NERD Game Scores for Monday, September 7, 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
Baltimore at New York AL | 13:05 ET
Chen (160.2 IP, 101 xFIP-) vs. Pineda (128.1 IP, 70 xFIP-)
In addition to featuring (in the Yankees) one half of the league’s most tightly contested division — and also featuring (in Michael Pineda) the majors’ fifth-best starting pitcher by a non-negligible measure — what this game also represents is an opportunity to observe first-hand the Manny Machado Shortstop Experiment. Or, to observe it four times, at least — which is to say, the approximate number of fielding chances the average major-league shortstop receives per game.
Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Baltimore Radio.
Another Brief Note
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Texas at Seattle, starts at 20:40 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wei-Yin Chen | BAL | 5 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 10 | NYA | Michael Pineda | 13:05 |
| Jon Niese | NYN | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 | WAS | Max Scherzer | 13:05 |
| Drew Smyly | TB | 9 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | DET | Randy Wolf | 13:08 |
| Zachary Davies* | MIL | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | MIA | Justin Nicolino | 13:10 |
| Jeff Locke | PIT | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | CIN | Ant. DeSclafani | 13:10 |
| Mark Buehrle | TOR | 5 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 6 | BOS | Rick Porcello | 13:35 |
| Trevor Bauer | CLE | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 10 | CHA | Chris Sale | 14:10 |
| Dan Haren | CHN | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | STL | Lance Lynn | 14:15 |
| Mike Fiers | HOU | 4 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | OAK | Felix Doubront | 16:05 |
| Kyle Kendrick | COL | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | SD | Ian Kennedy | 16:10 |
| Mike Leake | SF | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 9 | AZ | Patrick Corbin | 16:10 |
| Yovani Gallardo | TEX | 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | SEA | Roenis Elias | 18:40 |
| Williams Perez | ATL | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | PHI | Aaron Harang | 19:05 |
| Tommy Milone | MIN | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 9 | KC | Yordano Ventura | 20:10 |
| Zack Greinke | LAN | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | LAA | Nick Tropeano | 21:05 |
* = 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.
Poor Kyle Kendrick.
Though to be fair he is in the 99.9th percentile of salaries in the US, so he’s got that going for him.