Greinke and Kershaw: An Historic Duo

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched the NL West last night, behind a one-hit shutout by Clayton Kershaw. This caps what has been a simply incredible season for the Dodgers pitching duo of Kershaw and Zack Greinke. These two pitchers are the first pair of qualifying starters to post a 170 ERA+ for the same team since Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte on the 2005 Houston Astros, and just the eighth to do so since 1893 (including the 1907 Chicago Cubs, who had three pitchers accomplish this feat). They are also the first pair with 7+ WAR apiece since Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee for the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies, and the 18th since 1920. The last pair of Dodgers starters to do this was Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax in 1964. Even more impressively, they are the only pair in the modern era to ever post WHIPs of less than 0.900 (Henry Boyle and Charlie Sweeney of the 1884 St. Louis Maroons are the only others to pull this trick). 

Baseball Notes (9/28/2015)

• The Arizona Diamondbacks have an historically good defense this season. They currently have four players with 15+ defensive runs saved: Ender Inciarte, Nick Ahmed, Paul Goldschmidt, and A.J. Pollock. Only three other teams have ever had four players with 15+ WAR Runs Fielding: the 2012 Atlanta Braves, 1989 St. Louis Cardinals, and 1973 Baltimore Orioles. The team is ranked first in Major League Baseball in fielding runs this year.
• Jeff Francouer is not a very good baseball player. In fact, since the beginning of 2012 he has the worst Wins Above Replacement of any player in the Major Leagues at -5.0 (the next worst is Yuniesky Betancourt at -3.2). Frenchy's OPS+ is just 75 over that span, one of the worst among players with 1000+ plate appearances. Perhaps most surprisingly, he is ranked as one of the five worst defensive right fielders over the last four seasons. Apparently his vaunted arm cannot overcome his other liabilities as an outfielder. I would suggest that he take up pitching to help prolong his career, but his one attempt at that earlier this year did not go so well: he gave up three walks, a home run, and hit a batter while allowing two earned runs in two innings of work on June 16.
• Jake Arrieta must really want to win the Cy Young Award. Since the beginning of August he is 10-0 with a 0.44 ERA in 11 starts. His ERA+ is now up to 215, joining Zack Greinke (228) with 200+ this season. The last time two pitchers in the same league had a 200 ERA+ was 1907, when Jack Pfiester and Carl Lundgren did so - as teammates on the Chicago Cubs. Greinke himself is set to become just the sixth pitcher ever to have two seasons with a 200 ERA+, joining the elite group of Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, Greg Maddux, Pedro Martinez, and Roger Clemens.
• Meanwhile, the AL Cy Young race is also down to just two contenders. Dallas Keuchel made a strong bid to solidify his position last night, allowing just one run over seven innings to pick up the win. It is remarkable just how similar Keuchel's numbers are to those of David Price, at least on the surface. Keuchel is 19-8 with 213 SO and a 2.47 ERA, while Price is 18-5 with 229 SO and a 2.45 ERA. However, Keuchel leads Price in WAR by a 7.3 to 6.0 margin. 

Some Random Baseball Thoughts (9/23/2015)

• Robinson Cano is going to be a Hall of Famer. His next hit will be his 2000th, becoming just the 25th second baseman to reach that plateau. He should be able to quickly move up both the lists for hits and RBI (he's closing in on 1000) among second basemen over the next few seasons. He's already 9th all time in home runs at the position, as well as 7th in OPS (3000+ PA). Lastly, his 55.2 career WAR already puts him in the company of other Hall of Fame second basemen, and I would expect he still has some good years left in him to add to that total.

Reggie Smith: A Hall of Fame Case

Reggie Smith is one of the most underrated players in baseball history. A seven-time all-star, Smith received just three votes when he appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1988. An analysis of his career reveals that he deserved far more than that. Head below the fold to find out why.

2002 AL Cy Young: Pedro Martinez vs. Derek Lowe

The 2002 American League Cy Young Award proved to be one of the most controversial votes in recent memory, as Oakland A's starting pitcher Barry Zito (23-5, 2.75 ERA) beat out Pedro Martinez (20-4, 2.26 ERA). However, the player who should have won the award may not be Pedro, but rather his teammate Derek Lowe. Head below the fold to find out why.

2015 MLB Standings Projections

American League East				American League Central				American League West
Toronto Blue Jays	89-73	--		Kansas City Royals	94-68	--		Seattle Mariners	94-68	--
Baltimore Orioles	84-78	5		Cleveland Indians	91-71	3		Los Angeles Angels	88-74	6
New York Yankees	75-87	14		Detroit Tigers	88-74	6		Houston Astros	88-74	6
Boston Red Sox	74-88	15		Chicago White Sox	88-74	6		Oakland Athletics	75-87	19
Tampa Bay Rays	74-88	15		Minnesota Twins	75-87	19		Texas Rangers	73-89	21
National League East				National League Central				National League West
Miami Marlins	86-76	--		St. Louis Cardinals	91-71	--		Los Angeles Dodgers	99-63	--
Washington Nationals	85-77	1		Pittsburgh Pirates	83-79	8		Colorado Rockies	76-86	23
New York Mets	77-85	9		Milwaukee Brewers	79-83	12		San Francisco Giants	76-86	23
Philadelphia Phillies	70-92	16		Chicago Cubs	79-83	12		San Diego Padres	72-90	27
Atlanta Braves	62-100	24		Cincinnati Reds	78-84	13		Arizona Diamondbacks	66-96	33

Post-Winter Meetings 2015 MLB Standings Projections

American League East				American League Central				American League West
Toronto Blue Jays	92-70	--		Cleveland Indians	90-72	--		Seattle Mariners	88-74	--
Baltimore Orioles	87-75	5		Kansas City Royals	89-73	1		Los Angeles Angels	87-75	1
Tampa Bay Rays	80-82	12		Chicago White Sox	88-74	2		Houston Astros	81-81	7
Boston Red Sox	75-87	17		Detroit Tigers	87-75	3		Oakland Athletics	77-85	11
New York Yankees	73-89	19		Minnesota Twins	78-84	12		Texas Rangers	70-92	18
National League East				National League Central				National League West
Washington Nationals	94-68	--		St. Louis Cardinals	92-70	--		Los Angeles Dodgers	99-63	--
Miami Marlins	79-83	15		Pittsburgh Pirates	86-76	6		Colorado Rockies	78-84	21
New York Mets	77-85	17		Milwaukee Brewers	80-82	12		San Francisco Giants	76-86	23
Atlanta Braves	72-90	22		Cincinnati Reds	75-87	17		San Diego Padres	73-89	26
Philadelphia Phillies	69-93	25		Chicago Cubs	74-88	18		Arizona Diamondbacks	64-98	35