Another pitiful week, with only 2 days above 5000 steps. Wednesday featured a walk around the campus, while Saturday was helped along by a Cubs/Rockies and White Sox/Mariners double dip.
Tag / Rockies
Nostradamus Wept – NL Edition
With 81 games in the books, we are officially at the halfway point of the 2012 season. The so-called experts at Sports Illustrated made some pre-season predictions that are looking a little off a this point.
| Team | Won | Lost |
Predicted Wins |
Predicted
Losses |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL East | |||||
| Washington Nationals | 47 | 32 | 84 | 78 |
The Nationals were expected to improve this year, but they appear to have taken a giant leap forward. |
| New York Mets | 44 | 38 | 75 | 87 | One of the surprises of the first half, the Mets were thought to be also-rans following their off-season ownership troubles. |
| Atlanta Braves | 42 | 39 | 82 | 80 | The Braves have kept a steady ship following last season’s late collapse. |
| Miami Marlins | 39 | 42 | 89 | 73 | The Fish surrounded a great May with struggles in April and June. |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 37 | 46 | 94 | 68 | Injuries to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Roy Halladay have kept the Phillies out of their usual spot in the pennant chase. |
| NL Central | |||||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 45 | 36 | 70 | 92 | Last year the Pirates flirted with respectability for the first time since 1992 before faltering after one bad call cost them a game. This year, they may be for real. |
| Cincinnati Reds | 44 | 37 | 89 | 73 | The Reds are right at their expected pace. |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 43 | 39 | 87 | 75 | The defending champions have dealt with the loss of Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter better than anyone expected them to. |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 38 | 43 | 84 | 78 | After finally winning the NL Central last year, the Brewers have struggled after losing Prince Fielder. |
| Houston Astros | 32 | 50 | 57 | 105 | The rebuilding Astros have been a little better than expected in their final season in the National League. |
| Chicago Cubs | 31 | 50 | 66 | 96 | The rebuilding Cubs have been a little worse than expected in Theo Epstein’s first year as the savior of the franchise. |
| NL West | |||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 46 | 37 | 83 | 79 | The Dodgers had a surprising first half, sparked on by their ownership change. |
| San Francisco Giants | 45 | 37 | 90 | 72 | The Giants have had an eventful first half, with a perfect game and 4 straight shutouts. |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 39 | 42 | 88 | 74 | The DBacks struggled in the first half, and that was before losing Daniel Hudson for the season. |
| San Diego Padres | 33 | 50 | 70 | 92 | The Padres have been a little worse than expected in the first half. |
| Colorado Rockies | 31 | 50 | 79 | 83 | The Rockies have struggled in the first half and have turned to a 4 man rotation to try and turn things around. |
All Time Team Records
Heading into the 2012 season, here all the all-time team records in games that I have attended.
All-Time Team Records
| Team | Won | Lost | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Angels | 1 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 12 | 2 | 0.857 |
| Florida Marlins | 15 | 8 | 0.652 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 10 | 6 | 0.625 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 8 | 5 | 0.615 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 13 | 10 | 0.565 |
| Chicago White Sox | 191 | 158 | 0.547 |
| New York Yankees | 9 | 8 | 0.529 |
| Chicago Cubs | 188 | 168 | 0.528 |
| Continue reading → |
2012 Hall Of Fame Ballot
The ballot for next year’s Hall of Fame induction was released earlier this week. Results will be announced on January 9th. Here’s my thoughts on each candidate.
Jeff Bagwell – I think that the longtime Astros firstbaseman will eventually get in, but he may have to wait for a few years.
Jeromy Burnitz – Ah, good old Fabe. He has no chance, but will go down in history as the man who replaced Sammy Sosa in the Cubs lineup.
Vinny Castilla – A decent player who benefited greatly from the thin Colorado air.
Juan Gonzalez – Seemed destined for Cooperstown before injuries and his own self-importance got in the way.
Brian Jordan – A two sport star that had a solid career, but nothing more.
Barry Larkin – The leading vote getter among non-inductees last year, he should make it this year.
2011 Predictions Revisited
6 months ago, I looked into my crystal ball and tried to predict the outcomes of the upcoming baseball season. Now that the season has (mercifully) come to an end, and my predicted divison winners finished an average of just over 13 games back, let’s take a look back at how wrong I was.
American League
East: Red Sox
National League
East: Braves
Wow. Neither team won their division, though both had commanding Wild Card leads heading into September. Both ultimately blew those leads, missing out on the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. The Red Sox actually were one of, in not the best team in baseball for 4 months this summer, but they were horrible in the other two, April and September. The Braves can at least point to injuries to their starting rotation as the cause for their collapse.
Central: White Sox
Central: Brewers
2011 Predictions
Since Mike and Mike were doing them all morning, here are my picks for the upcoming baseball season.
American League
East: Red Sox
Central: White Sox
West: A’s
Wild Card: Yankees
AL Champion: Red Sox
Cy Young: Felix Hernandez
MVP: Adrian Gonzalez
National League
All Time Records (through 2010)
Now that the 2010 season has come to an end, let’s take a look at team’s overall records in games I have personally attended over my entire life. Every game I can remember or have tracked down is included, even the postseason. Teams that move (Expos/Nationals), change “city” names (California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels) or change team names (Devil Rays/Rays) are split out per incarnation.
| TeamCity | TeamName | Won | Loss | Winning Pctg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Angels | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Arizona | Diamondbacks | 12 | 2 | 0.857142857142857 |
| Florida | Marlins | 15 | 8 | 0.652173913043478 |
| Philadelphia | Phillies | 10 | 6 | 0.625 |
| Toronto | Blue Jays | 8 | 5 | 0.615384615384615 |
| Tampa Bay | Rays | 3 | 2 | 0.6 |
| Los Angeles | Dodgers | 9 | 7 | 0.5625 |
| Chicago | White Sox | 166 | 140 | 0.542483660130719 |
| Chicago | Cubs | 185 | 165 | 0.528571428571429 |
| Continue reading → |
2010 Hall of Fame Non-Inductees
The BBWAA will announce the results of their Hall of Fame voting for 2010 tomorrow afternoon. Today, we will look at the 26 candidates and dismiss over half of them. Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at those who have (or should have) a decent chance.
No Chance: The following should enjoy the experience, since they won’t make the 5% cutoff to stay on the ballot for next year.
Slight Chance: Will never make it, but will get enough support to hang around the ballot.
-
Andres Galarraga – Remove the Rockie effect and he wouldn’t even be here
-
Dale Murphy – Was headed straight for the HOF until he fall of the cliff quicker than Jim Rice
-
Dave Parker – A tremendous arm and genuine All-Star, but not HOF material
-
Alan Trammell – Might have had a chance if it wasn’t for the SS offensive explosion that occured after he retired