Lee Sinins wrote:

One of the things we can do with the new encyclopedia is get a list of the annual leaders in team RSAA among postseason teams, to check out how often the best pitching staff wins in the postseason.

It’s happened just 4 times (1995 Braves, 2004 Red Sox, 2005 White Sox, 2007 Red Sox).

4 times in 14 years… So much for that theory

We can also get the individual RSAA leader among players whose teams made it to the postseason, to test out how often the best pitcher on the postseason teams leads to a World Championship.

Just 3 times since 1995 (1995 Maddux, 2001 Johnson, 2006 Carpenter).

3 out of 14

Once again, this shows the randomness of the postseason, at least on the pitching side…

I don’t know. You’d have to check each year individually to determine that answer.

@ Lee Sinins:
How many of the last 14 World Champ teams finished in the top third of their league in team RSAA?

One of the things we can do with the new encyclopedia is get a list of the annual leaders in team RSAA among postseason teams, to check out how often the best pitching staff wins in the postseason.

1995–Braves 134
1996–Braves 138
1997–Braves 160
1998–Braves 149
1999–Red Sox 166
2000–Braves 91
2001–Braves 129
2002–Braves 165
2003–A’s 96
2004–Red Sox 118
2005–White Sox 143
2006–Tigers 106
2007–Red Sox 163
2008–Cubs 98

It’s happened just 4 times (1995 Braves, 2004 Red Sox, 2005 White Sox, 2007 Red Sox).

We can also get the individual RSAA leader among players whose teams made it to the postseason, to test out how often the best pitcher on the postseason teams leads to a World Championship.

1995–Greg Maddux 64
1996–Ken Hill 47
1997–Randy Johnson 55
1998–Greg Maddux 55
1999–Pedro Martinez 71
2000–Greg Maddux 45
2001–Randy Johnson 59
2002–Randy Johnson 62
2003–Pedro Martinez 53
2004–Johan Santana 54
2005–Roger Clemens 53
2006–Chris Carpenter 32
2007–Brandon Webb 44
2008–C.C. Sabathia 37

Just 3 times since 1995 (1995 Maddux, 2001 Johnson, 2006 Carpenter).

@ Raf:
http://waswatching.com/2009/09/19/even-more-fun-with-the-complete-baseball-encyclopedia/

Does the CBE have that new feature you were talking about, postseason stuff or something? Is this where you got your info from?

Mea culpa. My bad on the stats. I forgot to run the daily update on my CBE before I did the sort. Here are the correct stats:

ERA                             DIFF   PLAYER   LEAGUE
1    Mariners                   0.56     3.90     4.46
2    White Sox                  0.29     4.17     4.46
3    A's                        0.17     4.29     4.46
4    Yankees                    0.16     4.30     4.46
5    Red Sox                    0.14     4.33     4.46
6    Tigers                     0.11     4.35     4.46
7    Rays                       0.09     4.37     4.46
8    Rangers                    0.07     4.40     4.46
9    Blue Jays                  0.00     4.46     4.46
10   Angels                     -.02     4.48     4.46
11   Twins                      -.05     4.51     4.46
12   Royals                     -.29     4.76     4.46
13   Indians                    -.52     4.98     4.46
14   Orioles                    -.73     5.19     4.46

Also, it’s just as interesting that 3 of the 4 dynasty teams rank near the bottom of the plus side.

Really, +40 or 50 pitching runs is NOT that impressive for a championship team, as a RS-RA differential of 80-100, while indicative of a good team, is not usually indicative of a title-winning team.

2008 Phils +119
2007 Red Sox +210
2006 Cards +19
2005 White Sox +96
2004 Red Sox +181
2003 Marlins +59
2002 Angels +207
2001 D’backs +189
2000 Yankees +57
1999 Yankees +169
1998 Yankees +310
1997 Marlins +71
1996 Yankees +126

The median RS-RA differential of the last 13 title winners is the 1996 Yankees at +129; the average differential is +139. Of the 13 title winners, 9 were above +90, and 4 were below. Even after last night’s rout, the current edition is +156.

Steve Lombardi wrote:

@ Evan3457:

Up to date stats, AL, Team ERA vs. Lge Average ERA:
According to these, Yanks are look up at Tigers and Sox, no?

I’m not sure why the Encyclopedia’s stats are different from BR’s, but they are.

ESPN has the same numbers as BR:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/pitching/year/2009/seasontype/2/league/al

So does Fangraphs:
http://www.fangraphs.com/teams.aspx?pos=all&lg=al&stats=pit&type=0&season=2009&month=0

I think the Encyclopedia is showing ballpark adjusted ERA. In ERA+, the Yanks rank ahead of the Angels and Twins, and behind the Red Sox and Tigers.

I’m assuming the difference is that Steve is taking the active roster’s of the playoff teams and adding those players’ ERA’s vs. taking the team ERA off of let’s say B-R since those stats include pitchers who are no longer on the team. I couldn’t find any data like that on B-R though.