G-G-G-Gavin And The Bats

by colintj on Apr 19, 2009 4:02 PM CDT

Sox took 3 of 4 from the Rays and very well could have had the sweep if it weren't for Ben Zobrist, a cybernetic upgrade from the old Punto model. Still, it was a pretty impressive performance on the weekend. The Rays scored 3 or fewer runs in 3 of the 4 games, while the Sox averaged a full 7 runs per game over the series. How?

Series Stats

.327/.408/.558 vs. .178/.250/.311*
20:25 BB/K vs. 13:31
.354 BABIP vs. .250
12% of PAs ended in BB vs. 8.8%
.411 estimated wOBA** vs. .269

Yeah. That'll do it. Interestingly, if you plug wOBA back in to get runs above average for the series w/ 160 PA, you get 10 runs above average (or about 7 per game) for the Sox and 10 below for the Rays (about 2 per game).

Gavin took the mound in the series finale and had all of his pitches working, with memorable strike outs of Longoria on a sick bender, as well as Carlos Peña on his little used change-up. 7 K's, no walks and the only damage coming from the aforementioned cyborg. Meanwhile, Floyd's opposite Matt Garza struggled to find the plate and the Sox weren't helping. They took 5 walks to 4 strikeouts and the Sox BABIP'd .438 on the day thanks to line drives and the occasional deep fly. It was never particularly close:

via www.fangraphs.com

The Rays were down to 25% chance to win by their half of the 3rd and never mounted a significant challenge thereafter.

*I used AB+BB for PA, so OBP will probably be overstated by a bit.

**I ran a quick regression from fangraphs leaderboard in '08 w/ OPS and wOBA. They correlate extremely well (r = .95). The trend line gave me wOBA = .351*OPS + .072.

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Comments

*Balls

by Daniel Berlyn on Apr 19, 2009 4:14 PM CDT reply actions

Of all the perfomances today

I am most happy with B.A. 3 hits today. Let’s never see Owens start a game ever again.

my president is white.

by JoeCoolMan24 on Apr 19, 2009 4:52 PM CDT reply actions

Batting .273 with OBP of .429

Replacing "Chicago Tough" with "Cuban Pride"

by Brush Back on Apr 19, 2009 5:26 PM CDT up reply actions

He was hitting .200 or so before the game.

They were taking batting practice today. I could’ve hit Cormier. Let’s wait and see.

We’re a pack of a-holes.
by rhythm on Apr 14, 2009 1:45 PM EDT

by winningugly on Apr 19, 2009 8:11 PM CDT up reply actions

your right

0-5 would have been better.

"It just occurred to me that the White Sox could win the division."

by SuddenSam on May 22, 2008 9:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

" That just makes me want to puke all over your head, sir."

by Tdogg on Apr 19, 2009 8:14 PM CDT up reply actions

It was not a commentary on JO.

It was a commentary on heaping effusive praise on BA. He’s still the tallest midget in the circus.

And you’re just pissed because you are going to cook PP’s for me until the Cubs win the World Series. BWAHAHAHAHA!

We’re a pack of a-holes.
by rhythm on Apr 14, 2009 1:45 PM EDT

by winningugly on Apr 19, 2009 8:41 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah we'll see - To Date:

Contreras value wins .1/ dollars $.3 million
Colon value wins .3 / dollars $1.3 mill

Penny (-.02) / $(-.9) million

uh huh?

I’m shaking in my boots.

My commentary was aimed at BA and when your wrong about his OPS you will eat that crow too!

"It just occurred to me that the White Sox could win the division."

by SuddenSam on May 22, 2008 9:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

" That just makes me want to puke all over your head, sir."

by Tdogg on Apr 19, 2009 8:48 PM CDT up reply actions

It's a long season, and we've seen Colon's best shot.

Smoltz ain’t even in yet. I’m sanguine.

We’re a pack of a-holes.
by rhythm on Apr 14, 2009 1:45 PM EDT

by winningugly on Apr 19, 2009 8:52 PM CDT up reply actions

Even so - the rate of walks this season has been impressive

his OBP was around .400 even before the game. He’s made adjustments. Not saying he’s superstar – I’m just glad to see his defense in CF – and he seems to be much more mature in his PAs… now lets hope that lasts

Replacing "Chicago Tough" with "Cuban Pride"

by Brush Back on Apr 19, 2009 10:44 PM CDT up reply actions