2012 MLB Season Game Thread: September

[HUGG]

That seems like a dumb thing to say.

[Chewford]

I don't know what Pythagorean record is, but Pythagoras was a crazy cult leader dude who thought he was Jesus so I don't put much stock into his version of records.

Anyways, there's 1 week left in September, if the O's were actually bad team that was lucky, I think they would've stopped being good by now.

[DColts]

The Orioles have an OPS of .725 and OPS+ of 97. They have an ERA of 3.97 and an ERA+ of 106. They're a pretty average team that is playing over their head.

[Bobbob1313]

They have a phenomenal bullpen, which is the quickest way to improve your performance as a bad team.

[Chewford]

They're gonna Tebow the shit out of you, Deets.

Can anyone remind me what the team with the best Pythagorean record at the end of the season wins? I seem to be drawing a blank.

[nny]

Yeah, it's been theorized that a good bullpen allows a team to overplay their Pythagorean record, and a bad one under play it.

I've never seen proof backing it up/showing that's wrong though.

[DColts]

Why aren't the Rays better? They have a better bullpen and rotation.

[Bobbob1313]

Hanley down to .257 since joining the Dodgers.

[Erick]

The Orioles have had their fair share of luck over the course of the whole season, but they're 87-64; fact of the matter is, looking at their overall run differential now is rather irrelevant considering they're not the same team they were in April.

From August 1st on (so, after the trade deadline), they have a +55 run differential.

Their post-trade deadline team is more indicative of their talent level now.

As for the bullpen/Rays thing, while the Rays bullpen has been very good, bullpens, in terms of winning/losing, are more based on context/situational pitching.
The Orioles bullpen has the best WPA of all-time this year, which explains how they've been able to sustain a great record despite the mediocre run differential.

[Flum]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/mlb/t...ory/57832370/1

I always thought Miggy would get the triple crown one day, I just expected him to be in a Marlins uniform when he did it. It'll still be fun to watch for the next two weeks, regardless...

[Valid]

So who is everyone's pick to come out of the NL? Cincinnati? They appear to be the most well-rounded team in the NL heading into the playoffs.

[HUGG]

they have a weakness in manager health

[Valid]

Poor Dusty.

[emkayseven]

they have a weakness in manager talent as well

[Erick]

If you're going to have a weakness, that's a great one to have considering that it's the most irrelevant.