I've finally reached the end of my rope in regards to the Buster Posey injury discussion. He got hurt five days ago, when is enough enough?
For those of you who did not click the link above, Posey was injured in a home plate collision with Scott Cousins of the Florida Marlins.
To be completely honest, I don't know what all of the "discussion" is about. That is a clean, hard nosed baseball play that has happened (unofficially) millions of times since the creation of the game of baseball. The only thing that made this one different was the unfortunate fact that Buster Posey happened to suffer an injury on the play. If he doesn't get hurt on the play, it isn't even a footnote in baseball's record books. It'd just make up 3 seconds of a 30 second highlight on Sportscenter.
The other thing that sets this thing apart is the fact that it was Buster Posey who was injured on the play. In baseball circles, he's kind of regarded as the "golden boy" of up and coming young superstars. During the offseason, MLB Network ran a series of programs titled "Top 10 Right Now," which they ranked the top 10 players at each position. After a little more than half of a season in the big leagues, Posey was ranked by MLB Network as the second best catcher right now (behind Joe Mauer). I thought that was a little high, but that's not what we're talking about at the moment. Sadly, if it were Matt Treanor, and not Buster Posey, that this happened to, we probably wouldn't be talking about it.
Jeff Berry, Buster Posey's agent, has already called for Major League Baseball to eliminate collisions at the plate. To me, this is a joke. The injury happened on a play that has always been considered a baseball play. If Scott Cousins had intentionally gone to the head, I would agree with the argument. If he had gone low and taken out Posey's legs, I would have agreed with the argument. However, Scott Cousins ran right through Buster Posey's body, as players are taught to do. It wasn't the contact itself that injured Posey, it was the way he fell after the contact. This is an insanely stupid request from Jeff Barry who is probably just a little nervous that his cash train may have just de-railed.
If for some reason MLB would pass a rule eliminating home plate collisions it would just be another instance where a league changes a rule because of an injury to a star player. Honestly though, I don't even think MLB will consider passing this rule. If they did however, then they'd have to eliminate take out slides, automatically fine and suspend pitchers for hitting a batter with a pitch and eliminate suicide squeeze plays just because they sound bad. Seriously, the game is great. There's no need to change the rules to soften it up. You wouldn't want to follow the same path as the NFL.
As soon as you think that the Buster Posey injury discussion is FINALLY over, Mike Matheny has to chime in with his opinion on the matter. I really have mixed feelings on his comments on the issue and at the moment, I'm not completely sure what to say about them. I like how he isn't in favor of changing the rules and I also like how he says that this wasn't a dirty play either. However, he also mentions that even though it wasn't a dirty play, it was an unnecessary play. He claimed Cousins was "hunting" on the play and that Posey gave him a lane to slide to the outside that Cousins didn't take.
Honestly, you could make the case that there is always an outside lane on any play like that. After watching the video again several times, I still maintain that it is just a hard (yet clean) baseball play.
Cousins is tagging up on a ball in the top of the 12th inning and represents the go ahead run for the Marlins. As soon as that ball is caught, he put his head down and chugged his way to the plate as fast as his legs would take him. He looks up, sees Posey blocking the plate, while making a play on the ball and he ran through him. To me, that's doing whatever it takes to give your team the lead in the 12th inning of a tight ballgame. I understand the Giants don't like it, based on the end result, but it Cousins was on your team, he would've gained a lot of respect in the clubhouse for a play like that.
My favorite part of this entire play though is the sportsmanship shown by Cousins after the collision. As soon as he scored the run, his first move was to check on Posey to make sure he was ok. Unfortunately he wasn't but that's a class act by a player in the heat of the moment. It's never a good thing to overlook positive sportsmanship considering there isn't enough of it in sports as it is.
One thing people are overlooking about this whole thing is the role Chris Coghlan played in this whole thing. He was on deck at the time this play went down. At the moment the ball was hit, Coghlan got into a position behind the plate where he could direct Cousins what to do in the event of a close play. That way the runner doesn't have to take his eyes off of the plate because doing so would cause him to slow down. I know he's back there because he is in the video immediately after the collision. However I've never seen a view of the collision which shows his instructions to Cousins. Did Coghlan tell Cousins to run over Posey? My instinct on the matter tells me yes. Had Coghlan told Cousins to slide to the outside (aka Matheny's "lane"), I have no reason to believe that he wouldn't have done it.
Either way, what should it matter, it was still a clean baseball play. It's sad that Buster Posey got hurt and is probably out for the season, but that's a risk you take everyday you put the catcher's gear on. Players know the risks so they shouldn't be surprised when something like this finally does happen. It's unfortunate but it's just part of the game and it should stay that way.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Random Thoughts
I was going to do each of these as individual posts, but unfortunately some internet troubles have slowed me down as of late. Thank you Comcast!
Boulevard of Broken Wings
For the record, yes, that is a Green Day reference.
A couple of weeks ago, the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the San Jose Sharks.
While yes, I am a little disappointed that the Red Wings will not be winning the Stanley Cup this season, I cannot be too disappointed. This may be the best 7 game series that I have ever seen in the time I've been a hockey fan.
Here's a quote from the Elias Sports Bureau: "The Sharks-Red Wings series was the first playoff series in NHL history in which six games were decided by a one-goal margin. All seven games would have been one-goal games if it wasn't for Darren Helm's empty-net goal in Game 6 that made the final score Detroit 3, San Jose 1."
Every single game, except one, was a one goal game. The only reason that game six was not a one goal game as well was because the Red Wings added an empty net goal late. Then there's the fact that the Red Wings were down 3-0 in this series and came back to force a game 7. I can safely say that this series was so close that neither the Wings or Sharks deserved to lose 3 games in a row, even though they both did. Each game in this series went down to the wire with both teams having the opportunity to win.
At this point, I'd just like to tip my hat to the San Jose Sharks for their performance in this series. The Red Wings threw everything they could at them, yet the Sharks kept coming. That's a real testiment to Todd McLellan and the San Jose Sharks. Not many teams in the NHL today can do that to the Red Wings. That's not bias from a Red Wings fan, that's just reality. So again, I'd like to congratulate the Sharks on playing an excellent series in round 2 and I would like to wish them the best of luck in the Conference Finals against the Vancouver Canucks.
Pick Your Poison
I have to say it now: I'd really hate to be a Chicago White Sox fan. I'm not even saying that because the Sox have greatly underachieved up to this point in the season. They still have a great lineup and a great deal of time to turn this thing around. I certainly wouldn't count them out, especially with a General Manager like Kenny Williams.
I think it sucks to be a White Sox fan becuase there is no good way to watch and/or listen to a game.
If you cannot watch the game on television, you are stuck having to listen to Ed Farmer on the radio. I really don't recommend this unless you want to fall asleep. I certainly don't recommend listening to him especially while you are driving. He may be the most boring radio play by play commentator that I've ever heard. He is extremely monotone and rarely shows any emotion at all. It gets worse when you add in the fact that Darrin Jackson is his color guy. He is just as boring as Farmer is, which I believe is why he was taken off of television broadcasts.
Then you have Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson. This guy may be the worst television play by play man I've ever seen or heard.
First and foremost, he's a former player, so he probably has no business being a play by play man anyways. Most former players are color commentators, not play by play announcers.
Second, I have no idea the last time Harrelson actually called an MLB game. Maybe he's never actually called one? At this point in his career, he's all cliches. No matter the situation, he always has a stupid one liner to insert to describe the situation. Any White Sox game you watch, you'll hear the same thing every game. I could probably call a White Sox game from the comfort of my computer desk if you gave me a Hawk Harrelson soundboard.
Back when I was 10, I though Harrelson was a pretty cool guy. It was fun to play pick-up baseball and repeat all of his cliches. Then, unlike Peter Pan, I grew up into an intelligent baseball fan. Then I realized that not only is Hawk a lousy announcer, he's an idiot. He's a fan in the booth, not a commentator.
Speaking of being an idiot, that brings me to point number three. Not only is he all cliches, I think he chugs White Sox Kool Aid 24-7-365. I have never heard a more homer announcer in my life. Don't get me wrong, I expect a little bias. He's been calling Sox games for a number of years and they pay his salary so a little bias should be expected. However the product he puts on the airwaves is absolutely ridiculous. Teams opposing the White Sox can never do anything right. Any time they do, it happened becuase the White Sox did something negative and "gave it to them," rather than them earning it. Not to mention every time a close or questionable call goes against the White Sox, it's because the umpire has something against the Sox. I wouldn't expect him to know anything about human error. If he does, he certainly wouldn't admit it on the air.
The only thing that saves White Sox television broadcasts is Steve Stone. He's widely been regarded as one of the best color commentators in the game of baseball. I do however think his commentary has gotten worse since joining the White Sox organization. That makes me wonder if there is some pressure coming from the Sox front office on the broadcasters to keep things positive.
The only thing I do like about Harrelson is the emotion he shows during broadcasts. If only he could give some of that to Ed Farmer.
I already know some White Sox fan is going to chime in and talk about the late Ron Santo and the Cubs. I will completely agree, Ron Santo was not a great color commentator. Like Harrelson, he was a fan in the booth, not a commentator. Like with the White Sox television crew, the fan (in the booth) is paired with a pretty decent partner. Both Steve Stone and Pat Hughes are both very good at what they do.
To sum this up, there's only one good way to watch a White Sox game. Either watch the television feed on mute or pray to the gods that they are on either ESPN or MLB Network. That way you can watch your White Sox without the pain of listening to either Ed Farmer or Hawk Harrelson.
HEATing Up
Right now, I can safely and confidently crown the Miami Heat as 2010-11 NBA Champions.
I'm sure you're asking yourself, "We're still in the Conference Finals, how can you award the Championship to the Heat?"
If you're asking that, you're absolutely right, we are still in the Conference Finals. The Heat are currently leading the top-seeded Bulls 2-1 in the East. In the West, the Mavericks currently lead the Thunder 3-1. With that said, I will tell you why the Heat will win the Championship and that is the "Superstar Effect."
Of the remaining teams, the Heat have more "superstars" on their roster than any of the other teams. The Heat have 2.5 superstars on their roster. The two superstars are obviously Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. I'm generously going to consider Chris Bosh as half of a superstar. He's not remotely in the same category as Wade and James, but he's not a bad player by any stretch of the imagination. He was the best player on a bad Raptors team, which inflated his numbers a bit. The Bulls (Rose), Thunder (Durant) and Mavericks (Nowitzki) only have one superstar and that will ultimately cost them in the long run.
The officials and the NBA will deny it, but there is such a thing as the "superstar effect." Like it or not, superstar players get calls to go their way that other players do not get. That's reality and there's no way around it. In the case of guys like Wade and James, you can barely look at them without being called for a foul. Just ask the Mavericks about that one. Back in 2006, the Miami Heat rode Dwayne Wade and the "superstar effect" to an NBA Championship, beating the Mavs in the Finals. I'm a Mavs fan, so there is some bias there, but I think most NBA fans would agree with that assessment.
The other thing the Heat have going in their favor now is merchandising. Like it or not, the league revolves around money and superstar players sell merchandise. No matter what team wins a championship, in any leauge, there is a spike in merchandise sales. I'm not going to get specific here because the Heat are already the Champions. However the presence of Wade, James and Bosh will cause a higher spike in sales than that of any of the remaining teams. Even though they will NEVER admit it, the NBA wants the Heat to win the NBA Championship because of the greater amount of income. Even though the NBA secretly wants the Heat to win, they will not instruct officials to make that happen. I want to clear that up now. The "superstar effect" is a subconsious reaction by officials, nothing intentional to carry out some evil plan.
The sad part about this whole thing is that the Heat may be the worst TEAM remaining in the playoffs. Yes they have the superstars but they also filled out the remainder of their roster with role players. The other remaining teams have a much better collection of talent than the Heat do. So I'm hoping that somebody, anybody can step up and beat the Heat but I don't see it happening. Go Mavs Go.
Boulevard of Broken Wings
For the record, yes, that is a Green Day reference.
A couple of weeks ago, the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the San Jose Sharks.
While yes, I am a little disappointed that the Red Wings will not be winning the Stanley Cup this season, I cannot be too disappointed. This may be the best 7 game series that I have ever seen in the time I've been a hockey fan.
Here's a quote from the Elias Sports Bureau: "The Sharks-Red Wings series was the first playoff series in NHL history in which six games were decided by a one-goal margin. All seven games would have been one-goal games if it wasn't for Darren Helm's empty-net goal in Game 6 that made the final score Detroit 3, San Jose 1."
Every single game, except one, was a one goal game. The only reason that game six was not a one goal game as well was because the Red Wings added an empty net goal late. Then there's the fact that the Red Wings were down 3-0 in this series and came back to force a game 7. I can safely say that this series was so close that neither the Wings or Sharks deserved to lose 3 games in a row, even though they both did. Each game in this series went down to the wire with both teams having the opportunity to win.
At this point, I'd just like to tip my hat to the San Jose Sharks for their performance in this series. The Red Wings threw everything they could at them, yet the Sharks kept coming. That's a real testiment to Todd McLellan and the San Jose Sharks. Not many teams in the NHL today can do that to the Red Wings. That's not bias from a Red Wings fan, that's just reality. So again, I'd like to congratulate the Sharks on playing an excellent series in round 2 and I would like to wish them the best of luck in the Conference Finals against the Vancouver Canucks.
Pick Your Poison
I have to say it now: I'd really hate to be a Chicago White Sox fan. I'm not even saying that because the Sox have greatly underachieved up to this point in the season. They still have a great lineup and a great deal of time to turn this thing around. I certainly wouldn't count them out, especially with a General Manager like Kenny Williams.
I think it sucks to be a White Sox fan becuase there is no good way to watch and/or listen to a game.
If you cannot watch the game on television, you are stuck having to listen to Ed Farmer on the radio. I really don't recommend this unless you want to fall asleep. I certainly don't recommend listening to him especially while you are driving. He may be the most boring radio play by play commentator that I've ever heard. He is extremely monotone and rarely shows any emotion at all. It gets worse when you add in the fact that Darrin Jackson is his color guy. He is just as boring as Farmer is, which I believe is why he was taken off of television broadcasts.
Then you have Ken "The Hawk" Harrelson. This guy may be the worst television play by play man I've ever seen or heard.
First and foremost, he's a former player, so he probably has no business being a play by play man anyways. Most former players are color commentators, not play by play announcers.
Second, I have no idea the last time Harrelson actually called an MLB game. Maybe he's never actually called one? At this point in his career, he's all cliches. No matter the situation, he always has a stupid one liner to insert to describe the situation. Any White Sox game you watch, you'll hear the same thing every game. I could probably call a White Sox game from the comfort of my computer desk if you gave me a Hawk Harrelson soundboard.
Back when I was 10, I though Harrelson was a pretty cool guy. It was fun to play pick-up baseball and repeat all of his cliches. Then, unlike Peter Pan, I grew up into an intelligent baseball fan. Then I realized that not only is Hawk a lousy announcer, he's an idiot. He's a fan in the booth, not a commentator.
Speaking of being an idiot, that brings me to point number three. Not only is he all cliches, I think he chugs White Sox Kool Aid 24-7-365. I have never heard a more homer announcer in my life. Don't get me wrong, I expect a little bias. He's been calling Sox games for a number of years and they pay his salary so a little bias should be expected. However the product he puts on the airwaves is absolutely ridiculous. Teams opposing the White Sox can never do anything right. Any time they do, it happened becuase the White Sox did something negative and "gave it to them," rather than them earning it. Not to mention every time a close or questionable call goes against the White Sox, it's because the umpire has something against the Sox. I wouldn't expect him to know anything about human error. If he does, he certainly wouldn't admit it on the air.
The only thing that saves White Sox television broadcasts is Steve Stone. He's widely been regarded as one of the best color commentators in the game of baseball. I do however think his commentary has gotten worse since joining the White Sox organization. That makes me wonder if there is some pressure coming from the Sox front office on the broadcasters to keep things positive.
The only thing I do like about Harrelson is the emotion he shows during broadcasts. If only he could give some of that to Ed Farmer.
I already know some White Sox fan is going to chime in and talk about the late Ron Santo and the Cubs. I will completely agree, Ron Santo was not a great color commentator. Like Harrelson, he was a fan in the booth, not a commentator. Like with the White Sox television crew, the fan (in the booth) is paired with a pretty decent partner. Both Steve Stone and Pat Hughes are both very good at what they do.
To sum this up, there's only one good way to watch a White Sox game. Either watch the television feed on mute or pray to the gods that they are on either ESPN or MLB Network. That way you can watch your White Sox without the pain of listening to either Ed Farmer or Hawk Harrelson.
HEATing Up
Right now, I can safely and confidently crown the Miami Heat as 2010-11 NBA Champions.
I'm sure you're asking yourself, "We're still in the Conference Finals, how can you award the Championship to the Heat?"
If you're asking that, you're absolutely right, we are still in the Conference Finals. The Heat are currently leading the top-seeded Bulls 2-1 in the East. In the West, the Mavericks currently lead the Thunder 3-1. With that said, I will tell you why the Heat will win the Championship and that is the "Superstar Effect."
Of the remaining teams, the Heat have more "superstars" on their roster than any of the other teams. The Heat have 2.5 superstars on their roster. The two superstars are obviously Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. I'm generously going to consider Chris Bosh as half of a superstar. He's not remotely in the same category as Wade and James, but he's not a bad player by any stretch of the imagination. He was the best player on a bad Raptors team, which inflated his numbers a bit. The Bulls (Rose), Thunder (Durant) and Mavericks (Nowitzki) only have one superstar and that will ultimately cost them in the long run.
The officials and the NBA will deny it, but there is such a thing as the "superstar effect." Like it or not, superstar players get calls to go their way that other players do not get. That's reality and there's no way around it. In the case of guys like Wade and James, you can barely look at them without being called for a foul. Just ask the Mavericks about that one. Back in 2006, the Miami Heat rode Dwayne Wade and the "superstar effect" to an NBA Championship, beating the Mavs in the Finals. I'm a Mavs fan, so there is some bias there, but I think most NBA fans would agree with that assessment.
The other thing the Heat have going in their favor now is merchandising. Like it or not, the league revolves around money and superstar players sell merchandise. No matter what team wins a championship, in any leauge, there is a spike in merchandise sales. I'm not going to get specific here because the Heat are already the Champions. However the presence of Wade, James and Bosh will cause a higher spike in sales than that of any of the remaining teams. Even though they will NEVER admit it, the NBA wants the Heat to win the NBA Championship because of the greater amount of income. Even though the NBA secretly wants the Heat to win, they will not instruct officials to make that happen. I want to clear that up now. The "superstar effect" is a subconsious reaction by officials, nothing intentional to carry out some evil plan.
The sad part about this whole thing is that the Heat may be the worst TEAM remaining in the playoffs. Yes they have the superstars but they also filled out the remainder of their roster with role players. The other remaining teams have a much better collection of talent than the Heat do. So I'm hoping that somebody, anybody can step up and beat the Heat but I don't see it happening. Go Mavs Go.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Too Much Free Time - April Edition
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, my favorite baseball team is the Miami Florida Marlins. Before the season started, I decided that I really (I mean really) wanted to keep up with the Marlins this season. So I logged on to Microsoft Excel and created a spreadsheet which would allow me to keep track of how the Marlins are doing. Being a fan of uniforms in sports, I made this spreadsheet largely uniform based. I'll clarify that a little more once I get into my findings through the month of April.
My spreadsheet consists of six pages. The first page is just the Marlins season schedule. I update this daily with a simple "win" or "loss" and put the game score in the column next to the result. The second through fourth pages all contain the Marlins schedule as well, but they are there solely to keep track of various uniform elements. The first of those pages is there so that I can keep track of what hat the Marlins are wearing for each game of the season. This is kind of a dull element to track because, to the best of my knowledge, the Marlins only have one official game hat. They will however still be wearing the MLB "Stars and Stripes" caps for select games this season, as they've done the past three years. With the Marlins moving into a new stadium next season and changing their name (to the Miami Marlins), I wouldn't be surprised if they wore a throwback hat or two though. However, to the best of my knowledge, they are not planning on doing that.
The second of the uniform based pages has to do with the jersey the Marlins are wearing on a given day. This is a little more interesting because the Marlins have three different jerseys that they can wear. They have their traditional home white jersey, which they have worn for every home game so far this season. They have their traditional road grey jersey, which they have only worn for one series (2 games and a rain out). Like most MLB teams today, the Marlins also have an alternate jersey. In recent years, the Marlins have worn their alternate jersey for both home and away games. They seemingly wore their alternate more than both their tradtional home and away jerseys, but can't confirm what happened in the past (I'm just going on gut instinct here). However for this season, I can confirm what they are wearing! The Marlins have yet to wear their alternate at home, but have worn it for all but two of their away games.
The third uniform based page (fourth page overall) has to do with the color pants the Marlins are wearing for each game. Like with the hat, this one is pretty simple. If the Marlins are at home, they are going to be wearing their white pants with black pinstripes. If they are on the road, they are wearing their plain grey pants. Really no surprises there.
The fifth page of my spreadsheet, like the others, also contains the Marlins season schedule. On this page, I keep track of who the Marlins starting pitcher is for each game. As of this very second, the Marlins starting rotation consists of Josh Johnson (who may be the best pitcher in the Major Leagues at the moment), Ricky Nolasco, Javier Vazquez, Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad. Of course, as the season drags on, there will be a few other guys that make a spot start or two, but if this rotation stays healthy, they are going to have a damn good season.
The last page happens to be my favorite. This is where the magic happens. Not really, but this is where all of the data is kept track of. I keep track of the Marlins record when each element is in place. I also keep track of the number of runs scored and allowed when each element is in place as well. So without furthur adieu, let's take a look at how the Marlins are doing through the first month (25 games) of the regular season.
Overall
Games Played: 25
Record: 16-9
Runs Scored: 109 (average of 4.36 per game)
Runs Allowed: 93 (3.72/game)
Black Hat
Games: 25
Record: 16-9
Runs Scored: 109 (4.36/game)
Runs Allowed: 93 (3.72/game)
White Jersey
Games: 15
Record: 10-5
Runs Scored: 70 (4.67/game)
Runs Allowed: 51 (3.40/game)
Grey Jersey
Games: 2
Record: 1-1
Runs Scored: 6 (3.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 6 (3.00/game)
Black Jersey
Games: 8
Record: 5-3
Runs Scored: 33 (4.13/game)
Runs Allowed: 36 (4.50/game)
White Pants
Games: 15
Record: 10-5
Runs Scored: 70 (4.67/game)
Runs Allowed: 51 (3.40/game)
Grey Pants
Games: 10
Record: 6-4
Runs Scored: 39 (3.90/game)
Runs Allowed: 42 (4.20/game)
When Josh Johnson Starts
Games: 6
Record: 4-2
Runs Scored: 29 (4.83/game)
Runs Allowed: 15 (2.50/game)
When Ricky Nolasco Starts
Games: 5
Record: 4-1
Runs Scored: 25 (5.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 18 (3.60/game)
When Javier Vazquez Starts
Games: 5
Record: 3-2
Runs Scored: 21 (4.20/game)
Runs Allowed: 26 (5.20/game)
When Anibal Sanchez Starts
Games: 5
Record: 2-3
Runs Scored: 14 (2.80/game)
Runs Allowed: 18 (3.60/game)
When Chris Volstad Starts
Games: 4
Record: 3-1
Runs Scored: 20 (5.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 16 (4.00/game)
Home Games
Games: 15
Record: 10-5
Runs Scored: 70 (4.67/game)
Runs Allowed:
Away Games
Games: 10
Record: 6-4
Runs Scored: 39 (3.90/game)
Runs Allowed: 42 (4.20/game)
Black Hat-White Jersey-White Pants
Games: 15
Record: 10-5
Runs Scored: 70 (4.67/game)
Runs Allowed: 51 (3.40/game)
Black Hat-Black Jersey-Grey Pants
Games: 8
Record: 5-3
Runs Scored: 33 (4.13/game)
Runs Allowed: 36 (4.50/game)
Black Hat-Grey Jersey-Grey Pants
Games: 2
Record: 1-1
Runs Scored: 6 (3.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 6 (3.00/game)
So those are the stats I've compiled over the first month (25 of 162 games) of the regular season. Yes there is a lot of overlapping data, but that happens when you look at the individual elements and the big picture at the same time. Now it's extremely early in the season, so I'm not going to get too up or down based on these results. However there are a few trends that are starting to show up. As more data is inputted as the season rolls along, we'll see if those trends continue. After 25 games and the month of April, the Marlins are in second place only 1.5 games behind the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies. So in a (very simple) nutshell, this whole thing proves is that the Marlins are kicking ass at home, are getting outscored by an average of .30 runs per game on the road (and still have a winning record!), and that I have way too much free time. Go Marlins!
My spreadsheet consists of six pages. The first page is just the Marlins season schedule. I update this daily with a simple "win" or "loss" and put the game score in the column next to the result. The second through fourth pages all contain the Marlins schedule as well, but they are there solely to keep track of various uniform elements. The first of those pages is there so that I can keep track of what hat the Marlins are wearing for each game of the season. This is kind of a dull element to track because, to the best of my knowledge, the Marlins only have one official game hat. They will however still be wearing the MLB "Stars and Stripes" caps for select games this season, as they've done the past three years. With the Marlins moving into a new stadium next season and changing their name (to the Miami Marlins), I wouldn't be surprised if they wore a throwback hat or two though. However, to the best of my knowledge, they are not planning on doing that.
The second of the uniform based pages has to do with the jersey the Marlins are wearing on a given day. This is a little more interesting because the Marlins have three different jerseys that they can wear. They have their traditional home white jersey, which they have worn for every home game so far this season. They have their traditional road grey jersey, which they have only worn for one series (2 games and a rain out). Like most MLB teams today, the Marlins also have an alternate jersey. In recent years, the Marlins have worn their alternate jersey for both home and away games. They seemingly wore their alternate more than both their tradtional home and away jerseys, but can't confirm what happened in the past (I'm just going on gut instinct here). However for this season, I can confirm what they are wearing! The Marlins have yet to wear their alternate at home, but have worn it for all but two of their away games.
The third uniform based page (fourth page overall) has to do with the color pants the Marlins are wearing for each game. Like with the hat, this one is pretty simple. If the Marlins are at home, they are going to be wearing their white pants with black pinstripes. If they are on the road, they are wearing their plain grey pants. Really no surprises there.
The fifth page of my spreadsheet, like the others, also contains the Marlins season schedule. On this page, I keep track of who the Marlins starting pitcher is for each game. As of this very second, the Marlins starting rotation consists of Josh Johnson (who may be the best pitcher in the Major Leagues at the moment), Ricky Nolasco, Javier Vazquez, Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad. Of course, as the season drags on, there will be a few other guys that make a spot start or two, but if this rotation stays healthy, they are going to have a damn good season.
The last page happens to be my favorite. This is where the magic happens. Not really, but this is where all of the data is kept track of. I keep track of the Marlins record when each element is in place. I also keep track of the number of runs scored and allowed when each element is in place as well. So without furthur adieu, let's take a look at how the Marlins are doing through the first month (25 games) of the regular season.
Overall
Games Played: 25
Record: 16-9
Runs Scored: 109 (average of 4.36 per game)
Runs Allowed: 93 (3.72/game)
Black Hat
Games: 25
Record: 16-9
Runs Scored: 109 (4.36/game)
Runs Allowed: 93 (3.72/game)
White Jersey
Games: 15
Record: 10-5
Runs Scored: 70 (4.67/game)
Runs Allowed: 51 (3.40/game)
Grey Jersey
Games: 2
Record: 1-1
Runs Scored: 6 (3.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 6 (3.00/game)
Black Jersey
Games: 8
Record: 5-3
Runs Scored: 33 (4.13/game)
Runs Allowed: 36 (4.50/game)
White Pants
Games: 15
Record: 10-5
Runs Scored: 70 (4.67/game)
Runs Allowed: 51 (3.40/game)
Grey Pants
Games: 10
Record: 6-4
Runs Scored: 39 (3.90/game)
Runs Allowed: 42 (4.20/game)
When Josh Johnson Starts
Games: 6
Record: 4-2
Runs Scored: 29 (4.83/game)
Runs Allowed: 15 (2.50/game)
When Ricky Nolasco Starts
Games: 5
Record: 4-1
Runs Scored: 25 (5.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 18 (3.60/game)
When Javier Vazquez Starts
Games: 5
Record: 3-2
Runs Scored: 21 (4.20/game)
Runs Allowed: 26 (5.20/game)
When Anibal Sanchez Starts
Games: 5
Record: 2-3
Runs Scored: 14 (2.80/game)
Runs Allowed: 18 (3.60/game)
When Chris Volstad Starts
Games: 4
Record: 3-1
Runs Scored: 20 (5.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 16 (4.00/game)
Home Games
Games: 15
Record: 10-5
Runs Scored: 70 (4.67/game)
Runs Allowed:
Away Games
Games: 10
Record: 6-4
Runs Scored: 39 (3.90/game)
Runs Allowed: 42 (4.20/game)
Black Hat-White Jersey-White Pants
Games: 15
Record: 10-5
Runs Scored: 70 (4.67/game)
Runs Allowed: 51 (3.40/game)
Black Hat-Black Jersey-Grey Pants
Games: 8
Record: 5-3
Runs Scored: 33 (4.13/game)
Runs Allowed: 36 (4.50/game)
Black Hat-Grey Jersey-Grey Pants
Games: 2
Record: 1-1
Runs Scored: 6 (3.00/game)
Runs Allowed: 6 (3.00/game)
So those are the stats I've compiled over the first month (25 of 162 games) of the regular season. Yes there is a lot of overlapping data, but that happens when you look at the individual elements and the big picture at the same time. Now it's extremely early in the season, so I'm not going to get too up or down based on these results. However there are a few trends that are starting to show up. As more data is inputted as the season rolls along, we'll see if those trends continue. After 25 games and the month of April, the Marlins are in second place only 1.5 games behind the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies. So in a (very simple) nutshell, this whole thing proves is that the Marlins are kicking ass at home, are getting outscored by an average of .30 runs per game on the road (and still have a winning record!), and that I have way too much free time. Go Marlins!
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