Stat Line of the Day: May 17th

V. Mazzaro (KC): 2.1 IP, 11 H, 14 R (14 ER), 3 BB, 2 Ks vs. CLE
You never want to see players have a "historically bad" night, but that's exactly what Vin Mazzaro did last night  in Kansas City. To  be fair to Mazzaro, he was put in a lose-

Mazzaro has the distinction of throwing possibly
the worst relief appearance in MLB history

lose situation: starter Kyle Davies had been removed after just one-third of an inning, after he walked three of the first four batters he faced while throwing just six of his 21 pitches for strikes. So, when the 24-year-old Mazzaro (left) came on to start the fourth inning, he was already the second reliever in the game--manager Ned Yost needed him to get through innings, not win the Royals the game. Unfortunately, Mazzaro ended up putting up the worst relief pitching line since at least 1919 (and possibly MLB history), allowing 12 of the final 14 batters he faced to get on base safely. If his appearance had been a start, he would have been tagged with a gamescore of -19, which would be the lowest since Oakland's Mike Oquist -21 in 1998. In fact, those are the lowest two gamescores since 1957--so that gives you an idea just how awful Mazzaro was. In the fourth inning alone, he gave up seven hits and 10 runs, finished off by a three-run shot by Michael Brantley. However, due to the Royals need of someone to just pitch more innings, Mazzaro got sent out for the fifth. After getting the first out, he allowed the next four batters to reach, loading the bases with one out for new reliever Jeremy Jeffress. Then, to add insult to injury, Jeffress allowed all three of those runners to score, ending Mazzaro's line for the day. The final blow? After the game (just his second of the season), Mazzaro was sent back down to the minor leagues.

What's Going on in the AL Central?

Sizemore's return has been a 
huge spark for the 19-8 Indians

Back in the mid-2000s, the American League Central seemed like a pretty hot division. The Twins were fresh off three straight playoff appearances, behind the amazing arm of Johan Santana and the bat of Torii Hunter. The White Sox won 90+ games in 2005 and 2006, including a World Series title in '05. The Tigers won only 71 games in '05 by made the World Series in '06, while the Indians won 90+ games in '05 and '07, making it to the ALCS in 2007. Lately, however, the AL Central has taken a backseat to the power race in the American League East and the amazing pitching staffs out in the AL West--the division-winning Twins got swept out of the playoffs the last two seasons, and no AL Central team has won a playoff series since those 2007 Indians. This year, more of the same was expected--the Royals were a year or two away from contending, the Indians were an unknown quantity with Grady Sizemore (see right) returning from injury, while the Twins were expected to win the division behind the arm of Francisco Liriano and the bats of Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. However, a month into the season, the standings are straight out of the Twilight Zone: the Indians have the best record in baseball at 19-8, followed by the Royals at 15-13. Behind Kansas City is Detroit (12-17), Chicago (11-19), and the Twins (9-18). Let's take a look at each team and see why they are where they are, and if they can keep it up.

NFL Draft: Rounds 1-3 Recap

With Rounds 4-7 of the NFL Draft just underway, let's take a look at the past three rounds. With the NFL Lockout imposed, then lifed, then re-imposed the first three rounds were, to sum it up politely, chaotic. Teams traded up and down, up and down, and quarterbacks were plucked at lightning speed.

So, in all of this mess, who made the best picks and who didn't? Hit the jump to find out.

NFL Draft Preview: AFC West

Welcome to part four of our eight-part NFL Draft preview. In this installment, we will wrap up our AFC previews by taking a look at the AFC West.

The AFC West had a surprise champion last year in the Kansas City Chiefs, who took a huge step forward under young coach Todd Haley. The Chargers, who had been in control of the division for the past five years, were probably the best team in the division, at least statistically, but finished a disappointing 9-7 thanks to atrocious special teams and some untimely mistakes. Oakland was a pleasant surprise, and is looking to build off a strong 8-8 2010 campaign. In the cellar, Denver is in complete rebuilding mode, and faces questions at the quarterback position as well as the adjustments necessary that come along with hiring a new head coach. With this in mind, how will the AFC West approach the draft? Hit the jump to find out.

Early Season Observations: East Coast Bias

The beauty about baseball, from a statistical perspective, is just how quickly the stats pile up. With games nearly every day, and with multiple at-bats per game, just a few games give those of us stat-heads enough to look at and begin to analyze. Are the sample sizes still small? Yes, extremely--but that doesn't stop the mainstream media from beginning to say certain players (and teams) are off to good or bad starts after just a few games. As the weeks progress and things settle in, the numbers become more and more meaningful, for sure, but for now the speculation runs rampant about who is setting themselves up for a breakout year, and who's fans are going to be sorely disappointed by midseason. Or, for those of you who look at things in a different light, which players are going to end up wildly overrated on the fantasy market, and which teams are going to tank early before miraculously finishing the season strong and winding up in the playoffs. 

Are the "Phab Phour" living up to the hype?

Over the first week-or-so of the season, teams from the Eastern side of the Rockies seem to be asserting themselves a little more than the teams out on the West are, especially when it comes to some promising young teams that might be playing up to future potential. The Baltimore Orioles are 4-0, one of only two remaining undefeated squads--the Cincinnati Reds (4-0) and the Texas Rangers (5-0). Some of the other teams have been impressive, as well--the Phillies (3-1) won their first three behind the arms of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Roy Oswalt; the Royals (4-1) took three out of four at the Angels before beating the White Sox in 12 innings last night. A few numbers are already starting to really emerge from the pile as significant indicators of success, and we'll take a look at some of the more interesting ones after the jump.

Spring Training Spotlight: Kansas City

With Greinke no longer a Royal, who's 
going to step up in Kansas City?

As spring training finally winds down, with just two days until the first pitches (at least, the ones that count) are thrown, we turn our eye to what has to be one of the most-ignored franchises in major American professional sports. If not for Carlos Beltran's 2003 season, when the Royals won 83 games, they would be only one season behind Pittsburgh's seasonal losing streak--that was the only winning season since 1993. Two years ago, a once-renowned pitcher named Zack Greinke (right) got his mojo back and won a Cy Young, but you had the feeling it was only a matter of time before he found greener pastures. Indeed, Greinke now pitches for the Brewers, and it feels like it's back to page one in KC. However, just because Greinke left doesn't mean the Royals weren't able to bring in a few pieces to add to the puzzle. Sometimes, putting a player in a new situation, a new city, can really restart a younger veteran's career, and Kansas City has really put their hopes on that happening this season. Similar to Pittsburgh, the Royals need to build some sort of momentum as a franchise in order to attract more talent. The rotation is a major problem, however, and it seems like it will take the discovery of a new Greinke to really put the Royals in any position to be competitive. So, who are those old faces trying to find a new home in Kansas City? Hit the jump to find out who--and how they're doing.

Stat Line of the Day: March 29th

Temmu Selanne (ANA): 3 goals, 2 assists, +2, 17 min vs. Colorado

Even at 40, Selanne is still producing for the Ducks

We venture onto the ice for the first time here at SportStatistics to honor a 40-year-old right winger, and boy what a night he had. His first of the day was a penalty shot 47 seconds into the second period--his first penalty-shot goal in 18 years. The second came 8 minutes later courtesy of Cam Fowler, and Selanne put in his 28th goal of the season with five minutes remaining in the third period to give Anaheim a 5-3 lead. That goal proved to be the difference-maker, however, with the final score at 5-4. Selanne has had quite the year for a 40-year-old, his 75 points the most he's had since 2006 (the last time he played more than 65 games; he's already played in 67 out of 76 games this year), and his big night helped the Ducks stay 4 points up on 9th-place Calgary in the Western conference. Anaheim is in 7th with 6 games to play, though they do have a game in hand over those Flames. The five-point game was the ninth such achievement of Selanne's career. 

Honorable Mentions:

Carmelo Anthony (NYK): 39 points (12-26 fg, 2-6 3pt, 13-17 FTs, 10 reb, 2 ast, 3 TO)

On a night where you could almost see the Knicks season spiraling out of control, it was their new star who had to pull them out of it in overtime. Did this game turn the Knicks fortunes around? That remains to be seen. But Carmelo had one of his best games of the season--he's scored 39 two other times and 50 once--against a Magic team without Jameer Nelson (15.0 PER in 30mpg) and J.J. Redick (12.87 PER in 25.6mpg), on a night where the Knicks maybe shouldn't have needed it. New York got some help in overtime when Dwight Howard fouled out and then got called for a technical on the same play, so to win at home in those circumstances is nearly a must if one wants any sort of confidence for the rest of the season. As good as 'Melo is, the Knicks are still only in the 7th slot in the Eastern Conference, looking at a first-round matchup with the Celtics--not exactly a rosy situation for what was supposed to be a season-changing trade. 

Kansas City Royals: 17-for-39, 10 runs, 3 walks, 0 strikeouts

What, an entire team can't have a great line? This really was the definition of a team hitting effort by the Royals: of the 14 hitters with a plate appearance, 12 of them got hits, 8 had an RBI, and 10 of them scored a run. That's right, a different player scored all 10 runs for Kansas City, and only one batter (Kila Ka'aihue, who had a 3-run homer) had multiple RBIs. Also impressive was the lack of strikeouts, the number of home runs (four), and the fact that no player had any more than two hits. I don't want to say too much about the Royals--we're going to spotlight them later on today.

What Does Spring Training Mean?

Every year, baseball teams pack up and head south for the spring. Every year, fans across the country dream about what could be--that young prospect who could bust out, the crafty veteran who could pull the team together. And, every year, a few teams have springs bad enough that those same fans are ready to give up entirely before the season even starts! So, that got us thinking here at Sports, Stats & Stuff about what the preseason really means, if it means anything. Do playoff teams perform better in the spring than non-playoff teams? Which teams tend to under-perform, and which teams over-perform? At what point should I begin pulling my hair out? If these questions interest you (and if they don't, why are you still reading?) hit the jump!