Results tagged ‘ Stat of the day ’
Note of the night/Stat of the day, May 19
Note of the night: The Cardinals announced after tonight’s game that outfielder Shane Robinson will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder.
Robinson, 25, separated his shoulder while sliding into second base in a May 8 game at Round Rock. He made his Major League debut last year, batting .240 with a .231 on-base percentage and .280 slugging percentage in 26 plate appearances.
A speedy right-handed hitter, Robinson had put up a .279/.330/.407 line at Memphis this season.
Dr. George Paletta, the Cardinals’ head team physician, will perform the operation.
Stat of the day: The Cardinals have scored 65 runs in 18 May games, for an average of 3.61 runs per game. That’s 13th in the National League. They’re slugging .372 as a team for the month, and their nine home runs in May are tied for 14th in the league.
Fun with double situational splits: Matt Holliday is batting .174 in day games at home this year, with a .296 on-base percentage and a .261 slugging percentage.
And, finally, the playlist:
I’m still on a Stones kick, and tonight’s playlist is even lazier than last night’s. It also consists of equally fantastic tunes. It’s the great side one of the great “Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out”
“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
“Carol”
“Stray Cat Blues”
“Love In Vain”
“Midnight Rambler”
-M.
Notes of the night/Stat of the day, May 18
Note of the night, Pt. 1: Now it’s Skip Schumaker who’s in a fielding slump. Just as Schumaker seems to be finding something at the plate, he seems to have a bit of a case of the fielding yips. He was charged with two errors, both entirely legitimate, in Tuesday night’s win over the Nationals.
Though TLR tried to excuse Schumaker for the second error, Schumaker was having none of it. He did see some consolation, though, in being the second Cardinals middle infielder to go through something like this in recent weeks.
“It’s happened to Brendan Ryan, who’s the best defensive player I’ve ever played with,” Schumaker said. “That’s the good thing about it. but you’ve got to move forward. Thank God it was a win.”
It’s not entirely clear what the options are if TLR wanted to give Schumaker a break, other than to start Lopez at second one night and put Brendan Ryan back in the lineup. And I’m not at all sure Anibal Sanchez is the kind of pitcher you want to bring Ryan back against.
So Schumaker will just have to work through it.
Note of the night, 2: Dave McKay has a sore back, and so he was not out at first base tonight. Joe Pettini took his place coaching first.
“Dave McKay tweaked his back yesterday,” TLR said. “He barely was getting to first base and back. He didn’t throw [batting practice] today. He’s crooked.”
Stat of the day: Ryan Franklin hasn’t issued a walk this season. Perhaps more impressively, his 3-1 count to Wil Nieves was only the sixth time all year that Franklin has gone to a three-ball count. He’s faced 69 batters in 2010.
Fun with double situational splits: Left-handed hitters, batting in night games, are 3-for-26 against Jaime Garcia this year.
And, finally, the playlist:
Pretty simple tonight, what with the re-release of Exile On Main Street. My five favorite songs from Exile, which is my favorite album of all time.
“Rocks Off”
“Torn And Frayed”
“Loving Cup”
“Let It Loose”
“Shine A Light”
-M.
Note of the night/Stat of the day, May 17
Note of the night: When Ryan Ludwick had a little time to think about it, catch his breath, and see how he felt, he knew he was OK. Until a moment had passed, though, Ludwick had one reaction to being hit on the left hand by a pitch from Nationals rookie Drew Storen: fear.
“I think the intial reaction is just, kind of, scared,” Ludwick said. “I’ve been hit in this wrist before. I’ve broken that, had to have surgery, by a fastball that came up and in on me. I think any time anything is around the wrist or hands, the initial reaction when it hits you is somewhat of a panic.”
Fortunately, when Ludwick did take a moment, he realized the ball had hit him on the “meat” of his hand, rather than a place where he might be in jeopardy of a fracture. He stayed in the game and, of course, made a spectacular diving catch in right field in the next half-inning.
“A little bit of bruising in there,” he said. “Not a lot.”
Stats of the day: TLR talked up the possibility of Ludwick as a Gold Glover if he keeps playing the way he has. While it’s very unlikely that Ludwick will win a Gold Glove playing right field, the numbers indicate that the manager isn’t off as far as how Ludwick is playing.
UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) has Ludwick rated as +2.7 runs in right field so far in 2010, seventh among Major League right fielders. But John Dewan’s plus-minus system rates Ludwick as +9 (plus-minus rates by plays, not runs), which is tied with Ichiro Suzuki and Jay Bruce for the best in the Major Leagues.
As for another Cardinal whose defense gets discussed quite a bit… Skip Schumaker has a UZR of -0.9 on the year, which is to say that according to UZR he is right about one run below average defensively so far on the young season. According to the plus-minus rating, Schumaker is a +2 and has saved two runs.
Also per plus-minus, Schumaker has made a massive improvement on balls to his left. Last year, he was -16 to his left. This year, at just about the one-fourth mark, he’s -1 to his left.
(On all of those numbers, that’s entering today)
Fun with double situational splits: Ludwick is crushing right-handed pitching at home this year. He’s 21-for-51 (.412) with eight walks and 10 extra base hits for a .500 on-base percentage and a .706 slugging percentage.
And, finally, the playlist…
Tomorrow, you better believe it’ll be Stones-related, in honor of the Exile On Main Street re-release. Tonight, though, it’s a hat tip to the great “Darkwave” program that runs on Sunday nights on the Sirius/XM channel First Wave. Had it blasting for the last 3 hours of the drive home from Cincy last night. Here are five selections that got turned up especially loud:
Shriekback, “Nemesis”
Sisters of Mercy, “Lucretia My Reflection”
Jesus and Mary Chain, “April Skies”
Duran Duran, “New Religion”
Nine Inch Nails, “That’s What I Get”
-M.
Note of the night/Stat of the day, May 16
Note of the night: There was a really cool atmosphere at Great American Ball Park all weekend. It’s clear that Cincinnati is excited about the Reds, and as a baseball fan, that’s great to see. This has, at times, been a great baseball town, and the game is IMO better when historic franchises like the Reds are good and relevant.
It was somewhat striking to me, though, that in talking to Cardinals players and staff, there was almost an air of something like “that’s so cute” about the whole thing. Nobody explicitly said that, or even came close to saying it. But it was very clear that the Cardinals perspective on the weekend was, “win this series, just like every other series.”
That’s a very La Russa mindset, and I’m not even suggesting it’s the wrong one. But it did seem to be the context of the weekend. Bronson Arroyo said as much postgame today, when he said “It’s not a big deal to them. It’s definitely a bigger deal on this side.”
Asked about the standings, here’s what a couple of Cardinals had to say.
Albert Pujols, asked if it was a big deal to fall out of first place, said:
“It’s a big deal losing a series. We came here to try to win the series, and we had a pretty good chance. That chance slipped out of our way. W don’t care about first place right now, because first place is a long way from now. You still have a long season. I think the idea is to try to win series, and that’s what we focus and concentrate on every day.
“We were in first place until they won, and that [didn't] guarantee us the playoffs automatically. Until the last game of the season, that’s when you want to be there. If this would have been the last game of the season and we would have fallen out of first place, it would be a big deal. but we’ve still got a lot of games against that ballclub, and we’ve still got a lot of games against great ballclubs in the Central division.”
And here’s Brad Penny, asked a very similar question:
“I’m not really concerned right now. … It’s exciting for them. Not many years they’ve been where they are now. It’s better than not being there at all. I can definitely understand their excitement. They’ve definitely got a better team this year. If their pitching holds up, they’re going to be pretty tough.”
Take it for what it’s worth, but I thought it was interesting.
Stat of the day: After allowing nine home runs in the season’s first 33 games, and at one point going 21 straight games without giving up even a single homer, Cardinals starters have now allowed a home run in five straight games.
For all the talk about how the Cardinals offense has leaned too much on the home run, the simple truth is this: teams that hit home runs win more often. If you hit a lot of them, you’re going to score runs and win. If you give up a lot of them, you’re going to allow runs and lose. The homer rate that this staff had earlier in the year was unsustainable. It will be interesting to see how the rotation fares as that number normalizes a little bit.
Fun with double situational splits: Colby Rasmus is 0-for-16 at home in May.
And, finally, the playlist:
Today, it’s culled from things we heard at GABP this weekend. This is one of the best ballparks around for music.
The Bar-Kays, “Soul Finger”
Dire Straits, “Skateaway”
The Rolling Stones, “Waiting On a Friend”
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, “I Second That Emotion”
R.E.M., “These Days”
-M.
Note of the night/Stat of the day, May 14
Note of the night: I had a long and interesting chat with Chris Carpenter this afternoon about a lot of things, and Joe Strauss was there for a good bit of it as well. Some of it is covered in this story over at the main site.
In that story, Carpenter relates that he thinks his results have been maybe better than people are giving him credit for, but also acknowledges that it hasn’t been easy to get those results. He had what I thought was a really interesting quote about expectations, and how he welcomes them even if they’re unreasonable.
Carpenter also talked about his health some. He said that as far as his shoulder, he’s doing better than this time last year, and feeling great about where he is. But he revealed something I found very interesting. He said that he still, routinely, feels tingling and numbness in his hand and arm as a result of the nerve issues that plagued him in 2004 and 2008.
“It’s a constant battle,” he said. “It’s a constant battle to keep it strong. It’s a constant battle to adjust the program to keep it firing properly. But as far as all last year and this year, yesterday was the best I’ve felt [pitching] for a long time. It’s an ongoing process to continue. Everybody knew coming into last season, we didn’t know what to expect or what was going on. We all chose the route that we thought was the best for me and that was not having surgery.”
Carpenter emphasized that he notices odd sensations routinely — waking up in the morning, things like that. And made a point that it doesn’t affect him at all when he pitches. By way of example, he noted that the condition isn’t really any different this year than it was last year, when he obviously pitched brilliantly all year.
Stat of the day: Cardinals starting pitchers, as a group, are averaging 14.9 pitches per inning pitched. An individual starter with that mark would rank 11th-best in the National League. Adam Wainwright ranks first in the NL, Brad Penny is second, Carpenter is 11th and Jaime Garcia is 14th. The closest team is the Marlins at 15.6.
Fun with double situational splits: Colby Rasmus has been unstoppable in night games on the road — which happens to be what Saturday’s game will be. In away night games, Rasmus is batting .432 with a .542 on-base percentage and an .811 slugging percentage.
And, finally, the playlist:
Tonight’s playlist is totally random. Put the iPod on shuffle, here are the first five songs that came up:
Depeche Mode, “Everything Counts”
Silversun Pickups, “Lazy Eye”
Guns N’ Roses, “It’s Alright”
Dead Milkmen, “Smokin’ Banana Peels”
David Baerwald, “Born for Love”
-M.
Stats of the day, May 13
No note of the night, so I’m fleshing out stat of the day a little bit.
Stat of the day, 1: Chris Carpenter has four starts this year in which he has issued three walks. He had three such starts all last year, with the first coming Aug. 22.
Put another way: Dating back to last year, Carpenter has issued three walks six times in his last 16 starts. That’s as many times as he did it in the previous 48 starts, dating back to 2006.
Stat of the day, 2: Nine of David Freese’s last 17 hits have gone for extra bases (in 52 at-bats). Of Freese’s first 61 at-bats and 18 hits, only two went for extra bases.
Put another way: Freese was slugging .422 on the morning of April 29. Since then, he’s slugging .615.
Stat of the day, 3: Matt Holliday has a .431 on-base percentage since April 29.
Fun with double situational splits: If you’re looking for a “pick to click” on Friday, look at Yadier Molina. For the year, Molina is 18-for-43 in night road games. That’s a .419 batting average, along with a .479 on-base percentage and a .512 slugging percentage. Molina also has a .390/.435/.585 line against right-handers in road games this year.
And, finally, the playlist:
(submitted entirely by my Twitter followers — thanks!)
American Aquarium, “Nothing To Lose”
Band of Horses, “Compliments”
Mumford and Sons, “Little Lion Man”
Dr. Dog, “Where’d All the Time Go”
Catherine Wheel, “Texture”
-M.
Note of the night/Stat of the day, May 12
Note of the night: If not for Wednesday night’s blowout, or at least the appearance of a blowout for most of the game, Jason LaRue probably would have gotten a start on Thursday afternoon. It would have marked the first time this year that someone other than Yadier Molina caught Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright or Jaime Garcia.
However, the big early margin changed TLR’s plans a bit. He saw an opportunity to give Molina a half-game off, and he took it. Molina was removed in favor of LaRue in the fifth inning. Now, even with the early afternoon start on Thursday after a night game on Wednesday, Molina will play. There was no injury at the root of the decision to take Molina out.
“He can catch tomorrow afternoon,” La Russa said. “Otherwise, he wasn’t going to catch tomorrow afternoon.”
Molina has started 30 of the Cardinals’ 34 games this year. The other four games have all featured either Kyle Lohse or Brad Penny on the mound. While La Russa is emphatic that he does not believe in “personal catchers,” that is almost certainly not a coincidence. The manager wants his Gold Glover catching his two aces as well as the rookie Garcia.
Stat of the day: Since returning from the disabled list last July, Kyle Lohse has made 19 starts. In those starts, he’s 2-9 with a 5.58 ERA, 57 strikeouts, 34 walks and 12 home runs allowed in 98 1/3 innings (5.18 innings per start).
Fun with double situational splits: Look out, Bud Norris. In day games against right-handed pitchers this year, Albert Pujols is 15-for-33 with eight extra-base hits, 10 walks and six strikeouts. That adds up to a slash line of a .455 batting average, a .581 on-base percentage and an .879 slugging percentage.
And, finally, the playlist…
The Black Keys, “Tighten Up”
The Dead Weather, “Jawbreaker”
Cold War Kids, “Audience”
The National, “Afraid of Everyone”
The Hold Steady, “The Weekenders” (my favorite song on this album, SO FAR)
-M.
Note of the night/Stat of the day, May 11
Howdy, all. I’m back on the beat after missing the last road trip, and it’s been a full day today to say the least.
Note of the night: Albert Pujols suffered a mild injury to his left knee when he beat out an infield single in the third inning. Pujols stretched to reach the bag, landed on his heel and stretched his knee in an odd way.
He stayed in the game, though he appeared to be a bit compromised in his running. Afterward, he played down the severity of the issue.
“I kind of landed funny and [stretched] my knee,” he said. “My knee kind of hurts a little bit, and a little bit in my hamstring.”
Asked if he thought he would be removed from the game, Pujols said he figured he’d keep playing.
“I felt good,” he said. “If it would have been something worse, something real bad, I would have either come out or it would have gotten worse during the game. But I was fine after that. Just a little sore, but nothing to worry about.”
It appears likely that Pujols will be in the lineup on Wednesday.
Stat of the night: In his Major League career, Skip Schumaker has 588 plate appearances leading off an inning. In those plate appearances, he’s batted .311 with a .362 on-base percentage and a .419 slugging percentage. That’s in comparison to his overall career line of .293/.352/.390.
Fun with double situational splits: In games at Busch Stadium this year, left-handed hitters are batting .214 with a .233 on-base percentage against Kyle Lohse.
And, finally, the playlist:
I caught three terrific concerts during my time away from the club, but the best was easily the Drive-By Truckers’ amazing set in Columbia, Mo. So tonight’s playlist is five highlights from that great band and that great show:
“Get Downtown”
“Birthday Boy”
“Three Dimes Down”
“Let There Be Rock”
“Shut Up And Get On The Plane”
-M.
Note of the night/Stat of the day, May 1
Note of the night: Brendan Ryan admitted when he was hitting eighth that it wasn’t his favorite thing. He made a point that he wasn’t taking issue with the manager’s decision, and that he was certainly happier to be in the lineup than out of it. But even before Ryan was moved to the No. 9 spot, he acknowledged that he likes hitting there.
Now that he’s there, he’s making the most of it.
In four games batting ninth, Ryan is 4-for-13 with two walks, good for a .400 on-base percentage. He started the winning rally in Wednesday’s game.
Stat of the day: Cardinals starters have pitched the most innings in the National League, with 158 2/3 in 24 games, but they’ve allowed the fewest home runs, with six.
Fun with double situational splits: In day games against right-handed pitchers, Yadier Molina is 6-for-18 (.333) with two homers and a double. His slash line in those at-bats is .333/.409/.722 (batting average/OBP/SLG).
-M.
Stat of the day and note of the night, April 29
Note of the night: David Freese was hearing it from his teammates, since he’s known as a power hitter. The pitchers had been teasing him about the fact that he had two extra-base hits all year until Thursday. But he had another motivation as well.
Prior to Thursday’s game, a young fan named Madison got an autograph from Freese. Jim Hayes of FOX Sports Midwest told the young lady that Freese would hit a home run for Madison, who has a broken collarbone. Freese certainly couldn’t say no, so he nodded, smiled, and said something along the lines of, “Um, sure.”
Then he did it. In his first at-bat. Off the foul pole.
“I was definitely thinking about her” as he rounded the bases, Freese said.
Stat of the day: Colby Rasmus’ on-base percentage has climbed from .366 to .487 since April 18, and his batting average is up from .188 to .344 in that same span. He’s 15-for-29 with eight walks over that time span, giving him a ridiculous .517 batting average and .622 on-base percentage. He’s been on base 23 times in those nine games.
Fun with double situational splits: David Freese is 7-for-12 (.583) with two walks for a .643 OBP in day games at home this year.
Annnnd, finally, the playlist:
This is taken directly, song-for-song, from what was playing in the clubhouse after this afternoon’s win.
Spacehog, “In the Meantime”
Ice Cube, “It Was a Good Day”
Notorious B.I.G., “Mo Money Mo Problems”
Notorious B.I.G., “Juicy”
Sublime, “Santeria”
-M.
(Chess Match will return tomorrow)
Matthew Leach
Recent Comments