Decisions and No-Decisions, MLB-Style: Abacus By the Numbers

Three Random thoughts from an old brain—or what’s left of it.

At First Glance

We’ve all watched the scene play out a million times.

The manager slowly walks from the dugout to the mound.  The starting pitcher does his very best imitation of a three-year-old who doesn’t want to go to bed before finally handing over the ball and stalking to the dugout.

Fans and pundits alike sing the praises of the pitcher’s competitive nature.

The outcome of the game in now in the hands of the bullpen, and the starter is at risk for the dreaded No-Decision.

But which major league pitchers have accumulated the most No-Decision starts this season?  Here’s the “Top Ten” in each league.

                                                          American League

Pitcher	Team	No-Decisions	Games Started	ND%
Derek Holland	Texas	10	26	38%
Justin Masterson	Cleveland	10	27	37%
Carl Pavano	Minnesota	10	26	38%
Josh Beckett	Boston	9	25	36%
Nick Blackburn	Minnesota	9	26	35%
Mark Buehrle	Chicago	9	25	36%
Dan Haren	Los Angeles	9	27	33%
Luke Hochevar	Kansas City	9	27	33%
Ervin Santana	Los Angeles	9	26	35%
C.J. Wilson	Texas	9	27	33%

                                                          National League

Pitcher	Team	No-Decisions	Games Started	ND%
Anibel Sanchez	Florida	13	26	50%
Shaun Marcum	Milwaukee	12	27	44%
Bud Norris	Houston	12	26	46%
Brandon Beachy	Atlanta	11	19	58%
Chris Carpenter	St. Louis	11	27	41%
Jaime Garcia	St. Louis	11	27	41%
James McDonald	Pittsburgh	11	25	44%
Brett Myers	Houston	11	27	41%
R. A. Dickey	New York	10	26	38%
Jason Marquis	Wash/Ariz	10	23	43%
Mike Pelfrey	New York	10	27	37%

Ball Two—Just a Bit Outside

At the trading deadline, the Arizona Diamondbacks bolstered their starting rotation with the acquisition of Jason Marquis from the Washington Nationals.

Marquis had started 20 games for the Nats, compiling an 8-5 record.  The team had won 13 of those 20 games in all.

And all this for a team that was 11 games under .500 after Marquis’s final starting assignment.

Marquis seemed an excellent pick-up by the D’backs, a strong contender in the N.L. West.

Then, on August 14, in only his third start, Marquis suffered a season-ending leg injury.

Big-Time Ouch, for both player and team, huh?

Perhaps this is a time when a No-Decision would have been a good thing.

Now, that’s “Just a Bit Outside.”

Strike Three

Our sports autumn appears as if it will arrive without the NBA.

Not a good happenstance for a “Couch Potato” like Abacus (especially when you’re as old as the abacus).

Thank goodness for the MLB network.

Their library of Classic Games is extraordinary.

If you should happen to notice a replay of any (most likely the seventh) game of the 1965 World Series among your viewing options, go for it.

Not so much for the game itself, but rather to experience the most contrasting pair of broadcasters imaginable.

Vin Scully, in merely his second decade with the Dodgers, was teamed with the lead announcer of the Minnesota Twins.

Old-timers will recognize this guy as a long-time NFL play-by-play man for CBS—Ray Scott.

Verbose Vin, the story teller and Reticent Ray, who never met a sentence he didn’t want to shorten.

Two peas from opposite ends of the pod.

It’s really very interesting, you’d be surprised.

And besides, you’re likely to see Sandy Koufax at his best.

Don’t forget to set that DVR.