Friday, May 30, 2008

Ask the Magic Eight Ball

Mattel is the largest toy company in the world. You probably got a Hot Wheels car with your Happy Meal when you were 6. Nothing, though, not even the original 1959 swimsuit Barbie beats Mattel's Magic Eight Ball.

As we know, this spherical oracle is just a blue polyhedron floating in some liquid and is not meant for life decisions. But, it is pretty useful to determine the All-Star fate of a few chosen Gigantes.



Lessee, in 69.7 innings pitched pitched (including the rain-delay relief appearance), Lincecum has:
7-1, 2.33 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 76 K:28 BB
What good are numbers without some context?
  • Every start he has pitched has been a quality start.
  • The Giants are 6-0 when Lincecum starts after a loss.
  • If the Giants continue their win rate for this season, they will win 69 games. If Lincecum continues his win rate, he will contribute 23 wins out of the 69.
  • Currently, he is second only to Reds phenom Edison Volquez in ERA and tied with Volquez in strikeouts in the National League.
Barring an implosion of epic proportions, Lincecum is a lock for the All-Star team. Magic Eight Ball, you got it right.



Lincecum has a 2-to-1 shot at starting the All-Star Game. Him, Volquez, and Brandon Webb are the leading candidates, with Volquez in the lead at this point.



Last season, Molina had the numbers to make the ASG as at least a backup. But nooooo, Tony LaRussa favored Yadier instead. This season, his 10-game rampage with 23 hits, 15 RBIs, and .333 batting average is more than enough to make a case for a selection by Clint Hurdle.



Exactly. Geovany Soto leads the All-Star balloting, and rightfully so, followed by Brian McCann and Yadier. If Giants fans can overload the MLB's ballot counting computer, Clint Hurdle might select Bengie as a backup, though.



He's batting much better than I expected him to this season, given that he's played (or still playing) with an injured rib and has been beaned at least 3 times this season. Rowand has a previous All Star tag and his numbers are special enough for Hurdle to notice. The top 3 vote-getters so far are corner-fielders, so there is a chance that Rowand could make it as center-fielder.



* Thanks to the Magic 8 Ball

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