April has come and gone and warmer weather lies just ahead. That will be a relief for those players whose game tends to heat up with the weather.
But, this post is about other players, those who start the year hot. Over a career, there are some players who consistently play their best in the opening month. But, as this post shows, knowing that may not help you predict the league leaders in any given April.
After the jump, more on April’s heroes.
Here’s some stuff that I didn’t get time to fully organize & tidy up…
Rays 2, @Red Sox 1 (day) — Unscheduled rotation anchor Cesar Ramos hasn’t gotten fully stretched out yet, but he’s yielded just 2 runs in 14.2 IP over his last three. Today’s odd outing: 14 outs, one hit, 6 Ks, 6 walks. But Tampa scored the lead run in the 4th on a force-feed by Jake Peavy, who walked three straight. David DeJesus drew the payoff pass, after he hit a tying homer in the prior session.
It’s hard to imagine a player having a better first month in the big leagues than Jose Abreu did in April. He managed to lead all Major Leaguers in home runs (10) and RBI (31) while totaling more bases than any other player as well. His presence in the lineup has been the lightning bolt that electrified the White Sox offense Frankenstein offense back to life and thanks to a brilliantly balanced approach at the plate the Cuban slugger shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Continue reading
The whole Eastern seaboard is swamped, those four games all washed away, so I’ll ramble a bit before a few game notes.
How far can we project Milwaukee’s 20-8 start? Based on teams from the past 100 seasons, it’s still too soon to draw strong conclusions. (All records here projected to a 162-game schedule.)
Seven starters went out with ERAs under 2.00, including three matchups (see pregame ERAs). Some corrections occurred.
@Marlins 9, Braves 0 / Jose Fernandez (1.99) vs. Alex Wood (1.54) — The reprise of last week’s bedazzler was a one-man show. Wood’s night headed south in the 2nd: He fanned trying to bunt up a runner from first, and that man never got home despite a 2-out double. Back on the hill, Wood got two quick outs and two strikes on Christian Yelich, then triple, single, Giancarlo. In the 5th, he caught Stanton looking to strand a pair, but three knocks after a leadoff walk sent him off in the 6th, and the hits kept coming.
A belated farewell to Bill Henry, a south-Texas southpaw with 16 years in the majors and 22 in pro ball, who passed away April 11 at age 86. Henry filled every role in his time, including one that he helped pioneer. Some notes on his playing career:
Fourteen of the 52 starters with sub-3 ERAs took the hill Sunday, with five pairs squaring off; another was rained out. Most lived up to their billing.
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@Braves 1, Reds 0 (10 inn.) — The mind boggles. Atlanta’s allowed 58 runs through 24 games, with 17 starts of one run or less — three more than any other team since at least 1914. Freddie Freeman was hitless in four trips against Johnny Cueto, but he came through in the end off a fresh-summoned lefty, after Heyward and B.J. kept the inning alive with 2-out hits. That’s his 7th game-ending RBI since 2011, tying teammate Justin Upton for the MLB lead in that time.
This post is for voting and discussion in the 56th round of balloting for the Circle of Greats (COG). This round begins to add those players born in 1925. Rules and lists are after the jump. Continue reading
After several rounds in which holdovers were widely preferred to candidates from each new birth-year class, the 1926 birth-year class produced two very popular candidates, including Robin Roberts, who becomes the 55th inductee into the High Heat Stats Circle of Greats. More on Robin and the voting after the jump. Continue reading
The weekend started wild and woolly — very, very wild….
Red Sox 7, @Blue Jays 6 — Arizona staged the promotion Friday, but lately every game is “Zombie Day” at Rogers Centre. Brandon Morrow did not allow a hit, but he bit off his own leg and wrote his epitaph with four straight passes after two outs in the 3rd, his eight walks on the day matching the number of outs recorded. A.J. Pierzynski greeted Chad Jenkins with his eighth career slam, on a fastball right down Broadway, to wipe out the remains of Toronto’s 3-0 lead. When Jenkins tried his breaking stuff, Will Middlebrooks found it just as amiable, and Boston was on top, 6-3.