Tuesday Baseball

[RobertBIrish]

Atlanta (Maddux) @ Montreal (Vazquez
)
Well this will be a very entertaining pitchers matchup in the cool air of Canada and Maddux at this price is to tempting to pass up.

Maddux takes the hill for the Braves winners of 3 of their last 4 he has really gotten into form after an early injury put him on the dl for the first time in his career. He has a 4-2 record on the year with an ERA of 2.86 with a WHIP of 1.273 he has pitched very well on the road going 3-1 with an ERA of 1.38 and a WHIP of 1.115, he has a solid record against the Expos going 7-4 with a very impressive ERA of 1.99 and a WHIP of 1.087.

Vazquez has been very solid this year with a 2-2 record in 9 starts with an ERA of 2.65 and a WHIP of 0.985 but has not fared well against the Braves losing his last 4 starts at home against them. He is 4-5 life time against them with an ERA of 3.31 and a WHIP of 1.189.

The Braves have struggled offensively but have found a way to get enough runs to win lately they are averaging 3.9 runs a game against right handed starters while only allowing 3.3 on defense the bullpen has been solid on the road with an ERA of 2.34 and a WHIP of 1.442.

Montreal is coring an average of 4.5 runs a game against righties while allowing the opposition to score 4.7 there bullpen has been solid with an ERA of 2.81 at home.

Bottom line is the Braves are 12-4 in Montreal and Maddux has gotten into mid season form in his last 3 starts with an ERA of 1.29 and a very solid WHIP of 0.90, while Vazquez has been very effective here also but have to go with the veteran Maddux at a very reasonable price in a pitchers duel that I think he will win.

Playing Atlanta Braves -116

 

[Klavius]

GREAT analysis as always Robert! Now...if you would please answer the following stupid question coming from someone who really doesn't know THAT much about baseball: From a statistics standpoint...what is WHIP? I see that term bantered about the forum and I have no idea what the hell it is. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

 

[RobertBIrish]

Walks and hits per innings pitched pretty important stat to be honest basically tells you how many men they allow on base per inning.

 

[gsp]

Robert, the only problem I see is that both Maddux and Glavin have problems when faced with a ump that has a tight strike zone. Both throw to the outside of the plate and become hittable when forced to bring their pitches in. I usually play the over in this situation and have done very well. If the ump has a wide stike zone like J Hirshbeck or one of those guys, both pitchers are deadly. Not familiar with how Vazquez works the plate but if the ump has a wide zone your play becomes twice as strong. Problem is, we won't know the ump until 10 min before the game. Good luck tonight

 

[Bromo]

Like the write-up, got to feel at that price Maddux is one of the best to come through.

 

[Mickstr68]

Great reply GSP- I think that there are a lot of us here, myself included, that don't place enough (or any in a lot of cases) emphasis on who's umping the game. In several cases, that aspect alone can make the game.

Love your writeups Robert and the replys that those like GSP makes. That's the kind of stuff that makes this site so great!! Keep it up guys.

 

[THE HITMAN]

RBI.......Thanks alot for your write ups. My $.02 says that , yes, it is a nice price on Maddux. But, that is because of Vasquez, of course. I made a personal rule at the beginning of the season to not go against this kid.......I consider him to be one of the top 5-6 pitchers in the NL. So, I will sit this one out. GL, tho.....THE HITMAN