David Pinto worked for ten years as the chief researcher for ESPN’s Baseball Tonight. Starting in 2002, David brought his research and insights to a wider audience through his blog, Baseball Musings.

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Lovable no more

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Chicago Sweep

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June 23, 7:53 AM

by David Pinto, Baseball Examiner

Aramis Ramirez
Photo: Icon SMI

The Chicago Cubs took game three against the White Sox last night 7-1, sweeping their cross town rivals. The Cubs won by neutralizing a strength of the White Sox pitching staff, the ability to keep the ball in the park. In their first 73 games, the White Sox allowed just 54 home runs, good for a .372 slugging percentage against. In the three games at Wrigley, the Cubs hit nine home runs, four by Aramis Ramirez. In terms of homers allowed per 200 innings, the White Sox gave up 16.6 before the series, 75 during, a better than four fold increase.

The losing streak made the division tight again. While the White Sox were getting swept by the first place Cubs, the Twins were sweeping the first place Diamondbacks. At one point, the White Sox held the largest lead of any first place team, but that's down to 1 1/2 games. Even the Royals are just 8 1/2 back in last place.

Aramis Ramirez shows once again show the incompetence of the former Pirates regime. With Pittsburgh, Ramirez showed flashes of greatness but was inconsistent season to season. The Pirates traded him at age 25, just as he was entering his peak years. Since then, Aramis produced consistently good OBA and great slugging percentages. His 25 games as a Cub against the White Sox were particularly fruitful, as he posted a .380 BA, a .442 OBA and an .804 slugging percentage. His 10 home runs helped him drive in 27 runs in the 25 games. His pickup is likely one of the great Cubs trades of all time. The Pirates got basically nothing in return.

For more info: Baseball Musings

Topics: Baseball , Pitchers , Interleague , Cubs , White Sox , Division Races , Aramis Ramirez

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Lovable no more

2 comments

October 5, 10:43 AM

The Cubs choked. This wasn't a typical Cubs bizarre defeat. There was no unprecedented comeback, no fan knocking the ball away. It wasn't even a hard-fought set of games in which luck just went the other way. The Cubs simply stunk in a series in which... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

ALDS: White Sox versus Rays

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October 2, 10:25 AM

The following table compares the 2008 seasons of the White Sox and Rays, opponents in the ALDS.AL Ranks2008White SoxRaysRuns/Game5.00 (5th)4.78 (9th)Batting Avg..263 (11th).260 (13th)On-Base Average.332 (9th).340 (6th)Slugging Pct..448 (2nd).422 (8th)ERA4.06... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

ALDS: Red Sox versus Angels

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October 1, 1:24 PM

The following table compares the 2008 seasons of the Red Sox and Angels, opponents in the ALDS.AL Ranks2008Red SoxAngelsRuns/Game5.22 (3rd)4.72 (10th)Batting Avg..280 (2nd).268 (7th)On-Base Average.358 (1st).330 (11th)/Slugging Pct..447 (3rd).413 (9th)ERA4.01... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

The best baseball statistics web sites

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September 30, 8:48 PM

For statistically minded baseball fans, the internet offers a bevy of sites to find the numbers on your favorite players or teams.It all starts with Baseball Reference. I remember buying my Baseball Encyclopedia in the mid 1980s and paging through the... Read More
Topics: MLB , Statistics

NLDS: Dodgers versus Cubs

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September 30, 5:27 PM

The following table compares the 2008 seasons of the Dodgers and Cubs, opponents in the NLDS.NL Ranks2008DodgersCubsRuns/Game4.32 (13th)5.31 (1st)Batting Avg..264 (5th).278 (2nd)On-Base Average.333 (6th).354 (1st)/Slugging Pct..399 (13th).443 (1st)ERA3.68... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

NLDS: Brewers versus Phillies

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September 30, 5:25 AM

NL Ranks2008BrewersPhilliesRuns/Game4.63 (7th)4.93 (2nd-T)Batting Avg..253 (12th).255 (10th)On-Base Average.325 (10th).332 (7th)/Slugging Pct..431 (5th).438 (2nd)ERA3.85 (2nd)3.88 (4th)Strikeouts/9 IP6.9 (9th)6.7 (12th)Walks/9 IP3.3 (5th-T)3.3 (5th-T)HR/200... Read More
Topics: League Division Series , MLB

AL Batting Race

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September 28, 9:26 AM

The AL batting brings two more games into the interesting category on this last day of the season. Joe Mauer leads with a .330 BA (.32954), a five point lead over Dustin Pedroia and a six point lead over Milton Bradley. Mauer can't sit on his laurels... Read More
Topics: Awards

Hitting .400

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September 21, 9:34 AM

Manny Ramirez's angelic hitting helped propel the Dodgers to the top of the NL West.Photo: Icon SMI Manny Ramirez's batting average stands at .404 since his trade to the Dodgers. Statistics are reported for each league separately, so if Manny maintains... Read More
Topics: Hitters

Rays take command

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September 18, 8:48 AM

17 Sep 2008: Jason Bartlett congratulates Willy Aybar of the Rays after Aybar hit a home run that gave the Rays the lead in the first inning.Photo: Icon SMIThe Rays put an exclamation point on their championship season Wednesday night, mauling the Red... Read More
Topics: Division Races