Rockies have 2nd best pitching staff in Major League Baseball
That is, if you take tRA as gospel. The Rockies had a 4.05 tRA as of Wednesday night, good for second behind Kansas City at 4.01. And that was before Ubaldo's start Thursday, the day KC gave up 12 runs to Arizona.
We're also 13th in the statistic-based power rankings. Also noted - the Rockies now lead the Wild Card chances "on paper."
over 2 years ago
Andrew T. Fisher
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I like the premise
I don’t know what tRA is, but I’d be hard pressed to find a better starting rotation than the Rockies over the last three weeks, that’s for sure. Every time I talk about Ubaldo I get excited. We’ve never had a guy like him before. Cook and Marquis have been great, and I’m even starting to talk myself into Jason Hammel since he’s gotten that changeup back in his arsenal. No question this is as good a rotation since the 2006 ‘steady Francis, steady Cook, and career year from Jennings’ bunch.
That being said… I’m sorry, any set of baseball power rankings that puts the Kansas City Royals NINTH… any statistical formula that would tell you that’s the case is too absurd to even call ‘horsecrap’, and those Excel files need to find the recycle bin in a hurry.
If I have said it once, I have said it a million times. POWER RANKINGS ARE STUPID. There is already a way that teams are measured against each other – they are called ‘standings’, and they’re printed in the paper every day. None of this “Oh, Joey Joe-Joe from Superbaseballfuntime.com ranks us the 24th best team in baseball, what a load of crap!” We’re third in the NL West, tied for fifth in the Wild Card standings, and if that’s all the ‘power ranking’ you need… I mean, we can still be friends and stuff, but we’re not going to find common ground here.
I’ve had that rant about ‘power rankings’ in me for some time, PF, so please don’t misconstrue this as me taking a shot at you.
Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
The Shawn Chacon Experience - Life as a Rockies fan, one day at a time: Because we're all still recovering from those nine blown saves.
Hey no problem
Just sharing links. I can understand objecting to it. I think his method is statistically park adjusting everything to put everyone on the same playing field, but since they won’t actually play on the same playing field, it doesn’t project well. Still BtB has pretty sound stuff as a whole.
I don’t know what tRA is,
You just made RMN cry a little inside. here.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jun 19, 2009 8:47 AM MDT up reply actions
Putting these quotes next to each other is funny:
I don’t know what tRA is
I’m sorry, any set of baseball power rankings that puts the Kansas City Royals NINTH… any statistical formula that would tell you that’s the case is too absurd to even call ‘horsecrap’, and those Excel files need to find the recycle bin in a hurry.
You just agreed that the Rockies have had great starting pitching this year, which tRA agrees with. If you give any credibility to it, then you at least think it’s possible the Royals have had the best pitching staff in the majors so far. Isn’t it possible, even with bad hitting and bad defense, that the team with the best pitching is the ninth best team overall? Possible, meaning, that it’s more likely than “too absurd to even call horsecrap”?
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
I don't think the Royals and the Rockies are the two best pitching staffs in baseball.
So, yeah, there you go. I respect you coming to defend your numbers, but I’m just not buying the conclusion. Sometimes numbers do lie.
Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
The Shawn Chacon Experience - Life as a Rockies fan, one day at a time: Because we're all still recovering from those nine blown saves.
Not saying they have the two best rotations, just that they've pitched the best so far.
Anyway, the numbers are addressing a very specific question, something like “which teams have demonstrated the highest level of play so far?” Nothing projected. Not saying they’re perfect, either. There’s room for both more accuracy and better methodology.
Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.
It wasn't your power rankings in particular I was ranting about
That whole bit of invective had been building up for a while since I see people link power rankings around here all the time from a lot of different sources and people get up and arms about where the Rockies rank.
But yeah, I just can’t see the Royals as a top-10 team in major league baseball right now, and while that particular stream of bile was harsh, and needlessly so, I still heavily doubt the methodologies and formulas that would suggest such a thing.
Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
The Shawn Chacon Experience - Life as a Rockies fan, one day at a time: Because we're all still recovering from those nine blown saves.
Thanks
I don’t know what I did.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jun 19, 2009 8:42 AM MDT up reply actions
Funny how
we’re 13th overall and only 2 of the 12 teams ahead of us are in the NL. The Phillies losing Ibanez for some time helps our WC quest…
The Rockies need some oldschool purple/white striped high socks. The team’s problem is it’s lack of swagger. I feel strongly that these socks will provide the swagger necessary to tap the potential that are the Rockies.
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