Edinburgh News - 2028-05-08 - 'Week Five"

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Edinburgh News - 2028-05-08 - 'Week Five"

#1 Post by Vic »

By Hamish Campbell
Evening News Staff Writer
2028-05-08

The Big Picture
Last week in this space we talked about mediocrity. This week in this space we’ll talk about mediocrity.

At least we’re consistent.

The Claymores came out of the gate in May blazing hot, winning three straight for their longest winning streak of the year and vaulting to two (count ‘em) games over .500. Apparently the boys from Edinburgh can’t stand prosperity, because they promptly lost four in a row (one to Amsterdam, three to New Orleans) and fell to two games under .500.

Hence, mediocrity. Or maybe a tad worse.

Pitching remains an issue, with the Claymores ranking last in the Imperial League for bullpen ERA (4.01); total runs allowed (144); and total hits allowed (305). The offense still, somehow, scores runs (146, 3rd in the IL), but most of the other batting stats are pretty lackluster.

Bottom line: the Scottish need to do better across the board if they’re going to contend, even for a wildcard.

Player(s) of the Week
Let’s highlight a couple of guys who picked themselves up off the floor and turned in pretty decent performances for Week 5.

First, CF Jack Flynn, who had a terrible April: .173/.247/.259, and in Week 2 actually went 0-21.

Maybe he’s a man who likes May flowers, though, because last week he went .308/.308/.423. Not Hall of Fame stuff, maybe, but light years better than where he’d been. This is a welcome development, because his defensive skills are important to keep in the lineup.

Our second nominee: José Guillén. Granted, the man had a gangbusters start to the year and was hitting over .500 through the first three weeks. But in Week 4, you’ll recall, the bottom fell out and he went 1-20.

Last week, though, Guillén returned to form, a bit. He slashed .292/.333/.833. Most notably, he smacked four homers, raising his season total to 11 and tying Hartford’s Luis Cedeño for the Imperial League lead.

Well done, lads!

Game of the Week
Here we’ll go with the May 1 victory over Amsterdam. The Claymores won 5-1 behind a gem pitched by Francisco Robles, who went 8.1 innings allowing just one run on five hits. He also notched 6 strikeouts against two walks, and snared player of the game honors.

Offensive fireworks were provided by José Guillén, who stroked a two-run double in the top of the sixth inning off Lions starter Goro Honma to break a scoreless tie.

Robles pitched to two batters in the ninth, retiring one but yielding a single to CF Sean Peters. Scottish manager Hayato Sasaki then went to his bullpen, bringing in Ángelo Gonzáles. He got the inning’s second out but then yielded a single to RF Robert Johnson, putting runners at first and third.

Sasaki decided to take no chances and signaled for his closer, Ken Fisher, who has yet to yield a single run in 17.2 innings of work. This was no exception: he fanned 1B Jorge Anguilar on three pitches to lock down the save.

None of that would have happened without Robles, though, said Sasaki.

"Francisco's tempo and rhythm were good. He was the key to us winning."

Stat of the Week
This week we present the relief corollary to last week’s stat, Pure Quality Starts.

Naturally enough, this week’s stat is known as Pure Quality Relief, which measures the consistency of relief appearances. A sabermatrician and fantasy baseball expert named Patrick Davitt devised PQR in 2008.

Like PQS, it uses a five-point scale (well, six actually, since a 0 is also eminently possible). Here’s how the scoring works:

1) A reliever gets two points for the first out, then one point for each subsequent out to a maximum of four points.

2) A bonus point is awarded for recording at least one K for each four outs (one K for 1-4 outs, two Ks for 5-8, three Ks for nine outs).

3) Award one point for zero baserunners, but subtract a point for each baserunner allowed. However, a pitcher gets a free BR for each three full outs he records (one BR for 3-5 outs, two for 6-8 outs, three for 9 outs).

4) Subtract a point for each earned run allowed, but allow one ER without penalty for 8- or 9-out appearances.

5) Award an automatic PQR score of 0 for allowing a HR.


Here’s how the main bullpen arms for the Claymores stacked up through the first week of May:

Ken Fisher: 5, 4, 5, 3, 5, 5, 3, 3, 5, 4, 4, 4, 5, 4.
Ángelo Gonzáles: 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 1, 5, 5, 1, 5, 5, 0.
Eitoku Tamura: 3, 3, 5, 3, 3, 5, 3, 2, 0, 5, 5, 4.
Mauro Rocha: 0, 0, 3, 0, 4, 5, 0, 2, 5, 4, 4, 3.
Robinson Herrera: 4, 0, 0, 0, 3, 4.
Jesús Guerra: 0, 3, 2, 0, 5.
Terry Dumont: 3, 0, 0, 0, 4, 1, 5, 2.

Manager Hayato Sasaki, who came to the Claymores with a reputation as a sabermetric savant, said he finds the method useful as a shorthand look at how his bullpen is performing.

“I used it, as a matter of fact, to inform a couple of adjustments I made to our bullpen roles,” he said.

Specifically, Sasaki moved Fisher into the closer role, replacing Tamura, who moved into one of the setup roles. In addition, Sasaki began using Gonzáles in late-inning situations, rather than Rocha.

“Tamura, clearly, is an excellent pitcher,” Sasaki said, “but Ken has been a picture of consistent excellence this season, which is what you want in your closer. Eitoku has a bit too much … volatility, perhaps, is the right word … in his game. I can live with that, but perhaps not in my closing role.”

Also clear from the above chart is why Dumont moved back into the starting rotation, where he’s performed fairly well.

“Terry’s skill set, we have learned, does not lend itself to relief,” Sasaki said.

PQR illustrates, at a glance, what a more detailed look at the Claymores stat sheet will also tell you: the back end of the Scottish bullpen is performing at a high level, but the long- and middle-relief spots have been troubled.

Those are areas, Sasaki said, that he plans to target in the weeks ahead.
Vic Caleca
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Re: Edinburgh News - 2028-05-08 - 'Week Five"

#2 Post by Borealis »

Not much of a sabermetrics Guy, but the PQR is certainly an interesting concept!
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Re: Edinburgh News - 2028-05-08 - 'Week Five"

#3 Post by Leones »

My saber metrics books must be getting dated. Hadn't heard of PQR until now. Very interesting measure and another first rate read from the prolific and informative Hamish!
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Re: Edinburgh News - 2028-05-08 - 'Week Five"

#4 Post by Fishermen »

PQR May be useful but it’s a shame ootp won’t allow you much control over the bullpen to really react to it. I’ve had my best relief arm Matt Brown set as a stopper all season but it’s almost as if ootp bends over backwards not to let him try for that two-innings save :angry-cussingblack: I groan watching the replays as he gets another clean innings only to get the hook again. Thankfully though most of my bullpen seems to be doing it’s stuff, although I will now try the PQR on them lol
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