Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine
I was waxing ecstatic about Roy Halladay a while back - it's just something that happens when you follow this team -  and was sufficiently inspired to build a database with every one of his ML starts, just to know how his latest gem compared with the rest.


But that wasn't enough. I just had to find out where Doc's best stood on the list of all-time Blue Jays starts. Which, I realized would require a bigger boat.

Here it is.

It turns out that Blue Jays starters have tossed games that come in at 90 or better on the Game Score measure 25 times.  As you might expect, the three men who've done it most often are three best long-term Blue Jays starters in franchise history. Dave Stieb - naturally - threw more 90+ games than anyone. Stieb threw five of them. His two best games each get a Game Score of 92: the no-hitter in September 1990 is matched by an extra-inning effort against the Angels in September 1982 in which he didn't even get a decision. Roy Halladay has cleared the 90 mark four times, the best being his two-hitter against Minnesota in May 2005, which checked in 93. And while Jimmy Key was a very good pitcher, he's not remembered as particularly dominant. But his best games are pretty impressive - he has three 90+ games, the best of them being a memorable no-decision against Detroit in June 1985 - he pitched 10 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits: Game Score 92.

No one has ever cleared 100, but Roger Clemens came closest, with this dominating effort against in August 1998. It was the second of three consecutive shutouts, and in this one he held the Royals to three singles (two of the infield variety) - no one else reached base, and none of the three baserunners made it as far as second base. He struck out a team record 18 while walking no one. Game Score: 99.  The Rocket's other 90+ game during his two year reign of terror as a Blue Jay checks in with the second highest Game Score in team history: this was a two-hit shutout of the Rangers in September 1997. Clemens struck out only 14 this time and again didn't walk anyone. Game Score: 97.

Jim Clancy is the other Blue Jay who has cleared 90 twice - like Stieb and Key, one of those games is no-decision in June 1982 in which he pitched into extra innings (Game Score:92) - the other was a two-hit shutout of the Angels in May 1987. No, his near perfect game against the Twins in September 1982 (a one-hit shutout) doesn't make the list - he only struck out two Twins, and the Game Score was "only" 86..

The other nine Blue Jays starters to crack 90 on the Game Score scale are (in chronological order): Jesse Jefferson, Jim Gott, Luis Leal, Todd Stottlemyre, Pat Hentgen, Esteban Loaiza, Ted Lilly, Dave Bush, and Dustin McGowan. The games by Hentgen (the famous duel with Kevin Appier) and Jefferson (an 11 inning shutout) are of special notice, as they hit 95 on the Game Score scale, highest by any Blue Jay until Clemens came along.

Now here, just for the hell of it, are all the Jays starters ranked by Average Game Score

             ST    W    L    AVG/GS
               
Clemens    67    41  13    66.0
Cone     24    13   9    59.3
Candiotti    19     6    7    56.6
Halladay   241   119   59    54.9
Stieb    408   174  134    54.7
Castillo,F   24    10    5    54.0
Key     250   111  76    53.9
Marcum     54    19   12    53.6
Burnett    66    30   23    53.5
Alexander   103    45   26    53.4
Guzman    195    76   62    52.7
Underwood  62    15   29    51.4
Todd    26     7   10    50.9
Wells    138    67   42    50.5
Clancy    345   128  140    50.4
Bush    40    10   15    50.3
Williams,W 76    24   28    50.3
Hentgen    238   102   83    50.1
Musselman,J  19    8   6    50.1
Leiter    61    23   23    50.0
Lilly    89    37   34    50.0
McGowan    56    19   22    49.6
Escobar    101    43   38    49.4
Leal    151    48   54    49.2
Chacin    58    25   15    48.9
Stottlemyre 175    64   68    48.9
Flanagan    76    26   27    48.7
Litsch    38    15   15    48.5
Cerutti    108    40   33    48.3
Gott     65    19   28    48.0
Morris     61    28   18    47.8
Stewart     48    19   16    47.6
Johnson     29    10    7    47.4
Jefferson    91    21   50    47.3
Lemanczyk    82    27   45    47.0
Michalak     18     6    7    46.6
Carpenter   135    46   50    46.5
Garvin     65    14   31    46.5
Person     22    5   10    46.5
Batista     31    10   12    46.4
Walker     31    10    8    46.0
Towers     89    33   40    46.0
Downs    18     5    4    45.8
Loaiza     69    25   28    45.8
Janssen     17     6   10    45.7
Moore     37    9   17    45.5
Hendrickson  34    12    9    44.9
Lyon     21    6    8    44.9
Acker    17    4    5    44.9
Miller     33    11    9    44.5
Lidle    31    12   15    44.1
Bomback     19     4   10    43.8
Hanson    45    13   19    43.7
Parris     33     9   11    43.6
Hamilton     46    14   17    43.1
Mirabella    23     5   12    42.2
Quantrill    20    4   10    40.9
Huffman     31    6   18    40.2
Byrd    17     2   13    37.2

It's no surprise that Clemens tops the list - he pitched about as well while he was here as a pitcher could pitch. Two short-term hired guns come up behind him. Most Jays fans have fond memories of David Cone, who actually did two tours in Toronto. His second term didn't have a very happy ending - after pitching very well for four months, Cone was traded to a division rival and helped them win four championships in the next six years. The Jays received nothing at all in return, and the trade itself was a signal to all and everyone that the team was giving up. The players played accordingly - it was pretty ugly to see. But Cone's first tour had the happiest ending possible, as he helped the team win the 1992 World Series. Tom Candiotti is not remembered nearly so fondly - he was last seen in the final game of the 1991 LCS - he turned a 5-3 lead over to the bullpen , who coughed it up to send everyione home for the winter. But Candiotti pitched extremely well for the Blue Jays, and was very unlucky to win just 6 of his 19 starts.

Halladay and Stieb, the two greatest long-term starters in team history come next , and they're followed by - Frank Castillo? Yes - for those of you who have forgotten his one year here, Castillo opened the 2000 season as Jim Fegosi's fifth starter. By June, he was on the verge of being pulled from the rotation - he was 1-5, 4.97 and he hadn't been very lucky. But he suddenly caught fire, and ran off the best streak of his career: 9-0, 2.59 over his final 13 starts, just in time to head off for the free agent market. Timing is everything.

After Castillo, the rest of the Top 10 is rounded by two of the mid 80s stars - Jimmy Key and Doyle Alexander - and two men from the current rotation - Shaun Marcum and A.J. Burnett. Just off the Top 10 is Juan Guzman and Tough Luck Tommy Underwood. And then comes the one name in the upper region of the list that absolutely shocks me - coming in ahead of David Wells and Pat Hentgen and Jim Clancy, none other than Jackson Todd.

Jackson Who?

He'd been a second round pick by the Mets in 1973, for whom he had gone 3-6 in 1977. They traded him to the Phillies, who released him in 1979. The Jays signed him as a free agent. He pitched very well in Syracuse, and got some work in the Toronto bullpen over the final two months of the 1979 season. He spent most of 1980 in Syracuse, pitched well again, and came back up to Toronto in August. This time, Bobby Mattick stuck him in the rotation, where Todd went 5-2, 4.02 in 12 starts, despite a rough stretch in September. He opened the 1981 season in the rotation, and was 2-5, 3.78 in 12 starts when the strike came. That is genuinely impressive performance when one recalls the quality, or lack of same, of the players behind him. Anyway, when the strike ended two months later, the newly acquired Juan Berenguer moved into the rotation. Todd went to the bullpen, where he finished the season. He never pitched in the majors again. He didn't do enough in the spring of 1982 to persuade the new manager, Bobby Cox, to put him on the roster. He spent the season in Syracuse, didn't pitch well, moved on to the Houston organization for 1983, and finished his career in 1985.

I thought we'd cut it off there, with the guys who started at least 15 games for the Jays. The best of the rest, by the way, was Mauro Gozzo - the little Goose won all three of his starts in 1989, with Game Scores of 77, 48, and 54 - an average of 59.7, which is pretty darn good. And at the very bottom was Clayton Andrews, who got shelled twice in June 2000 - average Game Score of 17, and lucky to escape with just one loss.

The average Game Score by a Blue Jays starter, over these thirty-plus seasons, is 49.8 - and a few things, naturally, need to be borne in mind. In terms of quality, the Blue Jays have basically been a pretty average team since entering the league (well,  .496 to be precise). Pythagoras has never been their friend - coming into this season, they had actually scored 51 more runs than they had allowed, but were 42 games below .500. But more to the point, is this - overall, the Blue Jays have had better than average pitching over the years. An average AL team has scored and allowed 4.72. Despite playing their home games in better than average hitter's parks, the Jays have scored 4.63 runs per game and allowed 4.62 per game. (The team ERA is 4.23 - that's 4.26 for the starters, and 4.18 for the relievers.) Anyway - the League Average Game Score over this same period is almost certain to be somewhat lower than the Jays average of 49.8.

Levels of offense in the AL have not been a constant these past three decades, and that's had an impact on one Jays starter in particular. The five highest-scoring seasons in the last 30 odd years are: 1996, 2000, 1994, 1995, and 1995. Pat Hentgen was taking a regular turn for the Jays in each of those seasons. He was also in the rotation in 1998 (7th highest) and 1999 (9th highest). Hentgen was certainly a better starter for the Jays than Jim Clancy or David Wells, both of whom had better average Game Scores. This is a fun stat, not a serious analytical tool.

At any rate, here is the complete list (through this year's All-Star Break)

             ST   W  L    IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO  HR   ERA    AVG/GS  90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10  0  -0
                                                                                               
Stieb    408 174 134 2772.3 2480 1178 1066 987 1620 222  3.46    54.7    5 27 57 89 74 68 48 33  7  0  0
Clancy    345 128 140 2182.7 2172 1098  999 812 1234 216  4.12    50.4    2 11 36 67 63 72 43 44  7  0  0
Key    250 111  76 1627.0 1552  672  613 370  896 157  3.39    53.9    3  9 30 62 54 42 22 22  5  1  0
Halladay    241 119  59 1651.3 1604  710  644 371 1176 137  3.51    54.9    4 14 37 46 55 39 22 14  5  4  1
Hentgen    238 102  83 1581.7 1628  821  749 565  986 200  4.26    50.1    1  9 20 54 32 54 44 12  9  3  0
Guzman    195  76  62 1215.7 1099  612  550 546 1030 115  4.07    52.7    0  7 35 37 34 38 20 14  7  3  0
Stottlemyre 175  64  68 1083.3 1130  571  531 383  633 115  4.41    48.9    1  2 13 32 40 32 35 15  4  1  0
Leal    151  48  54  910.7  939  465  425 305  467 100  4.20    49.2    1  4 16 20 31 32 29 14  3  1  0
Wells    138  67  42  890.3  938  465  425 207  568 101  4.30    50.5    0  7 17 27 29 17 18 15  6  1  1
Carpenter   135  46  50  823.3  932  500  449 314  570 107  4.91    46.5    0  7  7 20 22 35 17 18  6  3  0
Cerutti    108  40  33  624.0  664  320  283 197  268  95  4.08    48.3    0  2  5 12 34 26 19  9  0  1  0
Alexander   103  45  26  738.3  742  314  296 170  390  81  3.61    53.4    0  4 13 22 26 16 16  4  2  0  0
Escobar    101  43  38  620.7  624  342  314 279  491  56  4.55    49.4    0  4 10 15 25 16 17  8  6  0  0
Jefferson    91  21  50  579.7  608  328  297 232  271  70  4.61    47.3    1  4  6 11 21 10 22 13  3  0  0
Towers    89  33  40  517.3  625  306  276  94  286  79  4.80    46.0    0  1  9 14 15 17 12 14  7  0  0
Lilly    89  37  34  505.3  485  269  254 228  424  77  4.52    50.0    1  1  6 17 21 18 16  7  2  0  0
Lemanczyk    82  27  45  539.1  592  307  273 197  222  47  4.56    47.0    0  2  8 13 13 14 16 13  3  0  0
Williams,W   76  24  28  475.0  466  246  232 171  324  77  4.40    50.3    0  1  5 17 18 16  8  9  2  0  0
Flanagan    76  26  27  452.3  480  217  198 150  194  39  3.94    48.7    0  2  7  9 19 17 11 10  1  0  0
Loaiza    69  25  28  424.0  515  255  235 103  256  53  4.99    45.8    1  1  5  8 17 11  9  9  7  1  0
Clemens    67  41  13  498.7  373  143  129 156  563  20  2.33    66.0    2 10 22 14  7 4  7  0  1  0  0
Burnett    66  30  23  427.3  395  214  197 161  418  48  4.15    53.5    0  3 10 18  9 12  5  7  2  0  0
Garvin    65  14  31  418.7  466  240  224 153  217  58  4.82    46.5    0  0  4 13  9 18  8 12  1  0  0
Gott    65  19  28  369.3  380  210  190 155  240  32  4.63    48.0    1  1  4 13 11 11 13  9 2  0  0
Underwood    62  15  29  422.0  412  214  179 178  264  46  3.82    51.4    0  1  8 14 7 16  8  8  0  0  0
Morris    61  28  18  393.3  411  230  213 145  235  36  4.87    47.8    0  2  6 11 11 12  8  4  6  1  0
Leiter    61  23  23  365.3  345  187  172 213  296  27  4.24    50.0    0  2  8  6 13 16 10  5  1  0  0
Chacin    58  25  15  331.7  340  165  154 118  185  45  4.18    48.9    0  0  3 11 16 13  9 6  0  0  0
McGowan    56  19  22  324.3  316  181  168 124  259  30  4.66    49.6    1  1  6  7 11 16  8  3  1  2  0
Marcum     54  19  12  310.0  277  132  127  98  240  47  3.69    53.6    0  3  7 12  7 15  5  2  3  0  0
Stewart    48  19  16  295.3  297  175  167 134  207  49  5.09    47.6    0  0  4 12  8  8  9  4  1  1  1
Hamilton    46 14  17  250.0  311  170  160  86  151  33  5.76    43.1    0  0  0  9 11  8  6  5  6  1  0
Hanson     45  13  19  271.7  320  183  169 133  189  38  5.60    43.7    0  0  3  5  6 16  6  6  2  1  0
Bush     40  10  15  231.7  235  118  106  53  137  31  4.12    50.3    1  1  2 11  6  9  6  1  3  0  0
Litsch     38  15  15  218.3  238  113  96  53  104  29  3.96    48.5    0  0  3  8  7  7  8  4  1  0  0
Moore    37   9  17  213.3  226  135  119  92  93  22  5.02    45.5    0  0  3  4  9  8  4  8  1  0  0
Hendrickson  34  12  9  184.3  222  115  100  45   89  25  4.88    44.9    0  0  1  6  7  8  4  5  2  1  0
Parris    33   9  11  181.0  222  110  104  76   97  31  5.17    43.6    0  0  2  3  7  9  4  6  1  1  0
Miller    33  11   9  168.3  176  108  104  98  109  23  5.56    44.5    0  1  1  6  6  6  3  9  1  0  0
Lidle     31  12  15  192.7  216  133  123  60  112  24  5.75    44.1    0  1  1  4  6  8  3  4  4  0  0
Batista     31  10  12  190.0  197  111  103  92  97  20  4.88    46.4    0  1  1  7  7  5  5  1  4  0  0
Huffman    31   6  18  173.0  220  130  111  68   56  25  5.77    40.2    0  1  0  4  4  6  8  4  4  0  0
Walker    31  10   8  169.0  182  100  96  63   98  26  5.11    46.0    0  0  2  4  7 10  4  1  2  1  0
Johnson    29  10   7  152.7  167  81   74  39   65  13  4.36    47.4    0  0  2  6  7  4  5  5  0  0  0
Todd    26   7  10  172.0  167   85   75  63   80  24  3.92    50.9    0  0  2  6  9  3  4  2  0  0  0
Cone    24  13   9  181.3  149   69   64  70  147  15  3.18    59.3    0  3  6  6  2  3  3  1  0  0  0
Castillo, F  24  10   5  137.0  112   58   55  56  104  18  3.61    54.0    0  0  4  4  8  4  2  2  0  0  0
Mirabella    23   5  12  112.0  140   74   64  57   40  11  5.14    42.2    0  0  2  2  3  2  8  6  0  0  0
Person    22   5  10  127.3  123   85   79  58   99  19  5.58    46.5    0  0 3  3  3  7  2  3  0  1  0
Lyon    21   6   8  116.3  131   73   70  31   61  20  5.42    44.9    0  0  1  5  2  3  7  1  2  0  0
Quantrill    20   4  10  101.7  137   77   71  33   70  24  6.29    40.9    0  0  0  1  5  3  7  4  0  0  0
Candiotti    19   6   7  129.7  114   47   43  45   81  6  2.98    56.6    0  2  4  4  2  4  1  1  1  0  0
Bomback    19   4  10  109.0  128   67   62  45   44  13  5.12    43.8    0  0  0  2  5  5  5  1  1  0  0
Musselman, J 19   8   6  96.7  92   45   39  39   42   4  3.63    50.1    0  0  2  6  3  1  3  4  0  0  0
Michalak    18   6   7   99.7  108   55   48  40   50  12  4.33    46.6    0  0  1  5  1  5  3  2  1  0  0
Downs    18   5   4   84.3  100   54   49  31   70  10  5.23    45.8    0  0  1  2  5  4  4  1  1  0  0
Janssen     17   6  10   91.3   98   57   53  21   42  12  5.22    45.7    0  1  1  2  3  4  2  3  0  1  0
Acker     17   4   5   88.3   82   61   57  40   44  13  5.81    44.9    0  0  1  3  4  3  1  5  0  0  0
Byrd    17   2  13   82.3   93   65   57  63   36   5  6.23    37.2    0  0  0  0  3  6  4  3  1  0  0
Wills     14   2   4   68.7   76   45   40  36   33   8  5.24    44.4    0  0  1  1  0  0  2  1  1  0  0
Prokopec     12   2   7   63.0   77   44   41  22   37  13  5.86    43.0    0  0  0  0  6  1  3  1  1  0  0
Flener     12   2   2   62.0   67   39   37  29   41   9  5.37    45.8    0  0  0  4  2  2  1  2  1  0  0
Singer    12   2   8   57.3   67   50   41  37   33   5  6.44    39.7    0  0  0  0  3  3  4  2  0  0  0
Nunez    12   2   1   52.7   52   29   28  25   54   4  4.78    48.4    0  0  0  0  0  2  0  1  0  0  0
Kucek    12   2   6   48.0   59   44   39  26   22   7  7.31    39.3    0  0  0  1  2  4  2  2  1  0  0
Berenguer    11   1   9   66.0   58   40   33  34   28   7  4.50    48.5    0  0  0  2  5  1  1  2  0  0  0
Trachsel    11   2   5   63.0   72   40   37  25   32  10  5.29    44.5    0  0  0  1  3  4  2  1  0  0  0
Darwin    11   1   8   61.7   83   53   51  21   34  13  7.44    37.5    0  0  0  1  2  2  2  3  0  1  0
Janzen    11   2   6   61.0   81   59   56  35   36  16  8.26    33.8    0  0  0  0  3  1  2  3  2  0  0
Davis, D     11   4   6   53.7   68   31   28  26   24   5  4.70    43.4    0  0  0  0  5  3  2  0  1  0  0
Lemongello   10   1   7   65.0   77   53   49  26   34  11  6.78    39.1    0  0  1  1  0  1  4  3  0  0  0
Hurtado    10   4   2   65.0   69   45   43  36   25  10  5.95    42.2    0  0  0  1  3  2  2  1  1  0  0
Ohka    10   2   5   56.0   68   39   36  22   21  10  5.79    41.1    0  0  0  1  1  3  3  2  0  0  0
McLaughlin   10   2   3   55.7   72   36   32  15  25   8  5.17    42.5    0  0  1  0  2  2  3  2  0  0  0
Andujar    10   1   7   48.3   74   48   39  16   28  11  7.26    35.7    0  0  0  0  1  4  2  2  1  0  0
Menhart    9   0   3   57.0   50   36   31  26   36   6  4.89    48.8    0  0  1  0  3  3  2  0  0  0  0
Edge    9   3   4   51.7   60   32   30  24   19   6  5.23    43.3    0  0  0  2  0  3  2  2  0  0  0
Kirkwood    9   3   4   50.7   56   27   24  21   20   5  4.26    47.2    0  0  1  2  1  2  2  1  0  0  0
Filer    9   7   0   44.7   34   18   18  16   22   6  3.63    52.4    0  0  2  0  3  3  1  0  0  0  0
Ware    9   2   5   40.3   48   42   40  37   25   6  8.93    35.4    0  0  0  3  1  0  1  0  3  1  0
Vuckovich    8   2   4   61.3   69   32   27  22   50   6  3.96    51.3    0  1  0 1 2  2  1  1  0  0  0
Sturtze    8   3   4   44.0   54   38   30  20   25   9  6.14    39.1    0  0  0  0  3  0  2  2  1  0  0
Taubenheim    8   0   5   35.7   39   25   22  19   26   5  5.55    44.3    0  0  0  1  2  2  2  1  0  0  0
Eichhorn    7   0   3   38.0   40   28   23  14   16   4  5.45    43.4    0  0  0  1  1  1  4  0  0  0  0
Carrara    7   1   4   38.0   51   40   33  21   22   9  7.82    34.1    0  0  0  0  2  1  2  0  1  1  0
Boucher    7   0   3   35.3   39   20   18  16   16   6  4.58    45.4    0  0  0  1  2  2  1  1  0  0  0
Lamp    7   3   3   32.7   35   23   18  9   18   4  4.96    45.0    0  0  0  0  3  2  2  0  0  0  0
Viola     6   1   3   30.3   43   28   26  21   18   6  7.71    34.0    0  0  0  1  0  1  2  1  0  1  0
Blair     6   0   3   30.0   37   20   20  14   21   2  6.00    42.2    0  0  0  2  1  0  1  1  1  0  0
Smith, M     6   0   3   23.3   31   24   22  17    8   2  8.49    34.5    0  0  0  0  0  1  4  1  0  0  0
Hargan 5 0 3 27.0 35 17 17 13 11 2 5.67 42.2 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
Munro 5 0 2 23.0 32 24 21 15 12 4 8.22 34.4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0
Davis, S 5 1 1 19.0 19 14 10 12 17 4 4.74 46.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 0
Cummings 4 1 0 22.0 28 9 7 10 8 2 2.86 46.5 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
Darr 4 1 2 19.3 21 11 10 9 21 3 4.66 49.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Brow 4 1 1 18.7 19 15 12 12 6 3 5.79 41.5 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0
Cornett 4 1 3 17.0 22 17 15 9 14 1 7.94 39.5 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
Linton 4 1 3 17.0 20 20 20 13 8 4 10.59 33.5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
Musselman, R 4 0 0 15.7 15 7 5 7 7 0 2.87 48.8 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
Morgan 4 0 2 12.7 20 12 12 3 8 2 8.53 40.3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0
Thurman 4 1 2 12.0 22 15 15 9 9 4 11.25 34.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
Gozzo 3 3 0 20.0 18 4 3 5 8 0 1.35 59.7 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Daal 3 1 1 18.0 18 6 5 5 20 2 2.50 57.7 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Timlin 3 1 1 14.7 14 3 3 7 10 0 1.84 54.3 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Eyre 3 1 2 14.3 18 16 15 5 13 3 9.42 37.7 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Douglass 3 0 2 13.0 18 15 15 8 14 4 10.38 34.3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0
Clark, B 3 0 1 12.7 16 10 10 4 10 1 7.11 43.3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Niekro 3 0 2 12.0 15 11 11 7 7 4 8.25 38.7 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0
Spoljaric 3 0 3 12.0 18 20 18 13 8 3 13.50 23.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
Sanchez 3 0 1 11.0 12 9 9 12 4 1 7.36 39.7 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Gaudin 3 1 2 10.3 24 14 14 4 11 4 12.19 28.7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
Williams,M 3 1 1 6.0 12 12 12 6 3 5 18.00 31.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Black 2 1 1 13.7 9 6 6 2 3 1 3.95 55.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Parrish 2 1 0 13.0 10 4 4 4 7 0 2.77 58.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Glynn 2 1 0 10.0 9 5 5 7 7 2 4.50 48.0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Painter 2 1 0 9.0 10 5 5 2 11 1 5.00 49.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Jackson 2 0 1 8.7 13 8 8 2 2 1 8.31 34.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Coco 2 0 0 8.3 10 7 7 6 4 1 7.56 37.5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Cooper 2 0 1 8.3 14 13 13 4 3 5 14.04 23.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Candelaria 2 0 2 7.7 11 6 6 5 4 2 7.04 38.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Purcey 2 0 1 7.3 7 9 9 11 3 2 11.05 32.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Geisel 2 0 1 7.0 8 8 7 6 4 2 9.00 36.5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Freisleben 2 0 1 7.0 12 8 8 2 2 3 10.29 32.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Kershner 2 0 1 6.7 11 8 7 3 2 1 9.45 33.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Zambrano 2 0 1 5.3 12 10 10 5 1 5 16.88 24.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Andrews 2 0 1 5.0 18 11 11 3 2 3 19.80 17.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Wasdin 2 0 1 3.7 14 11 11 3 4 2 27.00 20.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Ward 2 0 1 2.0 7 9 8 4 1 0 36.00 27.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Murphy 1 1 0 6.0 6 1 1 3 4 0 1.50 57.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Banks 1 0 0 5.3 9 5 5 0 1 1 8.44 31.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Rosario 1 0 1 3.0 5 3 3 2 2 0 9.00 37.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Fraser 1 0 1 3.0 7 6 6 3 1 1 18.00 19.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Tallet 1 0 0 2.3 0 1 0 4 2 0 0.00 53.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Barlow 1 0 0 1.3 5 3 3 1 1 1 20.25 32.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Best Blue Jays Starts Ever (The Bigger Boat) | 5 comments | Create New Account
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Pepper Moffatt - Sunday, August 17 2008 @ 01:28 PM EDT (#190779) #
Wow.. an amazing article, as always!

I know we live in an age of "second place is the first loser" and that a season isn't a successful one unless a team at a minimum makes the playoffs.. but...

The Jays are just 2 games back of the Yankees (and the Yankees are already down 3-0 to the Royals in the 1st inning).   Wouldn't it be a terrific thing if the Jays could finish ahead of the Yankees?

It may not be a pennant race,  but the Jays certainly have something to play for going down the stretch.

Pepper Moffatt - Sunday, August 17 2008 @ 01:42 PM EDT (#190781) #
Of course, if the Jays *do* finish ahead of the Yankees, Jays fans will have to find some new reason to explain the team's 'bad luck' when it comes to making the post-season.

How bad is the Jays luck when it comes to the post-season?

In years where the Jays have won 90+ games (strike adjusted for short-seasons), they've made the post-season 80%  of the time (4 out of 5): (1985, 1991, 1992, 1993.  Lone exception 1987).

In years where the Jays have won 85-90 games (strike adjusted for short-seasons), they've made the post-season 12.5% of the time (1 out of 8): (yes in 1989 (89 wins), no in 1983 (89), 1984 (89), 1986 (86), 1988 (87), 1998 (88), 2003 (86), 2006 (87).

Compare that to the Montreal Expos:

In years where the Expos have won 90+ games (strike adjusted for short-seasons), they've made the post-season 16.7% of the time (1 out of 6): (1981 (on pace for 90).  Exceptions 1979, 1980, 1987, 1993 and 1994 (on pace for 105 wins)).

In years where the Jays have won 85-90 games (strike adjusted for short-seasons), they've made the post-season 0% of the time (0 out of 4): (no in 1982 (86), 1990 (85), 1992 (87), 1996 (88).

As an Expos fan, I would have killed to have the Jays 'bad luck'.
Ozzieball - Sunday, August 17 2008 @ 02:18 PM EDT (#190782) #
and the Yankees are already down 3-0 to the Royals in the 1st inning

I'm going to go ahead and blame you.

Also this seems like the place to point out that the Jays still have better 2nd- and 3rd-order pythags than the Los Angeles Angels. It would be nice if the Jays could be like the Angels or Twins and have a mediocre-to-bad team that gets phenomenally lucky but that might interfere with the fanbase claiming Riccardi is trying to destroy baseball in Toronto which would violate the laws of the universe causing reality to collapse and we really wouldn't want that now would we?
Pepper Moffatt - Sunday, August 17 2008 @ 02:49 PM EDT (#190783) #
"I'm going to go ahead and blame you."


LOL.. I just checked the score.  Yeah, this one's my fault.. :)
Thomas - Sunday, August 17 2008 @ 03:09 PM EDT (#190786) #
Fantastic article, Magpie. It's a great read. Kudos.

However, my one complaint is that while looking at who brings up the rear along with Clayton Andrews, I was forced to relive one of the more unpleasant memories I have of the Jays. Coming in third-last place (as far as I can tell), finishing ahead of only Andrews and Willie Fraser, is John "Wayback" Wasdin. I'd rather forget my memories of him as a Blue Jay.
Best Blue Jays Starts Ever (The Bigger Boat) | 5 comments | Create New Account
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