Chris Carpenter pitched flawlessly over nine innings against the Houston Astros on September 28th to set the St. Louis Cardinals up to take the National League Wild Card.
He only pitched three innings on October 2nd against the Philadelphia Phillies on short rest, but the Cards still won while employing their entire bullpen.
Tonight, he pitched another gem as he shut out the Phillies to win their NLDS series. The Cards only scored one run against Roy Halladay, but that's all they needed. They move on to face the Brewers in Milwaukee in the NLCS on Sunday, October 9th.
The Tigers overtook the overpriced Yankees yesterday and the Cards beat the Phillies today. Monetarily, that means $105.7 M defeated $202.7 M and $105.4 M beat $173.0 M, respectively.
I love it when the little guys kick the bigger guys in their wallets. Don't you?
Baseball analysis from a Bucco fan, Cards fan & fantasy baseball enthusiast.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Cardinals and Phillies, Game 5 Tonight
Chris Carpenter (11-9, 3.45 ERA, 1.26 WHIP)
vs.
Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP)
I choose to not overanalyze this matchup. Tune in and watch the game tonight at 7:37 p.m. CST.
vs.
Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP)
I choose to not overanalyze this matchup. Tune in and watch the game tonight at 7:37 p.m. CST.
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| Go Cardinals! |
Tigers Top Yankees
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| Tigers win ALDS 3-2 over Yankees. |
The Detroit Tigers defeated the New York Yankees on Thursday night and I could not be happier. I guess money can buy the division, but it doesn't guarantee you a ring. Anyone who keeps the Yankees out of the World Series is okay in my book. The Tigers will face the Texas Rangers for game one of the ALCS on Saturday in Texas.
What made the game even more glorious was Jose Valverde striking out Alex Rodriguez to end the game. Delicious.
I don't always agree with what they say over at SB Nation, but I keep my subscription with them because of little gems like Visual Box Score. Cute and entertaining.
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| Detroit Tigers |
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| New York Yankees |
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Pirates Helped Rays
I realized something amusing last night: The Red Sox were knocked out from the AL Wild Card by the Pirates.
Bear with me and I'll explain my reasoning. Remember when the Red Sox rolled into Pittsburgh in late June earlier this year? Boston owned a record of 44-30, while tied for first with the New York Yankees in the AL East. Everyone expected them to roll over the Pirates in their three game series, but it didn't go as expected.
The Pirates managed to win the series 2-1, which gave them a winning record and caused Boston to slide into second place. Pittsburgh used the series against Boston to create momentum for the team. They eventually rose to first place in the NL Central and maintained a record above .500 until August.
Two games were all that stood between the Boston Red Sox and winning the American League Wild Card, so it only makes sense the Tampa Bay Rays should thank the Pirates for their postseason appearance.
Granted, the Red Sox lost two or more games to many other teams who were worse than the Pirates. The Rays could thank the Orioles who handed Boston their final loss of the season and inevitably shut their season down, but I choose to be charitable and thank the Pirates.
Bear with me and I'll explain my reasoning. Remember when the Red Sox rolled into Pittsburgh in late June earlier this year? Boston owned a record of 44-30, while tied for first with the New York Yankees in the AL East. Everyone expected them to roll over the Pirates in their three game series, but it didn't go as expected.
The Pirates managed to win the series 2-1, which gave them a winning record and caused Boston to slide into second place. Pittsburgh used the series against Boston to create momentum for the team. They eventually rose to first place in the NL Central and maintained a record above .500 until August.
Two games were all that stood between the Boston Red Sox and winning the American League Wild Card, so it only makes sense the Tampa Bay Rays should thank the Pirates for their postseason appearance.
Granted, the Red Sox lost two or more games to many other teams who were worse than the Pirates. The Rays could thank the Orioles who handed Boston their final loss of the season and inevitably shut their season down, but I choose to be charitable and thank the Pirates.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Moneyball
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| "How can you not be romantic about baseball?" |
This little writeup is dedicated to a friend who doesn't believe in Moneyball and, thus, only follows sports with salary limitations.
I finally saw Moneyball Saturday night and it was amazing. I had to restrain myself from cheering at times. If you haven't seen it yet, go. Peter Brand reminded me of myself, though I'm not quite overweight and don't have the fancy degree from Yale. So if any general managers out there are reading this and want an assistant, I'm available.
Expensive players are not always the best, so more money does not always buy more wins. The eight 2011 playoff contenders consist of two bloated market teams, four near-average payroll teams, and two true Moneyballers.
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| 2011 Postseason Bracket |
The Yankees and Phillies have the most expensive payrolls in the American League and National League, respectively, so many expected them to have the best records at the end of 2011. The Diamondbacks took the NL West even though they had the sixth poorest payroll. The Rays took the AL Wild Card and only the Kansas City Royals had a lower payroll than them.
If money paid for wins, like so many people believe, then this is how the 2011 postseason should look like:
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| 2011 Postseason Money Bracket |
The Red Sox were in the hunt for the AL Wild Card, but fell in dramatic fashion. The Angels and Giants fought for a playoff slot, though came up short. The White Sox, Cubs, and Mets didn't even break the .500 mark.
Payroll win efficiency. I will expand on this subject later.
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