NERD Game Scores for Sunday, June 12, 2016

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by sabermetric nobleman 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
Detroit at New York AL | 14:05 ET
Fulmer (47.2 IP, 84 xFIP-) vs. Pineda (66.0 IP, 86 xFIP-)
One of the earliest and longest abiding lessons of field-independent metrics for the present author was the ease with which they illustrate how little control one ultimately exercises over the course of events. For those (like the author) whose personal ledgers are marked largely by failure, FIP offers some consolation. “Perhaps it isn’t entirely my fault,” one is able to say. “Perhaps it’s the merely vagaries of chance.”

By the fielding-independent metrics, Michael Fulmer was basically the same pitcher over his first four starts as his next four. His run-prevention numbers have not been identical over those two samples, however.

Michael Fulmer’s Eight Starts

Starts	IP	K%	BB%	xFIP	ERA	Diff
First Four	19.1	23.7%	9.7%	3.59	6.52	+2.93
Next Four	28.1	26.5%	6.9%	3.44	0.32	-3.12

Fulmer is a talented pitcher, one for whom — by virtue both of his physical tools and youth — it’s possible to expect great things. He’s neither so indomitable nor domitable as he’s alternately appeared this season.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Detroit Radio.

Two Other Brief Notes
Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features San Diego at Colorado, starts at 16:10 ET, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.

Broadcaster Rankings
Recently, the present author facilitated a crowdsourcing effort to reproduce the broadcaster rankings which appeared on this site roughly four years ago. The results for television broadcasts are available by means of this hyperlinked text; for radio, by means of this 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 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.

NERD Scores for June 12, 2016

Away		SP	TM	GM	TM	SP		Home	Time
Ubaldo Jimenez	BAL	4	7	6	4	10	TOR	Aaron Sanchez	13:07
Dallas Keuchel	HOU	7	6	6	6	6	TB	Matt Moore	13:10
Kendall Graveman	OAK	5	4	4	3	2	CIN	John Lamb	13:10
Jon Lester	CHN	6	7	5	1	7	ATL	John Gant*	13:35
Michael Fulmer	DET	9	4	7	4	9	NYA	Michael Pineda	14:05
Rick Porcello	BOS	5	8	6	5	6	MIN	Pat Dean	14:10
Yordano Ventura	KC	3	4	4	3	6	CHA	Carlos Rodon	14:10
Steven Matz	NYN	10	6	6	4	5	MIL	Zachary Davies	14:10
Danny Salazar	CLE	8	7	5	3	3	LAA	David Huff*	15:35
Adam Morgan	PHI	4	2	5	7	5	WAS	Joe Ross	16:05
Adam Conley	MIA	5	5	6	6	8	AZ	Robbie Ray	16:10
Christian Friedrich	SD	1	5	4	3	8	COL	Tyler Anderson*	16:10
Cole Hamels	TEX	6	6	6	6	6	SEA	Wade Miley	16:10
Mike Leake	STL	4	6	5	5	4	PIT	Jon Niese	17:05
Julio Urias	LAN	9	6	6	5	4	SF	Jake Peavy	20:30

SP denotes pitcher NERD score.
TM denotes team score.
GM denotes overall game score.
Highlighted portion denotes game of the day.

* = Fewer than 10 IP, NERD at discretion of clueless author.