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| Friday, June 7 Baker's Dozen: Interleague special By Jim Baker Special to ESPN.com |
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Interleague series to watch:
Best Matchup (best combined records with both teams
being over .500) All eyes are on Saturday's Curt Schilling (11-1) versus Pedro Martinez (7-0) throwdown. What are the chances that one of them breaks the all-time single-season winning percentage mark set by Elroy Face of the Pirates in 1959 when he went 18-1? It is more than likely that both will lose at least one more game. However, that would still allow them to become the first pitcher or pitchers to win 20 or more while losing as few as two. Face did all of his 1959 work in relief and had run his record to 17-0 when, on September 11, he gave up two runs to the Dodgers to blow a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning to give him his only loss. The second run scored when Charley Neal "rolled" a single through a drawn-in infield. It is tough to think that a perfect season could get ruined by a bit of backfired strategy but it points out what little margin for error exists when seeking perfection. The best winning percentage by a pitcher who was primarily a starter comes courtesy of Johnny Allen of the 1937 Indians who went 15-1, but started 20 games that year. Schilling and Martinez might not set any records, but they are, given their current standing and the quality of their respective teams, in a great position to put up won-loss records that would rank with these all-time great seasons:
Greg Maddux: 19-2, .905 (1995 Braves) Which brings us to two other discussions:
Can Schilling win 30 games? Strangely, what makes one so hard to do in modern in baseball actually mitigates in favor of the other. First Schilling: There is simply very little margin for error in the pursuit of 30 wins owing to the reduced number of starts and shorter durations of outings in today's game. Starters used to get decisions in a huge percentage of their games. Now, only the elite get victories in at least half their starts. Schilling is circumventing this trend by pitching deep into every game and he has had a decision in all but one game so far. Schilling has cut down on the number of home runs he's allowed too. Last year he was touched for 37. This year is projecting to about a third less than that. Here is Schilling's "things to do" 30-win checklist:
Even if all of those things go right, winning 30 is still going to be extremely hard. Schilling has a five- or six-game margin to mess around with. By that I mean that he'll need to win 30 of the 35 or 36 games he starts. He's already spent two of those with a loss and a no-decision. I'm not going out on any limbs saying he can beat the odds and do it but I will say this: it would sure be cool if he did. His start against the Schilling juggernaut notwithstanding, Pedro Martinez is in an excellent position to post an undefeated season. By "excellent" I mean "better than usual for a task that's impossible." If this ever is to happen, a certain mixture of circumstances have to be in place. I believe that, for Pedro in 2002, all the ingredients are there:
This last item is key. The more a man pitches, the greater the likelihood that something will eventually go wrong. If you ration those starts, it limits the number of times in which he must succeed. While a strike would destroy Schilling's chance at his goal, it could just about ace Martinez's attempt. Also, given his recent injury problems, isn't it possible he will be limited to 22 to 25 starts? If he manages to win 17 of them without losing and then gets shut down for the year, there you'll have it: a new high victory total for somebody with no losses. (These comments should not be construed as endorsements of work stoppages or injuries.)
2: Biggest mismatchup (opponents furthest from each
other in won-lost records): The last time the Cubs won the World Series, Seattle was still a small, logging community inhabited by rough-hewn toughs who drank pure grain alcohol out of the boots of the men they killed in horrible "saw duels." These were the infamous showdowns wherein the combatants would square off in a muddy street and try to get the better of one another with giant timber saws. It was a colorful -- but awful -- way to die. Now Seattle is a hip, international city where even the most lowly, glue-sniffing teenager is wired and schoolchildren are so sophisticated they can order coffee in six languages. My, how things change -- except for the Cubs. Is it too early to start planning for their 100th Anniversary Last World Championship Jubilee in 2008? What will that uniform patch look like? Tracy Ringolsby of the Rocky Mountain News reports that after tonight's game at Safeco Field, the Cubs will have played in 103 different major league parks.
Worst matchup (worst combined record with both teams
being under .500) Speaking of Curt Schilling, he blanked the San Diego Padres in the second game of the season right after Randy Johnson did the same on Opening Day. While the Padres have scored a few runs since then, those back-to-back white washings have set the tone for the 2002 season. San Diego enters this series boasting the worst offense in the league at 3.52 runs per game. By some magic coincidence, the Devil Rays have the worst offense in their league too! It was almost as though the schedule makers had a crystal ball and planned this wonderful collision. They are scoring 3.79 runs per game, and are the only team with an on-base percentage under .300. One thing they do not do, though, is hit into double plays -- only 25 so far this season, fewest in the league. Of course, it stands to reason that if you're not hitting for average and you're drawing the second-fewest amount of walks in the league, the DP opportunities just aren't going to be there. All this suits Ben Grieve just fine. As you might recall, Grieve wore out his welcome in Oakland partially because of all the baserunners he was killing with double plays. He hit into 31 his last year there (2000), which isn't a record but is in the neighborhood (Jim Rice had 36 in 1984). That was good for one every 22 plate appearances. Last year he lowered that to one every 49 and so far, in 2002, he is on pace to only rap into six, or, only once every 101 trips to the plate. So, we've discovered the secret of his double play problem: the A's were crowding the bases with too many runners. This streamlined Tampa Bay operation is much more to his liking. On the other hand, although they've done little else at the plate in 2002, the Padres will still draw a walk for you, as they are second in the league in that category. In 2001, they walked more than any other team in the league by a good margin. There has been a slight decline in 2002, about 10 percent. The Padres' interleague schedule is one of stark contrasts. They have the misfortune of taking on all three of the best teams in the American League. They play Seattle, New York and Boston in a nine-game burst starting next weekend but also get to cozy up to these Rays, the Royals and the Orioles (which means, yes, they play teams from all three AL divisions).
Closest matchup (opponents closest to each other in
won-lost records) Team Underachievement meets Team Empty Shell of Its Former Self. How's that for hype? Cleveland has the fourth-best interleague record in history, which is about as significant as having the fourth-best spider web tattoo on your cell block. "A Met Player's Letter Home"
Oh Mother dear, you won't believe:
What sights I'll see, what things I'll do
I've brought a bat and hope to swing it
And should their hurlings blind and deceive
And oh, come Sunday, yes, I'll grieve Jim Baker's 'Baker's Dozen' column appears on Mondays during the baseball season. He also writes Monday through Friday for ESPN Insider. |
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