NERD Game Scores for Friday, July 15, 2016

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by sabermetric nobleman 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
Boston at New York AL | 19:05 ET
Wright (114.0 IP, 103 xFIP-) vs. Pineda (95.1 IP, 77 xFIP-)
Steven Wright and Michael Pineda are the same and also different. Like, for example, they possess probably 95% or 98% or whatever of the same genetic material. Because humans possess mostly the same genetic material. So, basically the same. But also, one of them’s a giant person from the Dominican, while the other is a more traditionally sized person from Torrance. So, rather different.

Here’s another manner in which they’re the same: they’ve both produced ERA numbers so far this season that’re wildly different than what their fielding-independent marks would otherwise suggest. But here’s also how they’re different: while Wright has very much outperformed his xFIP, Pineda has underperformed it.

Regard, by way of illustration, this table, which features the top-five qualified pitchers by absolute difference between xFIP- and ERA-:

It’s very likely that the appearnce of both pitchers here is more than a product of randomness. Wright, a knuckleballer, is almost certain to outperform his fielding-independent numbers. And as for Pineda, the opposite has been a trend, as well. Enough of a trend that one ought to regard it as a reflection of his “true talent”? Sure. Not to this degree. But sure.

This, in conclusion, has represented an attempt to identify a narrative where none was readily apparent.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Boston Radio.

Two Other Brief Notes
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features the same dumb teams mentioned above, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.

Broadcaster Rankings
Recently, the present author facilitated a crowdsourcing effort to reproduce the broadcaster rankings which appeared on this site roughly four years ago. The results from that effort are published here in one easily digestible post.

Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete and very sortable table for all of today’s games. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and also the rest of the internet. Note that calculations both for team and game NERD scores feature adjustment for postseason odds that increases as season progresses. Read more about those adjustments here and here.