In looking at some basic tenants of SABR style gameplay, the Giants have are at the bottom of the barrel in the cumulative Beane Count, which ESPN uses to rank teams on walks given, walks allowed, home runs hit and home runs allowed. The Giants have issued 53 free passes this year, second worst to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League, who have walked 54 batters.
But the Phillies hitters have at least walked 54 times themselves, whereas the Giants group has only worked 36 walks., while striking out 101 times, second worst in the league.
When you look at the Giants staff, there's at least some reason to smile. The club has struck out 108 batters, more than any other staff in the league.
A lot of walks and a lot of K's say one thing: high pitch counts. Indeed, the Giants are in a statistical dead heat for the highest pitch totals per plate appearance in the National League.
This of course means the Giants pitchers are trying to be extremely fine, likely the result of having the second worst run support in the league. Because it's an expected result that the team will not score more than three runs in a game, the pitching staff compensates by trying to end things with the K, which means lower percentage pitches, and higher walks. Cain leads the way in this regard, hurling 4.08 pitchers per opponent's plate appearance, the highest mark of his career. Bochy needs to settle him down a bit or one of two things will happen: Cain gets hurt, or Cain throws the fewest innings of his career. Neither is a good option.
Showing posts with label Cain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cain. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Addendum to the Cain-Ryan watch
I'm taking bets on the over-under, in days, that it takes the SF Chronicle or SJ Mercury News to publish a photo caption, or headline, following an 8IP, 10 K, 1R, 0 ER loss by Cain, that is some play on "am I my brother's keeper?"
The tentative line, right now, is on July 25th.
The tentative line, right now, is on July 25th.
The launch of the Cain-Ryan watch
Seem's like a reasonable concern of Jonah Keri's, over at ESPN:
Can Matt Cain win the Cy Young with a 4-20 record and a 2.36 ERA? He went 7-16 with a 3.65 ERA, and that was with Bonds in the lineup. Nolan Ryan led the NL in strikeouts and ERA in 1987, but still went 8-16. With another year of experience under his belt and plenty of Brian Bocock goodness behind him, Cain could give that season a run for its money.
From this point forward we'll call this the Cain-Ryan watch, where after every Cain start, we'll compare his numbers to that epic season Ryan had, where the '87 Astros wasted his flavor. If you were a more avid reader of my work at Forbes, you'd know this is in part because Ryan had the biggest contract in baseball history, in relation to the value of his club. The Giants have no such excuse.
After one start:
Nolan Ryan (1-0) 7 IP, 8 H, 3ER, 1 BB, 10 Ks, 3.86 ERA
Matt Cain (0-0) 5.2 IP, 3H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5Ks, 0.00 ERA
Can Matt Cain win the Cy Young with a 4-20 record and a 2.36 ERA? He went 7-16 with a 3.65 ERA, and that was with Bonds in the lineup. Nolan Ryan led the NL in strikeouts and ERA in 1987, but still went 8-16. With another year of experience under his belt and plenty of Brian Bocock goodness behind him, Cain could give that season a run for its money.
From this point forward we'll call this the Cain-Ryan watch, where after every Cain start, we'll compare his numbers to that epic season Ryan had, where the '87 Astros wasted his flavor. If you were a more avid reader of my work at Forbes, you'd know this is in part because Ryan had the biggest contract in baseball history, in relation to the value of his club. The Giants have no such excuse.
After one start:
Nolan Ryan (1-0) 7 IP, 8 H, 3ER, 1 BB, 10 Ks, 3.86 ERA
Matt Cain (0-0) 5.2 IP, 3H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5Ks, 0.00 ERA
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Cain's arm means the world
But, it's the top of the sixth inning. There's no doubt that after 114 pitches, especially early in the season that you should look out for your guy, but Cain had given up only 3 hits and Juan Pierre was at the plate, who was 0-2 and is a generally bad hitter. Bringing in Taschner not only forced him to come in with the bases loaded, but allowed Torre to pinch hit Kemp, a far better hitter than Pierre.
Kemp went down hacking for out number three, so it paid off, but this has to be considered a pretty bad decision in a 0-0 game.
Kemp went down hacking for out number three, so it paid off, but this has to be considered a pretty bad decision in a 0-0 game.
Monday, March 31, 2008
The city and team, neither electrified or Diesel'd
Herb Caen said of the mood in San Francisco, on opening day of 1995: "I wouldn't say the whole town was electrified, or even Diesel'd, but all you had to say was ``How about that?'' and people knew what you meant."
The Giants went 67-77 in that strike distorted year, and based on Vegas predictions, that's about how many wins they should end up with this season, albeit in 18 more games. Even with the losses, that team as one of the G-men's most entertaining units, as it was a transitional point between our '93 club that broke our hearts, and the '97 team that went to the playoffs. We still had Robby Thompson up the middle and Matt Williams at the corner and we still believed in Shawn Estes and William Van Landingham. Bonds stole 31 bases.
They were built to lose, and they finished fourth, but every day Williams would barehand a ball, and with his sidearmed flick, fire it to first to catch a speedy runner, or Thompson, in his last full season, standing impossibly deep in the box, his heels almost at the third base dugout, would reach out and poke one over the green chain link at the 'Stick, you'd be listening to the call on the radio, or watching from the dollar seats, and you'd turn to your friend and say, "how about that?"
2008's team doesn't have a prayer to make the playoffs, or even a puncher's chance at a winning record, but there will be plenty of moments from men like Cain, Lincecum, Lowry, Sanchez and the gods willing Zito, worth remembering or putting in your pocket so as to say, years from now, it was in a 4-0 ballgame that Sanchez became Sanchez, and I could see it then.
It takes no creativity to follow a winner. You almost have to lie to yourself to believe you're rebuilding when you might be sinking.
And that's fun.
The Giants went 67-77 in that strike distorted year, and based on Vegas predictions, that's about how many wins they should end up with this season, albeit in 18 more games. Even with the losses, that team as one of the G-men's most entertaining units, as it was a transitional point between our '93 club that broke our hearts, and the '97 team that went to the playoffs. We still had Robby Thompson up the middle and Matt Williams at the corner and we still believed in Shawn Estes and William Van Landingham. Bonds stole 31 bases.
They were built to lose, and they finished fourth, but every day Williams would barehand a ball, and with his sidearmed flick, fire it to first to catch a speedy runner, or Thompson, in his last full season, standing impossibly deep in the box, his heels almost at the third base dugout, would reach out and poke one over the green chain link at the 'Stick, you'd be listening to the call on the radio, or watching from the dollar seats, and you'd turn to your friend and say, "how about that?"
2008's team doesn't have a prayer to make the playoffs, or even a puncher's chance at a winning record, but there will be plenty of moments from men like Cain, Lincecum, Lowry, Sanchez and the gods willing Zito, worth remembering or putting in your pocket so as to say, years from now, it was in a 4-0 ballgame that Sanchez became Sanchez, and I could see it then.
It takes no creativity to follow a winner. You almost have to lie to yourself to believe you're rebuilding when you might be sinking.
And that's fun.
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