2008 Running Baseball Thread, Part the Ninth

What a depressing stat: Philly has outscored ATL 10-1 in the 8th and 9th innings this series.

32 LOB for ATL in the series. At least half of them have to be Francoeur.

 

Could be lots of reasons. From a pitcher's perspective, I always appreciated as much time as I could have to get used to a new mound. So if I'm warming up, I'd rather come in to intentionally walk a guy that I don't have to face rather than having the original pitcher do it. Gives you a few extra pitches to do some gardening around the mound and make it more comfortable.

From a strategy standpoint, there's the La Russian idea that you're setting up matchups, so you bring in a lefty pitcher to face a couple lefty hitters, but the first hitter gets pinch-hit for, and thus the reliever intentionally walks the first guy he faces to get a better matchup.

 

Today's Nats starting pitcher is appropriately named. They lost to Zito. ZITO.

 

I'll be watching the Cubs/Dodgers game very closely tonight...I need Penny to step it up on my fantasy team...

 

Nice game out of Howard today. Victorino is picking it up a bit. A good sweep of the Braves is always good for morale.

 

You'll all be eating crow come September. Just watch.

 

What is the ML record for consecutive wins by a pitcher? Would Zito need to break it to have a chance?

 

Clemens won 20 in a row in 1998-99.

Rube Marquard should have won 20 in a row in 1912 -- the same year that Walter Johnson and Joe Wood BOTH won 16 consecutive games -- but he wasn't credited with a win, under the scoring rules at the time, for a relief appearance in which he entered with a 3-3 tie in the 8th and the Giants scored a run to take the victory 4-3.

So Marquard is only credited with 19 consecutive victories.

 

Wow. So Zito probably has no shot whatsoever. If he pitched like he did when he won the Cy Young, maybe, but not now.

 

If the Giants would just hit for him, he might have a chance (ok, probably not).

But Zito is one of the top two pitchers in lowest run support per game (obviously this was before today's game).

Verlander was first and Zito was second. Both were under two runs per game. Hard for anyone to win any games with that type of run support.

 

Oh I know. I just remember that run support stat from Friday night and thought it was interesting. I meant to post it Friday night, but forgot to. And now I can't remember the other three pitchers that were on that list (and it's too late to look it up right now)/

 

We've been off planting poison ivy in Roger McDowell's locker ...