The three most populous metropolitan areas in the U.S., by far, are the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago areas.  The smallest of the three, the Chicago metro area, had a 2012 population estimated at about 9.5 million people, about 40% more than that in the fourth largest metro area, the Dallas/Forth Worth/Arlington area.

These three giant metro areas have been continuously represented by a total of six major league franchises since 1962.  Over that time, these six jumbo-market teams have, looked at collectively, been relatively successful, especially in recent years.  The six teams as a group have not had a collective winning percentage below .500 in any full regular season since 1999, and have been collectively over .500 in 34 of the 51 seasons from and including 1962 through and including 2012.  Their best years as a group have been 2008, when the six franchises produced a collective .564 winning percentage, followed by 1985 (.558), and 1998 (.554).  More after the jump. Continue reading →

Seemingly lost amid all the story lines about Bryce Harper’s knee, Stephen Strasburgh’s right arm, and the Nationals disappointing .500 season in general has been the ascension of Jordan Zimmermann into the circle of elite pitchers. Zimmermann’s dominance over Major League hitters may not be as overpowering as a guy like Clayton Kershaw or as flashy as a pitcher like Felix Hernandez, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. Instead, Jordan Zimmermann suffocates the life out of an opposing lineup by relentlessly pounding the bottom corners of the strike zone with a fastball that hums and a slider that slices. He invites, no he implores batters to hit weak ground outs into guys who know how to flash the leather and he knows how to put a hitter away once he gets the opportunity.

Thursday’s outing against a potent Colorado lineup was just another brilliant start in a season full of them. Zimmermann threw first-pitch strikes to 23 of the 31 batters he faced and in a display of pinpoint accuracy he delivered strikes on 85 of the 112 pitches he threw (76%). The last time a Nationals’ pitcher threw at least 85 strikes it was back in 2005, the franchise’s inaugural season in Washington when Esteban Loaiza needed 128 pitches to get the job done. That barrage of perfectly located pitches by Zimmermann generated 16 outs in a row at one point and a season-high 9 strikeouts for the Nationals’ righty.

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Pirates 5, @Reds 3: Two down and tied in the 7th, it was Tony Cingrani‘s 3rd time working out of the bullpen, all in this 4-game series, and his 3rd time facing Pedro Alvarez. The Pirate slugger had whiffed in key spots on Monday and Wednesday, a total of 7 pitches.

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When the Yankees drafted Phil Hughes with the 23rd overall pick back in 2004, the hope was that the young right-hander from California could become a dominant front line pitcher. Hughes did nothing but encourage those pie in the sky thoughts during his first 3 years in the minor leagues and by the start of the 2007 season he was considered to be one of the elite prospects in all of baseball by the likes of Keith Law, Baseball America, and others. His fastball was considered to be the best in the minor leagues, his curve rated as a plus secondary offering and his control was 2nd to none.

By the middle of the 2010 season those scouting reports were looking rather spot on. Hughes had blossomed into an 18 game winner with a solidly above average strikeout/walk ratio and a new pitch, a cutter, to boot. But there were also some rather ominous warning signs laced into that 18-win campaign. Hughes posted a 4.90 ERA over the 2nd half of the season, had a gaudy home run rate and a chunk of that sparkly 18-8 record was owed to the fact that the Yankees’ offense put up 6.75 runs per game during his starts. But even with those minor nitpicks, that front line starter talent was starting to show through. Hughes just hadn’t put the entire package together quite yet.

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@D-backs 3, Marlins 1: Another late-game Snakebite. Locked in a scoreless duel, Jose Fernandez had allowed just 3 singles through 7. But he walked the first man in the 8th — a 9-pitch battle with Jason Kubel — and another with one down, so when Eric Hinske was announced to hit, Jose gave way to southpaw Mike Dunn. Cue the lefty-slayer, Cody Ross.

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Rather more players included here than in most quizzes. But, there is a reason for that.

These sixteen pitchers are indeed among the “sweetest” of the live ball era. But, the number 16 is also part of the quiz answer, relating to a seasonal accomplishment since 1920 of which only these pitchers can boast.

Hint #1: there is no significance to the arrangement of the rows or columns

Hint #2: outside of the 5 seasons from 1968 to 1972, only 10 of these pitchers accomplished this feat

Congratulations to –bill ! He correctly identified that only these pitchers have posted a season (min. 200 IP) since 1920 allowing less than one run per 16 batters faced. Some of baseball’s most memorable pitching seasons are represented in the list after the jump.

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Got a little caught up in my Metzgers … forgive me!

Mets 4, @Braves 3 (day game): Which reminds your Game Notes narrator, “Always set the DVR for Harvey!” Facing the batting strikeout leaders for the first time this year — and a watered-down lineup, at that — Matt Harvey kept the scoreboard’s first two columns barren until the 7th, then saw the no-no end comically when the first-base ump declined to receive Harvey’s timely toss, leaving Jason Heyward safe in a cloud of chalk. That brought the dreaded Freddie Freeman up as the tying run in a 2-0 game.

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Here is the final installment of this series, looking at players at each position recording the best hitting months.

As with Part 1 on Outfielders and Part 2 on Infielders, the method is to identify the top OPS in each calendar month for players with a minimum 80 PAs in the month (50 PAs for April). As well, the player must have played a majority of his games in that month at one position, though all of his playing time is included in the reported OPS. For Part 3, the PA threshold for pitchers has been set at 20 PAs, and 15 PAs for April.

More on these hot hitters after the jump.

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This post is for voting and discussion in the twenty-second round of balloting for the Circle of Greats.  This round adds those players born in 1950.  Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading →