NERD Game Scores for Monday, September 22, 2014

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 Oakland | 22:05 ET
C.J. Wilson (169.0 IP, 105 xFIP-, 0.7 WAR) faces Jeff Samardzija (205.2 IP, 83 xFIP-, 3.9 WAR). A newspaper editor, were he so inclined, might very likely attach to a story regarding the former of these pitchers and his interest in advanced metrics — he might attach to such a story the headline C.J. Wilson’s WAR, a reference, that, to the similarly named 2007 film starring Tom Hanks. A noxious weblogger, needing to produce some manner of content in a space like this one and also wishing to make the same reference — but recognizing, simultaneously, that said reference lacks sophistication — that noxious weblogger might very likely craft a brief but elaborate scenario in which a hypothetical newspaper editor has made the reference instead. In either case, they will reap what they have so egregiously sown.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Oakland Radio.

Lone, Brief Note
Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Seattle at Toronto, starts at 7:07pm 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 changes here, if you’re the sort of person accustomed to making poor life decisions.

Away		SP	Tm.	Gm.	Tm.	SP		Home	Time
Wei-Yin Chen	BAL	6	4	5	3	9	NYA	Michael Pineda	19:05
Danny Duffy	KC	4	10	7	4	10	CLE	Carlos Carrasco	19:05
James Paxton	SEA	10	5	5	4	5	TOR	J.A. Happ	19:07
Chris Bassitt*	CHA	4	3	5	6	6	DET	Kyle Lobstein	19:08
Fran’sco Liriano	PIT	9	10	7	4	4	ATL	Aaron Harang	19:10
Nick Tropeano*	HOU	6	4	5	3	9	TEX	Derek Holland	20:05
Adam W’right	STL	7	5	5	4	2	CHN	Travis Wood	20:05
Josh Collmenter	AZ	5	4	4	4	6	MIN	Ricky Nolasco	20:10
C.J. Wilson	LAA	5	4	7	10	10	OAK	Jeff Samardzija	22:05
Tyler Matzek	COL	7	4	4	3	5	SD	Eric Stults	22:10
Jake Peavy	SF	4	10	6	4	6	LAN	Dan Haren	22:10

To learn how Game NERD Scores are calculated, click here.
* = Fewer than 20 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.