Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Cleveland at Cincinnati | 13:10 ET
Carrasco (108.1 IP, 70 xFIP-) vs. Cueto (118.2 IP, 85 xFIP-)
As noted by FanGraphs contributor and doctor of jurisprudence Craig Edwards recently in these pages, Cincinnati right-hander Johnny Cueto — owing both to his impending free agency and also the the Reds’ current position along the win curve — is among the starters most likely to be traded before the July 31 non-waiver deadline. Hypothetically, that would allow Cueto to record three more starts (including this afternoon’s) for the club with which he originally signed out of the Dominican Republic. Three starts at most, that is — and possibly fewer than that. Today represents an opportunity to observe Cueto perhaps for the last time in Cincinnati uniform — and represents also the opportunity to observe in Carlos Carrasco one of the league’s most electric starting pitchers.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Cleveland Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Seattle at New York AL | 13:05 ET
Iwakuma (29.1 IP, 99 xFIP-) vs. Pineda (106.1 IP, 67 xFIP-)
Four of the league’s top-10 qualifiers by park-adjusted xFIP are scheduled to start today: Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Francisco Liriano, and Pineda. Among them, Pineda is the only one expected to participate in a game featuring two clubs (his own and his opponent’s) each currently possessing playoff odds between 10% and 90%. Which, that’s a reasonable way, probably, to measure the “urgency” or “leverage” of a game — i.e. by identifying those games which offer clubs in something resembling contention. On the other hand, it’s possible that a reader might find the Dodgers-Nationals game more compelling — that is, a game which features two clubs almost certain to qualify for the postseason. What one finds, ultimately, is that neither option is right, all is relative, and there’s little consequence to anything.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Seattle Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Texas at Houston | 20:10 ET
Perez (N/A) vs. McHugh (114.0 IP, 101 xFIP-)
Were Houston’s ballpark to feature not a retractable, but rather a permanent, roof like the one found on the club’s previous stadium, a good name for that facility would be — instead of Minute Maid Park or whatever — would be the Pleasure Dome, after the stately edifice decreed by Kubla Khan in Xanadu. First off, it would facilitate a deep sense of connection for the people of Houston to the Western literary tradition, engendering a sense of civic pride lacking in sprawling modern cities such as that one. Furthermore, it would serve as an accurate representation of what one might find inside that park — that is, a club which offers not only aesthetically appealing baseball but also (for the moment, at least) finds itself with a deliciously uncertain future apropos the postseason. Tonight, who the Astros face is the Texas Rangers and left-hander Martin Perez, expected to record his first start since last May.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Texas Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Los Angeles AL at Seattle | 16:10 ET
Heaney (20.1 IP, 81 xFIP-) vs. Walker (97.1 IP, 99 xFIP-)
Young Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney has produced, over his first three major-league starts, both a higher strikeout rate and lower walk rate than he had (before that) as a member of Triple-A Salt Lake. “Ought one expect that trend to continue?” is the sort of question a reader might reasonably ask the author, a person (the author) paid to cultivate ideas about professional baseball. “No,” is the probable answer, insofar as one ought not to expect anything — anything but disappointments proceeded by sorrows. In any case, this game represents an opportunity to observe Heaney’s virtues more closely.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Los Angeles AL Television?

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Houston at Tampa Bay | 16:10 ET
Keuchel (130.1 IP, 69 xFIP-) vs. Odorizzi (76.2 IP, 93 xFIP-)
It is sometimes said of certain jokes or other forms of copy that they “write themselves.” A regrettable instance of anthropomorphism, this — like all instances of anthropomorphism, that is, which don’t expressly involve a bulldog wearing a monocle and speaking in a posh British accent. Jokes and other forms of copy are incapable of writing themselves for a number of reasons, such as (one) they don’t have hands and (two) also no brain. Were text capable of writing itself, however, it would appear in this exact space and would read something to the effect of “By the methodology utilized by the author, the Houston Astros remain baseball’s most compelling and aesthetically appealing club. Indeed, in addition to their conspicuous youth and strength, the team now also possesses odds of reach the divisional series closer to 50% than any other team.”

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Tampa Bay Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
New York AL at Boston | 19:10 ET
Pineda (99.2 IP, 67 xFIP-) vs. Buchholz (110.0 IP, 81 xFIP-)
Following a loss to Tampa Bay on June 27, Boston’s probability of qualifying for the divisional series fell to roughly 8% by the methodology used at this site. After winning eight of ten, however, that same club’s odds have ascended to 23% by that same measure. The relative optimism of the latter figure is informed less by the Red Sox’ current record and more by their expected future performance. Consider: despite possessing the fourth-worst winning percentage in the American League, the club presently features the AL’s top projected rest-of-season winning percentage. That reliance on future performance adds considerable urgency to games like this one, against an immediate competitor for a playoff berth.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Boston Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Cincinnati at Miami | 19:10 ET
Undecided (N/A) vs. Fernandez (6.0 IP, 47 xFIP-)
For those among us who’ve studied the arts and/or spent time in the company of those who identify as artists, there’s little capable of inspiring more terror in the heart than an invitation to something called “a one-man show.” For those unfamiliar with the concept, a one-man show bears some resemblance to a stand-up comedy performance, except that it lasts longer and drinks are only served afterwards and also laughter is strictly forbidden.

One finds, however, that — despite its flaws — that the genre itself is probably less to blame for its shortcomings than those who practice it. Indeed, perhaps what’s required is merely to expand the sense of what is meant by the term “one-man show.” What one finds during a Jose Fernandez start, for example, might technically be regarded as a one-man show — owing to how Jose Fernandez is technically one man — and yet such events are the source of considerable pleasure.

This concludes the author’s brief but essential commentary on the nature of art.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Miami Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Houston at Cleveland | 19:10 ET
Straily (4.2 IP, 75 xFIP-) vs. Bauer (97.1 IP, 109 xFIP-)
This represents the third consecutive day on which the Houston-Cleveland game has been recognized as the day’s most compelling. Please note that it is not the author’s intention to endorse either club, specifically. Indeed, what one finds here isn’t the product of the author’s own judgment, at all, but rather of a series of algorithms designed to measure the likely aesthetic appeal of a game. And consider: have algorithms ever led people astray? Do algorithms harbor hurtful biases that hurt people? Was it an algorithm which bestowed upon Rob Carroll and not the present author the academic excellence award in fifth grade in Ms. Jones’ class, and then the author’s parents were like, “You let Rob beat you? Rob Carroll? Why do you even bother living?” No, is the answer in all three cases.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Cleveland Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Houston at Cleveland | 19:10 ET
Velasquez (25.2 IP, 116 xFIP-) vs. Kluber (118.2 IP, 66 xFIP-)
Talented Cleveland right-hander Corey Kluber faces a group of young men who, after crash-landing on an uninhabited island in the Pacific following a wartime evacuation, instead of descending into murderous anarchy — instead of doing that, proceeded rather to diligently train and practice baseball, eventually forming a club and joining Major League Baseball as the Houston Astros. Today represents an opportunity to experience their inspirational story again, as if for the first time.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Cleveland Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
Houston at Cleveland | 18:10 ET
Keuchel (124.1 IP, 71 xFIP-) vs. Carrasco (97.1 IP, 70 xFIP-)
By the haphazardly derived methodology utilized by the author, this Houston-Cleveland encounter is the day’s most appealing by a considerable margin. With the exception of the White Sox game, for example — which features left-hander Chris Sale — it appears to offer all the day’s most noteworthy pitchers. And with the exception of Pittsburgh or Toronto, it offers probably the day’s most noteworthy teams, as well. And really, regardless of all that, it provides yet another opportunity to observe the Houston Astros, itself less a professional baseball club and more a loosely organized group of physically precocious neighbor children who’ve somehow been permitted to compete against actual, financially compensated adults.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Cleveland Radio.

Read the rest of this entry »