San Francisco Giants

Baseball Power Report: Month 2 (Week 9)

Posted on by in Anaheim Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Featured, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, Making Sense of Sports, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Sports, St Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals  |  No comments
adam wainwright
A third of the way through the season, it’s time for the early June Power Report. For each team I have a ranking and a few interesting stats/observations for not just last week, but also the last month and the season to date. I tried to keep everything consistent, but some stats are based on Saturday, some on Sunday. Enjoy!

30. Marlins. If April wasn’t bad enough, the Marlins scored just 79 runs in 28 games in the month of May, running their season total to 152 runs in 55 games. They rank last in runs, doubles, homers, average, on-base percentage, slugging, and hit into the third most double plays. When your team leader in batting average is at .228, that explains a lot. Their pitching yields the highest opponents’ on-base percentage in the NL. Miami is actually 6-3 against the Mets, but 10-39 versus everyone else. On the bright side, slugger Giancarlo Stanton...

Read more

An older Johnny Mize just won World Series titles

Posted on by in Bases Empty Blog, LA Dodgers, MLB, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Sports, St Louis Cardinals  |  No comments
Johnny Mize On this date in baseball history, former NL slugger and NY Yankees World Series Champion Johnny Mize passed away ten years ago. One of the feared hitters in the NL, he was traded after the 1941 season to the Giants to make room for a 20 year old named Stan Musial. Mize was no slouch as he drove in 100 or more runs in just about his first seven seasons. (He had 93 RBIs in 126 games as a rookie in 1936, clearly would have surpassed 100 in a full season.) In 1938 and 1939, he led the NL in home runs. He hit .349 in 1939 and led the NL in OPS and slugging percentage from 1938-1940. In 1942 with the Giants, he led the NL in RBIs and slugging. After 1942, Mize joined the US Navy...
Read more

filling out my first All-Star ballot

Posted on by in Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Featured, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, Making Sense of Sports, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Sports, Toronto Blue Jays  |  No comments
manny machado
All-Star voting is underway and fifty games into the season is a good enough sample size to identify some selections. These will likely change a little before July 16, so don't kill me for omitting the first place Red Sox, Rangers and Cardinals. Along with your traditional home runs and batting average, my favorite baseball statistics are:
  • On-base percentage (hits plus walks plus hit-by-pitches)
  • Extra-bases (homers, doubles, triples, stolen bases)
  • Runs produced (runs scored plus runs batted in minus home runs)
After all, getting on base, moving around the diamond and producing runs are like the hokey-pokey: that’s what it’s all about. Those aren't the only stats I'm judging on, and defense is also considered. American League chris davisFirst base: Chris Davis, Orioles. 17 home runs, 18 doubles, .344 batting average and 29 walks. He also plays solid defensively at first. Davis has become one of my favorite sluggers. Second base: Read more

stats and facts Week 8

Posted on by in Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Featured, LA Angels, Making Sense of Sports, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Sports, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays  |  No comments
mike trout
Happy Memorial Day. It was too good of a day to sit at the computer and type so your weekly report for May 20-26 comes out on Tuesday instead of Monday, but there is still a lot of good stuff to read about. ** Last Monday, the Mariners homered in the 8th, 9th, and 10th innings and still lost the game. ** For the third time in his career, Joe Mauer broke up a no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning. ** In his last seven games, Mets Dillon Gee has given up two home runs to opposing pitchers and two home runs to all the positions players he has faced (courtesy of ESPN's Jayson Stark). ** In 2012, Jim Johnson and Fernando Rodney converted 99 save opportunities, blowing just five chances. In 2013 they have already blown 9 saves. ** As the Yankees ace, CC Sabathia is expected to beat the Yankees biggest rivals, the Red Sox and Rays. It hasn't...
Read more

Is it worth it for teams to pursue Alfonso Soriano?

Posted on by in Baltimore Orioles, Bases Empty Blog, Boston Red Sox, Chicago, Chicago Cubs, LA Angels, Local, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Sports, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers  |  1 comment
sorianofinger
sorianofinger When Alfonso Soriano signed his 8 year, $136 million deal with the Cubs, even the Cubs expected Soriano not to be at his best in the last couple seasons of the contract. Maybe the Cubs expected to be a little more competitive in the first couple years of the deal. Soriano still has another season at $18 million in his deal with the Cubs. With the Cubs not going anywhere, shouldn't it make sense for the Cubs to move Soriano and get "something" back in return? Soriano has stated his desire to play for a winner in addition to waiving his no trade clause for the right deal. Here are some negatives. Soriano's salary will be a sticking point as this will be a test to how much of the money the Cubs will be willing to eat. And if the...
Read more

MLB’s (NL) original seven

Posted on by in Atlanta Braves, Bases Empty Blog, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Red Wings, LA Dodgers, MLB, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Sports, St Louis Cardinals, Toronto Maple Leafs  |  5 comments
Big time NHL Hockey fans spend a lot of time talking about the league's original six teams. Though the fact that the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadians have this distinction, only the Canadians were around in 1909. The origins of the earliest MLB teams are traced back to the late 1800s, where there are eight National League teams that are still around now. I dropped it to seven because the Brooklyn franchise (now the Los Angeles Dodgers) franchise came into fruition the latest, in 1884. With competitive leagues like the American Association losing their "major league" title, it meant the end to franchises that had runs prior to the turn of the 20th century. The American League started in 1901, with several of the teams still existing today. In the NL, cities like Louisville, Baltimore, Cleveland and Washington had teams that were...
Read more

The Phils’ bullpen let one get away in extra-innings, as they lost to the Giants, 4-3.

Posted on by in Local, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Philly, San Francisco, San Francisco Giants, Sports  |  No comments
kevin frandsen
kevin frandsenThe Phils’ bullpen allows one to get away in extra-innings, after the offense tied it up in the ninth, as the Phils lose to the Giants, 4-3. The Giants took the lead in the bottom of the second as Hunter Pence hits a lead-off home run, his seventh home run of the season. The Phils tied it up at one-all in the top of the fourth as Kevin Frandsen hits a lead-off home run, his first home run of the season. The Giants retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Marco Scutaro hits an RBI single, scoring Gregor Blanco, who had earlier singled, then stole second base, giving the Giants a 2-1 lead. The Giants increased their lead in the sixth as, with runners on the corners, and with two men out, Barry...
Read more

The Phils take the series as they once again defeat the Giants, 6-2.

Posted on by in Local, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Philly, San Francisco, San Francisco Giants, Sports  |  1 comment
Kyle Kendrick
Kyle KendrickThe Phils’ bats once again support a good start, as they take the series from the Giants, winning, 6-2. The Phils took the lead in the top of the first as, with two men on, and with one man out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, scoring Chase Utley, who had earlier hit an infield single, before moving up to second base on pitcher Tim Lincecum’s throwing error, giving the Phils a 1-0 lead, while sending Michael Young, who had just walked, up to second base. The Phils increased their lead in the top of the second as, with runners on second and third, and with one man out, Jimmy Rollins hits an RBI ground out, 4-3, scoring Laynce Nix, who had started the inning off with a single, moved up to second base on Ben Revere’s single, then went to third base on Kyle Kendrick’s...
Read more

The Phils begin their first trip to the west coast by beating the Giants, 6-2.

Posted on by in Local, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Philly, San Francisco, San Francisco Giants, Sports  |  8 comments
Michael Young
Michael YoungThe Phils’ offense return after being missing for two games as they support Cliff Lee’s good start by beating the Giants, 6-2. The Phils tried to get on the scoreboard in the top of the first as they loaded up the bases, via singles by Michael Young and Ryan Howard, with M. Young stopping at second base, and a walk to Delmon Young, with both M. Young and Howard moving up a base, and with two men out, before Dom Brown ended the threat by grounding out, 1-3. The Phils then took the lead in the top of the second as they loaded up the bases again, this time via singles by John Mayberry, Jr. and Erik Kratz, with Mayberry stopping at second base, a sacrifice bunt by Cliff Lee, 1-4, for the inning’s first out, moving both men up a base, and then a two-out...
Read more

Baseball Power Report: Week 5

Posted on by in Anaheim Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Featured, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, LA Angels, LA Dodgers, Making Sense of Sports, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Sports, St Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals  |  No comments
miguel cabrera
A month is in the books so here is my early May Power Report. For each team I have a ranking and a few interesting stats/observations. Enjoy it, because it took a lot of work! (I do these once a month and prefer little movement. When some "expert" moves a team up 6 spots and then down 5 spots a week later, that says more about the "expert" than the team. That's why some teams with worse records have better rank than "surprise" teams I expect to dip soon.) 30. Astros. Lost 10 out of 11 and outscored by 24 runs the last two. The 198 runs they’ve allowed is 34 more than the next team. On pace for 41-121 record. They’ve also racked up an impressive 323 strikeouts, which will shatter the all time record. Philip Humber not only has the highest ERA but also the lowest run support; that’s how you go 0-7. There’s no question...
Read more