Prospectus Matchups

Jim's Up To Something

by Jim Baker

BEST AMERICAN LEAGUE MATCH-UP (Best combined records with both teams being over .500): Anaheim @ Boston

Compare and contrast: among the 15 Angels players with the most playing time, only Jeff DaVanon and the now-activated Troy Glaus are drawing one walk every ten at-bats. The Red Sox, on the other hand, have ten of their most-active 15 over that mark. That helps explain how a team can lead the league in scoring in spite of a wiped-out Trot Nixon season and only a month's worth of at-bats from Nomar Garciaparra, replacing them with a combined 500 plate appearances from Gabe Kapler and Pokey Reese.

Boston has out-walked Anaheim 1.5:1. The Angels are in dead last in the American League in walks with 348, a number that looks even worse when you consider that it includes a league-high 39 intentionals. They do make up for this somewhat by leading the league in getting hit by pitches, an advantage they promptly squander by having the second-most sacrifice bunts in the league. The Angels also compensate with a pretty good theft record. (Oddly, the teams with the five best stealing rates in the AL are, in order, one through five in total steal attempts.)

Come to think of it, the Angels are always up to something. In fact, let's invent a new stat to measure that. We'll call it the U2S number: U2S = Up To Something, acronymed in the Prince style. U2S means how often a team is doing something on the basepaths. It's a little number you can quickly do yourself to see how busy a team is on the once they get to first base. It combines steals, caught stealing, sacrifice hits and sacrifice flies. Not surprisingly, the Angels are the busiest in the American League with 1.78 such events per game. Let's see if you can guess the three least-busiest in the league…poke yourself in the eye with a slide rule if you didn't say:

Boston
Toronto
Oakland

The rest of this article is restricted to Baseball Prospectus Subscribers.

Not a subscriber?

Click here for more information on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or use the buttons to the right to subscribe and get access to the best baseball content on the web.

Already a subscriber? Click here and use the blue login bar to log in.

0 comments have been left for this article.

No Previous Article

<< Previous Column

Prospectus Matchups: B... (08/27)

Next Column >>

Prospectus Matchups: B... (09/03)

No Next Article

RECENTLY AT BASEBALL PROSPECTUS Introducing SIERA Future Shock: Dodgers Top 11 Prospects Team Health Reports: Washington Nationals Team Health Reports: Florida Marlins Expanded Horizons: Catching conundrum Introducing SIERA Prospectus Hit and Run: The NL East	MORE FROM AUGUST 31, 2004 Prospectus Today: May the Best Man Win? Under The Knife: A Light Day Transaction Analysis: August 26-29, 2004 Teams: A Critical Guide: In Which A Myth is ... Can Barry Hit .400? Prospectus Q&A: J.P. Ricciardi, Part II
MORE BY JIM BAKER 2004-09-10 - Prospectus Matchups: Wilding 2004-09-07 - Prospectus Matchups: Checking on Changes Edi... 2004-09-03 - Prospectus Matchups: Being Valuable 2004-08-31 - Prospectus Matchups: Jim's Up To Something 2004-08-27 - Prospectus Matchups: Beware, It's Batting Av... 2004-08-24 - Prospectus Matchups: Bye-Bye R.A. Dickey Edi... 2004-08-20 - Prospectus Matchups: BUD! The Musical More...	MORE PROSPECTUS MATCHUPS 2004-09-10 - Prospectus Matchups: Wilding 2004-09-07 - Prospectus Matchups: Checking on Changes Edi... 2004-09-03 - Prospectus Matchups: Being Valuable 2004-08-31 - Prospectus Matchups: Jim's Up To Something 2004-08-27 - Prospectus Matchups: Beware, It's Batting Av... 2004-08-24 - Prospectus Matchups: Bye-Bye R.A. Dickey Edi... 2004-08-20 - Prospectus Matchups: BUD! The Musical More...