Run Prevention is Fun!

by Jeff Sackmann on Jul 23, 2008 2:10 PM CDT in News Comment 16 comments

It's not exactly breaking news that our starting rotation has performed well lately. When Yovani Gallardo went down, Jeff Suppan suddenly appeared to be our #2 starter; now, with the emergence of Manny Parra, the acquisition of CC Sabathia, and the surprising goodness of Dave Bush and Seth McClung, Suppan could be considered #5.

But even beyond that, the pitching staff as a whole has gotten steadily better. (Lots of innings from CC isn't hurting anything.)

Courtesy of baseball-reference's team splits, here are some numbers for the entire staff:

Season to date: 4.03 ERA
Last 28 days: 3.81 ERA
Last 14 days: 3.56 ERA (including 93 K's in 91 innings!)
Last 7 days: 2.74 ERA

What makes the "last 7" split kind of cool is that at the moment, it represents one complete turn through the rotation. In that sequence, we've gotten three quality starts--all of which were better than the 6 IP, 3 ER threshold. The other two starts were only 5 innings, but Sheets and McClung each only gave up 2 runs. Three relievers have given up runs, but one of them (Stetter) is gone now. And Torres's run on Monday night wasn't exactly due to bad pitching.

I'll admit that some superior performances are to be expected when 3 out of 5 games are against the Giants. But the back of the rotation has handled itself well against the Cardinals, too, one of the top half of NL offenses, including the league's best hitter as well as one of its hottest (Glaus).

Now, if we can manage to get 12 more turns through the rotation just like this one...

0 recs | Comment 16 comments

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Comments

...then what???

You can’t leave me hanging like that, dude.

BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"

by battlekow on Jul 23, 2008 2:15 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

you can party with the triceratops!

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Jul 23, 2008 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bicuriously sexy..

Or something..

by SgtClueLs on Jul 23, 2008 4:13 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The pessimist in me reads

“But the back of the rotation has handled itself well against the Cardinals, too, one of the top half of NL offenses…”

and thinks that the top of the rotation will probably struggle.

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Jul 23, 2008 2:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Assume the sweep.

by Getting Yosted on Jul 23, 2008 2:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm assuming the sweep.

Lordz Of Vengeance....If I'm not drunk, I'm at work.

I am anti-Cameron.

by Dikembe Meiztombo on Jul 23, 2008 3:12 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

off-topic

Nashville was losing 2-1 going into the bottom of the 8th…

Joe Dillon walks.
Brad Nelson: home run!

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Jul 23, 2008 2:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Trade him while he is hot!

Visit my baseball blog ...or else!

by dixieflatline on Jul 23, 2008 2:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Now we know

Acquiring Ray Durham was just meant to help out the Nashville nine.

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Jul 23, 2008 2:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can't believe we sent Dillon down

It’s pretty obvious he is a run scorer, plain and simple.

"He's been very, very impressive," Yost said. "I mean really impressive. I mean really, really impressive."

by MadJimiBrewha on Jul 23, 2008 2:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

You...have a concept?

BCB's "very own marginally deserving all-star!"

by battlekow on Jul 23, 2008 3:08 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Don't tell anyone

but I’m really Ned.

"He's been very, very impressive," Yost said. "I mean really impressive. I mean really, really impressive."

by MadJimiBrewha on Jul 23, 2008 3:36 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Joe Dillon wins games

in Nashville

Coffee is for closers

by drezdn on Jul 23, 2008 3:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

There have been some that have discounted the Brewers due to their mediocre Runs Scored / Runs Allowed ratio, but that only means that they were a little lucky in the first half.

Through May 19th (44 games), the Brewers had given up 221 runs, and scored only 193. The team was batting .242/.317/.396. The pitchers had an ERA of 4.70, and had a 184BB/285K ratio and 20-24 record

Since May 20th (56 games), the Crew is 37-19. They have scored 281 runs and allowed 221. The team is hitting .266/.331/.478. The pitchers have an ERA of 3.48 and had a 159BB/399K ratio.

So what is accurate and what has changed? I don’t see much change in the offense at all. Mike Cameron arrived after 25 games, and Branyan has bolstered the 3rd base position. You could argue that Hardy has benefited by moving back to the 2nd spot and the Fielder Braun switch. Beyond that, it just looks like the hitting has just picked up after a slow start.

The pitching on the other hand has changed quite a bit. CC Sabathia has arrived and Turnbow has departed. McClung has been a surprise and both Bush and Parra have been very good after slow starts. Middle relief is still consistently inconsistent.

Hopefully the team we are seeing now is what will get in the last 62 games.

by grant76 on Jul 23, 2008 3:42 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Interesting

I hadn’t noticed the team is now tied for the NL lead in team slugging.

Obscure baseball records and more at my blog, Recondite Baseball.

by TheJay on Jul 23, 2008 3:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

also

Interesting to see we are only 9 home runs out of first in the home run category. after the homer shortage to start the year I didn’t think we would ever catch back up in that category.

"He's been very, very impressive," Yost said. "I mean really impressive. I mean really, really impressive."

by MadJimiBrewha on Jul 23, 2008 4:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

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NL Central Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
St. Louis Viva El Birdos	91	71	.561	0	Lost 6
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