5/17/12 Philadelphia Phillies 8, Chicago Cubs 7

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Game 2 of 2

By the time the Cubs’ 2nd inning had ended, I was pretty sure the story of this game was going to be the inevitable exit of Chris Volstad from the Cubs rotation. 58 pitches, 3BB, 2K, 4R (all earned) and 15 batters faced speaks volumes to Volstad’s continuing slide as a starting pitcher. I think the writing on the wall speaks for itself, and I’m weary (at the moment) of belaboring the “failures” of men* in these posts, so instead I’m going to shake off the dust of another Cubs loss by celebrating the greatness of 2 position players in tonight’s game.

* this pun brought to you by the eve of the 32nd anniversary of the death of Ian Curtis. “Wise words and sympathy tell the story of our history / New strength gives a real touch, sense and reason make it all too much.”

I usually chuckle at catchers, this is mostly due to my unabashed “catcher bias” in my fantasy league, catchers are pudding, I don’t have to draft them so I never do. Furthermore, I like catchers more for what they do behind the plate and less for how they handle themselves with a bat…with the bat, that’s where the chuckling comes from. And the injuries. Tonight, amid an exciting game with an inspiring, yet anti-climactic Cubs comeback in the 9th inning, catchers from both dugouts rocked my baseball world, for sure.

So, these guys were NOT pudding tonight, not Carlos Ruiz and not Welington Castillo. 

It’s always fair to expect something special from “Chooch,” tonight’s game was no exception, but maybe a little more special than usual. Besides backing up Roy Halladay very well behind the plate (Halladay was 1-5 against the Cubs going into tonight’s game, with Volstad starting you could almost certainly pencil in 2-5 afterwards), Ruiz went ape in the batter’s box, 4-for-5 with 5 TB and 3 RBI, the last of which you can mark down as the Phillies’ game-winning RBI, if you are so inclined. Even I have a tendency to mutter “CHOOOOOOOOCH” after his plate appearances.

Sir Welington of Beef (sorry, he doesn’t really have a better nickname yet) pulled off his own kind of offensive special as well, 2-for-4 from the #7 hole in the lineup with a whopping 4 RBI (his 3-run double in the 9th being the crack that nearly burst the Cubs’ big chance at a last-minute WIN wide open), 6 TB with a solo lead-off HR in the 8th. With Clevenger on the DL and Soto soon heading there, I suddenly feel warm and fuzzy about his getting more playing time.

The Cubs fought hard, but were a run shy of extending the contest, Halladay improves his Cubs record to 2-5.

Starlin Castro = still sexy...a great defensive bare-handed pick-and-quick throw to put out Juan Pierre (yes, that's right, Juan Pierre) in the 1st inning was lighting kool, his solo HR in the 7th was also eye-popping.

And hey…wasn’t it great to see Casey Coleman again?

Go CUBS!

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2011 League Division Series - Best Pitchers*

* according to Bill James' Game Score

And the WINNER is...

CHRIS CARPENTER!

Now before you say "DUH" let's review Bill James' Game Score real quick.

In case you didn't know, "Game Score" is a neat and easy and FUN way to look at a starting pitcher's line in a Box Score and apply a basic formula on the stats to come up with a fundamental 'score' that "determines the strength of a pitcher in any particular baseball game.

To determine a starting pitcher's game score:

1.Start with 50 points.
2.Add 1 point for each out recorded, so 3 points for every complete inning pitched.
3.Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th.
4.Add 1 point for each strikeout.
5.Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed.
6.Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed.
7.Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed.
8.Subtract 1 point for each walk.

The maximum possible score in a 9-inning game with no baserunners allowed is 114, but of course this is possible only if the starting pitcher goes nine innings, strikes out every single batter he faces, and faces no more than 3 batters per inning. The exception to this gets a little hairy mathematically, but is never impossible...because this is baseball.

FYI, the highest game score for a 9-inning game in the history of baseball happened on May 6, 1998, when Kerry "Kid K" Wood famously struck out 20 Astros at Wrigley Field. Yowsah, that Game Score was 105.

So I thought it would be a "hoot" to complie Game Score for all SP during the postseason; now that the League Division Series is over...here are the results, and the top 5 winners:

Chris Carpenter (84) 10/7/11 STL @ PHI NLDS G5
Yovani Gallardo (78) 10/1/11 ARI @ MIL NLDS G1
Matt Moore (77) 9/30/11 TB @ TEX ALDS G1
Josh Collmenter (73) MIL @ ARI NLDS G3
Roy Halladay (72) STL @ PHI NLDS G5

Interesting notes I made, regarding the top 5:
Only 1 AL pitcher appeared in the top 5 (Moore)
Only 1 pitcher earned his score at home (Collmenter)
Only 1 pitcher did not win the game (Halladay)
Each of the 4 contending NL pitchers made the top 5

In general (all 38 pitchers with starts in the LDS):
Lowest score - Randy Wolf (14) 10/5/11 MIL @ ARI NLDS G4
Lowest score by a winning pitcher - Derek Holland (47) 10/1/11 TB @ TEX ALDS G2
Average Game Score by SP in the 2011 LDS: 50.6

So now you can say "DUH"...I think even folks who have been dead for several years said nothing less than "WOW" when Carp tossed his gem on 10/7/11 to efficiently help the Cardinals advance to the LCS...Halladay's top score as the losing pitcher in that very same game also speaks volumes to the level of competition seen during that game.

You can review my work on the spreadsheet on Google Docs.

I will continue to tally the Game Score for the LCS, and post the results when that phase of the postseason is over.

If you enjoy my work, I encourage you to spread the word via Twitter (I am @yoshiki89), and also please leave a comment!

7/18/10 Philadelphia Phillies 6, Chicago Cubs 11

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
(Game 4 of 4)

Roy Halladay infamously tossed around by the Cubs (?!?!?)...even more fun on the radio.

PHI 6 9 2
CHC 11 14 1