NERD Game Scores for Monday, August 10, 2015
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
Washington at Los Angeles NL | 22:10 ET
Gonzalez (115.1 IP, 92 xFIP-) vs. Anderson (123.2 IP, 90 xFIP-)
It has come to the author’s attention that, at some point between last Sunday (when I began my week’s vacation) and this morning, Dodgers catching prospect Austin Barnes was optioned back to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Were I susceptible to hyperbole, I might suggest that this is the worst thing to happen ever. Recognizing, however, that the use of the superlative more often than not represents an assault on the imagination, I’ll merely suggest that it would have been a pleasure to observe Barnes in another major-league game. Nevertheless, this encounter offers other means of pleasure — in particular, by featuring two clubs for whom the result is totally relevant to their odds of reaching the postseason.
Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Los Angeles NL Television.
Two Brief Notes
A Note on Matt Boyd
The purpose of this entry is to note how Detroit left-hander Matt Boyd, part of a recent from Toronto for David Price and also a fixture among the author’s weekly Fringe Five column this year, is scheduled to start at Kansas City this evening. In this debut for the Tigers, Boyd produced fewer swings and misses than is ideal for a major-league starter — and yet also conceded just a run over 7.0 innings, thanks largely to conceding a long series of weakly hit fly balls.
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Colorado at New York NL, starts at 19:10 ET, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.
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 the calculations both for team and game NERD scores have changed recently to better integrate playoff odds into same. Read more about those adjustments here and here.
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Gray* | COL | 8 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 4 | NYN | Jon Niese | 19:10 |
| Matt Boyd | DET | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | KC | Johnny Cueto | 20:10 |
| Matt Shoemaker | LAA | 5 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 10 | CHA | Chris Sale | 20:10 |
| Aaron Harang | PHI | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | AZ | Rub. de la Rosa | 21:40 |
| Wei-Yin Chen | BAL | 5 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 7 | SEA | Vidal Nuno* | 22:10 |
| Dav. Holmberg | CIN | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | SD | Ian Kennedy | 22:10 |
| Gio Gonzalez | WAS | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | LAN | Brett Anderson | 22:10 |
* = Fewer than 10 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
I realize that the people are often found here, suggesting tweaks to the formula. Today’s matchups made me think of one such tweak. Perhaps there should be some sort of amplification factor in the case where a great pitcher (Sale, 10) on a crappy team (CHA, 2) creates more interest when going against a team that is very much dependent on this game for their postseason chances (Angels, 10) despite throwing a lower interest pitcher (Shoemaker, 5). Though I suppose it already gets a tied for the lead 7, so maybe my point is moot, just like this entire exercise.
That is a complex request. But there is an adjustment for playoff relevance.
And adjustment that does need made… just yesterday, Bartolo Colon was forced to pitch in an AL park, thus robbing us all of the opportunity to watch him hit. This event should have received a -10, for the sheer injustice of it.