NERD Game Scores for Wednesday, September 17, 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.

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Most Highly Rated Games
Chicago AL at Kansas City | 20:10 ET
Texas at Oakland | 22:05 ET
In a development that’s probably unprecedented, but also maybe not unprecedented, this edition of FanGraphs’ NERD Game Scores features two contests. First, Chris Sale (163.0 IP, 74 xFIP-, 5.3 WAR) faces Yordano Ventura (165.0 IP, 100 xFIP-, 2.5 WAR) and then, two hours later, Derek Holland (21.0 IP, 82 xFIP-, 0.9 WAR) faces Jeff Samardzija (197.2 IP, 84 xFIP-, 3.5 WAR). All pitchers, one notes, offer the prospect of Considerable Pleasure, while two of the clubs involved (the Royals and A’s) feature playoff odds — which is to say, in this case, odds of qualifying for the divisional series — uncommonly close to 50%.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Kansas City and Texas Radios.

Two Brief Notes
Debut Alert: Boston’s Rusney Castillo
Cuban emigre and Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo, who signed a seven-year, $72.5 million contract in the not very distant past — is expected to make his major-league debut tonight.

Regarding Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features Los Angeles NL at Colorado, starts at 3:10pm 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.

NERD Image 4

Away   SP Tm. Gm. Tm. SP   Home Time
Carlos Frias* LAN 6 4 4 4 4 COL Jorge de la Rosa 15:10
Ma’son Bum’r SF 10 10 7 3 5 AZ Andrew Chafin* 15:40
Clay Buchholz BOS 5 3 7 10 9 PIT Francisco Liriano 19:05
J.A. Happ TOR 5 4 4 4 5 BAL Bud Norris 19:05
Hen’son Alvarez MIA 8 4 4 3 4 NYN Dillon Gee 19:10
Brand’n McCarthy NYA 10 3 5 4 8 TB Alex Cobb 19:10
Blake Treinen WAS 6 4 5 4 9 ATL Alex Wood 19:10
Daniel Corcino* CIN 4 3 4 4 6 CHN Kyle Hendricks 20:05
Chris Sale CHA 10 3 8 10 10 KC Yordano Ventura 20:10
Danny Salazar CLE 10 4 5 4 5 HOU Brett Oberholtzer 20:10
David Price DET 10 6 6 4 5 MIN Kyle Gibson 20:10
Mike Fiers MIL 9 5 6 5 6 STL Ad’m Wainwright 20:15
James Paxton SEA 9 7 6 4 4 LAA C.J. Wilson 22:05
Derek Holland TEX 10 3 8 10 10 OAK Jeff Samardzija 22:05
Cole Hamels PHI 8 3 4 3 5 SD Eric Stults 22:10

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





Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.

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haishan
9 years ago

Poor Ma’son Bum’r keeps losing more and more of his name

Robert Hombre
9 years ago
Reply to  haishan

The increasingly conspicuously contractions are symbolic of the fact that The Spirit of NotGraphs is quickly being squeezed of its essence.

The Spirit of NotGraphs also sounds like a particularly silly fishing ship.