Wednesday Trends and Indexes 8/26 (MLB, Misc.)

[Udog]

Len's Top 5

Happy Wednesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for August 26, 2009 from Len Berman Sports.

1. Quick Hits

Mets ace Johan Santana is done for the year. He'll undergo arthroscopic elbow surgery to get rid of bone chips.
Plaxico Burress tells ESPN that after jail he wants to go back to the NFL.
Roger Federer and Dinara Safina are the #1 seeds for next week's U.S. Open. So I guess everybody doesn't know who the real # 1 is, Serena.

2. Meet the Me$$

Where do you begin? I guess it's always safe to follow the money. Mets ownership lost a king's ransom with Bernie Madoff. An expensive new ballpark opened up, but pricey tickets remain a tough sell. The organization has just gotten around to honoring its history. And it seems as if the entire team is hurt which must set a world record for "most money on the disabled list one franchise, one season." There have been some rough patches in Mets history from Bobby Bonilla to Vince Coleman to Mo Vaughn. But this one takes the cake.

3. Going Public

Here's a TV series with no shortage of material. VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." The New York Daily News reports that the series, which begins in January, has singer Mindy McCready on one episode. She'll dish the dirt on her relationship with Roger Clemens. Dennis Rodman is scheduled for another episode. Only one? He could be a whole month. It's not a sports series, but it could be. The possibilities are endless. Why not get Mike Tyson or Rick Pitino? And for the season finale, they should feature sports fans who have to suffer through this endless parade of sports deviants.

4. Working Hard for the Money

It takes the average Amercian a bit less than 4 years to earn $100-thousand. The Wall Street Journal figued out how long it takes some athletes to earn a hundred grand. NBA star LeBron James has to play 21.2 minutes. A-Rod has it easier. He only has to face 6 pitches. But it appears Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has the best gig. He earns a hundred thou every 3.6 snaps. By comparison, Tiger Woods has to play 11.2 holes. No wonder he doesn't smile that much.

5. Is that Cricket?

Apparently this was a first. A team of eunuchs beat a team of "full genitalia" players in a cricket match in Pakistan. Eunuchs are considered social outcasts in Pakistan so this did wonders for their collective pride. And it also proved that balls are no longer needed to play the game of cricket.

Happy Birthday: Celtic great (and former broadcast partner of mine) Tommy Heinsohn. 75.
Bonus Birthday: Home Alone actor Macaulay Culkin. 29.

Today in Sports: Can PSL's be far behind? The New York Giants football team bolts the Bronx for the Meadowlands. 1971.
Bonus Event: Hey Mike, wanna carve a statue? Michaelangelo is commissioned to sculpt the "Pieta." 1498.

[Kaptain]

From another site


Starting pitcher rankings for Aug. 26, 2009

Rk Team Name T W-L ERA WHIP K/9 OPSA Opp OPS CT%
1 Rich Harden R 8-7 4.04 1.25 10.53 .725 WAS .758 78.3%

2 Josh Johnson R 12-3 2.99 1.09 7.71 .610 NYM .730 83.3%

3 Jonathan Sanchez L 6-10 4.30 1.40 9.65 .714 ARI .744 77.4%

4 Kenshin Kawakami R 6-9 3.97 1.35 6.17 .771 SD .697 78.5%

5 Joel Pineiro R 12-9 3.15 1.11 4.37 .659 HOU .736 82.6%

6 Randy Wolf L 8-6 3.34 1.11 6.79 .663 @COL .787 77.0%

7 Andy Pettitte L 10-6 4.25 1.41 6.91 .738 TEX .775 76.8%

8 Gio Gonzalez L 4-4 5.78 1.76 9.53 .855 @SEA .719 80.8%

9 Edwin Jackson R 10-5 2.86 1.19 7.04 .683 @LAA .805 81.6%

10 Gavin Floyd R 10-8 3.98 1.25 7.69 .670 @BOS .800 79.5%

11 Cole Hamels L 7-8 4.78 1.35 7.69 .805 @PIT .711 79.4%

12 Roy Oswalt R 7-4 3.83 1.19 6.74 .715 @STL .748 81.2%

13 Mike Pelfrey R 9-8 4.67 1.46 5.25 .738 @FLA .748 77.4%

14 Braden Looper R 11-6 4.95 1.42 4.89 .829 CIN .687 80.0%

15 Derek Holland R 7-7 4.72 1.39 7.17 .795 @NYY .837 82.4%

16 Scott Kazmir L 8-7 6.17 1.58 6.94 .809 @TOR .765 82.8%

17 Joe Saunders L 9-7 5.33 1.50 4.74 .827 DET .744 79.5%

18 Paul Maholm L 7-7 4.74 1.45 5.67 .770 PHI .787 79.1%

19 Marc Rzepczynski L 2-3 3.65 1.28 8.03 .666 TB .801 77.1%

20 Luke Hochevar R 6-6 5.60 1.36 6.59 .812 CLE .774 78.3%

21 Doug Davis L 7-11 3.77 1.46 6.84 .746 @SF .700 79.2%

22 Tim Wakefield R 11-3 4.31 1.38 5.05 .730 CHW .756 81.1%

23 J.D. Martin R 2-3 4.76 1.44 3.44 .864 @CHC .741 78.0%

24 Luke French L 3-3 3.83 1.63 5.92 .810 OAK .710 81.6%

25 Tim Stauffer R 1-6 3.95 1.34 8.12 .763 @ATL .752 81.6%

26 Jeremy Guthrie R 8-12 5.45 1.43 5.02 .836 @MIN .772 81.2%

27 David Huff L 7-7 6.80 1.70 4.44 .918 @KC .714 80.5%

28 Kip Wells R 0-3 5.91 1.49 7.20 .686 @MIL .772 77.6%

29 Nick Blackburn R 8-8 4.27 1.42 3.92 .788 BAL .749 82.2%

30 Josh Fogg R 0-1 2.25 1.00 4.95 .598 LAD .760 80.9%

Rk.: The author's ranking of that pitcher for that day only. T: Pitcher throws left-handed or right-handed. W-L: Pitcher's win-loss record. ERA: Pitcher's earned run average. WHIP: Pitcher's average number of walks plus hits surrendered per inning. K/9: Pitcher's average number of strikeouts per nine innings. OPSA: Pitcher's on-base plus slugging percentage surrendered to opponents. OPS: Pitcher's opponent's composite team on-base plus slugging percentage. CT%: Pitcher's opponent's success rate putting the ball in play (versus striking out).