Astros Off to Rough Start in April

The first month for the Astros in the American League was not a good one.  There were a few bright spots such as a 9-1 win in Yankee Stadium and taking two series from the Seattle Mariners but the Astros were on the losing end in most of the other games, finishing with a record [...]

Who Were the Most Productive Offensive Players in 2012?

Numerous methods have been devised to measure offensive performance.  The most common are batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average.  Since none of these averages provides a complete picture by itself, a more comprehensive measure of offensive performance is useful.  Such a measure would include the following elements: 1. The ability to get on base. [...]

Analyzing the 2013 Hall of Fame Vote

For the first time since 1996, the Baseball Writers Association of America did not elect any players to the Hall of Fame.  Craig Biggio, in his first year on the ballot, led the voting with 68.2% of the vote.  This is higher than Barry Larkin and Ryne Sandberg received in their first year on the [...]

Rating the 2013 Hall of Fame Candidates Based on Win Shares

One of the first items of business in baseball each year is the announcement of players elected to the Hall of Fame.  This leads to lots of speculation and a little analysis prior to the announcement which is scheduled for January 9, 2013. Many systems exist for evaluating player performance.  One such system, the Win [...]

Triple Milestones 2012

Offensive production in the major leagues was mixed in 2012.  The number of runs and home runs per game both increased in 2012 after reaching 20-year lows in 2011.  Batting average was the same as in 2011 but on-base average dropped to .319, the lowest figure since the 1980s.  However slugging average increased from .399 [...]

World Series 2012 Observations

With the success that Marco Scutaro has had with his short stroke, will other hitters follow suit? Not likely. Chicks still dig the long ball. If Lasagna is nature’s perfect food (according to Garfield) then Matt Cain is nature’s perfect pitcher. Durable, no wasted motion, works quickly and commands his pitches. For the third straight [...]

Two Weeks to Go for Triple Milestones

With two weeks to go in the season, five batters are on track to achieve the triple Milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.  Two others are close.  Two pitchers are on target for the milestones of an ERA under 3.00, 20 wins and 200 strikeouts and two others are [...]

Tracking Triple Milestones – 2012

With the season nearing the halfway point, it’s a good time to check  on hitters that are on target for the triple milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs and which pitchers are on a pace for 20 wins, 200 strikeouts and an ERA under 3.00. Since pitchers have recorded [...]

A New Beginning for Astros in April

While the Astros 9-14 record in April was a disappointment, it was better than the last 2 Aprils and there were some encouraging signs.  The Astros outscored their opposition104-100 which should have equated to a record of about 12-11. It is still too soon to determine if young players like Jose Altuve, J.D.Martinez, Jordan Schafer, [...]

Analyzing the 2012 Hall of Fame Vote

Barry Larkin was the only player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers this year.  Larkin received votes from 86.4% of the writers, well above the 75% required for election.  Larkin picked up 134 more votes this year, his third year on the ballot.  With a relatively thin incoming class of [...]

Who Were the Most Productive Offensive Players in 2011?

Numerous methods have been devised to measure offensive performance.  The most common are batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average.  Since none of these averages provides a complete picture by itself, a more comprehensive measure of offensive performance is useful.  Such a measure would include the following elements: The ability to get on base. The [...]

Rating the 2012 Hall of Fame Candidates Based on Win Shares

One of the first items of business in baseball each year is the announcement of players elected to the Hall of Fame.  This leads to lots of speculation and a little analysis prior to the announcement which is scheduled forJanuary 9, 2012. Many systems exist for evaluating player performance.  One such system, the Win Shares [...]

Triple Milestones 2011

Offensive production in the major leagues continued to decline slightly in 2011 but not as much as in 2010. The number of runs per game has declined each year from 9.72 in 2006 to 8.57 in 2011. The home run rate of 1.87 per game was the lowest since 1993. The major league batting average, [...]

World Series 2011 Observations

The 2011 World Series will be remembered as a great one despite an anti-climactic Game 7.  Before that there were 4 nail-biters plus Albert Pujols epic game and an unforgettable game 6. If ever there was a team of destiny, it’s the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals. Future regular season and World Series comebacks will be [...]

Triple Milestones–Final 2011

Seven players reached the milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBI this year. Four American Leaguers and three National Leaguers made it.  The only repeaters are Miguel Cabrera and Paul Konerko. The three National Leaguers who made it last year, Albert Pujols, Joey Votto and Carlos Gonzalez fell short but Pujols [...]

Triple Milestones 2011–Ten Games to Go

Despite 2011 being considered a pitchers year, a surprising number of players are making a run at the triple milestones of a .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.  Here’s the lineup. (Stats as of Sunday, September 18.) Already In Ryan Braun .336 31 103 Matt Kemp .320 34 113   Will Make [...]

New Look for the Astros in August

The month of August represents a turning point in the future performance of the Astros. Gone are Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn and Jeff Keppinger to be replaced by several promising rookies this year and some promising prospects in the years to come. So far, it has worked well. Three players promoted from AA Corpus Christi [...]

Recapping the 2011 Season’s First Half

The first three months of the 2011 baseball season are history and most teams have reached the halfway point with at least 81 games in a 162 game schedule.  Indications are that the decline in offensive production that started last year is continuing with most measures of offensive performance at the lowest level since the [...]

Who Were the Most Productive Offensive Players in 2010?

Numerous methods have been devised to measure offensive performance. The most common are batting average, on-base percentage and slugging average. Since none of these averages provides a complete picture by itself, a more comprehensive measure of offensive performance is useful. Such a measure would include the following elements: 1. The ability to get on base. [...]

Triple Milestones – 2010

Offensive production in the major leagues in 2010 was down significantly from 2009. The number of runs per game has declined each year from 9.72 in 2006 to 8.77 in 2010. The home run rate of 1.90 per game was down from the 2.02 rate in 2009. The major league batting average, on-base percentage and [...]

Astros Begin Reloading in 2010 Season

After a miserable start to the 2010 season, the Houston Astros made a mid-course correction in July.  Astro icons Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman were traded for 6 younger players and the Club made a modest recovery in the second half of the season with rookies manning four positions in most games.  Catcher Jason Castro [...]

Astros Come to Life in August

In the final month of the Astros forgettable 2009 season, the Astros inexplicably swept the National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies in a 4 game series in Houston.  The 2010 schedule also included a 4-game series with the Phillies, this time in Philadelphia in August.  The result was the same as the Astros brought their brooms [...]

Hitters not Forgotten in a Pitchers Year

As the baseball season reaches the three-quarter pole. pitchers continue to dominate with several strong candidates for the Cy Young Award in both leagues.  However, hitters have not been completely left out as eight hitters are on target to reach a .300 batting average with 30 home runs and 100 RBIs.  Four others are close. [...]

Memories of the Shot Heard Round the World

I suspect everyone my age with an interest in baseball knows where they were when Bobby Thomson hit his historic home run in 1951.  I was in my 11th grade physics class at South High School in Denver.  I was an avid Brooklyn Dodger fan growing up and listened to part of the game on [...]

SABR 40 Convention Report

By all accounts, SABR 40 in Atlanta was a big success although registration was below the total in recent years.  I know I sure had a good time. SABR is clearly in a time of transition.  Executive Director John Zajc is resigning to pursue other interests.  His replacement is Marc Appleman who has had an [...]

Break Up the Astros

The Houston Astros finished the month of July with 4 straight wins, outscoring the opposition 25-2.  It was the first winning month for the Club with a record of 13-11.  Most of the credit goes to the pitchers with the starters compiling a 2.54 ERA, the best in the league for the month.  Brett Myers [...]

It’s Not Just a Year for the Pitchers

A lot has been written this year about the resurgence in domination by pitchers. It’s true that it has been a good year for pitchers but hitters have not completely disappeared although it may seem that way when a player like Omar Infante is selected for the All-Star Game. Last year, only 5 players batted [...]

Astros Break Even in June

The Houston Astros had their best month of the season in June with a 14-14 record.  They were 11-2 against National League teams but only 3-12 in Interleague games against teams from the American League including the Yankees, Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays, three of the strongest teams in the league. The team averaged 4.4 [...]

What Ever Happened to the 2005 Houston Astros?

In the last week, Eric Bruntlett was released by the Washington Nationals, Jason Lane was released by the Florida Marlins, Adam Everett was designated for assignment by the Detroit Tigers and Mike Lamb was designated for assignment by the Marlins.  All four were members of the 2005 Houston Astros team that won the National League [...]

Are the Astros Really This Bad?

Anyone who saw the first two games of the Cincinnati series last week and the Washington game on Monday would obviously answer yes. The Astros are on a pace to lose 108 games this year after never having lost 100 in their 48-year history. After getting in a hole with an 8-14 record in April, [...]

Where Is the Offense?

The Houston Astros have started slowly for several years (9-13 in April, 2009 and 13-16 in 2008).  However, the month of April, 2010 (8-14) was even worse.  After the Club started 0-8, there was a brief ray of hope when the team went 8-2 in the next 10 games including a 3 game sweep of [...]

Live From Spring Training ’10: Cardinals vs. Astros

Astro starter, Wandy Rodriguez, couldn’t find a pitch he could get past the St. Louis Cardinals’ all right handed batting order in the first inning and was rocked for 5 runs in a Monday game at Kissimmee..  The big blows were a 2-run double by Ryan Ludwick and a 3-run homer by David Freese.  After [...]

Live From Spring Training ’10: Yankees vs. Astros

A sun-drenched, record crowd of 7,020 fans saw the Houston Astros overcome a 4-0 deficit to defeat a New York Yankees split squad 8-6 in Kissimmee Saturday afternoon.  The Yankees struck early against Brett Myers with a home run by Robinson Cano in the second inning and two more runs in the third on a triple by [...]

Live From Spring Training ’10: Blue Jays Vs. Astros

In a game played primarily by backup players and minor leaguers, the Houston Astros defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 2-0, Friday afternoon in Kissimmee. The Astros scored one run in the first inning on a leadoff triple by Jason Bourgeois and a groundout by Jeff Keppinger and another in the second inning on a wind-aided [...]

Live From Spring Training ’10: Red Sox Vs. Astros

On a perfect day for baseball, the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros showcased their ace pitchers before a capacity crowd in Kissimmee.  Roy Oswalt and Jon Lester each worked the first four innings with Oswalt departing with a 1-0 lead for the win.  Oswalt focused on locating his fastball while Lester mixed in more off speed and [...]

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