261, .370, .391;  4.3 ip 9 er.  The whole staff chulked.  More specifically, Josh Collmenter sextuple chulked (1.3 ip, 9 er) and the rest of the staff pitched three shutout innings.

Portland: L, 5 – 9. .207, .303, . 414; 3.7 ip 6 er.  Sort of like the Tornadoes, but less dramatic.  Danny Duffy kind of stank — he did all the pitching.  

Canberra:  W, 11 – 7.  .382, .417, .735;  6 ip, 4 er.  Monster hitting, led by the mighty Logan Forsythe  and his twin Scott Van Slyke (both going 3 for 4 with a double and a homer).  

Kaline: W 1, L 1; 0 – (-5).  .308, .400, .308;  6 ip, 1 er.  Tom Koehler came through with a gem. Shall we risk another number, knowing it might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for baseball?  Here goes:  the Drive gained 1.2 games on the Dragons in a single day.  I bet that makes at LEAST 8 out of 9 of us smile.