USF Batting Average Leaders

[JoeB]

Here are the players above .300 for the Bulls as of last night.

Walter Diaz  .383

Addison Maruszak  .381

Brandin Daniel  .377

Dexter Butler  .358

Ty Taborelli  .344

Braulio Pardo  .333

Mike Consolmagno  .357  (mostly pinch hitter/platoon player)

[Brad]

Statman,

I'd like to know two things.

How so we look compared to last season in Errors per Game, and

how do we look in terms of late inning ERA (7-8-9)?

Can you take care of that for me?  Those are two things that absolutely drove me nuts in the previous era...that and some other things - but those were glaring.  I'm not sensing we're doing a whole lot better in that regard nowadays.

What are your toughts?

[JoeB]

That could be tough.  I'll be honest, I didn't follow the games that closely last year since I was in Atlanta.  Its alot easier to keep tabs on things when you're in Tampa, thats for sure.

As for the errors per game, I'll do a quick study, but judging from what I've read in the media guide and seeing the team live and box scores, the errors seem about the same.  If I had to guess, last year was between two and three errors per game.  This year is most likely less, by a fraction.  I'd say its somewhere slightly below two per game.  So I'll guess less than a half error less per game so far this season.

Late inning ERA could be tougher to find, especially the ones from last year.  I don't think the media guide shows anything like that from last year.  Maybe Wags has some charts or numbers from last year.  We could probably figure what the damage has been this year.  For example, in the UF game Otero blew up in the 9th inning, but only one was earned I think.  He had an error to start the inning, so five of the six were unearned, even though he clearly got roughed up.

We're only 19 games in, so it should be easy to track ERA in those games.        

[Wags]

I don't have any charts available to me other than the ones on the website. I didn't play last year (I walked on this year).

I *believe* Lazer talked to someone in SID who was able to bring down some stat sheets today when he was talking to the pitching staff. I'm not sure but someone may be able to contact them? I remember the name Amy...

As of late, Lazer noted, the bullpen has done a much better job of closing the door and not allowing big innings (as was the case earlier in the season). Good work by Rowe and Lewis, and the continued outstanding efforts of Billardello and Sanford are keeping us in the games late. I think he quoted the bullpen as having a 1.50 ERA the last 6 games.

Let's keep up the quality work.

[USFCollin]

This is everything through last night.  I'll see if I can get the splits and fielding stats posted somewhere as well tomorrow:

http://www.gousfbulls.com/pdf4/67824.pdf?ATCLID=236661&SPSID=36644&SPID=2917&DB_OEM_ID=7700

Amy is our SID, and thus arbiter of all things statistical.  I do the scoreboard, but have been helping call games as well as we get Amy caught up on how to score an NCAA game (and she's doing a great job).  The minutia of figuring out which runs are earned and unearned is the coolest nerd task ever.  

I believe we had 31 errors going into last nights game (which frankly isn't too hot), and we do have a tendency to kick it around in bunches.  We looked good last night with the glove however, and it'll get better as the season goes along and guys settle into their positions (Maruszak at 3rd, Butler at 2nd).  And remember, I'm a tough scorer... I pass out errors like candy  .  I know Wags appreciates that, or at least his ERA will.  

Keep in mind the error is possibly the most misleading statistic in sports.  You can commit one making an incredible play on a smashed ground ball, then pick up an E5 for making a bad throw you really shouldn't have been making in the first place.  Yet you don't receive an error for a infield pop up that lands between two fielders because neither one of them called for the ball.  That's a hit because there's no place in baseball for the needed statistic of a "team error," and errors of omission (like throwing to the wrong base) aren't considered errors either.  Basically I'm saying fielding statistics lie, dammit.  

Our late inning ERA isn't going to be great if you look at the season long stat as well (don't have it in front of me).  The Gator game alone would blow that of proportion, and even 18 games in the sample size would be too small.  The bully for sure passes the eye test however Brad, they're deep and have plenty of options you feel comfortable going to late in a game.  

And as Wags said, 1.50 the last 6 is a good number.  Higgins pitched 2.1 very well last night, including working out of a jam in the 6th, but hit a wall starting the 9th.  Sanford came in with two on and a two run lead with none out and got the save.  That's how you have to do it in college baseball... go with who's hot, then go with who's next when hot runs out of gas.  You can do that when you've got plenty of arms and only play 4 games a week.    

[JoeB]

Here's what I've been able to come up with.  In our 19 games so far, we've given up 50 runs in innings 7,8. and 9.  Out of those 50 runs, 36 are earned.  This is for 56 innings of work.  Normally it would be 57 innings, but the loss at Stetson meant we didn't have to pitch the ninth inning, so work with 56 innings.

[JoeB]

Not sure if I did it correctly, but does that make the ERA for those innings as 6.00?

[Brad]

5.68 assuming 57 innings...not too good...if those numbers are right.

[Wags]

Using your stats in the thread, I got 5.79 ERA

ER / IP * 9 --> 36 / 56 * 9

So, explicating from this fact shows that we give up, on average, 2 (earned) runs every game when we can least afford it. However, this does not take in to account the fact that the bullpen alignment has undergone much change since the beginning of the year, when many of these runs were scored.

Yuri is now working as a long guy / spot starter (and doing well, I think) and Shawn has taken over the 8th/Closer role. This combined with Davis throwing very well as a lefty in the 7th/8th pushes that number into something much more manageable at the end of the game.

[Brad]

oops, I assumed 57 out of simplicity when JoeB said 56