FanPost

GOG 2011 #03

The A's are limping along after another series loss (but a pretty sweet performance from Cahill, who has suddenly decided to become a strikeout pitcher) but they now get to face another 2-4 team in Minnesota. In fact, things have been going even less well for the Twins, who have scored three fewer runs than Oakland while allowing nine more (some of that could be because they had to play a three game series at New York). The Rangers can't stay perfect forever, so let's hope that this is the weekend where the A's leave their slow start behind and start gaining ground in the AL West.

I'm still shaking out the cobwebs for this GOG business, so we still don't have any results posted for rounds 1 and 2. I'll get caught up on that this weekend, so just get your answers posted here. The series starts a 1:10 pacific, so there's not much time to spare!

GOG 2011 #03 -- Terrible Twins

UPDATE -- answers (courtesy of paris7) added below, in bold

  1. Predict the series outcome. [3 points] 2-1 Oakland
  2. The power stroke has been nice, but I really hope that Josh Willingham doesn't continue to strike out in 50% of his at-bats (he has 11 Ks in 22 AB so far!). Predict how many strickouts! [2 points] 3 strikeouts
  3. Shutdowns and meltdowns are a pretty interesting and intuitive way of looking at relief pitcher performance, introduced about a year ago on fangraphs. The idea is simple -- if a relief pitcher improves the team's win probability by at least 6%, they get a shutdown; if they decrease the win probability by at least 6%, they get a meltdown. Needless to say, the Oakland bullpen has compiled more meltdowns than shutdowns this season, with Breslow (2 meltdowns, 0 shutdowns) leading the way. Pick an Athletics reliever who records a shutdown against the Twins, and one who suffers a meltdown. [3 points each]Shutdowns: Balfour, Fuentes (2); Meltdowns: no one!
  4. Coco Crisp has been keeping things exciting on offense (someone has to, right?) with two doubles, two triples(!), and three stolen bases. Predict how many extra base hits and stolen bases for the A's leadoff hitter. [2 points each] 0 XBH, 1 SB
  5. So far in 2011, Mauer is hitting just .222 with 3 BB and no extra base hits. I'm sure he will turn it around, but hopefully that won't happen in this series. Predict his hits, walks, and runs batted in. [2 points each] 3 H, 0 BB, 1 RBI
  6. Starting pitching has been the bright spot for the A's so far (their starting pitchers have accumulated 1.1 WAR, which is tied with the Rays and White Sox and is behind only the the Blue Jays and Rangers). The opposite has been true for the Twins, whose starting pitchers have already contributed half a win below replacement (worst in the majors). Which team gets more innings from their starters? Which teams starting pitchers record more Ks? Which teams starters allow fewer earned runs? [1 point each] Oakland for all
  7. Twins second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka suffered a broken leg yesterday after Nick Swisher slid into him while trying to break up a double play. Predict hits, runs, and double plays turned for Nishioka's replacement(s). [2 points each] 1 H, 0 R, 0 DP

Go Oakland!

Scores

Congratulations to the winner -- buddahead9 with 19(!) points

  • mean = 10.6 points
  • standard deviation = 3.06 points
  • median = 10 points
Name # of GOG This GOG Total points GOG wins
Score Rank Score Rank Count Rank
buddahead9 2 19 1 25 6 1 1
vignette17 3 17 2 35 1 1 1
nevermoor 3 14 3 31 3 1 1
Jason Hunt 1 14 3 14 20 0 8
PDXAthleticsfan 3 13 5 32 2 0 8
colin 3 12 6 23 10 0 8
thewhizkid 3 12 6 28 5 1 1
GoAs 3 12 6 21 13 0 8
Berry Jo 3 11 9 24 9 0 8
SoCal As Fan 2 11 9 20 14 0 8
danmerqury 3 11 9 25 6 0 8
streetfan 3 10 12 22 11 0 8
UrgentMirth 3 10 12 25 6 0 8
my_cat_max 1 10 12 10 25 0 8
doctorK 2 10 12 16 18 0 8
oblique 2 9 16 11 24 0 8
cuppingmaster 3 9 16 22 11 0 8
lenscrafters 3 9 16 31 3 1 1
micdog2001 3 8 19 20 14 0 8
CmdrKhraanik 1 8 19 8 28 0 8
longtimeasfan 3 8 19 17 16 0 8
paris7 3 8 19 17 16 0 8
stranahanahan 3 8 19 15 19 0 8
weenmAN 1 7 24 7 30 0 8
Athletix Man 3 5 25 14 20 0 8
twinkle toes 1 DNP DNP 8 28 0 8
harenshair 1 DNP DNP 0 37 0 8
shudiddy 2 DNP DNP 9 27 0 8
OpeningDay85 1 DNP DNP 2 36 0 8
mikev 1 DNP DNP 0 37 0 8
A'sBowlingLeague 1 DNP DNP 3 34 0 8
Kyli 1 DNP DNP 13 22 1 1
Gaijin_Suketto 1 DNP DNP 3 34 0 8
Where's My Burrito? 2 DNP DNP 10 25 0 8
gambler 1 DNP DNP 13 22 1 1
OnlybuyBeaneJerseys 1 DNP DNP 7 30 0 8
Leopold Bloom 1 DNP DNP 7 30 0 8
gratefuldude 1 DNP DNP 6 33 0 8