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!

10/1/11 Arizona Diamondbacks 1, Milwaukee Brewers 4

Miller Park, Milwaukee, WI
NLDS Game 1

You can count on it, Yovani Gallardo is pretty good at pitching.

The postseason begins as the surprising Arizona Diamondbacks take on the also surprising (but certainly less surprising) Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park, where visiting teams tend to fall. Ian Kennedy is a great pitcher, but Gallardo…whoa. Even after a shaky start to his season, he is pitching like Yovani Gallardo when it matters the most: Right here, right now.



Ryan Braun has a great game (3-for-4, 2H, 3 total bases, 2 runs scored, 1 broken bat, 1 flyout), but most fans are used to hearing this. His stunning outfield assist that caught Willie Bloomquist at home with Jonathan Lucroy waiting was very impressive, but I’m still rubbing my eyes at Jerry Hairston, Jr. I hear myself and others saying “well, looks like the real Jerry Hairston, Jr. came to play baseball” and that’s kind of an understatement. His 15 minutes of baseball fame are here, right now. He made two very distinctive defensive plays at 3B, the second of which was a ginormous charge for a 5-3 groundout by Justin Upton.

Gallardo, on the other hand, throws a tidy gem in the process, 8IP, 4H, one R (earned on an 8th inning HR by Brian Roberts), 8K and a BB. And as usual, he looks like he’s about to yawn the entire time.

John Axford earns a save on a 3-up, 3-down inning of work…he pitched for the “closer cycle” with a flyout, a groundout, and a strikeout. And the moustache is looking very outrageous and phenomenal these days.




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

6/14/11 Milwaukee Brewers 4, Chicago Cubs 5

Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
Game 1 of 4


Yes…the face of a kid, the bat of a BADASS….

Great performances in baseball don’t grow on trees, and while it was difficult last year for some of us to see the forest of potential that is Starlin Castro, here’s yet another gem in this idyllically dismal Cubs season where Castro does something that ordinarily, we would expect, but at the same time are overjoyed to see: a young Cub starting to really show his stuff, and in the realm of clutch hitting, yet…



Oh, the Brewers…they of the stolid NL Central runaway hero projection for 2011. I’m still not discounting the Cardinals and their surprise stock in the race, but for now, this year’s Brewers are this year’s Brewers and while the Cubs are mired in the “oh geez we are x games under 500” swamp of self-pity, the Brewers are in town for a brutal 4-game series for which the Cubs have little chance for hope of a sweep, let alone a series win, while they’ve been unable to do so for even bad teams in the division as well as in the league.

The pitching matchup pretty much sealed this deep, regretful sigh of despair as potential-ace-turned-liability Randy Wells faces last year’s surprise-turned-ace Yovani Gallardo.

As the events unfold, Wells serves the basis for Milwaukee’s early lead and by the time he exits at the end of the 7th inning, Gallardo has allowed only one run (earned) and has seen Wells leave in the 6th with the Brewers ahead of the Cubs 3-1. Brewers reliever Marco Estrada comes in and you can almost hear yourself saying: “now is the time for us to capitalize on the bullpen entering the game.” At least I heard myself saying that, as I do every time a Cubs starter leaves the game behind in the score. The opposing starting pitcher can’t be stopped, let’s key into some timely hitting and show these guys ‘what for’…and today, I got my wish!

And better yet…extra innings!! But not for long…the Cubs 10th starts with the game tied at 4 and a leadoff Tony Campana single-turned-double due to his intense speed; Fukudome’s timely sac bunt moves Campana to 3rd. Once he’s here, all the Cubs need is another timely base hit and the game is over.

Castro does it, Campana crosses home plate in seconds, and a walk-off single gives the Cubs the first win in the 4-game series. Go CUBS.

5/1/10 Milwaukee Brewers 2, San Diego Padres 1

Petco Park, San Diego, CA
Game 3 of 4

A pitchers' duel, or Rob Drake Dementia? Two effective arms battle, but a salty HP umpire's bizarre strike zone may or may not have made this the toe-to-toe confrontation this game may or may not have been.

MIL 2 9 0
SD 1 7 0

It's Mat Latos (SD) vs. Yovani Gallardo (MIL) as the Brewers try to snap the Padres' home-winning streak. Consider it snapped, but don't blame the ump.

Let me explain, without watching the game all over again. Rob Drake made at least a dozen 'questionable' calls (off the top of my head), ultimately Adrian Gonzalez and then Bud black both would be ejected in the bottom of the 8th after Gonzalez argues his 3rd strikeout of the game, his 2nd called. I could go back and watch the game again and count the number of 'iffy' called strikes, against BOTH teams, but really I still think that one thing made the difference: Yovani Gallardo's solo Home Run gave the Brewers the one-run lead that counted at the start; the Padres tied the game in the same inning, but with Rickie Weeks' solo shot a couple of innings later and Tim Stauffer's great performance for the Pads in later innings...you start to wonder how many extra innings we'd have seen if it wasn't for Gallardo's blast.

I forgot to mention, Gallardo fanned 11 batters total. Wobbly strike zone or not, he did a fantastic job and moved way up on my 'enemy starting pitchers in the NL Central to despise and admire simultaneously' list.

I really like watching Padres home games on 4SD much better than others, 4SD has the best fly-over shots of Petco and also the best inside-the-park shots.




I scored this game 2/24/11.