80-Game Update:
DH League Update:
Top 14:
1. 2013 Boston Red Sox: 53-27 (+3 Pythag)
2. 1997 New York Yankees: 51-29 (0)
3. 1998 Texas Rangers: 50-30 (+1)
4. 1992 Toronto Blue Jays: 50-30 (+2)
5. 2001 New York Yankees: 48-32 (-1)
6. 2015 Toronto Blue Jays: 47-33 (-1)
7. 2013 Texas Rangers: 46-34 (+1)
8. 1982 Chicago White Sox: 46-34 (-2)
9. 1976 Kansas City Royals: 45-35 (+2)
10. 1978 Boston Red Sox: 44-36 (+4)
11. 2005 New York Yankees: 44-36 (-3)
12. 1979 Boston Red Sox: 44-36 (0)
13. 1988 Kansas City Royals: 43-37 (0)
14. 1978 Texas Rangers: 43-37 (+2)
Thoughts: It's interesting how close to 500 the lower teams are. Out of 44 teams you'd think that the 16th best team would have a better record. It's clear that the top of the pack are good enough that they're driving the records of everyone else down. I'm not surprised that the Yankees have two teams in the top 5 (pythag-wise, three teams in the top 7). I'm not surprised that the Jays have those two teams in the top 6; those are two of the strongest teams Toronto has to offer. I'm definitely surprised that Texas has two teams in the top 7.
Fluke Watch:
1998 Texas Rangers: I just don't trust them. They've thrown up a WAR that matches up with their record, or thereabouts. But they do lead the entire DH league in BABIP, even though their ZR is only above average. Also, Royce Clayton is batting 278, and that crap ain't gonna continue. That said, even if they go 500 the rest of the way that would give them a 130-110 record which would still likely get them through to the next round.
Top Offense (league average is 4.9 R/G):
2013 Red Sox: 5.8 R/G, wRC+ 125 (all their batters but one are above league average, led by David Ortiz, Salty, Stephen Drew and Mike Napoli)
2015 Blue Jays: 5.7 R/G, wRC+ 131 (Josh Donaldson's batting 362/432/546, Chris Colabello and Danny Valencia crushing the ball)
2001 Yankees: 5.6 R/G, wRC+ 113 (13th in OBP, 18th in SLG, 3rd in R/G? Fluke.)
1992 Blue Jays: 5.6 R/G, wRC+ 118 (Olerud, Winfield, Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar all raking)
1998 Rangers: 5.6 R/G, wRC+ 118 (Juan Gonzalez, Will Clark and Rusty Greer are all hitting above 300, slugging above 500)
Top Defense:
1997 Yankees: 3.7 R/G, +8.2 ZR, 4.19 FIP (overperforming a little, but David Cone and Andy Pettitte are pitching very well)
1982 White Sox: 4.1 R/G, -6.4 ZR, 4.13 FIP (across the board great pitching, but HRA are pretty unsustainably low)
Original League Update
:
Top 16:
1. 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates: 50-30 (-3 Pythag)
2. 1991 Pittsburgh Pirates: 50-30 (+1)
3. 1961 New York Yankees: 49-31 (-2)
4. 1964 Cincinnati Reds: 49-31 (+3)
5. 1955 Cleveland Indians: 48-32 (+3)
6. 1923 Detroit Tigers: 47-33 (+1)
7. 1987 San Francisco Giants: 46-34 (-1)
8. 1955 Boston Red Sox: 45-35 (0)
9. 1908 Detroit Tigers: 44-36 (+5)
10. 1916 New York Giants: 44-36 (+3)
11. 1964 Minnesota Twins: 44-36 (+3)
12. 1958 Detroit Tigers: 43-37 (+2)
13. 1954 Cleveland Indians: 43-37 (-3)
14. 1939 St. Louis Cardinals: 43-37 (+4)
15. 1907 Philadelphia Athletics: 43-37 (-2)
16. 1942 Brooklyn Dodgers: 43-37 (0)
Thoughts: The pythagorean skew is pretty extreme. '54 Cleveland has the 13th best record, but has tied for the 4th best pythagorean record. I'm a little surprised that the '91 Pirates are competitive with the '02 version and the '61 Yankees. We'll see if that keeps up.
Top Offense (league average is 4.5 R/G):
1955 Red Sox: 5.4 R/G, 119 wRC+ (Ted Williams is batting 319/449/564)
1906 Naps: 5.2 R/G, 108 wRC+ (Nap Lajoie, Elmer Flick, Bill Bradley, Terry Turner)
1955 Indians: 5.2 R/G, 110 wRC+ (Larry Doby is his usual excellent self, Al Smith is slugging 614 . . . that's most of it)
1964 Braves: 5.1 R/G, 116 wRC+ (Denis Menke is overperforming, but Rico Carty and Hank Aaron are doing just fine)
1908 Athletics: 5.1 R/G, 105 wRC+ (Topsy Hartsel, Harry Davis, Socks Seybold - I've always loved Topsy Hartsel, not just for the name)
Top Defense:
1902 Pirates: 3.4 R/G, -13 ZR (by far the best FIP in the league)
1961 Yankees: 3.5 R/G, +17 ZR (Whitey Ford leads a solid rotation with great defense behind it)
1991 Pirates: 3.5 R/G, +13 ZR (Zane Smith and Doug Drabek)
1987 Giants: 3.6 R/G, -2 ZR (Kelly Downs, Rick Reuschel and Dave Dravecky are great at keeping the ball in the park)
Well, that's only the first third of the season but we're already starting to see some separation, about 7-12 games between the top teams and the bubble teams. We'll see how things look at 160 games.
Out of curiosity, what sort of things would you find interesting to read about in such posts? Individual leaders? Streaks? Just let me know; as long as it's not too time consuming I'd be happy to post it. If there are any teams from the original list of 92 posted above that you want updates on that's easily done.