Categories: Sports

Under the Radar Cardinal Stats for 2017

I’m tracking certain Cardinal stats throughout the season, including the ones below. These aren’t things that are readily tracked but things that could help fans understand what’s going on with the team. I’ll be updating this almost every day, if possible.

Updated: 04/07/2017

Run Differential

The first thing I always watch is run differential and Bill James’ Pythagorean Record; it’s basically using runs scored and runs allowed to project how a team should be doing. It turns runs into wins.

When you compare W to pW, it should be within 3 wins. Typically, if the pW is higher than the W, it means the team is under-performing; if they have more W than pW, then they are over-achieving. Right now, they are right where they should be.

Run Support

The next item is run support for starting pitchers. Some pitchers are just unlucky and the team doesn’t score runs behind them.

I broke it out into 2 parts: when they are on the mound and full games they pitch. This should show which pitchers get support after they leave the game.

I went solely with starting pitchers, as this will impact them the most. As we’ve seen in game 1, Carlos Martinez got little support while he was pitching; he was good enough to overcome it.

Lance Lynn is a player in recent history that has had really good run support one season, then bad the next. He looked good in his first start, but the bullpen ruined it for him too.

Salary Matrix

The final table is the salary matrix for the team.

The new deals for Stephen Piscotty and Yadier Molina are reflected above.

Random Ratios

3 things I was wondering about was the Cardinals LOB rate vs their opponents, their ability to ground into double plays vs that of their opponents, and their ability to hit homers vs that of their opponents. Here’s the current numbers.

As long as the LOB rate and double plays are below 1.00 and HR are above 1.00, that’s a good sign. Too bad right none of them are in the right place right now.