Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - 26 May 2008: Strange But True

26 May 2008: Strange But True

I got forty red white and blue shoestrings
and a thousand telephones that don't ring
Do you know where I can get rid of these things?

Just some dumb lists to share before I head off to the ballpark.

In the happy buzz that surrounded Jon Lester's no-hitter, we were reminded regularly that the last Red Sox southpaw to throw a no-hitter was Mel Parnell, more than 50 years ago.

Nothing too unusual about that - after all, the Mets have never found anyone who could throw a no-hitter (at least not while they were working for the Mets, anyway.) But what really got my attention was the parenthetical note that Parnell is the Red Sox all-time leader in games started by a left-handed pitcher. He's also the last Red Sox southpaw to win 20 games in a season.

Mel Parnell? Who started 232 games for Boston? Their all-time leader? I'll bet the Blue Jays have someone who can beat that.

So I looked it up, and indeed they do. The Mariners, who also started up in 1977, actually have two southpaws who started more than 232 games for them. The only teams that who can't find a leftie who can beat Parnell's 232 starts for the Red Sox are: a) the four teams who started up in the 1990s; and b) two of the 1960s expansion group

Because of the Wall, the Red Sox have historically been leery about having left-handed pitchers around. There was that brief period in the 1980s when they actually employed three left-handed starters (Hurst, Tudor, and Ojeda), but all three were soon pitching (and pitching very well indeed) in the National League.

Whereas the Yankees have always looked at their ballpark, and said "send me some more southpaws."

The only teams that who can't find a LHP who can beat Parnell's 232 starts for the Red Sox are: a) the four teams who started up in the 1990s; and b) two of the 1960s expansion group

Here's that list.

Braves - Warren Spahn (635), Tom Glavine (522 and counting)
Phillies - Steve Carlton (499), Chris Short (301), Curt Simmons (263)
Tigers - Mickey Lolich (459), Hal Newhouser (373), Earl Whitehill (287), Frank Tanana (243)
Yankees - Whitey Ford (438), Andy Pettitte (329 and counting), Ron Guidry (323), Lefty Gomez (319), Herb Pennock (268), Fritz Peterson (265)
Twins - Jim Kaat (433), Frank Viola (259), Case Patten (237)
Giants - Carl Hubbell (431), Kirk Rueter (277), Mike McCormick (252)
Royals - Paul Splitorff (392)
White Sox - Billy Pierce (390), Doc White (301), Wilbur Wood (286), Mark Buehrle (244), Thornton Lee (232)
Baltimore - Dave McNally (384), Mike Flanagan (328), Scott McGregor (309), Mike Cuellar (283)
LA Angels - Chuck Finley (379)
Pirates - Wilbur Cooper (371), Ed Morris (307), John Candelaria (271), Bob Veale (255),
Reds - Eppa Rixey (356), Tom Browning (298), Johnny Vander Meer (278), Joe Nuxhall (274)
Mets - Jerry Koosman (346), Sid Fernandez (250)
Dodgers - Claude Osteen (335), Fernando Valenzuela (320), Sandy Koufax (314), Johnny Podres (310), Nap Rucker (273)
Mariners - Jamie Moyer (323), Randy Johnson (266)
Cubs - Hippo Vaughn (270), Dick Ellsworth (236)
Houston - Bob Knepper (267)
Athletics - Lefty Grove (267), Rube Walberg (266), Vida Blue (262), Alex Kellner (239)
Padres - Randy Jones (253)
Rangers - Kenny Rogers (252)
Toronto - Jimmy Key (250)
Cardinals - Bill Sherdel (242)
Boston - Mel Parnell (232)
Arizona - Randy Johnson (217 and counting)
Brewers - Mike Caldwell (217)
Marlins - Dontrelle Willis (162)
Rockies - Jeff Francis (125 and counting)
Rays - Scott Kazmir (105 and counting)
Nationals - Jeff Fassero (100)

Did anyone ever realize that the St Louis Cardinals have never had much in the way of left-handed pitching? Bill Sherdel? there's a trivia question answer for everyone.

And what's up with the Expos/Nationals? Dead last?

While I was doing this I got to wondering which teams had the most 20 win seasons from left-handed pitchers. I expected the answer to be Atlanta, mainly because Warren Spahn had more 20 win seasons by himself than a most franchises have received from every southpaw who ever worked for them, and lately they've had Tom Glavine as well. But no - the Braves come in second. Here's that list:

Athletics (27) - Eddie Plank (7), Rube Waddell (4), Lefty Grove (7), Rube Walberg, Alex Kellner, Bobby Shantz, Vida Blue (3), Ken Holtzman, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito
Braves (21) - Fred Klobedanz, Irv Young, Warren Spahn (13), Tom Glavine (5), Denny Neagle
Giants (18) - Cy Seymour, Hooks Wiltse (2), Rube Marquard (2), Ferdie Schupp, Art Nehf (2), Carl Hubbell (5), Cliff Melton, Johnny Antonelli (2), Mike McCormick, Ron Bryant
Yankees (17) - Herb Pennock (2), Lefty Gomez (4), Ed Lopat, Whitey Ford (2), Fritz Peterson, Ron Guidry (3), Tommy John (2), Andy Pettitte (2)
White Sox (16) - Nick Altrock (2), Doc White, Reb Russell, ClauDe Williams (2), Dickie Kerr, Thornton Lee, Billy Pierce (2), Gary Peters, Wilbur Wood (3), Jim Kaat (2)
Reds (14) - Ted Breitenstein (2), Noodles Hahn (4), Jake Weimer, Slim Sallee, Eppa Rixey (3), Jim Merritt, Tom Browning, Danny Jackson
Browns/Orioles (12) - Lefty Stewart, Steve Barber, Dave McNally (4), Mike Cuellar (4), Mike Flanagan, Scott McGregor
Dodgers (12) - Nap Rucker, Dutch Reuther, Watty Clark, Preacher Roe, Sandy Koufax (3), Claude Osteen (2), Al Downing, Tommy John, Fernando Valenzuela
Tigers (11) - Ed Killian (2), Harry Coveleski (2), Hal Newhouser (4), Billy Hoeft, Mickey Lolich (2)
Pirates (11) - Frank Killen, Jesse Tannehill (3), Lefty Leifield, Wilbur Cooper (4), John Candelaria, John Smiley
Red Sox (10) - Jesse Tannehill (2), Ray Collins, Babe Ruth (2), Lefty Grove, Dave Ferriss (2), Mel Parnell (2)
Cardinals (9) - Ted Breitenstein, Bill Sherdel, Howie Pollet (2), Harry Brecheen, Harvey Haddix, Ray Sadecki, Steve Carlton, John Tudor
Phillies (9) - Wiley Piatt (2), Eppa Rixey, Chris Short, Steve Carlton (5)
Cubs (9) - Jake Weimer (2), Jack Pfiester, Hippo Vaughn (5), Dick Ellsworth
Indians (8) - Otto Hess, Vean Gregg (3), Joe Shaute, Gene Bearden, Herb Score, Sam McDowell
Senators/Twins (5) - Earl Whitehill, Jim Kaat, Jerry Koosman, Frank Viola, Johan Santana
Mariners (3) - Randy Johnson, Jamie Moyer (2)
Diamondbacks (2) - Randy Johnson (2)
Padres (2) - Randy Jones (2)
Brewers (2) - Mike Caldwell, Teddy Higuera
Mets (2) - Jerry Koosman, Frank Viola
Marlins (1) - Dontrelle Willis
Blue Jays (1) - David Wells
Expos/Nationals (1) - Ross Grimsley
Royals (1) - Paul Splitorff
Astros (1) - Mike Hampton
Angels (1) - Clyde Wright

As you might expect, I am only counting seasons since 1893, when the mound was moved back. This only affects two teams - the Braves who received a 20+ win season from Kid Madden, and the Cubs who got one from Gus Krock and five from Larry Corcoran. (Larry who? Larry Corcoran won 170 games over the five years 1880 to 1884, but won just seven more after his 25th birthday. According to BaseballLibrary.com, "Overwork, dissipation, and Bright's disease ended his career, and he was dead by the age of 32." I've noticed that Bright's Disease seems to have killed off a lot of old-time ballplayers. It's a now obsolete term for kidney disease, for an illness that would now be regarded as either chronic or acute nephritis.)

Anyway, three current franchises have never had a LHP win 20 games:

Senators/Rangers - record is 18 by Kenny Rogers
Rockies - record is 17 by Jeff Francis
Rays - record is 13 by Scott Kazmir

So if Warren Spahn had been a franchise, he'd rank seventh all-time.

Posted by Magpie on Monday, May 26 2008 @ 02:05 AM EDT.

26 May 2008: Strange But True | 28 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

92-93 - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 02:49 AM EDT (#185919) #

Not so strange, but true - the Jays are 13-5 when Barajas starts behind the plate, 14-20 when Zaun does.

brent - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 07:56 AM EDT (#185921) #

Game 51- WPA heroes McGowan (5)*, Ryan (10), Downs (8), Barajas (5) WPA let downs Hill (16), Scutaro (6)

Geoff - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 08:43 AM EDT (#185922) #

but how would the list look if organized by city rather than franchise?

braden - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 09:11 AM EDT (#185924) #

Old friend Josh Banks picked up his first ML victory as he went six scoreless in the Padres 18-inning victory. As has been said before, if he's going to succeed anywhere, PETCO's probably his best bet.

Magpie - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 10:06 AM EDT (#185925) #

how would the list look if organized by city rather than franchise?

I'm not even going to touch the starts by southpaws! As for the 20 game winners, and you can probably figure that out yourselves from the list of each franchises 20 game winners. Spahn is the only guy who overlaps - he had four 20 win seasons in Boston and nine in Milwaukee.

So the city of New York would have the most - between the Giants, Yankees, and Mets they can point to 35. If you like, you can add another 4 from Brooklyn. Philadelphia slips to second with 30, and Chicago has 25. Boston has 16, Cincinnati has 14, and the Town of Warren Spahn is next, beating out St Louis, Los Angeles, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, etc.

Among individual teams, the Philadelphia A's would still top the list with 21, even though they've been gone for more than 50 years. The Yankees move up to second place, and the White Sox and New York Giants tie for third. Cincinnati would be next with 14, followed by the Warren Spahns.

And although four different franchises have played in Washington: the NL Senators from 1891 to 1899, the AL Senators from 1901 to 1960; the second AL Senators from 1961 to 1972, and the NL Nationals - Earl Whitehill is the only lefty to win 20 games for Washington, way back in 1933.

Mike Green - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 10:17 AM EDT (#185926) #

It's true about the Cardinals and lefties. They had a chance if they had hung on to Carlton.

The four O's lefties of the late 60s-70s remind us of the interaction between pitching and defence. They were all good pitchers, but having Robinson and Belanger on the left side of the infield (and Blair in centerfield) made it a very comfortable place to be.

Magpie - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 10:26 AM EDT (#185927) #

Spahn's last game was on Oct 1 1965 - at age 44, he pitched a third of an inning in relief against the Reds and allowed an unearned run. It was also the last game in the majors for his very young (21) teammate, Masanori Murakami (who got tagged for a two run homer by Pete Rose.)

Mike D - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 12:20 PM EDT (#185933) #

Mags, I wanted to draft an on-topic response, but a quick note on tragic breaking news: Geremi Gonzalez, killed by lightning. Seriously.

Dewey - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 01:49 PM EDT (#185937) #

A splendid way to begin one's internet day�with a Magpie list. Especially one which brings back memories of Fred Klobedanz and Ferdie Schupp, even Noodles Hahn! (Too bad Gus Krock had to be among the pre-1893 set.) They just don't make em like that anymore.

Thomas - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 01:52 PM EDT (#185938) #

The Star article states the Jays released Gonzalez at the end of spring training, but that didn't sound right to me, as I remembered him pitching for Syracuse before leaving for Japan via one of those clauses where if you aren't on the major league roster by a certain date you can declare free agency. Baseball Cube confirms that Gonzalez made five starts for Syracuse last year, posting a 2-1 record and a 2.78 ERA.

rpriske - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 03:15 PM EDT (#185939) #

Random observation...

The Jays are 7-0 (with one game postponed) on Sundays so far this season.

So you know which day of the week to head down to the park if you want to cheer!

(The worst day is Tuesday at 2-6)

Mike Green - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 03:28 PM EDT (#185940) #

Three HBPs from Marcum in 7 innings is quite uncharacteristic. Were the KC hitters working on their Ron Hunts, or was it pure fluke?

Chuck - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 03:35 PM EDT (#185941) #

Three HBPs from Marcum in 7 innings is quite uncharacteristic.

I believe it was actually 3 HBPs in a 4-batter stretch, the final one being Guillen on an 0-2 count.

scottt - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 04:20 PM EDT (#185943) #

While Gonzalez was reported to have died at the beach, I wondered about people hit by lightning at a baseball game.

I found this:

Special to The New York Times.

August 15, 1911, Tuesday

Ten persons were stunned this afternoon by a bolt of lightning which struck the grand stand at the baseball park. Warne B. Bratton, Dr. Walter De Hart, William Uhleman, Walter and Kirk Braden, and James Barker may die.

John Northey - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 04:54 PM EDT (#185948) #

Well, the Yankees lost so the Jays now are 2 full games ahead of the last place Yankees and 1 1/2 ahead of Baltimore. 3 back of Boston for the WC and 3 1/2 behind division leading Tampa Bay (that just sounds so weird). Boston and Tampa play later tonight.

Things certainly could be a heck of a lot worse. I figured if the Jays were 500 at the end of May they'd be in good shape and things are hopeful. 3 in Oakland and 2 in LA to end the month with the Jays 2 games over 500.

June has 4 off days, which should help keep the rotation fresh, 26 games.

Games against teams currently under 500 - total of 16 games...
3 vs the last place Yankees (never get sick of that line)
4 against the horrid Seattle Mariners (18-33)
3 vs Milwaukee
3 vs Pittsburgh
3 vs Cincinnati (last place)

Games against teams over 500 - total of 10 games...
3 vs Baltimore
3 vs the first place Cubs
3 vs Atlanta
1 vs the Angels

Not a bad situation. The 3 vs the above 500 Baltimore vs the 3 vs the last place Yankees evens out regardless of using pre-season or real season stats. 10 games against last place teams and 10 against 500+ teams, sound pretty good for making a run. Wells and Eckstein should be around for a chunk of it which should help. McDonald might also return at some point. Anyone know Wolfe's status?

July has a ton of off days (the All-Star break) mixed with divisional play (16 games vs all but the Red Sox) and a few games against Seattle (5) and the Angels (3). By the end of July we'll know if there is any reason for JP to be worried about his job, or if he should be looking to make a big trade to improve for a push to the playoffs.

August has 1/2 of the month spent battling the 3 teams the Jays have to beat - Boston, the Yankees, and the Rays. September could be a killer though as they play only teams that are at or above 500 right now (Minnesota and Baltimore could easily be well under 500 by then though as could the White Sox if their magic stops). Fun times ahead.

Magpie - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 05:03 PM EDT (#185950) #

Anyone know Wolfe's status?

He's started a rehab assignment, pitched a scoreless inning for Dunedin yesterday.

brent - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 05:33 PM EDT (#185951) #

Game 52- WPA heroes Marcum (7), Zaun (6), Scutaro (6), Overbay (9) WPA let down Stairs (13)

uglyone - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 05:42 PM EDT (#185952) #

Well, this is shaping up to be a key road trip.

We just went through our longest road trip of the year (a 10-gamer, on which we went 6-4 v. CLE, MIN, and PHI), and we're about to head off on our 2nd longest road trip of the year (a 9-gamer).

This is the last 3-series road trip of the season - we don't have another road trip longer than 2 series the rest of the way. This is our third 3-series road trip of the season already (we went 2-7 on the first one). I guess it's nice to get them all out of the way early, though.

It's funny....we were just getting back up to evening up our schedule so far (26 home games, 27 road games so far)....and now we head out for 9 on the road. When we get back, we'll at least be able to look forward to a more home-heavy schedule the rest of the way. We should also be able to look forward to Eck and Mac being back by the end of the trip at the latest....and by that point, Verno's return should be on the horizon as well.

But it's a helluva road trip - 2 west coast series against two of the best teams in baseball so far this year (OAK, LAA), and then finishing up against NYY.

If we can pull off a winning record on this trip, we'll be in very nice position when we get back. But the important thing is to avoid a really BAD trip....going 2-7 or something on this trip will really ruin the good momentum we have going for us right now. Less than 4-5 on the trip would be a real dissappointment. A 5-4 or 6-3 trip would be a very nice result.

scottt - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 11:00 PM EDT (#185961) #

Maybe not a bad time to visit the Yankees. They'll probably turn things around when Posada comes back and Chamberlain moves to the rotation. That's still a week away and a lot of things could happen until then.

I hope they don't rush Wells. He doesn't add much to the team if he's not near 100%.

greenfrog - Monday, May 26 2008 @ 11:58 PM EDT (#185964) #

Nice to see that FoxSports' online writer Aram Tolegian (in this week's Power Rankings) is paying close attention to the Jays:

"The Jays took advantage of a late-week set against the Royals by sweeping the series while allowing just two runs in the three games."

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/powerRankings

(Can someone explain how to post a link again?)

brent - Tuesday, May 27 2008 @ 02:35 AM EDT (#185966) #

http://www.athleticsnation.com/2008/5/26/535892/billy-beane-visits-athleti

The new Billy Beane interview (part I) is up at Athletics Nation.

Geoff - Tuesday, May 27 2008 @ 11:38 AM EDT (#185977) #

(Can someone explain how to post a link again?)

First step is to copy the URL to the clipboard. I expect most are comfortable with that. You select the address text and then use Ctrl-C or Edit > copy or right-click copy.
Then you move on to writing your message.
When you are ready to put in your link, think of what text you want to link. For example, you can make "Blue Jays" the text you link or you can just use http://www.bluejays.com/ as the text you link. Whatever you choose, select that text with your cursor. If you are going to use a single word, double clicking the word should select that word.
Now, you have the address you want to link copied into the clipboard, you are looking at the selected text in your message you want to link and now you are ready to make history of your confusion about creating hyperlinks. In the toolbar above the messsage window you will find many buttons. (If you don't see it you may have minimized it by clicking the hide arrow, click the arrow in the top left corner to unhide) From the left, you have a source button, an undo curly arrow, a redo arrow, and then a chain link icon, followed by a greyed out unlink chain icon, then a B for Bold an I for italics and so on. With your text selected and your address copied, click the chain icon.
A small window will pop up. All you must do is paste (or type) the address into the long URL field and click OK. (URL such as espn.com/baseball/article?id=234 and if you put in an address that includes 'http://' it will be automatically removed, since it is assumed for every link and is already added for you by the super smart idiot proof design) The window will close and your link will be ready for clicking. The text you selected will appear blue and underlined but will not be an active link in the comment text box. You may hit the preview button to see that the link is active, but be sure to right click the link to open in a new window. Not doing so may cause you to lose the message you typed out as you will be leaving the batters box and heading out into the world wide web.

Geoff - Tuesday, May 27 2008 @ 11:42 AM EDT (#185979) #

and if you find after creating your link that continuing typing is creating unending blue underlined text, yes that means all that text is part of your link.

To terminate the end of your linked text, you have the unlink icon to the right of the link icon.

greenfrog - Tuesday, May 27 2008 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#185998) #

Thanks for the instructions.

ANationalAcrobat - Tuesday, May 27 2008 @ 03:51 PM EDT (#186005) #

A slightly more simple method: (a href=WRITE LINK HERE) WRITE VISIBLE TEXT HERE (/a), only instead of parentheses, you use the greater/smaller than symbols, like this one >. It's done using HTML text.

Geoff - Tuesday, May 27 2008 @ 05:16 PM EDT (#186010) #

Certainly, if you are not using the HTML formatted option for Post Mode, you can write out your links in markup as <a href="http://bluejays.ca">Link text</a>.

You only need to understand the difference between post modes then. I've seen numerous times when folks write out the HTML markup expecting it to translate when they are using the wrong (default) post method (mode). But by now we've already confused so many people they will not attempt to continue, or so history suggests.

I presume since you are hesitant to write the actual markup characters, you are always writing in plain text mode, ANA?

Geoff - Tuesday, May 27 2008 @ 05:27 PM EDT (#186011) #

And if some folks don't want to frustrate themselves with making their addresses links, it's quite alright with me.

I've been using the Linkification add-on for Firefox for a couple years and it's taken any headache of following non-linked addresses to their logical destination. It's handy to have around and simple to use. Any string of text beginning with http:// or www will be recoginized by the add-on as a link. Double-click the text and away you go....

Of course, all the people who don't have Linkification may still curse you --- but they should know better. Writing markup language or clicking six times to make a link can be confusing. The world may be a better place if every web browser had Linkification.

ANationalAcrobat - Tuesday, May 27 2008 @ 05:50 PM EDT (#186012) #

I don't know which mode I use - whichever the default one is, I suppose. I just found that your explanation didn't work on my browser (or I was too dense to really understand it...) so I posted the HTML code, in case others have issues with it.

26 May 2008: Strange But True | 28 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.