root of the problem

The Mississippi Braves saw their record dip to 6-15 with another one-run loss on Thursday. To paraphrase the witty banter from “Bull Durham,” how’d they ever win six? It’s a miracle, is the response. Well, kidding aside, the M-Braves have a problem. But it might not be what you think. They are 2-10 in one-run games, true, but winning one-run games isn’t the best measure of a good team, as the sage folks from the old Elias Baseball Analyst staff once revealed. Studies show that good teams generally don’t play a lot of one-run games. They are more likely to win by blowing out the other team. They score early and often. The M-Braves aren’t choking away games in the clutch. Though they’ve had some bullpen breakdowns, their bigger problem is they’re just not scoring enough to take charge of many games. They are last in the Southern League in hitting (.244) and on-base percentage (.309) and next-to-last in scoring (79 runs). Until the offense begins to perk up, the M-Braves’ record, overall or in one-run games, isn’t going to improve.