Daily Notes: Interleague Play In and Around Your Face

May 18, 2012

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: Baltimore at Washington, 19:05 ET
2. Other Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Game: Baltimore at Washington, 19:05 ET
Regarding What Today Represents
Today represents the first slate of interleague games this season.

Regarding What Else Today Represents
Today also represents the first time various sportswriters will carry on at length concerning the value and/or meaning of interleague play this season.

Regarding What This Game, Specifically, Represents
This game, specifically, represents the first time that Mid-Atlantic half-rivals Baltimore and Washington have entered interleague play in something resembling “contention” since Pythodorus was archon of Athens.

Regarding Baltimore, Their Place in the Standings
Baltimore enters play Friday at 25-14, atop the AL East by a game over Tampa Bay.

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Regarding Washington, Their Place in the Standings
Washington enters Friday at 23-15, half a game behind Atlanta in the NL East.

Regarding What WAR Says
As of Thursday, the Yankees, Red Sox, and Orioles were ranked seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively, per WAR winning percentage. The Braves, Phillies, and Nationals were ranked fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

Starting Pitchers
The perpetually surprising Jake Arrieta (48.1 IP, 84 xFIP-, 0.7 WAR) faces Edwin Jackson (43.2 IP, 94 xFIP-, 0.6 WAR).

Readers’ Preferred Audio Feed
Washington Nationals Radio (link).

Other Notable Games
Atlanta at Tampa Bay | 19:10 ET ***MLB.TV Free Game***
Right-hander James Shields, who starts for the Rays, continued, in his most recent start, to demonstrate increased ground-ball tendencies, inducing grounders on 13 of the 21 batted balls against him (61.9%).

Readers’ Preferred Audio Feed: Atlanta Radio.

Chicago AL at Chicago NL | 14:20 ET
Right-hander Jeff Samardzija (43.2 IP, 80 xFIP-, 1.3 WAR) pitches for the Cubs. His somewhat surprising April success has continued through three May starts. To wit: 19.2 IP, 27.4% K, 8.2% BB, 52.3% GB, 2.88 SIERA, 78 xFIP-, 0.6 WAR.

Readers’ Preferred Audio Feed: Chicago NL Television.

Today’s Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete schedule for all of today’s games, with our very proprietary watchability (NERD) scores for each one. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and RotoWire. The average NERD Game Score for today is 5.0.

Regard, a magnificent and sortable table:

Away		SP	Tm.	Gm.	Tm.	SP		Home	Time
Philip Humber	CHA	5	4	7	3	10	CHN	Jeff Samardzija	14:20
Jake Arrieta	BAL	8	6	7	3	8	WAS	Edwin Jackson	19:05
Daniel Bard	BOS	2	6	5	4	9	PHI	Cole Hamels	19:05
Bronson Arroyo	CIN	6	3	6	7	7	NYA	Andy Pettitte*	19:05
Carlos Zambrano	MIA	5	5	4	4	2	CLE	Justin Masterson	19:05
Charlie Morton	PIT	5	1	6	2	9	DET	Justin Verlander	19:05
Jonathon Niese	NYN	6	1	4	6	2	TOR	Ricky Romero	19:07
Tommy Hanson	ATL	5	7	6	7	7	TB	James Shields	19:10
Neftali Feliz	TEX	4	10	5	6	5	HOU	Wandy Rodriguez	20:05
Joe Saunders	AZ	2	5	3	6	3	KC	Luis Mendoza*	20:10
Scott Diamond*	MIN	7	3	6	6	6	MIL	Marco Estrada	20:10
Kevin Millwood	SEA	2	3	4	7	6	COL	Alex White*	20:40
Jered Weaver	LAA	6	3	4	5	2	SD	Jeff Suppan*	22:05
Lance Lynn	STL	9	10	6	5	2	LAN	Ted Lilly	22:10
Jarrod Parker	OAK	2	4	2	4	0	SF	Barry Zito	22:15