BaseballEvolution’s August 27th Quiz
by Asher B. Chancey, BaseballEvolution.com
August 27, 2007

Pop Quiz: Which American League pitcher currently leads the Major Leagues in hit batsmen and wild pitches - by considerable margins - with 17 of each?

Hint: this pitcher has thrown a no-hitter this season, and has been clocked at speeds of over 100 mph.

If you guessed Justin Verlander, you were correct.

I woke up this morning, looked at the season as it stands as of today, and was surprised by some of the things I saw, like Verlander's wildness. I would imagine other people might be surprised by these things as well, so I decided to put together a little quiz.

If you were not, in fact, surprised by these things, but rather were well aware of these things, then go to the Fan Forum and rub my nose in it. I have a feeling that you weren’t aware; if you were, I will be impressed.

Scroll down for the answers below.

Question One

Which of the following teams has the best chance, in terms of wins and losses, of winning their division?

a) The New York Yankees
b) The Atlanta Braves
c) The Cincinnati Reds
d) The Oakland Athletics

Question Two

Which of the following division leaders currently leads their division by the slimmest margin?

a) Milwaukee Brewers
b) Arizona Diamondbacks
c) Cleveland Indians
d) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Question Three

Which of the following players is currently tied with Josh Beckett for the AL lead in wins with 16?

a) Danny Haren
b) John Lackey
c) Tim Wakefield
d) Johan Santana

Question Four

After the Chicago White Sox and the Florida Marlins, which of the following teams has given up the third most runs per game at home this season?

a) The Colorado Rockies
b) The Texas Rangers
c) The Detroit Tigers
d) The Philadelpha Phillies

Question Five

Alex Rodriguez is tied for the American League lead with 70 extra-base hits. With which player is he tied?

a) Magglio Ordonez
b) Vlad Guerrero
c) Curtis Granderson
d) David Ortiz



The Answers

Answer One: The Cincinnati Reds. The Yankees are currently 14 games over .500, but 7 ½ games behind the Red Sox. The Braves are three games over .500, but 7 games back of the Mets. The A’s are two games under .500, and 12 games back of the Angels. But the Cincinnati Reds, despite being 10 games under .500, are only 6 ½ games behind the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central.







Answer Two: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Despite being the heavy underdog in the division, the Diamondbacks currently lead the NL West by 3 games over the Padres. Despite going back and forth with the Detroit Tigers all season, the Indians currently lead the AL Central by 2 ½ games. However, the Angels, despite being an ALCS favorite in my opinion, are currently leading the seemingly vastly inferior Seattle Mariners by only 2 games.

The Brewers, of course, are no longer in first place in the NL Central and will fall below .500 if they lose their next game.







Answer Three: Tim Wakefield. This one almost made me spit out my Honey Bunches of Oats when I saw it in the box scores on Sunday morning. Wakefield may have officially entered the “I’m old but I throw the knuckleball so I’ll be here ‘till I’m 60” phase of his career. Timmy has a decision in every one of his starts – a feat that only a knuckleballer could accomplish in this era – but more importantly, he has been more smokin’ than Diane Lane in Unforgiven of late. On July 17th, he was 10-9 with a 4.69 ERA; he has since gone 6-1 and is currently on a 22 inning scoreless streak. Meanwhile, Lackey has failed in his two attempts to win his 16th, Haren has been mortal after an incredible first three months, and Santana has not been his usual dominant self.







Answer Four: The Detroit Tigers. To me, this is a shocker. All season I have railed against the Cleveland Indians for having pitching which was simply inferior to the Tigers. Keith finally called me out for it, and when I went to the numbers, I was shocked by what I saw: despite having one of the most pitcher friendly ballparks in baseball, the Tigers’ pitching is getting scorched at home.

The Tigers currently have the second best offense in the American League, which I had attributed to the fact that the Tigers had amassed a roster full of guys willing and able to take advantage of the their spacious ballpark by hitting doubles and triples. Perhaps Comerica’s reputation as a pitcher’s park is not properly earned.







Answer Five: Curtis Granderson. The Grand Man is having a whale of a season. He still strikes out a ton, but his average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage are all up from a year ago, he has 32 doubles, 21 triples, and 17 homeruns – including an inside the park job over the weekend – and has stolen 16 of 17 bases. He is currently first in all of baseball in range factor for centerfielders, and has a respectable zone rating, according to ESPN. He has also failed to ground into a single doubleplay all season, which is not a huge feat for a leadoff guy, but is impressive nonetheless. A-Rod should and will win the AL MVP this season, but Granderson should – in my view – deserves more consideration than he’ll get.




Questions? Concerns? Comments? Asher lives in Philadelphia, PA, and can be reached at asher@baseballevolution.com.