Greg Maddux went into a slight lull after the all-star break, turning in a couple of sub-par performances in a row. But he has since returned to form, pitching well since early July. Too bad he has little to show for it. Consider his last 6 starts.
The first two starts were not a good sign.
Against the New York Mets, leaders then and now of the National League East, Maddux leaves the game leading 4-0. The Padres' bullpen, arguably the best in baseball, forgets that it's awesome and promptly surrenders the lead. The Padres come back to win anyway, but, of course, no win for Maddux.
In his next start at Colorado (that's Coors Field, people!...no field is more notorious for high-scoring games) against the Colorado Rockies, the 2nd best hitting team in the Majors, Maddux pitches very well and leaves the game in the 7th with a 5-2 lead. The awesome bullpen blows it again and the Padres lose 7-5.
Ok, ok...there's no point in boring you anymore. All told, here is Maddux's line over his last 6 starts:
2.57 ERA, 20 strikeouts, 2 walks...1 win, 2 losses, 3 no-decisions
In a post from Sept '05 (check the archives...your response was overwhelming...0 comments), I told you about Maddux's tough luck. It's been like this his whole career people.
And he's still managed 340 wins.
3 comments:
it would really be inappropriate to say very much concerning tough luck. or at least inconsistent. also, were i a statistician or mathematically inclined, i would like to see whether stretches like these are unusual for any pitcher or are they as common as, say, five consecutive tails-flips in a string of 100 or so coin flips.
Shut up, Micah.
Update: Mad-dog was awesome again today...and actually won. 6 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 0 walks. On top of that, he went 2 for 2 at the plate and made a sweet grab on a comebacker to the mound. He's now got a 2.41 ERA over his last 7 starts. He hasn't issued a walk in August.
I concur . . . with Arthur's first sentence. Of course, I don't know nothing about this stats business.
Post a Comment