Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Perspective
Somehow, a 13-inning 4-1 D-Back loss to the Dodgers is easier to take coming as it did the same night as a 22-0 Yankees loss to the Indians. Did our bullpen -- OK, Brian Bruney -- collapse? Sure. Were we almost single-handedly beaten by a guy we traded? Yeah, Steve Finley had our number. But, heh, we didn't lose 22-0. We've never lost 22-0.
Randy Johnson must be frustrated after the D-Back offense failed to do well in yet another of his starts. Perhaps the only thing nearly as impressive as Randy's 15 strikeouts in 8 innings of work is that the Dodger staff struck out the D-Backs 16 times. In 13 innings, yes, but still. And no walks. (Whereas the D-Back relief staff walked 4 and struck out none in 5 innings of work.)
If I were more statistically minded, I'd do more work on whether the D-Backs' offensive performance when Randy pitches is statistically significant. As I noted last week, the difference here between runs scored with Randy on and off the mound comes down to about 4-5 runs. I suspect that's due to luck as opposed to anything significant (it's like the clutch hitting argument). It would also be interesting to compare the ERAs of Randy's opponents compared to the rest of the starting rotations. It wouldn't surprise me if Randy was facing other staffs' #1 starters more often, thereby making it more likely that the D-Backs would struggle.
Again, the D-Backs aren't scoring any runs because their offense (especially now with the absence of Finley and Gonzalez) is poor, poor, poor.
*****
With news that Stephen Drew pulled out of classes at FSU, the likelihood of signing him jumped dramatically...
The D-Backs claimed pitcher Chad Durbin off waivers from the Indians... With a VORP of -4.3 and dicey peripherals (11.1 H/9, 4.2 BB/9, 6.7 K/9, and 1.8 HR/9) this year, it's clear we're not going to undefeated with him from here on out. But, hey, he's not the 2004 Mike Fetters, either, so let's give him a shot.
Randy Johnson must be frustrated after the D-Back offense failed to do well in yet another of his starts. Perhaps the only thing nearly as impressive as Randy's 15 strikeouts in 8 innings of work is that the Dodger staff struck out the D-Backs 16 times. In 13 innings, yes, but still. And no walks. (Whereas the D-Back relief staff walked 4 and struck out none in 5 innings of work.)
If I were more statistically minded, I'd do more work on whether the D-Backs' offensive performance when Randy pitches is statistically significant. As I noted last week, the difference here between runs scored with Randy on and off the mound comes down to about 4-5 runs. I suspect that's due to luck as opposed to anything significant (it's like the clutch hitting argument). It would also be interesting to compare the ERAs of Randy's opponents compared to the rest of the starting rotations. It wouldn't surprise me if Randy was facing other staffs' #1 starters more often, thereby making it more likely that the D-Backs would struggle.
Again, the D-Backs aren't scoring any runs because their offense (especially now with the absence of Finley and Gonzalez) is poor, poor, poor.
*****
With news that Stephen Drew pulled out of classes at FSU, the likelihood of signing him jumped dramatically...
The D-Backs claimed pitcher Chad Durbin off waivers from the Indians... With a VORP of -4.3 and dicey peripherals (11.1 H/9, 4.2 BB/9, 6.7 K/9, and 1.8 HR/9) this year, it's clear we're not going to undefeated with him from here on out. But, hey, he's not the 2004 Mike Fetters, either, so let's give him a shot.
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