The Best MLB Team Jackie Robinson Ever Played For!

Where to start, where to end with the 1953 Dodgers?

First time I ever heard of them was back when I was a lad and discovered a book on my grandfather’s bookcase, The Boys Of Summer by Roger Kahn.

Not only was it the best MLB team Jackie played for, but certainly one of the finest teams ever assembled!

And like the Cleveland Indians of next year, they failed to win the World Series. Well, they did win 2 games, so they were halfway to winning it.

But what a team it was, as Brooklyn won 105 games and six Dodgers scored 100 or more runs!

Team Hitting

Speaking of scoring, the team touched home 955 times that year in 155 games, or 6.2 times per 9 innings. Their hated rivals, the New York Giants, plus the St Louis Cardinals, were tied second in runs scored with just 768 scored each.

The Dodgers, as a team had 1519 hits. Their hated rivals, the Giants, were second with just 1459.

Brooklyn led the NL in homeruns with 208. Giants were second with 176.

The Dodgers led the league in walks with 655. The Cardinals were second with 574.

You’d think, maybe with all those homeruns, that they would also strike out a lot, but no. 686 K’s as a team was good enough only for 4^th. The Chicago Cubs actually fanned 746 times to lead the NL.

It was a little closer in team batting average, but the Dodgers still led the NL with a .285 average. The Cardinals were second with a team average of .273.

How about some “Moneyball” stat, OBP? The Dodgers as a team had a .366 on base percentage, good enough for first. The Cardinals were second with a team .347 OBP.

Brooklyn’s team slugging average of average of .474, which again led the league, was 50 points better than the Cardinals .424 slugging average.

OBS, on base plus slugging, the Dodgers were at .840. The Cardinals were second at .771.

Okay, I found something the Dodgers didn't lead the league in that was positive offensively: HBP, hit by pitch. The Dodgers were only 3^rd with 35. But this was only 4 back of first place St Louis. Oh, well, less bruises.

Brooklyn was also only 3^rd in sacrifice bunts (SH), with 75. The Pittsburgh Pirates led the NL with 89.

Team Pitching

Okay, here might be a problem. Obviously, their pitchers led the NL in wins, but Brooklyn’s team ERA was 4.10, so it appears you’d get a 6-4 win on average every game you went to that season!

That 4.10 ERA was still good enough for 3^rd, however, as the brand new Milwaukee Braves led the NL with a 3.30 team ERA.

The Dodger pitchers finished 104 games, only good enough for 6^th. But the league leaders, the Cubs hurlers, finished only 117 themselves. For those wondering, that’s having a relief pitcher come in 104 times, and the new arrival or another reliever, finishing the game.

Brooklyn’s starting pitchers, by the way, hurled 51 complete games, which was only good enough for a 3^rd place tie with the Cardinals. The Philadelphia Phillies led the NL with 76 complete games.

Brooklyn shut out the opposition 11 times, good enough for 4^th place. The Braves led the league with 14.

The Dodgers were always known, like the Yankees, (think Joe Page of New York and Hugh Casey of the Dodgers) for their closers, who recorded 29 saves, but it was only good enough for 2^nd behind the Cardinals’ 36.

But Brooklyn really shined in opponent’s getting hits off them. Despite their little ballpark, the opposition managed only 1337 hits. The Braves were the only National League team to allow fewer, 1282.

But yes, the Dodgers gave up 689 runs, with only two other teams allowed fewer. The Braves allowed the fewest, 589.

Also, earned runs, the Dodgers allowed just 629. Again, it was the Braves with just 508 earned runs who allowed the fewest.

Problem here, is the long ball against. I mentioned earlier, the Dodgers led the NL in homeruns hit. But they also allowed the second most long balls, 169. Only the Cincinnati Reds allowed more, 179.

But the pitchers made ‘em hit the ball, as they walked only 509 batters. That was 3^rd in the NL, with the Phillies in the lead with 410.

How about K’s. Plenty enough! 817, to lead the NL. The Braves were second with 738.

As for HBP, the Dodgers were dead last with just 17. The Cardinals led the league with 42.

The Dodgers’ pitchers were tied for 3^rd in balks with 4, 3 behind the Braves league leading 7.

Brooklyn’s hurlers issued 24 wild pitches, 5^th in the league behind the Pirates’ 44.

The Dodgers pitchers gave up 8.7 hits per 9 innings, which was just a little less than the Braves’ hurlers, who permitted a league low 8.3 hits per 9 innings.

Now for the bad part: The Dodgers gave up and average of 1.1 homeruns per 9 innings. That tiny Ebbets Field ballpark works both ways! Only the Reds gave up more, 1.2!

Control wise, the Dodgers pitchers gave up 3.3 walks per 9 innings. Only Philadelphia and Cincinnati gave up less walks per 9 innings.

When it comes to K/9, the Dodgers led the league with an average of 5.5. The Braves were second with 4.8.

The Dodgers did lead the league with the highest K/BB ratio with 1.61. The Cubs were second with 1.55.

Team Fielding

The Dodgers’ team defensive efficiency (Don’t ask me how to calculate that, or what it means) was .713 for second in the league.  The Braves were first with .715.

Because of the pitchers K’s, the Dodgers were way down the list of total chances.  5832 total chances was 7^th in the NL. Far back of St. Louis’ 6121.

But how about just putouts? The Dodgers made 4141, which was third. The Braves were tops with 4161.

Assists wise, Brooklyn was second last (7^th) with just 1608. The Cardinals were 1^st with 1823.

The Dodgers committed the fewest errors among NL teams with just 118. That’s way back of the Cubs, who were first with 193.

Brooklyn was tied for third in double plays with 161. The Reds were atop the leader board with 176.

The Dodgers lead the league in fielding percentage with .980.

Individual Overall Performance

Duke Snider was second in the NL in WAR with 9.3, behind Robin Roberts’ (a pitcher) 9.8. Roy Campanella was 7^th with a 7.1 and Jackie Robinson 8^th with a 7.0.

But among positioned players, it was Snider 1^st, Campanella 4^th, Robinson 5^th and Pee Wee Reese 9^th (5.1).

Individual Offence

So Snider was first in offensive WAR with an 8.7, Campanella was 4^th with a 6.5, Robinson 6^th with a 5.9 and Reese 10^th with a 4.6.

Carl Furillo led the National League in batting average with .344. Snider was 4^th with .336. Then you had Robinson 8^th with a .329 and Campy 10^th with a .312. I think I should mention that Roy is a catcher at this point.

Robinson’s .425 on base percentage was second behind Stan Musial’s .437. Snider was 3^rd with .419, Campanella 8^th (.395) and Gil Hodges 10^th (.393).

Snider topped the NL in slugging percentage with .627. Campanella was 3^rd with .611. Furillo was 5^th with .580 and Hodges was 7^th with a .550 S%.

Snider also was on top in On Base Plus Slugging with 1.046. Campy was 4^th with 1.006. Furillo was 5^th with a .973 and Hodges was 8^th with .943. Finally, you had Robinson 10^th with .927.

Another person who has not been mentioned yet on the leader boards, Jim Gilliam, topped the NL in plate appearances with 710. Snider was 7^th with 680.

Snider was first in runs scored with 132. Gilliam was 4^th with 125, Robinson 8^th with 109 and Reese 9^th with 108. It should be noted that Roy Campanella’s 103 runs scored and Gil Hodges’ 101 runs scored didn’t make the top 10!

Snider was only 3^rd however, in hits with 198.

But the Duke was the league leader in total bases with 370. Campy was 6^th with 317 and Hodges 10^th with 286.

Snider and Furillo both hit 38 doubles which was good enough for 3^rd in the senior circuit, trailing Stan Musial’s league leading 53. Robinson was 8^th with 34.

Gilliam topped the NL in triples with 17. Surprisingly enough, no other Dodger was in the top 10.

Snider trailed Eddie Mathews in homerun with 42. But that was still good enough for second, and just 5 less long balls. Campanella was also over 40 with 41, for 3^rd. Hodges’ 31 were good enough for 6^th.

Roy’s 142 RBI topped the NL by 7. The Duke’s 126 was good enough for 3^rd. Hodges’ 122 was 5^th.

Gilliam, in his role as the moneyball player on the Dodgers, was second in the NL in walks with 100. League leader Stan The Man had just 5 more. Reese and Snider each got 82 for 7^th and Hodges was 10^th with 75.

Now, for some negative stats. Snider was a victim of the K 90 times for 5^th place. Although, it was Steve Bilko of the Cardinals, who was on top with 125. Hodges was 7^th with 85.

If I told you Robinson was 3^rd on the Dodgers in stolen bases, would you believe me? Billy Bruton of the Braves, one of the most underrated players of his era, lead the loop with 26. Reese was second with 22, then Gilliam with 21, and finally Robinson 4^th with 17. Amazingly, the 5^th most stolen bases of the NL in 1953 was recorded by Snider, with 16.

Robinson was still the target of inside pitches, at this point in his career, as evidenced by his 3^rd place finish in hit by pitches, with 7. What I find amazing is that none of them were by Sal Maglie, who Jackie had a real rivalry with. Actually, Sal only hit Robinson once with a pitch in his entire career, and that was on September 1^st, 1951.

Reese had 15 sacrifice bunts to lead the National League. Robinson was tied for 8^th with 4 other players with 9 SH.

Another negative stat for Snider was that he was caught stealing  7 times, 4^th in the NL. It was worse for Gilliam, as he was caught red handed 14 times, tops in the NL. Reese was tied for 6^th with, actually 6!

But Robinson was truly a master theft artist on the bases, as he succeeded at a rate of 81 percent on theft attempts. That led the NL. Reese was second with 79%, Snider 6^th with 70% Gilliam 7^th with 60%.

Individual Pitching

Carl Erskine was 7^th in WAR among NL pitchers with a 4.3. But this was well back of Robin Roberts 9.8!

Roberts and Warren Spahn topped the NL in wins with 23 each. Erskine was also a 20 game winner with exactly 20 wins. But it was only good enough to tie Harvey Haddix for 3^rd. Russ Meyer was tied with Lew Burdette for 7^th with 15 wins.  Billy Loes tied Jim Konstanty for 9^th in National League wins with 14.

Erskine was all alone in winning percentage, however, as his .769 was the NL leader. Spahn was second with .767. Meyer tied Spahn’s teammate Burdette for 3^rd with a .750 tally. Underrated Clem Labine was the third Dodger pitcher in the top 10 with a .647, for 8^th place. 9^th place went to another Brooklyn Dodger, Loes, with .636.

Erskine was the only Dodger in the top 10 in WHIP, with 1.249. Spahn led the NL with 1.058.

Spahn also led the NL in hits allowed per 9 innings (7.1). Erskine was again the lone Dodger in the top 10 with a 7.8 (5^th).

Preacher Roe’s masterful control (2.3 walks per nine innings) made him the only Dodger in the top 10 in that category in 1953. Roberts led the NL with just 1.6 walks per nine innings.

Carl Erskine’s 6.8 K’s per nine innings was second to Vinegar Bend Mizell’s 6.9 for league lead. Meyer was 10^th with about 5.

Jim Hughes was in a 4 way tie for 7^th in the NL in games pitched. But this was way back of Hoyt Wilhelm’s league leading 68 games pitched.

Al Brazle was the NL leader in saves with 18. Hughes was top Dodger with 9, good enough for 3^rd. Labine with 7 was tied for 6^th. Joe Black, still another Dodger, had 5 to tie Konstanty for 9^th.

Erskine tossed 246 and 2/3 innings that season. That placed him 4^th among NL hurlers in IP. But it was exactly 100 IP back of Roberts, who lead the NL in still another pitching category.

Roberts also lead the league in K’s with 198. But Erskine wasn’t too far behind him with 187, which gave him the 2^nd most.

Roberts (again) lead the NL in starts with 41. Erskine was tied with Mizell and Haddix with 33 starts. Good enough for (again) second in the National League. Meyer was in a 5 way tie for 5^th with 32.

No one was close to Roberts 33 complete games pitched in 1953. The closest any Dodger pitcher came was Erskine’s 16, and even that was only 5^th place. Meyer was tied with 4 others for 10^th place with 10 CG.

Someone, that being Harvey Haddix, finally beat Robin Roberts for the lead in another category, shutouts, with 6^th, but it should be noted, Roberts tied Spahn for second with 5, nipping at Haddix’s heels from the get go, I suppose. Carl tied the Phillies’ Curt Simmons for 4^th with 4. Russ Meyer’s 2 tied him with, if you can imagine, six other players for 10^th place in the NL.

Meyer was also taken yard 25 times that 1953 season, but that was only an 8^th place tie with Bubba Church of the Reds. Yes, you pray it never happens to you out there. Warren Hacker topped the NL with 35 dingers allowed.

Erskine was 5^th in walks with 95, but it was way back of pitcher-turned-positioned-player-turned-pitcher and-positioned-player John Lindell’s league leading 139.

Erskine also surrendered 213 hits, but it was in 246 2/3 innings, remember. And it was 8^th, well back of Robin Roberts’ 324 hits allowed in 346 2/3 innings.

It was the K/BB ratio that Brooklyn hurlers really excelled. Roe was third (2.13). Robin Roberts, by the way, ended up leading the way with 3.25. It was the second of three straight seasons leading the National League in that. But after 1954, Robin only led the league twice more. Roe had the same number of K/BB ratio the year before, if you can believe it.  He also led the senior circuit in 1949 with 2.48.

Erskine was 5^th with 1.97 and Meyer was 9^th with 1.68, just behind Curt Simmons.

Erskine was also 8^th in fewest homeruns allowed per nine innings with 0.766, nudging out Lindell’s 0.769. Burdette was the league leader with 0.36 homeruns allowed per nine innings.

Earned runs allowed had Erskine and Meyer tied with Harry Perkowski of the Reds for 8^th with 97. But that was in 246 2/3 innings for Erskine and 191 1/3 innings pitched for Meyer. Warren Hacker led the league in earned runs allowed with 108 in 221 2/3 innings.

Now for wildness, it’s Jarring John Lindell leading the league with 11 wild pitches. Brooklyn had three hurlers tied for 10^th spot, with 4 other pitchers, might I add. Bob Milliken, a rookie, Russ Meyer and Carl Erskine (here again!) helped make it a 7 way tie (Wow!) for the 10 spot in wild pitches with 4.

So Robin Roberts faced the most batters, 1412. Erskine was 4^th with 1030. But that was only one back of Harvey Haddix for 3^rd place.

Hoyt Wilhelm (the last pitcher to win an ERA title while pitching in relief), as you might expect, led the league in games finished with 39. It was Clem Labine’s 21 for Brooklyn that was good enough for 8^th spot.  Jim Hughes, who would lead the NL in saves the next year, also finished in the top ten for the Dodgers. He tied Jim Konstanty for 10^th in GF with 20.

Individual Fielding

Brooklyn was strong in fielding as well!

But Roy Campanella had no equals in the field in 1953.

The catcher lead the league in games caught (140), easily topped the league in putouts behind the plate with, 802, and was third in assists (57), behind Del Crandall’s NL topping 62.

Campy did make 10 errors, which was 2^nd. Toby Artwell led the league with 15.

But Roy was tied with Wes Westrum of the Giants for double plays turned by NL catchers with 9. Crandall’s 13 was the leader.

Crandall also gunned out 27 attempts to steal the sack. That was enough for the lead. Campy was right there with 22 for second.

Westrum’s 54.5 percent stolen bases DENIED led the NL, but again Campy was not far behind with 53.7, for second.

Campy was all alone among catchers at the top with a range factor per nine innings of 6.60. Roy was also tops in the NL in range factor per game with 6.17.

Smokey Burgess led the NL in fielding percentage among catchers with a .993 mark. Campanella was second with .989.

Only four other first sackers played more games than Gil Hodges’ 127. Joe Adcock was first with 157 games played at first.

Steve Bilko was ahead of everybody in the NL with assists from first with 124. Hodges was 4^th with 99.

Ted Kluszewski’s 149 double plays turned topped all first basemen in the NL in 1953. Hodges tied Chicago’s Dee Fondy for 4^th place with 105.

Klu also led all NL first basemen in F% from 1953 with .995. Hodges was second, though, with .993.

Jim Gilliam topped everyone in the NL in games played at second with 149, was second behind Red Schoendienst’s 365 putouts (Jim had 332), and just behind him again (430-426), in assists by 2B.

And now for some negative: Junior was 3^rd in the NL in errors by a second basemen with 19. Eddie Miskis of the Cubs and Jack Dittmer of the Braves were tied in that dubious area with 23.

But Gilliam was also second to Schoendiest in double plays turned by a second basemen with 102. Only seven back.

Gilliam placed 5^th among second sackers with a 5.09 range factor per game. Schoendienst’s 5.68 beat out every second basemen in the NL.

Schoendienst’s .983 fielding percentage led the NL, with Gilliam 3^rd with .976.

Pee Wee Reese, we’ve all heard about how good of a shortstop he was, eh? How about these numbers?!

Fourth in the NL in games played by a shortstop, 135. Roy McMillian of the Reds was the league leader with 155 games played.

The 265 putouts by Reese was good enough for 3^rd behind league leader Johnny Logan’s 295.

Reese was 4^th in assists by a shortstop with 380. McMillan again lead the league with 519.

Although, Pee Wee’s 23 errors put him in a 4 way tie for errors by a shortstop. Okay, that’s not so good! Solly Hemus led the NL with 27.

But Reese also turned 83 double plays from shortstop, 4^th behind McMillan’s 114.

And Reese was also 5^th in the NL in range factor per game at shortstop with 4.78. McMillan again was tops with 5.21.

It was Johnny Logan leading the NL in fielding percentage by a shortstop with .975. Reese was 4^th with .966.

Billy Cox, the third basemen, didn’t qualify for the leaderboard on defence. He only played 89 games at third.

But what about Jackie Robinson?

Now here was something I didn’t know: He was primarily a left fielder in the 1953 season.

Actually, Robinson played 75 games in left, 44 at third, (thus explaining Cox’s limited appearances) 1 game at short, 9 at second and 6 at first.

So, let’s put it this way: Robinson played every position that year except pitcher, catcher, center field and right field.

The next year, Robinson did play one game in right field, his only major league appearance at that position. He never did play a game as a center fielder, catcher or pitcher.

And his 9 assists put him in a 3 way tie for 5^th place among assists by a left fielder with 9. Del Ennis topped the senior circuit with 15.

And how about the man next to him? The Duke of Flatbush. There is a reason Jackie never played there!  I knew how good of a fielder he was, but what I didn’t know was that he was that he played 151 games in center field that year, 4^th behind Richie Ashburn’s 156 games played.

Ashburn also lead the league in putouts by a center fielder with 484. Snider made 371, placing him 5^th.

What a pair of center fielders Ashburn and Snider made when they each made 6 errors in center field in 1953? Along with Carlos Bernier, they were in a three way tie for 4^th place for errors committed by center fielders. Gus Bell, who was certainly a good hitter, led the NL with 10. Also sad to see Billy Bruton, one hell of a Brave, second with 9. And don’t tell Brooklyn who was third in errors by a center fielder.

That would be Bobby Thompson!

You know? The guy that hit the homerun in 1951 to win the pennant for the Giants?

But just to show you that Bell and Bruton were good fielders, guess who were tied Ashburn for first in DP’s by a center fielder with 5? B and B!

Snider was 4^th with 3.

Snider’s  .984 fielding percentage in center field was good enough for third, but behind Ashburn’s topping .988.

Carl Furillo, in right field, was second to former Dodger Andy Pafko and Enos Slaughter of the Cardinals, in two categories:  games played by a right fielder and putouts.

Furillo had a fine total of 131 games in right, but Pafko was first with 139. Pafko made 238 putouts in right, Furillo with 9 less.

Cal Abrams led the NL in putouts by a right fielder with 12. Actually, he tied Willard Marshall of the Reds with that number. Furillo was 4^th, but ahead of Pafko, with 5.

Johnny Wyrostek led the NL in errors by a right fielder in 1953 with 8. Pafko was tied for second with Abrams, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, with 6. Furillo was 5^th with 3 miscues.

But Furillo did lead the NL in an important category for right fielders: double plays!

He tied Abrams, Wyrostek and, the star pinch-hitter of the 1954 World Series, Dusty Rhodes in DP’s, with 3. Pafko, you should have seen it, was in a 12 way tie (I’m not making this up) for 5^th with 1.

Furillo was 3^rd in the NL in range factor per nine innings with 1.95. Marshall led the NL with 2.31.

Willard also was tops in the NL in range factor per game with 2.07, but Furillo was right there with 1.81.

Enos topped the NL in F% among right fielders with .996. Furillo, third again, .988.

If you look at all outfielders, Slaughter’s .996 is tops, and then Ashburn’s .990 is second.

Guess who is 3^rd and 4^th in F% by outfielders?

Furillo’s .988 and Snider’s .987!

How about the guys on the mound? What did they do on comebackers and other plays where they failed to strike out the batter?

Erskine tied Haddix with putouts with 15, as Stu Miller led the NL with 22.

Erskine also made 4 miscues as a fielder, which put him in a 7 way tie for 3^rd place.  Vinegar Bend Mizell led the NL with 7.

Preacher Roe handled 34 chances flawlessly for a 1.000 fielding percentage as a pitcher. This was one of 5 seasons in his career where he did not make an error. Actually, he did not make an error in his last 3 seasons.

But it was tied with 5 other pitchers for the NL lead.

Awards

Roy Campanella’s season earned him the MVP of the NL in 1953. He beat out Eddie Matthews, who finished second. It was Roy’s second of three. Amazingly, he won it on three straight odd numbered years: 1951, 1953, 1955.

But there were some other Dodgers on there, too.

Snider was 3^rd, Erskine and Furillo were in a 9^th place tie. Right behind them were Reese (11^th place) and then Robinson (12^th)

Del Ennis from Philly was 13^th, and but for him the Dodgers would have owned all the spots from 9 to 13 as Gil Hodges was 14^th.

So the entire outfield received consideration, the battery of Campanella and Erskine did too, and the first basemen was also there, plus the shortstop.

What about the second basemen?

Jim Gilliam did not receive any MVP consideration, but received enough Rookie Of The Year votes to win it!

Now, for those wondering, the Cy Young Award wasn’t given out until 1956. I think that Warren Spahn (The Sporting News Pitcher Of The Year) would have won it had it been given out as he tied for the NL lead in wins (23) while posting an ERA of 2.10. Back then, those stats used to say it all.

I think Robin Roberts, who also won 23 games, but lost 16, while posting an ERA of 2.75 (second to Spahn) would have also gotten some votes.

Erskine, with his 20 wins and 6 losses (one less than Spahn) would have gotten some votes, but his ERA was 3.54, so I don’t think he’s winning it.

How about Clem Labine? 11 wins in only 7 starts with a 2.77 ERA and 7 saves? Yeah, he would have gotten some votes.

How about the Mid Summer Classic?

All Star Game

The Dodgers sent no pitchers, sadly. But Campy, the Duke, and Jackie sure went. As did Pee Wee Reese,  Furillo, Gil Hodges. Six Dodgers!

The World Series

Hitting

Alas, the Yankees came out on top, again, this time in six games (7 games the year before).

Still, no World Series for Brooklyn as of 1953.

The Dodgers, though, had some leaders there, as well!

Campanella averaged a run scored per game (6) to tie Hank Bauer of the Yankees for the lead in the Fall Classic.

Cox, Snider and Gilliam all hit 3 doubles for the lead. Robinson and Furillo hit 2 as well. No Yankee hit more than one.

Gilliam also hit 2 homeruns to make it a three way tie for the lead the Dodgers. It also tied Bronx Bombers’ Billy Martin, Mickey Mantle and Gil McDougald for the lead in the long ball.

The Yankees hit a total of 9 homeruns in the Series, but the Dodgers hit 8 of their own. Snider, Furillo, Cox, Hodges, Campanella and George Shuba all went deep for the Dodgers.

Shuba’s was quite dramatic, by the way. With the Yankees ahead 5-2 in the top of the 6^th inning of game 1, Shuba batted for Jim Hughes the pitcher, with Cox on first. His homerun to right brought the Dodgers to within a run of the Yankees. The Dodgers scored 5 more runs to the Yankees zero as they took the opener, 9-5.

Gilliam, the Rookie Of The Year, had quite the Series. He topped everyone in at-bats, doubles and homeruns. He also drove in 4 runs and scored 4 times himself.

Snider hit .320, as did Robinson, but Furillo was even better at .333. Alas, it was Billy Martin, being an early version of Reggie Jackson in this Fall Classic, who batted .500. Yogi Berra batted .429 for second on New York.

Martin had one World Series to remember: He hit the highest average (.500), tied for the most homeruns (2), had the most triples, (2) and the most RBIs (8).

And Billy even scored 5 runs, tied with teammate Gene Woodling for 3^rd place.

Woodling led both teams in walks with 6. No other Yankee had more than 3, but Reese had 4 for the Dodgers.

Berra topped everyone with a .538 OBP, with Martin’s being .520. Woodling was .462.

Hodges .440 led Brooklyn.

The Dodgers only ended up stealing 2 bases the entire Series, one by Gil Hodges and one by Jackie Robinson.

The Yankees also ended up with two stolen bases in the World Series: Martin and Phil Rizzuto.

As a team, it should be noted, the Dodgers outhit the Yankees 64-56, out doubled them 13-6 and batted .300 to the Yankees .279. But the Yankees out moneyballed (new word invented by me!) the Dodgers .370 to .352 (OBP). That’s probably why they scored 33 runs to the Dodgers 27.

Pitching

Erskine kept right on going as he topped everyone in games pitched (3), innings pitched (14), hits allowed (14), K’s (16) and BB (9). He went 1-0, but his ERA was 5.79. In game 3, he set a World Series record by whiffing 14 Yankees!

Loes won his only game, a game 4 start, striking out 8 in as many innings.

But no Dodger could match Yankee Ed Lopat’s 2.00 ERA.

Allie Reynolds, won game 6 for the Yankees (it ended up being his last ever World Series game) and also got the only Yankee save. His three appearances tied Carl Erskine. Reynolds fanned 9 batters to nudge out Loes for second in K’s.

Labine got the only Dodger save, but lost 2 games. Clem also tied Erskine and Reynolds for games pitched with 3.

Preacher Roe and Jim Hughes walked 4 batters, to place in a 4 way tie for second in walks with Yankees Lopat and Reynolds.

Russ Meyer K’d 5 batters in just 4.1 inning. But that only placed him 5^th as Whitey Ford (I forgot he was back with the Yankees this season), who actually lost 4 and didn’t win any World Series games this year, (huh?) fanned 7 in 8 innings, on his way to a record 94 career World Series strikeouts.  Ford, it should be noted, also started game 6, which the Yankees won.

The Dodgers pitchers combined to fan 43 batters to the Yankees 30, but walked 25 batters to the Yankees 15. Overall, the Dodgers pitchers posted a 4.91 ERA compared to the Yankees 4.50 ERA.


References


Kahn, Roger. The Boys Of Summer. Harper & Row, 1972. Print.

Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.

Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.

Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 01 Aug. 2013.

NHL Playoffs 2013, Western Conference: Notes And Observation

Chicago (1) VS Minnesota (8)

Minny's first playoff appearance in 5 years, and also no playoff series wins since 2003

Will Pominville play? Heatley will be missed!

Chicago gets the President's trophy, and now goes in without Emery and Bolland. Sort of makes them a little less than the best!

Anaheim (2) VS Detroit (7)

Detroit gets through the season sans Lidstrom. Now a postseason without him!

Fasth and Hiller, spot the similarities: 30 years old, 15 wins, 6 losses. Now, who do you go with?

Detroit's injuries: Helm and Miller are out, Bertuzzi and Samuelsson are iffy for game 1

Vancouver (3) VS San Jose (6)

Schneider is apparently in goal for game 1, but I got this feeling that we will see Luongo before this series is over

Niemi keeps proving how underrated he is. Look for him to steal some games

So much the same faces from last year for Vancouver, but Sestito (double palindrome in his last name?) will make his NHL playoff debut. Also, look for another first-time-in-the-playoffs-in-the-bigs, Jordan Schroeder

St, Louis (4) VS Los Angeles (5)

Oshie and Jackman are expected back, but Nichol is out for a while. Langenbrunner is not expected back this season after hip surgery

LA has Richards and Brown expected back for game 1, but Greene is iffy. Mitchell is not expected back this year

Quick proved it big time last year in the postseason. Can he do it again? But I also think Elliott is going to have a great series. I pick this matchup to have the best goaltending!


References


"Official Site of the National Hockey League.” NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.

NHL Playoffs 2013, Eastern Conference: Notes And Observations

Pittsburgh (1) VS New York Islanders (8)

Sid: (if and when)

Tavares: how will he handle his first playoff series?

Both goalies:  40 or more wins in the postseason, who will be better?

Montreal (2) VS Ottawa (7)

Does Montreal play like they did in their first 38 games (25-8-5) or their last 10 games (4-6-0)?

So Karlsson is back (and looking not the least bit out of place), but Spezza isn’t! Pressure on Alfie to be the veteran presence

First playoff Series between the Canadians and this version of the Sens, although the original Sens faced the Habs for the last time in 1927

Washington (3) VS New York Rangers (6)

Does Ovie continue with the hot hand?

Will Marc Staal (with a visor this time!) be back?

How does Oates fare in his first NHL playoff series as a coach?

Boston (4) VS Toronto (5)

First playoff meeting by these two teams since 1974 and the Leafs haven’t beaten Boston in the playoffs since 1959!

Battle of the homer commentators, but having listened to both Bowen and Edwards, I can tell you Jack is way worse!

Battle Of The Goalies That No One Quite Believes In: Reimer (first goalie to take the Leafs to the postseason since Belfour) and Rask (The Thomas Replacement factor)


References

"Official Site of the National Hockey League.” NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <https://www.nhl.com>

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

Why The Canucks Keeping Luongo Is Actually A Good Thing!

I think that the Canucks keeping Luongo makes sense.

There, you read it.

The thing is, while the Canucks have played well, Vancouver is looking at an uphill climb from now until the playoffs. See, here are the standings:

1)      ‘Hawks:  62 points, 10 games left

2)      Ducks: 57 points, 9 games left

3)      ‘Nucks: 48 points, 10 games left

4)      Kings: 48 points, 9 games left

5)      Sharks: 47 points, 10 games left

6)      Wild: 46 points, 10 games left

7)      Blues: 44 points, 11 games left

8)      Red Wings: 43 points, 9 games left

9)      ‘Yotes 40 points, 10 games left

10)   Stars: 39 points, 10 games left

11)   Oilers: 39 points, 10 games left

12)   Blue Jackets, 39 points, 9 games left

13)   Predators, 38 points, 8 games left

So the ‘Nucks are a long (or a “Luong”) way from clinching the playoffs with things still tight. Worse still, Minny, as noted, are just 2 points back, meaning the Canucks could still slide to 7^th place if the Wild knock them out of first. I don’t think facing Anaheim or Chicago in the first round is a good idea, do you?

The thing about goaltending, is, mentally, it’s the hardest position in sports. Focus, concentration, whatever you want to call it, you need it for 60 (or more) minutes a night. Then you need even more in the playoffs, as that next goal can change the game or the Series in the opposite direction.

It’s just so much to ask one person to do it, even in the regular season. I’ve read several books on the famous 1972 Series between Canada and USSR, and one thing that struck me is how Canada used two goalies and the Soviets used one.

Now, all three goaltenders that played in that Series made the Hall Of Fame. Think of Canada’s two goalies, Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito. Dryden led the league in games played in 71/72, in addition to winning Calder Trophy for Rookie Of The Year (After winning the Conn Smythe in 1971. Wake me up when someone else does that). Esposito was 1, 2 or 3 in games played from 72/73 till 80/81. Plus he was 3^rd in 70/71 and 4^th in 69/70.

But coach Harry Sinden was adamant that the mental demands of playing goal were too much for either of them for 8 games. So it was split down the middle 4 goals each. Dryden may have struggled in his first two games, but played well in the last 2, after Canada had fallen behind 3-1-1 in the series. Tony played well, pretty much in all 4 games.

Tretiak played well, I’d say, until game 5, which the Soviets won anyway. But, you could just see it, Canada had figured him out. The Soviets stayed with him the rest of the way, and lost the final 3 games, giving Canada one of it’s all time great international hockey moments. I rank this ahead of the 1987 Canada Cup and 2010 Olympics. So should you.

Anyways, the point is, I’m not sold on Schneider being ready for the rest of a close playoff race, which could resemble one of those old pennant races in baseball (prior to the expanded playoffs of 1969). Think Brooklyn / NY 1941, Boston / New York 1949, 1978. Boston / Minnesota / Detroit / Chicago /(sort of) California) 1967. It was the team with the best pitching that won.

I have a feeling it will be the team with the better goaltending that finishes first in the Northwest.

There is also the matter of how Luongo has handled it. Oh, I should just go over to @strombone1. Despite his recent comments on his contract, I’ve really loved the way he has handled the whole thing.

(Now, I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but you have to wonder, with no deal done, did the Canucks honestly believe they could get a deal done this season, given Roberto’s contract. The signs here, are for a major offseason move. Maybe all this was just a ruse to get him to play better?)

Luongo has played well. It’s just a recent slump (1-2-0, 3.56, .868) which might have had more to do with Roberto fretting on whether he was staying or going, that brought his numbers down (7-4-3, 2.44, .904)

And come playoffs, who do the Canucks turn to if Schneider falters?


References

Morrison, Scott. The Days Canada Stood Still: Canada vs USSR 1972. Warwick Pub. Group, 1992.

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 9 April. 2013. <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 9 April. 2014.

Playoff Matchups We Need To See!

So we're about a month away from the playoffs in hockey. Seems so odd to be starting in May, now doesn't it. Any way, to give you all a extra juice in anticipation of what the spring action, here are some playoff matchups that make the NHL playoffs worth it!

Habs VS Bruins

This one is as old as your grandparents, and while Montreal may have the all time lead in the playoffs head to head, there’s no denying the history and electricity. And the last time they played (2011) it was a gem of a 7 gamer that helped propel the Cubs to the Stanley Cup. Ask any fan about 2011, and they’ll tell you that series, not the finals against the Canucks, was the sweetest! Of course, Bruins fans also will never forget 1971 (Who is that tall guy in goal, Dry-something?) or 1979, (TOO MANY MEN ON THE ICE!)

Rangers VS Devils

This one was as recent as last year, and the Devils pulled off an upset, on their way to the finals. Again, this one was probably the sweetest for New Jersey fans. Kinda wiped away the feeling of Avery right in front of Brodeur!

Senators VS Leafs

The Sens have waited 9 years so far for another crack at the Leafs. With the team they have now, I gotta think they can win for sure. See, Ottawa wants to get back to being contenders, and to do that, you got beat your rivals. Plus, can you imagine, Sens fans, saying, “We might not be the best in the NHL playoffs, but we are the best in Ontario in the playoffs, now that the Leafs finally made it.” You get the idea! Ask a Sens fan, would you want to beat the Leafs in exchange for getting swept in the next round? Oh, yes!

Jets VS anyone!

Oh it doesn’t matter, just as long as the Jets make it, right?

Habs VS Nordiques

I have it from several insiders (That’s my April fools for you!) But, should the day come when Quebec finally gets the team, this one is a natural. A rematch of the Battle Of Quebec! Habs fans take notice too, when they last won in ’93, which team A) Did you beat in the first round? B) Actually WON an OT game against you?

Flyers VS Penguins

Probably the best playoff series last year. That one simply had it all. And with the history between these two teams. Who will ever forget the 5 OT game back in 2000? There is just something about these two teams hatred for each other that makes this a playoff must, every year!

Blackhawks VS Canucks

Again with the history (will never forget Roger Neilson’s white towel) and with all the classics (Burrows OT winner) and the feeling of, “If we get by them, we got a shot at going all the way”, this one too has the feelings of, every year for sure! This year, with the Schneider / Luongo story line involved, you might not know whose in goal (or Who’s On First) until the very last minute.

Red Wings VS Avalanche

Ohhhhh…the wars these two teams had in the 90s and early 00s. Even meaningless regular season games between these two teams weren’t meaningless! And the two teams really fed off each other, as they won 5 Stanley Cups combined from 1996 to 2002. It was something. But something needs to be done to re-ignite the old flames from this one! Maybe Patrick Roy and Mike Vernon can become the coach of each team, and then brawl during the handshakes! Can you imagine that?

Leave the last from Dino Ciccarelli, after the 1996 series, on Claude Lemieux: "I can't believe I shook the guy's frigging hand. That just pisses me right off."

Oilers VS Flames

Flames fans won’t forget Esa Tikkanen’s solo dash that ended the Flames hopes in 1991, right there in Calgary. That is, the night after Theo Fleury won the Stanley Cup for the Flames (or acted like he did. That was only game 6, alas). Then you have Smith’s (actually Perry Berezan’s) goal that gave Calgary the Series in ’86, Gretzky’s short-handed OT marker in ’88. And let's not forget about the 1984 7 game set, very underrated!


References


Cole, Stephen. Slapshots: The Best And Worst Of 100 Years Of Hockey. Penguin, 1993. Print.

Diamond, Dan. Total NHL. Toronto: Dan Diamond And Associates, 2003. Print.

Diamond, Dan. Total Stanley Cup: An Official Publication Of The National Hockey League. Toronto: Published in Canada by Total Sports Canada, 2000. Print.

Hughes, Morgan, Fischler Stan, Fischler Shirley, Joseph Romain, and James Duplacey. Hockey Chronicle: Year-By-Year History Of The National Hockey League. Lincolnwood: Publications International, 2007. Print.

Irvin, Dick. The Habs: An Oral History Of The Montreal Canadiens, 1940-1980. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1991. Print.

Irvin, Dick. My 26 Stanley Cups: Memories of a Hockey Life. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2001. Print.

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. <https://www.nhl.com>.

Podnieks, Andrew. The Essential Blue & White Book: A Toronto Maple Leafs Factbook. Vancouver: Greystone, 2001. Print.

Podnieks, Andrew. The Essential Blue & White Book: A Toronto Maple Leafs Factbook. Vancouver: Greystone, 2001. Print.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 1 Apr. 2013. 

Weekes, Don, and Kerry Banks. Hockey's Top 100: The Game's Greatest Goals. Vancouver: Greystone, 2010. Print.

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 1 April. 2013. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.

How The Pesky Senators Are Getting It Done!

The Senators are decimated by injuries this season.

They keep on winning.

How?

Goaltending!

The Sens are just finding ways to, “get it done”, even if it’s the hard way. A huge portion of their recent wins has been to amazing goaltending. Through March 24th, Ottawa is 17-9-6.

And even there the Sens have had to rely on their backup, Ben Bishop, and even a surprising call up, Robin Lehner.

But take a look at the numbers here (as of March 25, 2013):

Anderson

15 GP

8 W

4 L

2 O

2 SO

1.49 GAA

.952 S%

Bishop

10 GP

6 W

4 L

0 O

0 SO

2.62 GAA

.921 S%

Lehner

8 GP

3 W

1 L

4 O

0 SO

2.05 GAA

.940 S%

Okay, Anderson is leading the league in GAA and S%, but has been sidelined since Feb 21, with a sprained right ankle. Too bad, since he was working on his third shutout on the season (Anderson is tied with 11 other goaltenders with 2 shutouts).

Bishop and Lehner have been on their own since.

But what performances on their part.

Bishop may have a high GAA, but his S% is good enough for 8^th. You really have to hand it to him, but in doing so you have to look up at him, as at 6’7, he is the tallest goaltender in the NHL, ever!

Lehner has been jinxed by shootout losses, plus an overtime loss to the Bruins. But even there, he is tied for 5^th with Carey Price, Jimmy Howard and Ryan Miller with 4. That is, most OT and shootout losses.

Having played just 8 games so far (as of March 24^th) he is not eligible for a spot among the leaders in S%. Although, with Anderson out, he will soon have enough games.

But notice that, the .940 S% is also the Ottawa Senator’s team S%. Yeah, that’s right, 3 different goalies, giving you a chance to win.

Let’s put the .940 number into perspective. Imagine, with all those injures, the Sens are outshot 35 to, whatever:

.94 * 35 = 32.9

Yeah, that’s pretty much just two goals allowed, even if you give up 35 shots.

Oh, yeah, what about that stat I came up with 2 posts ago? Tolgbats?

Anderson has one in all 15 games he’s played this year, including the game he left, 2/21/13.

Bishop has 9 in the games he’s been eligible for (9). In his other appearance, in relief of Anderson (2/21/13 against the Rangers) he ended up winning the game.

Lehner (I should say at this point that he is really short compared to Bishop. Robin is only 6’4) has 8 in all 8 games played.


References

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 26 Mar. 2103. <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web.  26 Mar. 2103.

TOLGBAT Factor: Western Conference

Okay, my best friend put me on the spot for Calgary, so it's off to the Western Conference. I've made some changes, so I'm only going to include the elgible games for goalies (so they have to play the first two periods). Without further adieu, and sadly, that means scrolling down again, we shall see what all this quite on the Western Front Conference is in terms of goaltending, through Feb 16th.




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Name	Elgible Games	TOLGBAT		TOLBAT %
Devan Dubnyk	11	11		100.00%
Corey Crawford	10	10		100.00%
Viktor Fasth	8	8		100.00%
Steve Mason	7	7		100.00%
Roberto Luongo	6	6		100.00%
Cory Schneider	6	6		100.00%
Ray Emery	4	4		100.00%
Jonas Hiller	4	4		100.00%
Jonathan Bernier	3	3		100.00%
Thomas Greiss	3	3		100.00%
Jaroslav Halak	3	3		100.00%
Jason LaBarbera	3	3		100.00%
Jake Allen	2	2		100.00%
Richard Bachman	2	2		100.00%
Jean-Sebastien Giguere	2	2		100.00%
Josh Harding	2	2		100.00%
Chad Johnson	2	2		100.00%
Chris Mason	2	2		100.00%
Nikolai Khabibulin	1	1		100.00%
Darcy Kuemper	1	1		100.00%
Petr Mrazek	1	1		100.00%
Christopher Nihlstorp	1	1		100.00%
Kari Lehtonen	10	9		90.00%
Miikka Kiprusoff	7	6		85.71%
Brian Elliot	6	5		83.33%
Niklas Backstrom	11	9		81.82%
Antti Niemi	11	9		81.82%
Mike Smith	10	8		80.00%
Leland Irving	4	3		75.00%
Semyon Valamov	11	8		72.73%
Sergi Bobrovsky	10	7		70.00%
Jonathan Quick	9	6		66.67%
Joey MacDonald	1	0		0.00%
Yann Danis	0	0		0.00%
Total (34 Goalies)	174	154
WC Average	5.1	4.5		88.51%

References

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 15 Mar. 2013.

The TOLGBAT Factor: Eastern Conference

I was talking to a friend of mine about statistics that would help indicate what goalies have kept their teams "in" the most games. You know, give them a chance to win. By a chance to win, I decided:

The goalie would have to play the first two periods, AND
Keep his team to within 2 goals by the start of the third

I've come up with a term: TOLGBAT, which stands for T(wo) O(r) L(ess) G(oals) B(ehind) A(fter) T(wo periods)

So having said that, here's what I came up with, for the Eastern Conference, through Feb 16 (Update: You'll have to scroll down a bit as much space was created somehow and I can't get it right):




 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Name		Games		TOLGBAT		TOLGBAT %
Craig Anderson		13		13		100.00%
Martin Brodeur		11		11		100.00%
Tuuka Rask		9		9		100.00%
Anton Khudobin		3		3		100.00%
Ben Bishop		2		2		100.00%
Rick DiPietro		1		1		100.00%
Micheal Leighton		1		1		100.00%
Ilya Bryzgalov		14		13		92.86%
Evgeni Nabokov		13		12		92.31%
Henrik Lundqvist		11		10		90.91%
Carey Price		11		10		90.91%
Ryan Miller		13		11		84.62%
Tomas Vokoun		6		5		83.33%
Marc Andre Fleury		10		8		80.00%
James Reimer		10		8		80.00%
Mathieu Garon		4		3		75.00%
Johan Hedberg		4		3		75.00%
Anders Lindback		11		8		72.73%
Ben Scrivens		7		5		71.43%
Cam Ward		10		7		70.00%
Peter Budaj		3		2		66.67%
Jhonas Enroth		3		2		66.67%
Dan Ellis		5		3		60.00%
Michal Neuvirth		7		4		57.14%
Braden Holtby		8		4		50.00%
Al Montoya		4		2		50.00%
Brian Boucher		2		1		50.00%
Ondrej Pavelec		11		5		45.45%
Scott Clemmensen		5		2		40.00%
Total (29 Goalies)		212		168
ECL Average		7.6		5.9		79.25%

References

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 21 Feb. 2013.

NHL 2013, The Stories So Far, Western Conference

Now, on to the other side!

Chicago has soared to the top of the Western Conference standings, (10-0-0-3). Yeah, that's right! The 3 losses? ALL in the shootout!

Kane has 20 points in 13 games, but look at the goaltending: Corey Crawford, despite the 3 shootout losses, has a 1.65 GAA and a .935 S%. Oh, yeah Emery, has won his 3 games, too!

Nashville has road the strong defense, plus hot goaltending combo of Pekka Rinne and Chris Mason to a 6-3-4 record.

Detroit is getting used to life post-Lindstrom, but is also missing 7 players tonight. This could be a long haul.

In St Louis, the hot goaltending of last season has not returned, and the team is struggling to stay about .500. Worst is that Halak is out tonight and Langenbrunner is gone for the season.

Columbus has it's share of injuries, and has fired GM Scott Howson. Despite all that, they are just 4 points out of 8th place. I believe they can turn it around with a few adjustments.

Bruce Boudreau has the Ducks flying high (9-2-1). Is there any point in mentioning that Teemu Selanne is 42 years old and Saku Koivu is 38? Not really, because they are 1-2 in team lead in points.Viktor Fasth has not lost a game, period!

San Jose has three players averaging a point a game or better (Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski). Antti Niemi is 6-1-3 with a 1.74 GAA and .935 S%. The team's overall record is 7-3-3, and I expect them to challenge for the top spot in the Pacific.

Dallas also has a 40 + year old in Jaromir Jagr. 9 points is 12 games, hey, not bad for someone whose rookie year was 90/91. I'm feeling old just typing that. The problem here is, Jagr is leading the team in scoring. Their goaltending, of Kari Lehtonen and, when called upon, Richard Bachman (btw, that was author Steven King's other name) is looking strong. The Stars need to pot more pucks.

The goaltending in Phoenix has not been up to par enough, although, I think that is the problem with the team that made it all the way to the final four last year. This year, the 'Yotes are 6-5-2. Radim Vrbata leads the team with 11 points. Mike Smith and Jason LaBarbera have got to get better between the pipes!

The defending Stanley Cup Champions are a game under .500 (4-5-2), owing to a low goal total (26 goals for, good enough for 27th place) and Jonathan Quick, who has come back down to earth after his effort last spring. Easier to win it all than to defend it all, says I.

Calgary is one of four teams .500 or below in the Northwest. With Mikka Kiprusoff out for 2 weeks, Mikael Backlund gone a month, plus Lance Bouma gone for the year, the injuries are not far off what Detroit is facing.

Alex Tanguay lead the team in points (11 in as many games). Iginla finds himself sixth on the team in scoring, despite 8 points. So, the good news is the offence is there. But what are they going to do without Kippy for 14 days?

Colorado has no shortage of injuries. Steve Downie is down and out for the season with a knee injury. Erik Johnson suffered a head injury and is out indefinitely. In total, 7 injuries.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere's value seems to diminish with every trade. Semyon Varlamov has taken over in goal and struggled. But on the positive, P.A. Parenteau and Matt Duchene both have 10 points in 11 games. This team, though needs to get healthy or expect a last place finish.

Edmonton is exactly .500 (5-5-3), but also are missing 5 players. Sam Gagner is at a point a game (13 points in 13 games) and Taylor Hall is almost there with 12 points in 13 games. There goaltending has looked quite good, for the most part, as Devan Dubnyk has winning record (5-4-3), a better than it looks GAA (2.58) and a nice high S% .923. But the Oilers have scored just 29 goals, which is 26th overall. There not going to be even .500 if that continues.

Minnesota is another team at .500 (6-6-1). Zach Parise is fitting right in by leading the team in points with 10 in 13 games. Mikko Koivu is second on the team 9 points, 7 of them assists to lead the team in helpers. Ryan Sutter also has 7 helpers, but is looking for his first goal.

The problem here is not injuries, as Minny is missing no one, but rather the goaltending is not up to par. Niklas Backstrom's S% (.913) is a little low. The team has no injuries, so far.

Vancouver, oh yeah! Now the best thing to have happened to Vancouver would have been to unload Roberto Luongo in the offseason, give Corey Schneider the reins and roll! Schneider's first game this season saw him give up 5 goals on 14 shots in 26 1/2 minutes. Luongo came in, and ever since, your guess is as good, if not better than mine, as to who's in net and who's on first.

Luongo has been lights out, 4-0-2, 1.45, .943, Schneider has been good, 4-2-0, 2.36, .921. Now what? The Canucks have said they are prepared to go the entire season with both, until a good deal for Luongo is made. I'm thinking this could be a trade deadline deal. But Schneider has to feel pressure, now, because if his play drops off, who knows? Maybe he's the guy that's gotta go.

As for offence, one of the Sedins' (Daniel) is leading the team in scoring, with 10 points in 12 games. Although the offence, combined, has netted just 35 goals (12 teams have topped that total), the 'Nucks have allowed just 25 goals (No team has allowed less). It will be interesting to see how long Vancouver keeps this up.

References

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 14 Feb. 2013.