One Night Only: Previews for Weekend of July 8th
Mike Trout!
This edition of One Night Only contains:
1. Six heart-stopping game previews.
2. Pitcher and Team NERD scores for every one of this weekend’s games.
3. A brief note: please excuse the tardiness of the present edition of One Night Only. Sometimes a guy is at SABR 41 in Long Beach, CA. Sometimes that same guy’s, like, “Wait? What time is it?”
Friday, July 8th
Cincinnati (9) at Milwaukee (10) | 20:10
• Here’s what one guy says: “Zack Greinke (10) is so good. Look at his xFIP and crap.”
• Here’s what another guy says: “xFIP, xSCHMIP. He’s too hittable.”
• What Greinke’s last start (6.0 IP, 9 K, 2 BB, 5 RA) didn’t do: convince that second guy otherwise.
• Here’s what Carson Cistulli thinks: nothing really matters.
• On second thought, that’s what Freddie Mercury and/or John Paul-Sartre think.
Seattle (2) at Los Angeles Americans (6) | 22:05
• Tonight, in case you haven’t heard, marks Mike Trout’s major-effing-league debut.
• Question: Is “major-effing-league” an example of Tmesis?
• Answer: Mike Effing Trout!
Saturday, July 9th
Toronto (7) at Cleveland (10) | 19:05 ET
• I just, like 40 seconds ago, asked Dave Cameron, “Did you know Brandon Morrow is having a pretty good season?”
• “Well, he has a low FIP,” Cameron said, “but he’s giving up a lot of runs.”
• Technically true, Dave Cameron.
• Also true: Denial is a river in Egypt.
• Snap?
Arizona (10) at St. Louis (6) | 19:15 ET
• The Diamondbacks are (a) pretty young, (b) pretty cheap, and (c) pretty good.
• Also, they have a 42% chance of making the playoffs, per Cool Standings.
• S’that high, you think?
Sunday, July 10th
Tampa Bay (7) at New York Americans (6) | 13:05 ET
• This game features James Shields (9) and CC Sabathia (9).
• It also features a Battle for AL East Supremacy!!!
• Blergity. Blergity. Blergity.
Seattle (2) at Los Angeles Americans (6) | 15:35 ET
• This is kinda like that other Mariner-Angel game on Friday.
• Except for this one thing: Felix Hernandez (9) faces Dan Haren (8).
• But also this other thing: you only get Mike Trout’s third game.
Also Playing
These games are very likely playing at some kind of sporty channel near you.
Friday:
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Beachy | ATL | 10 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 10 | PHI | Roy Halladay | 19:05 |
| Rodrigo Lopez* | CHN | 5 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 3 | PIT | James McDonald | 19:05 |
| Jason Hammel | COL | 2 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 4 | WAS | Jason Marquis | 19:05 |
| Jeremy Hellickson | TB | 3 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 | NYA | Freddy Garcia | 19:05 |
| Jo-Jo Reyes | TOR | 3 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 2 | CLE | Mitch Talbot | 19:05 |
| Zach Britton | BAL | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | BOS | Josh Beckett | 19:10 |
| Jordan Lyles | HOU | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | FL | Javier Vazquez | 19:10 |
| Gio Gonzalez | OAK | 6 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 5 | TEX | C.J. Wilson | 20:05 |
| Mike Leake | CIN | 6 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | MIL | Zack Greinke | 20:10 |
| Rick Porcello | DET | 5 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 2 | KC | Kyle Davies | 20:10 |
| Nick Blackburn | MIN | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | CHA | Gavin Floyd | 20:10 |
| Ian Kennedy | AZ | 6 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 4 | STL | Kyle Lohse | 20:15 |
| Blake Beavan* | SEA | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | LAA | Ervin Santana | 22:05 |
| Mat Latos | SD | 7 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 6 | LAN | Chad Billingsley | 22:10 |
| R.A. Dickey | NYN | 8 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | SF | Ryan Vogelsong | 22:15 |
Saturday:
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Price | TB | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | NYA | A.J. Burnett | 13:05 |
| Tommy Hanson | ATL | 8 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 9 | PHI | Cliff Lee | 16:10 |
| Brian Duensing | MIN | 4 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | CHA | Mark Buehrle | 16:10 |
| Aaron Harang | SD | 4 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 9 | LAN | Rubby De La Rosa | 16:10 |
| Undecided | CHN | 5 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 3 | PIT | Kevin Correia | 19:05 |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | COL | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | WAS | Jason Marquis | 19:05 |
| Brandon Morrow | TOR | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 6 | CLE | Josh Tomlin | 19:05 |
| Alfredo Simon* | BAL | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | BOS | John Lackey | 19:10 |
| Johnny Cueto | CIN | 6 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 7 | MIL | Shaun Marcum | 19:10 |
| Charlie Furbush* | DET | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 4 | KC | Luke Hochevar | 19:10 |
| Brett Myers | HOU | 4 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | FL | Ricky Nolasco | 19:10 |
| Daniel Hudson | AZ | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 7 | STL | Chris Carpenter | 19:15 |
| Brandon McCarthy | OAK | 6 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 4 | TEX | Colby Lewis | 20:05 |
| Chris Capuano | NYN | 6 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 9 | SF | Tim Lincecum | 21:05 |
| Michael Pineda | SEA | 10 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 2 | LAA | Joel Pineiro | 21:05 |
Sunday:
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Shields | TB | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | NYA | CC Sabathia | 13:05 |
| Brett Cecil | TOR | 5 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | CLE | Carlos Carrasco | 13:05 |
| Wandy Rodriguez | HOU | 5 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 6 | FL | Chris Volstad | 13:10 |
| Derek Lowe | ATL | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 10 | PHI | Cole Hamels | 13:35 |
| Mitch Atkins* | BAL | 5 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 10 | BOS | Kyle Weiland* | 13:35 |
| Ramon Ortiz* | CHN | 5 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | PIT | Paul Maholm | 13:35 |
| Jhoulys Chacin | COL | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | WAS | Jordan Zimmermann | 13:35 |
| Edinson Volquez | CIN | 7 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 3 | MIL | Randy Wolf | 14:10 |
| Justin Verlander | DET | 10 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 4 | KC | Jeff Francis | 14:10 |
| Anthony Swarzak* | MIN | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 | CHA | Jake Peavy | 14:10 |
| Zach Duke | AZ | 5 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 9 | STL | Jaime Garcia | 14:15 |
| Trevor Cahill | OAK | 5 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 4 | TEX | Matt Harrison | 15:05 |
| Felix Hernandez | SEA | 9 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 8 | LAA | Dan Haren | 15:35 |
| Tim Stauffer | SD | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | LAN | Ted Lilly | 16:10 |
| Mike Pelfrey | NYN | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | SF | Matt Cain | 20:05 |
NERD represents an attempt to anticipate the watchability of a game for the baseballing enthusiast.
To learn more about Pitcher NERD, click here and scroll down a little.
To learn more about Team NERD, click here.
To learn how Game NERD Scores are calculated, click here.
* = Fewer than 20 IP, NERD of 5 (or 10 for debuts)
Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and RotoWire.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
How is John Lackey’s watchability not a 0. This makes me think SP Nerd is broken.