August 10, 2006
Games of the Day
This afternoon's contest between the Cardinals and the Reds is huge for both teams. A Cardinals win earns them a split and some breathing room in the NL Central. A Reds win moves them to 1 1/2 games of first place. Anthony Reyes faces Bronson Arroyo. Reyes is susceptible to the long ball, not a weakness that fits well at the GAB. Arroyo has the same problem since the All-Star break, allowing 8 home runs in his last 33 1/3 innings.
Javier Vazquez makes his first start against the Yankees since leaving New York. He'll be up against Mike Mussina. Mike attempts to join the 14 win club today as he's going for his first 20 win season. Mussina is tough on lefties in 2006, allowing just a .263 OBA to batters with a platoon advantage. I'm somewhat surprised at Vazquez's 5.18 ERA. Given his walk, strikeout and home run numbers are pretty good, you'd expect something lower. The Hardball Times puts his fielding independent ERA at 4.02. That's either a lot of bad fielding or a lot of bad luck. Or it's just the fact Javy gets hammered with men on base. He's allowing a .468 slugging percentage with men on base. That means runners get moved a long distance. On top of that, 9 of the fifteen homers he's allowed came with men on base.
Enjoy!
Posted by David Pinto at
10:44 AM
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