The dog days of summer are quickly coming to a close, although I'm sure that for Cliff Lee, that time cannot come quick enough. Its the start of September and The Savior of the Rangers (Cliff Lee and the Rangers are in no way affiliated with the previous nickname) has been less than spectacular. Yeah he put in some CGs and Cy Young stat lines but his last six starts he has played like a third in the rotation instead of the true ace. What happend, what can be done, should we be worried for the team, for Cliff, for our playoff hopes, why have I not mentioned the Cowboys yet, are they not important anymore, is Wade any good at coaching, does Romo worry too much about his golf game, which company should I invest in, what about Hedi and Spencer? The answers to all these questions and more after the break.
Ok allow me to answer the easiest of these questions first. I have no idea what companies are the best to invest in at this time, and I still have no idea who the hell Hedi and Spencer are (but apparently their sex tape idea has been shelved). So on to the real topic of sports. Let me talk about the Rangers some and then I'll get to the cowboys. So Cliff has had some tough goings but even through all that with the exception to his ERA (4.69) and WvL (10-8 overall, 2-5 as a Ranger) everything else is Cy Young material (WHIP 1.128, SO/BB 12.00 as a Ranger 13.417 overall) but for some strange reason the offense has been absent and I've got some wacky stats that the Rangers should attempt to implement.
The offense has struggled overall since the departure of Ian Kinsler and more recently Nelson Cruz. The offense has just had it better nights and based on the laws of probability this should not concern anyone as to when these good and bad nights actually happen. There are just simply too many factors out of the control of anyone for us to think like Colin Cowherd. I do however have some interesting splits that the Rangers and all of us could look at to establish when Cliff could be backed by a win or at least a low ERA before he even throws a pitch.
Lets start with who the opponent is. He has yet to play a game against his former team of 2010, Seatle, however against the rest of the AL West, including us, he is 4-1 with a 1.54 ERA. He has played two games against us (1-0, 1.13), two against the A's (1-0, 0.53), and three against the Angels (2-1, 2.96). Against the AL East he is 2-5 with a 4.203 ERA with three played against the O's (1-2, 6.14), one against the Red Sox (0-0, 2.00), two against the Yanks (1-0, 4.11) and three against the Rays (0-3, 4.56) and none against the Jays. Against the AL North he is 1-1 with a 4.33 ERA with one played against Detroit (1-0, 1.13) one against KC (0-0, 7.71) and two against Minnesota (0-1, 4.15). In inter-league play, he wasn't with the Rangers at the time, he was 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA. Now on to where the game is played.
He is at a .500 win percentage when playing in Arlington, Anihiem, Baltimore, Boston, and Kansas City. He is +.500 in Detroit, Yankee Stadium, Oakland and Seattle. He is -.500 in San Diego and Tampa Bay. On to the time of day and the type of field played on.
He is 10-6 with a 3.25 ERA on open/grassed stadiums and 0-2 with a 4.60 ERA in domed/artificial turf stadiums. When Cliff plays a day game he is 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA as opposed to night games where he is 9-5 with a 3.14 ERA. Now on to the next level of importance the man catching his pitches.
Unlike the previous numbers, I'm going to limit these numbers to his time with the Rangers. He has been caught by Bengie Molina, Taylor Teagarden, and Matt Trenor. In the two games where he has recorded the win his catchers were Bengie and Taylor and he had a combined 2.5 ERA and in both he went at least 8 innings and both of which were night games. He has pitched in one other game that the Rangers have won and he went 9 innings with a 2.40 ERA in a night game.
Finally I'd like to end with what I believe is the most telling of all the stats, his days of rest in between starts. When he has at least 5 days of rest he is 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA. I add this in only because the Rangers are adamant that Cliff will pitch every 5th game which doesn't always transfer to that may days of rest. My suggestion would be so have 5 calender days in between each of his starts and to set a permanent rotation order and stick to it. The current method can have him move up in the rotation to accommodate their 5th game preference. I've found these stats to be fun but they should be taken as the gospel simply because so much about his pitching routine has changed since he got here. But maybe they can be helpful guidelines for the Rangers. Honestly the only other piece of advice I can think to give is to get everyone back and healthy. The team plays well enough most of the time that they do not appear to be headed towards a collapse (although it is still possible), and then we just have to hope that we can continue to play as a team come October.
Oh and I'll answer all the Cowboys questions you may have once the preseason has ended. Its my own personal boycott.
He is at a .500 win percentage when playing in Arlington, Anihiem, Baltimore, Boston, and Kansas City. He is +.500 in Detroit, Yankee Stadium, Oakland and Seattle. He is -.500 in San Diego and Tampa Bay. On to the time of day and the type of field played on.
He is 10-6 with a 3.25 ERA on open/grassed stadiums and 0-2 with a 4.60 ERA in domed/artificial turf stadiums. When Cliff plays a day game he is 1-3 with a 4.55 ERA as opposed to night games where he is 9-5 with a 3.14 ERA. Now on to the next level of importance the man catching his pitches.
Unlike the previous numbers, I'm going to limit these numbers to his time with the Rangers. He has been caught by Bengie Molina, Taylor Teagarden, and Matt Trenor. In the two games where he has recorded the win his catchers were Bengie and Taylor and he had a combined 2.5 ERA and in both he went at least 8 innings and both of which were night games. He has pitched in one other game that the Rangers have won and he went 9 innings with a 2.40 ERA in a night game.
Finally I'd like to end with what I believe is the most telling of all the stats, his days of rest in between starts. When he has at least 5 days of rest he is 4-1 with a 2.06 ERA. I add this in only because the Rangers are adamant that Cliff will pitch every 5th game which doesn't always transfer to that may days of rest. My suggestion would be so have 5 calender days in between each of his starts and to set a permanent rotation order and stick to it. The current method can have him move up in the rotation to accommodate their 5th game preference. I've found these stats to be fun but they should be taken as the gospel simply because so much about his pitching routine has changed since he got here. But maybe they can be helpful guidelines for the Rangers. Honestly the only other piece of advice I can think to give is to get everyone back and healthy. The team plays well enough most of the time that they do not appear to be headed towards a collapse (although it is still possible), and then we just have to hope that we can continue to play as a team come October.
Oh and I'll answer all the Cowboys questions you may have once the preseason has ended. Its my own personal boycott.
No comments:
Post a Comment