Cubs Pwned the First Half
I can say, with some fair amount of certainty, that very few Cubs fans that read this website have been witness to the outstanding level of play that our beloved Cubbies put up during the first half this season. .600 winning percentage, utter dominance at home, best run differential in the league, best starting staff in the NL, best offense in the NL, and top three in defense and overall pitching. And to all that, we just added an pitcher who could end up being our ace and are due to get back one of our best hitters, who has only played 53% of our games to date.
Gawk in amazement at our statistical dominance after the jump...
Team Performance
| Category | Number | Rank in NL |
| Wins | 57 | 1st |
|
Winning Percentage |
.600 | 1st |
| Run Differential | +102 | 1st |
| Strength of Schedule | .491 | 6th |
| Runs Scored | 507 | 1st |
| Batting Average | .281 | 1st |
| On-Base Percentage | .360 | 1st |
| Slugging Percentage | .443 | 1st |
| Walks | 382 | 1st |
| Home Runs | 102 | 5th |
| Runs Allowed | 401 | 3rd |
| Team ERA | 3.89 | 3rd |
| Starters' ERA | 3.88 | 1st |
| Relievers' ERA | 3.92 | 8th |
| Strikeouts | 707 | 4th |
| Walks Allowed | 320 | 7th |
| Home Runs Allowed | 98 | 9th |
| Team Defensive Efficiency | .713 | 3rd |
| Team Fielding Percentage | .983 | 8th |
| Team Errors | 58 | 7th |
Starting Pitchers (NL Rank by Position)
| Name |
Win Shares |
VORP |
Pitching Runs Created |
ERA |
| Zambrano | 14(Tied 1st) | 36.8(6th) | 64 (6th) | 2.84(Tied 4th) |
| Dempster | 10(9th) | 28.0(12th) | 58(11th) | 3.25(11th) |
| Lilly | 5(Tied 31st) | 10.8(69th) | 43 (27th) | 4.68 (40th) |
| Marquis | 3(Tied 50th) | 12.0(59th) | 34 (47th) | 4.44 (34th) |
Relief Pitchers (NL Rank by Position)
| Name | WXRL | WPA |
| Wood | 1.389(14th) | 0.43(Tied 47th) |
| Marmol | 2.484(6th) | 1.52(8th) |
| Howry | 1.262(23rd) | 0.89(22nd) |
| Wuertz | -.204(264th) | -0.58(199th) |
| Marshall | 0.512(61st) | 0.53(39th) |
| Eyre | 0.463(64th) | 0.43(Tied 47th) |
| Lieber | 0.578(56th) | 0.02(98th) |
| Cotts | 0.097(104th) | -0.03(121st) |
Individual Performance (NL Rank by Position)
| Player |
Win Shares |
Defensive Win Shares |
VORP |
Runs Created |
RAA2 |
GPA |
OBP | SLG |
| Soto | 14(1st) | 4.8(2nd) | 27.8(2nd) | 51(3rd) | 6 | .288(3rd) | .369(3rd) | .522(2nd) |
| Lee | 11(Tied 5th) | 1.4(2nd) | 28.5(3rd) | 60(6th) | 5 | .286(5th) | .372(6th) | .508(4th) |
| *DeRosa | 12(5th) | 3.3(4th) | 18.9(5th) | 54(3rd) | 7 | .274(4th) | .377(2nd) | .453(5th) |
| Theriot | 9(Tied 6th) | 3.4(4th) | 20.4(8th) | 49(4th) | 3 | .262(5th) | .394(1st) | .369(9th) |
| Ramirez | 13(3rd) | 2.3(4th) | 26.0(3rd) | 63(Tied 2nd) | 1 | .294(4th) | .386(2nd) | .515(2nd) |
| **Soriano | 8(Tied 27th) | 1.3(Tied 36th) | 15.8(8th) | 38(12th) | 7 | .278(7th) | .332 | .547 |
| ***Edmonds | 5(Tied 44th) | 1.4(37th) | 12.6(9th) | 26(15th) | -2 | .295(2nd) | .328(16th) | .424(11th) |
| Fukudome | 13(Tied 9th) | 2.6(7th) | 11.9(9th) | 57(2nd) | 9 | .266(6th) | .383(2nd) | .408(12th) |
* - Not sure which categories account just for DeRosa's time at 2b (53 games played) or his overall numbers at all positions.
** - For all the outfielders, rankings for Win Shares is among ALL
NL Outfielders. Soriano would rank 7th in OBP and 4th in SLG if he
qualified.
*** - For most cases, Edmonds rankings reflect his time with San
Diego. His Cubs numbers are 269/369/552. That would rank him first in
OBP and SLG, but that's in only 157 plate appearances as a Cub.The
negative 2 RAA2 for his defense though is just as a Cubbie, he had a
postive 2 as a Padre. The only regular Cub that has not been a postive
with the glove so far.
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#1 Firefox 3 Users
I've heard there are some issues with large amounts of white space after a table (like the lineups in a game thread). I just downloaded Firefox 3 and it's not doing it on my end, so I'm a bit perplexed.
If there's a web developer out there that knows what's happening, let me know. There are a bunch of line breaks after each table to get the text below it, but no idea how to fix it....at least not yet.
#6 Re: Firefox 3 Users
Only the first table is displaying properly in IE 7 running Vista on a Dell Dimension.
Can see all the tables fine with Firefox 3.
Off topic: Maybe you could explain what some of the fielding stats are trying to measure.
#12 Re: Firefox 3 Users
you can click on the column headings, should take you to a definition of them. Click on Win Shares for the Defensive Win Shares although it doesn't give you much. Long, complicated formulas but they give a better idea beyond Fielding Percentage and Errors.
RAA2 - Runs Above Average fwiw....
more thorough explanation of Win Shares
http://www.baseballgraphs.com/main/index.php/site/...
#11 Re: Firefox 3 Users
Rob:
For whatever reason, you're getting long strings of unnecessary
strings after your tables (spaces added so it'll render). FireFox sometimes ignores these empty tags and sometimes renders them -- not sure why. I'm getting no spaces between charts (though the tags are there) but I do get extra space below the final chart. That may be because there's an extra "*-" in there.
FF3/XP, FWIW. Not sure if it's doing it on the Mac at home too, but I can check later.
#13 Re: Firefox 3 Users
I have to add those spaces to get text to show up below the tables, no idea how to workaround it, other than try a "Width="100%", but then ridiculous sized columns for small tables.
#36 Re: Firefox 3 Users
I think your problem is that you have align="left" on your tables which works like the img align in that it wraps text around it. Removing that (along with the p tags) should fix your issues.
If you're trying to set the text to align on the left side of all your table cells, you should do a style="text-align: left;" on the table, or set align at the td level.
#43 Re: Firefox 3 Users
I'll give it a try...thanks.
#45 Re: Firefox 3 Users
alright, I made the changes and it seems to be looking better for me on IE7 and FF3. Those who were having problems, is it any better?
#47 Re: Firefox 3 Users
That fixed it perfectly.
FF3 on Mac OS 10.5.4
#49 Re: Firefox 3 Users
I hate to say it, Rob, but my problems just haven't gotten any better. Try again, please. Good job fixing those tables, though.
#108 Re: Headline
All this and no one notice the headline reads 'Cubs Pwned the First Half?' I presume that should be 'Owned.'
#109 Re: Headline
LOL!!!
My friend... read this. Or this.
#56 Re: Firefox 3 Users
There are two (2) <div> tags that start before the Game Thread Table that close </div> after the table is displayed.
The entire table must be "built" and displayed before the <div> and the associated "styles" are displayed.
Remove or close them before laying out the table and you'll see the effect of the <p> </p> paragraph tags that you'll want to remove once accomplished.
Internet Explorer is much more forgiving than Firefox in adherence to browser standards.
#2 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
That's nice, real nice gang. Way to go! That's just super duper.
#3 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
Hmm... how is Theriot 4th in defensive win shares if he is so bad defensively?
And how does he have a positive RAA2?
#25 Re: THERIOT at the break
Well there you go. Rob G provides the numbers that confirm Theriot is a net positive for this team. It becomes even bigger when combined with how much he actually makes.
#26 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
because DLee bails out his low throws.
oh wait..that's not factored in because that's not a factor in theriot's D...
...hold on...
wait a minute...
*cough*
#28 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
Seriously? Now you are trying to say that D. Lee transforms Theriot from a bad to a good defensive shortstop? C'mon.
#34 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
no, im just saying you put another 1st baseman out there and theriot might not rank so highly. his arm can be an adventure. that's part of what lee is paid for, though.
#57 Added MPH on the Fastball
Where's Koyie Hill when you need some boost on your fastball?
#87 Re: Added MPH on the Fastball
i am not the only person who's seen dlee dig theriot's throws out more than a few times a game almost every game.
this isnt in the same field as a catcher making a guy throw faster...this is a legit criticism of theriot.
he makes a lot of low throws and dlee digs them out.
in fact, i'd say he probably throws a majority of his stuff at waist-knee level or lower to dlee...if not a majority its way more than it should be.
dlee's D at 1st is a pretty damn important part of EVERY infielder's D on this club.
#91 Re: Added MPH on the Fastball
Crunch is right... Lee makes his other infielders better, because he is so damn good at catching the ball, especially balls in the dirt.
#93 Re: Added MPH on the Fastball
well, to be fair...having dlee on 1st does add 4-5mph to the throws of the infielders.
#95 Re: Added MPH on the Fastball
True. Taller = heavier, so Wrigley tilts a bit toward first base when Lee plays there, meaning the other infielders' throws are going slightly downhill.
QED.
#97 Re: Added MPH on the Fastball
Actually, he has a point. D-Lee's defensive abilities give the other guys the confidence to just let it fly.
Remember Ryne Sandberg and Mark Grace? Sandberg was considered a great defensive second baseman. He threw balls in the dirt all the time--because he knew that Grace was going to pick them. Sandberg developed a bounce pass to first. Maybe Theriot is taking a similar approach. Or maybe he's just a little wild and getting away with it.
#106 Re: Added MPH on the Fastball
grace on dunston...
"I owe him a lot. Nobody would know how good I was at digging balls out of the dirt if it wasn't for him and all those bad throws."
rock.
#35 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
Defensive win shares have the same inherent flaw in them that offensive win shares. They unfairly credit players who play on a team with a lot of wins (2008 Chicago Cubs). Over a career these things tend to even out, but not over half a season. A mediocre player on an above average team is going to look better.
But I'm sure you already knew and understood that part.
Defensive Win Shares don't use play by play data to my knowledge, so you shouldn't put much stock into them anyhow. Again, I'm sure I'm preaching to choir here.
#37 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
That's a chicken or egg argument because the people who created that stat say the players are responsible for the winning/losing. Now you are saying that the winning/losing is responsible for the player being good or bad.
#38 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
No... he is right. Win Shares are dependent on a team's wins.
If you have two players with the exact same numbers, the player on the team with more wins will have more win shares.
Win Shares are not a perfect stat, and a player is aided by playing on a good team.
#4 Re: Cubs Pwned the First Half
Really good line on Jeff S. today for Iowa---6 innings, 9 k's---that's what we'er looking for---look for him in relief this year
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