8 Game Rollercoaster Awaits NL EAST

By: Vincent Anzideo

September 20, 2008

[RBI Magazine] - The battle has begun with less than 8 games remaining; the Phillies and the Mets are once again in a last lap dash to see who will become the NL East division champions. Can the Phillies stay on their hot streak and will the Mets continue to avoid an inevitable collapse like last year?

History does repeat itself and if you can remember on Sept 12th of last year we saw the Phillies fall 7 games back from the Mets, then within a matter 5 days they were only 2.5 games out of first in the NL East. This year on Sept 10th the Phillies were 3.5 games back and in 7 days they passed right by the Mets taking the lead by a half a game.

What is up with the Mets? The Mets made improvements with the addition of Johan Santana during last years off-season hoping to strengthen the pitching rotation and help stabilize the Mets come October. However, the only time the Mets seem to be stable is when the offense is hitting the ball.

Last night against the Braves, Johan Santana cruised through 7 innings striking out eight while Brian Schneider had one of his best outings at the plate this season. Schneider lead the 11-hit attack with his second ever multi-homerun game of his entire career crushing the Atlanta Braves. If the Mets can balance pitching with their offensive strategies throughout the remainder of the season, they will have two opportunities to make playoff baseball by advancing through the NL East or the Wild card. One thing is certain, another monumental collapse needs to be avoided by the Mets organization as the final games of the 2008 season come to a close.

So what exactly are the Phillies doing that they were not doing before? For one,  their pitching staff is smoking in public. Brett Myers is back in sync and unstoppable. Since Myers was bumped back up from the minors he seems like the old Brett Myers Phillies fans know - on target and absolutely on fire! The last game against the Brewers is proof that Myers is back to his old self with a full gamed pitched allowing only 2 hits.

The Phillies also seem to be working the bats as good as any team can in September. The Phillies need to repeat what they accomplished near the end of last season by keeping their pitching and hitting consistent. During the last few weeks it seems as though everyone is contributing their part to the Phils defensive and offensive attacks. In the last six games Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Jason Werth and Ryan Howard all have an average over 400. Seems like they are doing something right and if they can keep it that way they will be calling themselves the NL East Champions once again. The Fightin Phils are ready to fight.

 

 

 

Major League Baseball Releases 2009 Schedule

[RBI Magazine-September 17th, 2008]- Many interesting changes are in the works for the 2009 baseball season. Most of you baseball fans are probably interested in the much anticipated outcome of the 2008 season this October, but the 2009 season already has thrown a few surprises our way.  Two brand new stadiums will open in New York, one stadium will close, and the first All-Star game will take place in St. Louis for the first time in 44 years. Can it get any better than this?

The 2009 MLB season will kick off later than usual next year beginning the second week of April and ending in early November.  Let me translate this for you. Trick-or-Treat 2009 will be spent indoors watching post season baseball! No if, ands or buts. If you have kids be sure to let them know ahead of time that next year they will be stuck managing the doorbell and handing out candy. Thanks to Major League baseball for extending the offseason. Now it will only feel like 20 years instead of 10.

Sports fans will also face an unfamiliar challenge when the realization sets in that the Yankees are no longer playing at the infamous Yankee Stadium. Count em! 85 amazing year of baseball have been played at Yankee Stadium. This will be a hard concept to grasp for those who love and hate the team from the Bronx. The Yanks will also travel to Atlanta for the first time in eight years. RBI Magazine plans to be in the crowd for that one! We know a few Braves fans that might just hook us up. If we play our cards right, maybe we can bring a few of our readers along for a hot dog and a taste of history.

Being that it is September, and the 2008 playoff race is in full swing, it would be shameful to get too far ahead of ourselves, but RBI Magazine wants to know what you are looking forward to the most in 2009!

The Lowest Batting Averages in 2008!

Sometimes players fall into slumps, deep mummy-like slumps. Batting Averages fall and it is only a matter of time before their demise at the plate results in an assignment to the minors or bench time. After 200 at bats in 2008, the following players have the worst batting averages in Major League Baseball according to Baseball-Reference.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In respect to the lowest batting averages, the trend goes hand-in-hand for players with the lowest On Base Percentages (OPB) listed below;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After being paid almost $9.9 million over the last 3 years Corey Patterson seems to be having one of the worst years in his 10-year career, even though his (season) career high batting average tops out at .298 in 2003. Is he currently the worst full-time players in the Majors? RBI Magazine says “Give the guy a break”.

Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez has had more problems than just his batting average. On July 27th, 2008, Sanchez left the game against the Padres with lower back problems that have been dogging him all season.

Despite Gary Sheffield’s batting average, his performance at the plate has not looked as terrible as his numbers. Sheffield has executed in the clutch for the Tigers when he has been called upon despite having major shoulder surgery less than 9 months ago.

As for the rest of those pegged in this statistical study, not many excuses can compensate for their poor performance at the plate. Maybe it is time to do what Lance Armstrong would do. Take your ball and go home!

2008 All-Star Game A Mathematical Marvel?

Do you remember your favorite high school Algebra class some odd years back? If so, you may remember using algebra to figure out the distance between home plate and second base, given the information that home to first is 90 feet. Simple enough! Now imagine taking mathematics and baseball a step further and then some!

According to a Gettysburg University professor,  the events that took place during the 2008 All-Star Game were an extremely rare occurrence and a mathematical phenomenon. By using his knowledge of mathematical equations and formulas Darren Glass proved that there was a 0.2% chance of a 15-inning game occurring, and that a game similar to the 2008 Mid-Summer Classic is expected to occur only once out of every 500 games.

Glass and a professor from the City University of New York, Phil Lowry, began to research : “What is the probability that a given baseball game will last a given number of innings?” Sounds simple right?

Wrong. To create an accurate scenario many factors had to be taken into consideration. According to Glass, an All-Star game should last fewer innings because the batters are better than average. But he admits that other factors such as different game strategies used or the talent level of the pitchers changes his predictions. A game between two below average teams has a probability of lasting longer.

Or does it? What about a defensive battle with both teams showing no offensive attack?

Because the 2008 All-Star game lasted 290 minutes and 15 innings, Glass is calling the game a mathematical marvel. RBI Magazine is calling Glass a mathematical knucklehead with too much time.

You can read the details of his experiment here…

 

Sources:Gettysburg College (2008, July 17). Baseball: 2008 All-star Game Was Mathematical Marvel. Science Daily. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/07/080717221609.htm

Supreme Court Rejects MLB Fantasy Licensing Fees

One thing is for sure, MLB players make a lot of money! Unfortunatley, they present a valid point when it comes to Fantasy Baseball Companies using their names to generate a profit. However, the Supreme Court did not agree.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Major League Baseball and its players association, leaving intact a ruling that lets a fantasy-sports company use players’ names and statistics without paying licensing fees.

According to the AP-Without comment, the justices declined to hear the case involving a segment of the $1.5 billion fantasy sports industry in the United States, in which participants manage imaginary teams based on the real-life performances of professional players.

The lawsuit involves C.B.C. Distribution and Marketing Inc., a Missouri company unable to obtain a license from a subsidiary of Major League Baseball to use players’ names in C.B.C.’s fantasy baseball games.

The Missouri company sued, saying it did not need a license to continue to sell its fantasy baseball games on its Web site.

Fantasy sport leagues now generate roughly $500 million a year worldwide in fees, advertising and other revenue, according to Jeff Thomas, president of the 150-member Fantasy Sports Trade Association.

Should athletes be entitled to a monetary cut of revenue in return for their names and talent being used to make a third party profit? What do you think? RBI says no!

One Point On ACT Keeps 2008 Recruit Out of MLB

The 2008 recruiting class has suffered its first two academic casualties, and they are Brandon Lewis and Kerry Murphy.

Brandon Lewis will be headed to Hargrave after coming up one point short on his ACT. Actually, Lewis had a higher ACT score, but it was not accepted by the NCAA Clearinghouse because apparently they judged the jump from the previous score to be too high, and apparently he had no reason for it like the jump for Alonzo Lawrence. It is certainly disappointing that the three-star defensive end from Pleasant Grove will not enroll this Fall, but he looks to be in pretty good academic shape for 2009, and he’s taking the news quite well.

Lewis was quoted as saying: I am still committed to Alabama and plan on coming back in the fall of 2009. This isn’t a bad thing because I am treating it as a redshirt year so I will get bigger and stronger. My grades were okay. I just barely missed the test score so I will be good to go for next year.”

The good news is that Lewis  is taking it well, and honestly it seems he should be able to make it for the 2009 season.  — Article from http://www.rollbamaroll.com/2008/5/27/540697/2008-recruiting-class-suff