papelbon > K-Rod
Some writers are touting Angels' closer Francisco Rodriguez as a possible Cy Young or even MVP winner, based mostly on the fact that he set the record for saves this year.
But the save is probably the most bogus stat in baseball, and K-Rod is not even the best closer in baseball this year, much less the best player.
Last night's game illustrates this perfectly.
Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon entered the game in the 8th inning, with the Sox leading 5-4. There were no outs and the Angels had a runner on third. Papelbon proceeded to retire all six Angels he faced (3 in the eigth and 3 in the ninth). Unfortunately, one of those eighth inning outs was a fly ball, which scored the runner, tying the game. So, Papelbon was charged with a "blown save" even though his performance was excellent.
On the other side, K-Rod gave up 4 hits, including a two run homer to J.D. Drew, and took the loss. So much for the MVP!
Last night aside, you could make a good case that Papelbon was the better pitcher this year. Their ERAs (a misleading stat for relievers) were virtually the same (2.34 for Paps vs. 2.24 for K-Rod), and Papelbon had a much better strikeout to walk ration (9.63 vs. 2.27 for K-Rod) and--perhaps the most important pitching stat--WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched--basically a measure of how many base runners you allow): The sox closer checks in at 0.95 vs. 1.29 for his Angels counterpart.
Also, there's this:
Not sure whether this is a good or bad thing.
But the save is probably the most bogus stat in baseball, and K-Rod is not even the best closer in baseball this year, much less the best player.
Last night's game illustrates this perfectly.
Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon entered the game in the 8th inning, with the Sox leading 5-4. There were no outs and the Angels had a runner on third. Papelbon proceeded to retire all six Angels he faced (3 in the eigth and 3 in the ninth). Unfortunately, one of those eighth inning outs was a fly ball, which scored the runner, tying the game. So, Papelbon was charged with a "blown save" even though his performance was excellent.
On the other side, K-Rod gave up 4 hits, including a two run homer to J.D. Drew, and took the loss. So much for the MVP!
Last night aside, you could make a good case that Papelbon was the better pitcher this year. Their ERAs (a misleading stat for relievers) were virtually the same (2.34 for Paps vs. 2.24 for K-Rod), and Papelbon had a much better strikeout to walk ration (9.63 vs. 2.27 for K-Rod) and--perhaps the most important pitching stat--WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched--basically a measure of how many base runners you allow): The sox closer checks in at 0.95 vs. 1.29 for his Angels counterpart.
Also, there's this:
Not sure whether this is a good or bad thing.
posted by bc at 8:27 AM
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