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Prospectus Hit List for August 22



by Matt Sussman

Hit List for August 20 Hit List for August 25
Teams are ordered based on Adjusted Hit List Factor, a computer generated number, and the author isn't responsible for the order of the teams.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes after ... wards. I don't want this Hit List to end.

RkTmWLW1W2W3HLFAHLFWin Div%Win WC%Playoff%1-Day 7-Day
1

67

61

66.6

64.4

64.6

.513

.493

3.6%

39.5%

43.1%

3.1%

24.1%

I'm not sure what the new Cobb County stadium will be called, but they're missing out if it's not called Land Of The Free.
2

69

57

62.8

65.9

65.7

.523

.503

41.1%

36.3%

77.4%

-3.8%

11.5%

The clubhouse hasn't become divided over A.J. Pierzynski yet, but Pierzynski has divided the clubhouse into two lists he made: "people with worse hair than me" and "people I haven't seen with their hats off yet."
3

70

56

66.5

60.7

62.1

.514

.534

51.9%

21.7%

73.6%

2.9%

10.7%

You know those fractions of pennies that the guys in Office Space tried to steal? Maybe instead of a bank account, they accidentally funneled into Alex Gordon's defensive metrics.
4

71

56

68.5

67.1

66.7

.538

.518

55.5%

34.8%

90.4%

-0.8%

10.6%

By WAR among Brewers who played at least 50 percent of their games at catcher, Jonathan Lucroy is the second most valuable catcher in Brewers history. Sidebar: BJ Surhoff was a catcher?
5

73

52

69.8

68.7

69.1

.561

.581

97.1%

1.1%

98.2%

-0.2%

4.2%

One of their starting pitchers *has* to be a time-traveling Mike Mussina, I just know it.
6

67

59

67.8

68.3

67.4

.533

.513

17.5%

48.8%

66.4%

5.1%

3.7%

Maybe losing the game they successfully protested was for the best, because then they'd have just protested every loss from now on.
7

73

53

74.9

74.5

73.6

.587

.568

96.2%

2.7%

98.9%

-0.0%

2.3%

Maybe we should call them the Walkoffington Nationals? But then you'd have to rename our nation's capital Walkoffington D.C., and think of the paperwork.
8

64

62

64.8

64.2

63.4

.509

.529

3.4%

4.9%

8.3%

-2.2%

2.1%

"Corey Kluber lost? Trade him!" the rest of the AL Central suggested.
9

76

50

73.4

78.0

77.1

.604

.623

68.6%

31.2%

99.7%

0.1%

0.9%

Matt Shoemaker, Matt Shoemaker, make me a match / find me a find, pitch me a pitch.
10

68

57

66.8

68.4

67.6

.542

.561

44.7%

24.4%

69.1%

-3.6%

0.6%

Prior to this year, Rick Porcello never threw a complete game in five full seasons. This year he leads the American League in shutouts. He has as many complete games as the Orioles and Mariners combined.
11

53

75

53.1

53.3

53.1

.415

.396

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Last in the Hit List, first in our hearts, and third in WARP by a Peralta.
12

49

77

49.1

46.6

48.6

.384

.403

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

How much money and/or peer pressure would it require for Rougned Odor to walk up to Lynyrd Skynyrd's "That Smell"?
13

55

72

57.3

62.2

61.9

.465

.445

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

How bad are the Cubs? They're so bad, they ca—[rest of the joke is covered by tarp]!
14

54

74

54.6

54.4

56.2

.428

.448

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

You can tell they're new to the American League, because by rule now that they've won both series against the Yankees, their best player must become a Yankee next year.
15

50

76

56.8

58.8

56.3

.438

.418

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Here are the first basemen who have hit grand slams for the Rockies: Todd Helton, Andres Galarraga, and after yesterday, Matt McBride.
16

56

71

55.0

55.6

56.5

.439

.420

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

13-year-old Philadelphia native and Little League World Series icon Mo'Ne Davis is still three years to young too sign an MLB contract, and 20 years too young to sign a Phillies contract.
17

56

70

58.0

58.1

57.9

.456

.476

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.0%

Their outfield is going to be fierce someday. Maybe next year, maybe in a couple years. In the meantime, enjoy Jordan Schafer!
18

56

71

56.1

56.4

57.1

.444

.464

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.1%

I'd joke that breaking up late no-hitters is their sort of moral victory in a bad year, then remember they broke one up in the ninth inning of an ALCS game last year.
19

59

68

56.6

56.3

56.1

.449

.469

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.0%

-0.2%

They traded Gordon Beckham, so here are four words for a fun ride to the end of the season: Paul Konerko, second baseman.
20

59

67

61.7

58.2

58.5

.471

.451

0.0%

0.4%

0.4%

-0.2%

-0.6%

This is the best bullpen in baseball, but nobody is aware because many are still not convinced the Padres exist. They've only read about them in books and on the Internet.
21

60

68

63.1

58.5

58.4

.469

.449

0.0%

0.2%

0.2%

-0.1%

-0.6%

It's amazing how their bullpen magically improved once they released the bad, old relievers.
22

74

52

80.5

78.7

78.1

.618

.636

31.0%

67.9%

98.9%

-0.1%

-0.8%

If the season ended today, the A's would face the Tigers in the Wild Card game. And they'd have over a month to get everyone healthy, so ending the season today seems pointless.
23

64

61

58.0

58.2

58.7

.478

.498

1.3%

3.5%

4.7%

1.6%

-2.2%

Both Yankees shutouts this year (Brandon McCarthy yesterday, Masahiro Tanaka in May) had eight strikeouts, four hits and no walks. Yet we've never seen both shutouts in the same room together.
24

63

63

60.1

60.6

59.8

.483

.463

0.2%

3.5%

3.6%

-1.0%

-2.4%

Every fiber of my being wants me to make Marlins jokes, but they already have more wins than all of last year. I cannot. The joke is on me.
25

72

57

70.3

73.9

72.3

.559

.539

82.5%

14.5%

97.0%

0.2%

-2.4%

Growing up, Clayton Kershaw's parents would always be, "okay, you have to get a haircut like a grownup unless you throw a shutout." The rest was history.
26

62

65

65.4

69.5

69.6

.524

.544

0.4%

0.8%

1.2%

0.5%

-4.9%

The Rays won their first game in franchise history with a single hit, and of course it happened against David Price.
27

68

58

75.0

73.3

73.0

.574

.593

0.5%

40.6%

41.1%

0.7%

-5.1%

Jesus Sucre is the real thing behind the plate, unlike his backup Jim Nutrasweet.
28

65

62

64.3

65.2

64.6

.510

.530

1.3%

4.0%

5.2%

0.3%

-5.2%

There's not much good news to report from the Blue Jays camp so let's just again point out that John Gibbons is a synonym for "toilet monkeys."
29

61

67

64.6

61.2

61.8

.486

.466

0.0%

0.8%

0.8%

-1.3%

-12.5%

Okay, "go ahead and bat Brayan Pena fifth" was supposed to be reverse psychology.
30

65

62

63.0

65.5

66.4

.511

.491

3.3%

18.5%

21.8%

-1.2%

-33.8%

Well doctor, I had this weird dream that a baseball team was being single-handedly kept alive in the playoff race by Travis Snider. What do you think it means?