MLB

PHI vs LADIt's time to clean out the baseball file drawer before the season is over. The question today is... What happens when two baseball teams play each other in back-to-back postseasons? This question was prompted by virtue of the fact that the Phillies and the Dodgers played each other in 2008 and 2009. Philly won both times. Is that the norm? And, have there ever been two teams that met three playoffs in a row? Well, if you are a Royals fan and you are over 30 years old, you probably know the answer to the second question without even thinking.

Demanding RespectYesterday, I discussed whether or not being a former NFL player would (on average) result in being a more successful NFL coach. My conclusion was that it was largely irrelevant. Of course, Kansas City not only has an NFL coach with no NFL playing experience, but a MLB manager with no MLB playing experience as well. Despite the fact that only six present MLB managers had no MLB playing experience, five of the corresponding NFL coaches in the same cities have had no NFL playing experience either – including KC. Here are some interesting facts for both the MLB and NFL.

The Perfect Unassisted Double GrannyThe earliest memory I have of learning something really cool about statistics was in some middle school class. We had 30 students and the teacher asked us whether we thought it was very likely that two of us had the same birthdays. Of course, we knew there were 365 days in the year and so, naturally we all thought there was no way two of us had the same birthday. Going straight to the punch line, there were, of course, two of us who were born on the same day. Though that seemed remarkable at the time, the teacher explained to us that the probabilities were better than 70% that it would happen with 30 kids and 365 days.

Once again we are made aware of a new name from the 2003 “confidential” list of 104 MLB players who tested positive for steroids. If you think this issue has overstayed its welcome, you haven’t even begun to get bored. Unless the list comes out in total at some point, this is likely to last for years. And, even if the entire list came out tomorrow, just wait until all these players start becoming eligible for the Hall. That will be the ultimate controversy and it will last for many more years. BTW: Bradford and I have done one post each on this subject. We disagreed. You can read our opinions here.

Plate ProductionIn Part I of this study, I introduced Plate Production (PP) and I compared it to Total Average. These are just two of several formulas for ranking players. As I indicated before, my objective is to have a simple version that allows me to quickly rate and analyze a player based upon an individual game or season. For Part II, I will be going where no (sane) man has gone before – comparing it to Runs Created – a Bill James invention.

Perfection             - Jack HaasIn sports, there are a lot of ways to look at "perfection", but in baseball, it’s pretty clear cut - and you don't need the quote marks. If you are a pitcher and you face 27 batters and you get 27 batters out in order, you have achieved the highest possible level of perfection there is. If your name is Mark Buehrle, you are one of only 18 people to have ever done it. Just how special is it?

Mays and McCoveyWhen I was growing up, I was actually a Giants fan as opposed to the Royals. Of course, I wasn’t from KC, so I didn’t have the same local interest someone here may have had. I just remember my dad talking about Mays all the time and so naturally I gravitated to the team. Mays, McCovey, Marichal. Having MM initials myself, to me the Giants were the modern day version of the Yankees. It probably wasn’t until the great '77 KC team that I flipped my allegiance. But, even then, SF was my favorite NL team for years to come and last night’s no-hitter by Jonathan Sanchez brings back memories.

Plate ProductionThis post is simply to get the ball rolling on the subject. I have a formula which I use called Plate Production (PP). It’s for hitters in baseball. It’s not too dissimilar from Total Average (TA) which was invented by Tom Boswell in 1970s. I always liked TA based upon simplicity, but there are a couple things I like to include in it that he doesn’t. PP and TA are just two of many formulas for ranking players. My purpose is to have a simple version that allows me to quickly rate and analyze a player based upon an individual game or season.

Randy JohnsonI usually go to bed around 6 a.m., so I have the chance to watch Mike And Mike if I want to. They come on at 5 a.m. and go off at 9 (I think). I have to be honest and say that the longest I have ever watched the show is about 20 minutes. However, the other day they got my attention when they indicated they had done a study about how long it would be before the next 300 game winner. That piqued my interest, so I crunched some numbers and discovered some interesting items.

LongoriaIt's still too early to talk about things like the fact that Albert Pujols is on pace to hit 59 home runs or Zack Greinke is on pace to go 32-5 with 316 strikeouts, zero home runs allowed and a record-breaking ERA of 0.51. However, there is one fast start that I want to highlight now that we're five weeks into the season: Evan Longoria's 44 RBIs. That puts Longoria on pace to drive in 236 runs this season.

A.J. Hinch, soaking up knowledge from another catcher-turned-manager.Former Royals catcher A.J. Hinch has been busy since his playing days ended. Just five years after retiring as an active player, Hinch is replacing Bob Melvin as the manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Hinch was the backup catcher to Brent Mayne in KC for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Two years later, he was done as a player at the age of 30, but the game was far from done with Hinch.

Mirror image?Rick Reilly spreads the word of amidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte in an ESPN piece. Seamheads have known about Venditte for awhile, especially here in the Midwest as he played his college ball at Creighton. I'd kind of forgotten about him until Reilly's piece came out today. Sounds like the kid may have a real shot at getting to the big leagues someday and if he comes up with the Yankees and does well, he's going to be really famous. How could the Royals miss out on such a marketable gimmick who toiled in the backyard of their own Class AAA affiliate? Bring me the head of those responsible! This is Pujols all over again. (This is mock indignation, if you haven't figured that out already.)

Barry Bonds Rookie CardLook, if you want to believe that Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are squeaky clean and never took performing-enhancement drugs, then please go to the next post. I’m not going to waste time on that debate. Besides, it will all come out in the end. The question to me is simple. Why? Why would you risk what they are facing when you are already filthy rich, popular and successful? The answer is the same as that which has saturated our society… Greed!

Joe Gordon: The original Royals' skipper.UFR's hearty congratulations go out to the family of the late Joe Gordon, the first manager in Royals' history, whose election to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the veteran's committee was announced on Monday. Gordon was the only one of the 20 players on the veteran's ballot to be selected this year. A good case can, and obviously was, made for Gordon's inclusion among baseball's immortals. But the veteran's committee whiffed again on Ron Santo.

Greg Dobbs Phillies

There are 14 cities that have franchises in all four major sports. Before tonight, Philadelphia is the only one who had not won a championship since at least 1991 (Washington, NFL and Minneapolis, MLB).