Wednesday, 4/29

QPA stats from the Marlins-Mets game 4/29

Marlins
Bonifacio- 2/5 (K, H, 3-4, 5-3, 9P 2B) [1,12]
Maybin- 2/5 (3B, K, F9, 1-3, 3 R2-3) [1,3]
Helms- 2/5 (SF RBI, P3, H, 5-3, FO5) [3,1]
Cantu- 3/4 (HR RBI, BB, P6, 6P BB) [1,1,12]
Hermida- 2/4 (P6, P6, 2B, 9P BB) [1,12]
Paulino- 2/4 (3, E5, 7P K, Sac Bunt R1-2,2-3) [2,3]
Ross- 1/4 (K, K, FO3, H 2RBI) [1]
Amezaga- 4/4 (6P 6-3, IBB, IBB, 7P F7) [2,1,1,2]
Johnson- 1/3 (6P K, F7, K) [2]
Carroll- 0/1 (P6)



Totals: 19/39 (48.72%)

Mets
Reyes- 4/5 (6P 3B, 3-1, BB, 7P F7, 6P BB) [12,1,2,12]
Cora- 2/5 (Sac Bunt RBI, E5, K, 8P H, 4-3) [3,12]
Murphy- 2/4 (IF H, P4, F7, Sac Bunt R1-2) [1,3]
Sheffield- 1/1 (BB) [1]
Beltran- 3/5 (F7, H, 6-3, 5-3 R2-3, 6P BB) [1,3,12]
Wright- 3/5 (6P K, GIDP 5-4-3, 7P H, IBB, K) [2,1,1]
Church- 1/5 (F9, 3, F7, 3-1, FC3 R1-2/2-3) [3]
Tatis- 4/5 (H, H, HR, 6-3, HBP) [1,1,1,1]
Castro- 2/4 (6P H, 6P H, K, P4) [12,12]
Santos- 0/1 (P6)
Santana- 2/3 (Sac Bunt R1-2, Sac Bunt R1-2, 6-3) [3,3]
Reed- 1/1 (3B) [1]



Totals: 25/44 (56.82%)

Marlins Quality Player of the Day: Jorge Cantu

Analysis: It was a tale of two offenses today for both teams. For the Marlins, a strong start in the first inning turned into Johan Santana quickly and without a doubt getting more comfortable as the game progressed. This culminated in an incredibly dominant 7th inning where the Marlins were retired 1-2-3 on 8 pitches. As soon as the bullpen came in, however, the Marlins' offense took off. A 5/5 performance in the 8th inning delivered the turnaround blow (the 2 RBI single by Cody Ross) and the pressure was still there in the ninth inning despite not being able to punch through an insurance run.

For the Mets, their struggles were less based on the pitcher and more on the part of the lineup due up. In another one of those baseball days, a midweek matinee presented a lineup that got the majority of their production from their 7 and 8 hitters. The only steep (sustained) ascent was from the 5th to 7th innings where they took a 3-2 lead and forced the Marlins to head to the pen once in the span and immediately after the span ended once more.

Tuesday, 4/28

QPA states from the Marlins-Mets game on Tuesday, April 28th

Marlins
Bonifacio- 2/5 (3, K, K, H, H) [1,1]
Maybin- 3/5 (K, 7P 4-1, IF H, 5-3 R 3-H, FO 5) [2,1,3]
Baker- 3/5 (4-3, 6P BB, 6P FC 5-4, BB, 4-3) [12,2,1]
Cantu- 4/4 (BB, HR, 6P H, HR) [1,1,12,1]
Hermida- 1/4 (PO6, 7P 4-3, E5, 3) [2]
Uggla- 2/4 (FC 5-4, F8, 8P F8, 6P 4-3) [2,2]
Ross- 1/4 (K, 9P 6-3, K, 6-3) [2]
Amezaga- 3/4 (H, 4-3, 6P BB, 7P 6-3) [1,12,2]
Nolasco- 1/2 (SAC B, K) [3]
Gload- 0/1 (F8)
Carroll- 0/1 (5-3)

1st Inning- 0/3
2nd Inning- 1/4
3rd Inning- 3/4
4th Inning- 4/5
5th Inning- 0/3
6th Inning- 5/6
7th Inning- 5/7
8th Inning- 2/3
9th Inning- 1/4



Totals: 21/39 (53.85%)

Mets
Reyes- 1/5 (K, F6, 5-3, 7P K, K) [2]
Cora- 4/5 (7P BB, H, 8P 2B, 6P K, F7) [12,1,12,2]
Beltran- 2/4 (H, F7, IBB, K) [1,1]
Sheffield- 1/4 (3B, F9, K, P6) [1]
Wright- 1/4 (K, K, H, 6-3) [1]
Church- 1/4 (BB, F8, F8, F7) [1]
Tatis- 2/4 (6-4, 7P 5-3, 5-3, H) [2,1]
Santos- 1/4 (H, K, K, F7) [1]
Hernandez- 2/2 (SAC B, 7P F9) [3,2]
Murphy- 1/1 (H) [1]
Reed- 0/1 (3)

1st Inning- 4/7
2nd Inning- 3/5
3rd Inning- 0/3
4th Inning- 2/3
5th Inning- 3/6
6th Inning- 2/4
7th Inning- 1/3
8th Inning- 1/4
9th Inning- 0/3



Totals: 16/38 (42.11%)

Marlins Quality Player of the Day: Jorge Cantu

Analysis: Outside of the aberration in the fifth inning (where Amezaga, Nolasco, and Bonifacio were retired 1-2-3 on 11 pitches) the Marlins' offense was on a climb from the beginning of the game until they got into the bullpen when the quality plate appearances were strung together and turned into runs. It's not really a surprise that the Marlins' O followed QPA from their top two hitters. In the 6th inning, Maybin lead off with a QPA 1 (Infield Hit) and forced Livan into the stretch, where he lost his comfort and made Jerry Manuel go to the pen after just one out had been recorded in the inning. In the 7th inning, Amezaga lead off the inning with a 6 pitch walk that dislodged the control of Sean Green. Emilio Bonifacio followed with a hit that moved Amezaga to third, where he would score on a ground out from Maybin. The table was set for a Baker BB and Jorge Cantu's second HR of the game that gave the Fish a lead they would never relinquish.

On the pitching side, the Mets started strong with 7 of their first 12 AB registering as QPAs. However, Ricky Nolasco settled down and would allow just 5 more QPA over the next three innings to keep the Marlins in the game. The bullpen was superb - 2 hits allowed with 5 Ks and no walks over 4 IP. When you dive in and see how they got those outs, it's even more impressive. The pen registered only two opposing AB that were 6+ pitches. Against the combination of Burke Badenhop, Dan Meyer, Kiko Calero, Leo Nuñez, and closer Matt Lindstrom, the Mets had a QPA % of 28.57% (4/14).

Monday, 4/27

QPA Stats from the Marlins-Mets game on Monday, April 27th:

Marlins
Bonifacio- 3/5 (6P E7, 7P 6-3, F8, H, K) [2,2,1]
Baker- 4/4 (4-3 R 2-3, BB, 6P BB, 1-3 R 1-2) [3,1,12,3]
Ramirez- 1/1 (8P HBP) [12]
Gload- 1/3 (F9, F8, 10P BB) [12]
Cantu- 2/4 (H, K, 6-3, F9 R 2-3) [1,3]
Uggla- 1/4 (6P K, K, F8, 6-3) [2]
Hermida- 1/4 (K, FO5, F8, 6P BB) [12]
Ross- 0/4 (FO3, FO2, 5-3, FC 5-4)
Amezaga- 1/4 (4-3, BB, F7, K) [1]
Sanchez- 1/2 (4-3, SAC) [3]
Carroll- 0/1 (F7)
Helms- 1/1 (8P BB) [12]

1st Inning- 5/6
2nd Inning- 0/3
3rd Inning- 2/4
4th Inning- 0/3
5th Inning- 3/5
6th Inning- 0/3
7th Inning- 0/3
8th Inning- 4/5
9th Inning- 2/5

Totals: 16/37 (43.24%)

Mets
Reyes- 1/4 (3, 4-3, PO4, 6P F9) [2]
Castillo- 2/3 (BB, 4-3, IF H) [1,1]
Cora- 0/1 (4-3)
Beltran- 1/4 (H, F8, K, 6-3) [1]
Sheffield- 2/4 (H, F8, 5-3, 6P K) [1,2]
Wright- 3/4 (H, PO3, 6P 5-3, 3B) [1,2,1]
Church- 3/4 (6P K, H, K, SF R 3-H) [2,1,3]
Tatis- 2/4 (BB, H, 5-3, F7) [1,1]
Santos- 1/4 (GS, 1-3, K, 6-3) [1]
Maine- 0/2 (6-3, 6-3)
Murphy- 1/1 (3B) [1]

1st Inning- 7/9
2nd Inning- 0/3
3rd Inning- 2/5
4th Inning- 1/4
5th Inning- 1/3
6th Inning- 2/4
7th Inning- 1/3
8th Inning- 2/4
9th Inning- No PA

Totals: 16/35 (45.71%)

Marlins Quality Player of the Day: John Baker

Trying to Quantify Productive Outs

One of the things that I've been working on lately is a way of quantifying the so called "little things" that play such a pivotal role in who wins and who loses baseball games. I've floated the term "Quality At-Bat" for a long time. What I actually sat down and decided to work on, though, is what I call the Quality Plate Appearance.

I'll be the first to admit it's not a perfect stat. It is, like every other stat that exists, an imperfect system designed by an imperfect creature. It is very much a work in progress and just the tip of the iceberg of what I hope will be an attempt to quantify what I feel are the four areas of baseball which lack significant statistical quantification.

To test the statistic, I ran the numbers on all of the Marlins' hitters. Some notes on the process here:

1- Stats are updated through today (4/26/09) to reflect all plate appearances
2- At Bats by pitchers were not tallied up
3- I've yet to take a "team average" QPA number, because I haven't done a team analysis yet
4- I split up PH stats for our four main bench guys (Gload, Carroll, Amezaga, Helms). However, I didn't think of this until late in the analysis and I did the starters first, so it's not available for the others yet. It's also the only split I have so far. I'll expand on this - promise.

Without further adieu, the stat itself:

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

What is a Quality Plate Appearance?
A Quality Plate Appearance is achieved through one of the following:

1. A plate appearance that results in a hit, walk, or hit-by-pitch
2. A plate appearance where the batter sees six or more pitches
3. A plate appearance where a batter either drives in a run or moves a runner into scoring position

NOTE: A PLAYER CANNOT RECEIVE A QPA FOR A PLAY WHICH RESULTS IN MORE THAN ONE OUT. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS IS STRIKE 'EM OUT/THROW 'EM OUT, BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HIT INTO A DP

The results, through today's game, are under here. Acronyms:
PA- Plate Appearances
QPA- Quality Plate Appearances
QPA%- Quality Plate Appearance Percentage (QPA/PA * 100)