Walks Analysis
In yesterday's post, I mentioned briefly that walks have been a big problem in this young season of 2005. I wanted to expand on that thought with an analysis of walks, past and present. If you are bored by statistical analysis, stop reading now and move on to the next entry in the blogosphere. However, if you choose to continue, I think you will agree with me that my findings are interesting and somewhat troublesome. One doesn't have to analyze the stats to know that the Rox' pitching staff has struggled so far, but an analysis of the statistics will shed light on exactly how badly they have struggled.
As I also mentioned yesterday, the Rox' BB/9 ratio before Tuesday's game was 6.84. After zero walks Tuesday and 10 walks Wednesday, the ratio stands at 6.55. I queried my trusty Lahman database and discovered that the highest ratio for a season since 1960 was 4.93 by Detroit in 1996. This is not a new problem. I recall being frustrated many times over the years with the frequency and timing of walks by the Rockies pitching staff. Of the previous 12 seasons for the Rox, they led the NL in walks allowed five times. (Frankly, I expected it to be more than that.) However, only once, in 2000, was their BB/9 ratio less than the league average(3.70 vs. 3.86). Click here for a graphical representation of this analysis. From 1993-2004, the league average BB/9 is 3.43 while the Rockies' average BB/9 over the same time period is 3.81.
An even more troubling statistic is the ratio of walks plus hits per nine innings. So far this season, this ratio sits at 17.32. Simply put, this means the Rox are allowing nearly two base runners per inning. Taking it one step further, the opposition is getting a runner into scoring position almost every inning. If this trend continues it will most definitely be a long and frustrating season. I fully expect the trend to normalize somewhat, but it demonstrates just how poorly the Rockies' pitching has performed early on.
The answer to the last DITR trivia question was Craig Counsell and Kevin Seitzer. Incidently, Seitzer's single at-bat for the Rox was the last of his career. Here is the next DITR trivia question: No player has played for all four recent expansion teams. However, seven players have played for three of the four. Can you name three of the seven? Hints: Two of them should be easy for die-hard Rox fans and only one of the seven has not played for the Rox.
I have a new poll on the website, this time regarding Garrett Atkins.
As I also mentioned yesterday, the Rox' BB/9 ratio before Tuesday's game was 6.84. After zero walks Tuesday and 10 walks Wednesday, the ratio stands at 6.55. I queried my trusty Lahman database and discovered that the highest ratio for a season since 1960 was 4.93 by Detroit in 1996. This is not a new problem. I recall being frustrated many times over the years with the frequency and timing of walks by the Rockies pitching staff. Of the previous 12 seasons for the Rox, they led the NL in walks allowed five times. (Frankly, I expected it to be more than that.) However, only once, in 2000, was their BB/9 ratio less than the league average(3.70 vs. 3.86). Click here for a graphical representation of this analysis. From 1993-2004, the league average BB/9 is 3.43 while the Rockies' average BB/9 over the same time period is 3.81.
An even more troubling statistic is the ratio of walks plus hits per nine innings. So far this season, this ratio sits at 17.32. Simply put, this means the Rox are allowing nearly two base runners per inning. Taking it one step further, the opposition is getting a runner into scoring position almost every inning. If this trend continues it will most definitely be a long and frustrating season. I fully expect the trend to normalize somewhat, but it demonstrates just how poorly the Rockies' pitching has performed early on.
The answer to the last DITR trivia question was Craig Counsell and Kevin Seitzer. Incidently, Seitzer's single at-bat for the Rox was the last of his career. Here is the next DITR trivia question: No player has played for all four recent expansion teams. However, seven players have played for three of the four. Can you name three of the seven? Hints: Two of them should be easy for die-hard Rox fans and only one of the seven has not played for the Rox.
I have a new poll on the website, this time regarding Garrett Atkins.
posted by Todd Nikkel | 10:20 AM
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