When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
They win 33% of their games, all against MLB teams. Other comparable MLB teams today: Royals at 34%, Nationals at 35%, and Reds at 36%.
Right now they are really struggling, with two recent losing streaks of 9 in a row and 10 in a row.
However, last year the A's finished 86-76, in 2020 they finished 36-24, in 2019 they finished 97-65, in 2018 also 97-65, in 2017 75-87 (46%), in 2016 69-93 (43%), in 2015 68-94 (42%), in 2014 88-74, and in 2013 96-66.
So, yeah, a pretty bad season, but their track record says they ain't "minor league" and in fact get to the postseason every now and then (2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, and 2020). All the while, because they have abysmal attendance, they spend about 1/4 on salaries that the Boston Red Sox spend.
Of course, as Brad Pitt says at the end of the movie Moneyball, the A's can't seem to win it all. The Sox, meanwhile, have won more WS, 4, in the John Henry era--more than any other MLB franchise.
So, while I really like what the Sox have accomplished, I also find it hard to sneer at the A's when they are having a down year.
Track record? Is this the same A’s roster that played last year? Seems to me I don’t see Olsen, and Chapman on the team this year just to name two. What happened in past years has nothing to do with this years team who are now a minor league team with a minor league payroll. I’m surprised you didn’t throw in the 72-74 A’s. There is no comparison at all to this A’s team to teams in the last 10 years, and they are struggling, because they got rid of good talent, and don’t have much left. Reggie Jackson is not coming through that door anymore, and old Jed Lowrie is, so focus on that track record all you want, because the A’s don’t have much else, and will get worse in the coming months.
Last edited by Old Red; 06-16-2022 at 10:07 AM.
It's not just the Wink case. The vast majority of SP'ers do better with anyone-but-Vaz. Small sample sizes, unbalanced sample size and laeger/balanced sample sizes almost all show the same results, pitcher-by- pitcher, year-by-year or careers as a whole.
You can debate or dispute the ability of a catcher to make a significant difference, but the facts are the facts.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
My samples have always shown, pitcher by pitcher, that the majority of pitchers do better with Plawecki or Leon than Vaz. Many of the sample sizes are small and or unbalanced, but they show the same thing every year and over careers.
This year's is no different. It shows 5 of our top IP pitchers doing better with Plawecki than Vaz. Only Houck has done better with Vaz, and Pivetta has no IP with Plawecki.
The career numbers I listed, here, show 4 of the top 6 with better CERAs with Plawecki.
Show me how my numbers never show this.
I'll wait.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
I'm not high on Plawecki. My beef is with Vaz's steady record of getting less from our starters than his back-up does. It's been the same since Leon, and maybe before (Hanigan). Swihart was the one catcher who got worse, but the sample sizes were very small. (Salty was no pitcher whisperer, either.)
I've also been very open about the fact that RP'ers seem to be more 50-50.
Here are the Sox IP Leaders since 2014 (200+ IP):
Porcello
4.19 w Leon
4.96 w Vaz
(3.95 w Hanigan)
ERod
4.05 Leon
4.18 Vaz
(3.78 Hanigan)
Price
2.96 v Leon
4.27 w Vaz
(0.00 w Hanigan but only 9 IP)
Sale
2.79 Leon
4.12 Vaz
Buch
2.83 VMart
3.01 Leon
3.95 Salty
4.44 Vaz
(5.12 w VTek)
Eovaldi
2.99 Plawecki
4,53 Leon
4.55 Vaz
(4.85 Salty)
Barnes
3.83 Leon
3.96 Vaz
(4.50 Swihart, 5.93 Hanigan, 6.23 Plawecki in 17 IP)
Kelly
3.23 Vaz
4.63 Leon
4.83 Hanigan
Wright
2.94 Hanigan
3.49 Vaz
(4.06 Swihart)
Pomeranz
3.32 Holiday
3.92 Vaz
6.02 Leon
Workman
3.04 Vaz
3.83 Leon
4.03 AJP
Hembree
3.42 Leon
4.26 Vaz
(2.15 Swihart)
Pivetta
2.87 Plawecki
4.24 Vaz
Early returns show Wacha and Hill do better w/o Vaz, but Houck & Whitlock do better with Vaz.
Out of the top 13 pitchers by IP, Vaz has gotten the best from the number 8 (Kelly) and number 11 (Workman).
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
How about COPSA?
OPS Against by Catcher:
Vaz
.596 Pivetta 278 PAs Against
.716 Whitlock 183
.813 Hill 169
.694 Wacha 131
.501 Houck 123
.807 Eovaldi
RP'ers
.616 Davis 69
.634 Sawamura 69
.843 Diekman 66
.672 Robles 65
.637 Strahm 56 Ahead by .009
.810 Barnes 55
.492 Schreiber 53
.898 Brasier 53
.606 Valdez
.846 Crawford 37
.436 Danish 33
1.167 Winckowski 18
Plawecki
.693 Eovaldi 208
.378 Wacha 82
.865 Houck 50
.487 Hill 36
.513 Winckowski 20
.077 Whitlock 13
N/A Pivetta 0
RP'ers
.773 Danish
.761 Brasier 40
.669 Crawford 38
.628 Diekman 36
.550 Davis 35
.762 Barnes 21
.170 Schreiber 18
.646 Strahm 16
.414 Sawamura 15
.856 Robles 10
.400 Valdez 5
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?