Atlanta Braves 2015 Season Prediction Contest Update
Sep 13, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons (19) tags out New York Mets Eric Young Jr. (1) trying to steal during the eighth inning at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
With 12 games and two weeks of play remaining for the Braves, it’s time to do a quick review of our Over/Under Contest from way back on April 2nd.
April looks like was ‘ancient history ago’ in baseball terms today, and in all honesty, some of the questions look almost laughable at this point of the year, but certainly that’s because the changes made to this club have been so drastic that there’s no way we could have forecast it – even as late as April 2nd.
But there was a Simmons’ bobblehead up for grabs, and we’ll see this through to the end! So let’s take a look at how things have been going with that.
The Pitching Questions for 2015
- P1: How many different pitchers will start games for the Atlanta Braves this year?
- Answer options: 8 or fewer; 9 or more
Ryan Weber became the 10th Brave to start a game on September 8th. Once Eric Stults and Trevor Cahill were jettisoned, it was pretty much just a matter of time until that #9 threshold was reached. Manny Banuelos became that pitcher on July 2nd.
71% of our contest respondents got this one correct.
- P2: How many saves will Craig Kimbrel get in 2015?
- Answer options: 39 or fewer; 40 or more
Well, at the time this question was written, Kimbrel still belonged to the Braves. Obviously that’s no longer the case, but the question is still valid… and indeed it could end up being the deciding factor for the contest winner since this one is still very much in limbo.
Right now, Craig is more-or-less stuck on 37 saves. He’s only had 5 pitching opportunities in September and just one save… but that’s been the fault of the Padres in most cases (he got a vultured win with a blown save on Sept. 8).
There has never been a reliever with five straight seasons of 40+ saves in baseball history: this question was posed with that goal specifically in mind. He’s still got 2 weeks, but Kimbrel and his team both need to finish strong for him to hit this milestone.
Two of our 3 contest leaders didn’t think he’d get there – just 1 did. This will be interesting!
- P3: Number of Braves’ pitchers with 10 or more wins
- Answer options: 2 or fewer; 3 or more
This was horrible… and it’s also horrible that the answer is already decided: it’s 1…. Julio Teheran, who has exactly 10 (might have been 11 had Cameron Maybin secured that liner in CF yesterday). Second highest win total on the team? Alex Wood – with 7!
Oy. Optimists that we were, only 32% of the entrants got this one correct.
- P4: First day Mike Minor starts a game for Atlanta
- Answer options: Up to May 5th; May 6th or later
Clearly, the “over” answer prevailed here, as we’ve still not seen Minor all season.
- P5: Total number of innings pitched by starters NOT on the Opening Day Roster.
- Answer options: 111.1 innings – more or less
With a couple more starts to go, Williams Perez could end up being the answer to this question all by himself. He’s now just over 101 innings…. and the staff total is well over 200 with Folty, Wisler, and Banuelos all making significant contributions. 59% thought this would be the case (I like seeing answers that have near 50-50 splits).
Next: The Hitter Questions