NERD Game Scores for July 20, 2017

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by sabermetric forefather 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.

How are they calculated? Haphazardly, is how. An explanation of the components and formulae which produce these NERD scores is available here. All objections to the numbers here are probably justified, on account of how this entire endeavor is absurd.

Most Highly Rated Game
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh | 12:35 ET
Nelson (115.2 IP, 75 xFIP-) vs. Taillon (67.2 IP, 83 xFIP-)
The author’s haphazardly constructed algorithm has identified three games of similar interest today: this Milwaukee-Pittsburgh game, the Arizona-Cincinnati contest also at 12:35 p.m. ET, and the Yankees-Mariners game at 10:10 p.m. ET. Of particular note regarding this game is the pitching matchup, featuring a pair of starters who each sit at 95 mph and who’ve recorded roughly five wins between them, both by the FIP-based version of WAR and the runs-allowed one.

One might consider preparing for the game by reading about how Jimmy Nelson has utilized his college studies in kinesiology to render his mechanics more efficient. One might consider also not doing that.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Milwaukee Radio.

Another Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features the same Milwaukee-Pittsburgh game feature above and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.

Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete and also sortable table for all of today’s games. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and 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.