The team beneath the stats

by WeaverMania on Aug 12, 2007 11:29 PM PDT

So I was looking at Baseball Reference's Team Inning Summary for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and was noticing some pretty interesting things. The Angels have 28 comeback wins but have 22 blown leads. Their largest comeback is five runs while their largest blown lead is four runs. They have seven walk-off wins and just two walk-off losses. The Angels are 52-3 when leading going into the 7th inning. They are 62-0 when going into the 9th inning with the lead which is the best in baseball.

Looks like the Angels are doing just fine and they're ahead of the Seattle Mariners in some those same categories. The Mariners have 35 comeback wins but have 22 blown leads. Their largest comeback is five runs while their largest blown lead is five runs, as well. They have only three walk-off wins but just one walk-off loss. They're 51-2 when leading going into the 7th inning. They're 56-0 when going into the 9th inning with the lead.

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Why are the Mariners good again?

Anybody?

by shiftyeyedgoat on Aug 12, 2007 11:40 PM PDT reply actions

bueller?

Willits for ROY

by 101halo on Aug 12, 2007 11:44 PM PDT up reply actions

Frey?

Quit yer whinin' and START CHEERING!

by Downing Rules on Aug 13, 2007 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions

3 reasons

Putz, Ichiro being on base for Beltre to drive in, A's & Rangers folding.

by Rev Halofan on Aug 12, 2007 11:50 PM PDT up reply actions

It's the same 3 reasons, basically . . .

describing how the Diamondbacks are in first place by that wide of a margin even though their team isn't as great as their record.

1.) They have that dominant closer (Valverde) who can just shutdown teams at the end of games.
2.) They have that run producer (Byrnes) to drive in the guy who just gets on base (Hudson).
3.) The Padres, Rockies, and Dodgers can't win games to save their lives right now.

Hell, the Diamondbacks are 20-8 since the All-Star break. That includes them being 16-3 over their last nineteen games.

Plus, Brandon Webb has thrown 33.1 consecutive inning of scoreless baseball. In his last four starts, he's 4-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. Batters are hitting just .181/.221/.241 against him over that time. He's also thrown two complete game shutouts in those four games. Too bad he signed that extension in January of last season because he's in the desert until 2010, where he'll be 31 years old at the time, I believe. I'd love to make a run at him as a free agent but that ain't happening. He's just so dominant at times and always keeps the team in the game.

The Diamondbacks could be the Cinderella team this postseason, should they make it in. I actually want to see the Diamondbacks and Rockies make it in, just to see ESPN's reaction when they actually have to acknowledge West Coast baseball. I mean, if the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Angels, and Mariners all made it into the playoffs, there might be a riot in Bristol.

I also did some digging for the hell of it and noticed a very interesting thing. Everytime Bonds hit a milestone HR --#71 in 2001, #715 in 2006, and #756 in 2007-- his team lost the game. Ironically, 45.6% of Bonds' career home runs have either given his team the lead or tied the game. He slightly leads Mark McGwire (45.5%) in that department while being tied with Rafael Palmeiro (45.6%) when talking about sluggers with 550+ home runs. Reggie Jackson (47.8%) leads all sluggers with 550+ home runs. Harmon Killebrew (45.9%) is second. Some players have home runs missing, though, on the HR Table. For instance, Babe Ruth (all), Willie Mays (some), et cetera. Just found it interesting.

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill

by WeaverMania on Aug 13, 2007 1:32 AM PDT up reply actions

foxsports.com has an article trying

to answer this exact question:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7110738

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2007 Seattle Mariners, the most confounding team in big league history.

The M's are 10th in the American League in home runs, dead last in walks (14 behind the Royals), 11th in WHIP and 10th in ERA. Yet by some baffling, stat-defying series of fortunate events, they are 14 games over .500, stalking the Angels in the West and tied with the Yankees in the wild-card race.

How is this possible?

Two words: "close" and "late."

When the game is tight, Seattle shines. The bullpen, anchored by J.J. Putz, is ridiculous, and the hitters transform in close-and-late situations.

Late in tight games -- defined by Elias as "results in the 7th inning or later with the batting team ahead by one run, tied, or with the potential tying run at least on deck" -- the Mariners are hitting a league-best .296 (the Yankees are second at .264) and their .796 OPS far outpaces No. 2 Cleveland's .753.

Sabermetricians hate the word "clutch," and many dismiss it altogether, claiming it simply doesn't exist. Well, it does in Seattle.

by melvintoast on Aug 13, 2007 5:05 PM PDT up reply actions