Thursday, 17 May 2012

2012 Game 35

Highest Leverage PA:     4.2, PA #78, Guzman GDP vs Burnett, Padres' 9th.
Highest Clutch Value:    .165, PA #56, Desmond 2B vs Mikoleas, Nationals' 6th.
Lowest Opp. Clutch Val:  -.218, PA #78, Guzman GDP vs Burnett, Padres' 9th.
QMAX rating:             Hit Hard (6,3) for Detwiler.
Bullpen Award:           Hero's Palm for Burnett.
Batters' Leveraged Win Values:
Desmond        0.234
Zimmerman      0.169
Bernadina      0.135
Flores         0.081
Tracy          0.062
Ankiel         0.041
Nady          -0.007
Stammen       -0.024
Leon          -0.032
Detwiler      -0.042
Harper        -0.084
Espinosa      -0.108
LaRoche       -0.149
This was a very good result for the Nationals. They turned around from a heartbreaker in Cincinnati, went the next evening with not much rest after a night of travel to play in unpleasant conditions, and hung on in a ding-dong battle until they came out the winners. It speaks a lot of the character of this team. Unlike a lot of sabermetrically minded types, I put some value on what can't be measured, because in results like this, though we can't measure it, we can see it on display. Furthermore, it wasn't just one player who carried the team, but an effort involving the top and the bottom of the lineup, and even the chaps off the bench.

A word, though, about Ross Detwiler. I've been very excited about his start to this season, but it is a bad time for him to suffer a bit of a slump, with Wang's return from the disabled list closer every day. Although he continues to exhibit exemplary control, he has got knocked around a bit in his last two starts. I'm just a little worried.

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