Other Great Starts

Bill James invented a junk stat -- a fun little gimmick -- called "Game Scores" to try to assess how dominant a pitcher is. It's a pretty basic concept, and it doesn't really tell anything per se, but it does sorta tell how dominant a pitcher is.

Here's the formula: Start with 50 points. Add 1 point for each out recorded, (or 3 points per inning). Add 2 points for each inning completed after the 4th. Add 1 point for each strikeout. Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed. Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed. Subtract 2 points for each unearned run allowed. Subtract 1 point for each walk.

An average outing is about 50. Anything above that's pretty good. 70 is a solid start. 80 is a dominant start. And 90 is one that you'll remember for a few years.

Kerry Wood holds the record, when he had that one-hit, 20K complete game a number of years back.

So where does Jason Bergmann's outing rank with the Nats? Pretty damn good, actually.

He's tied for the fourth-best start since the team moved to Washington.

1) 92: 8/4/05 -- John Patterson struck out 13 Dodger in a four-hit shutout, a game many will remember for Brad Wilkerson's grand slam.

2) 88: 8/15/06 -- Pedro Astacio threw the most improbable game of the year, the Nationals' first CG of the year in a 5-0 2-hitter against the Braves. He struck out 5 batters and threw just 89 pitches.

3) 84: 4/15/06 -- John Patterson, before his injury, gave us a glimpse of how dominant he could be when he was on. He matched his 13 Ks but allowed a run in his 8 innings -- the run coming on back-to-back doubles in the fifth, two of the three hits he allowed.

4) 83: 9/16/05 -- John Patterson didn't know that the season would slip away over the next two games, but his CG 5-1 win over Jake Peavy and the Padres was pure clutch. He struck out 6, and allowed just three hits, while lowering his ERA to an amazing 2.65.

4) 83: 5/14/07 -- Jason Bergmann was dominant, but he didn't go the distance, knocking a few points of his potential score.

5) 82: 7/19/05 -- John Patterson started the 9th inning with a shutout, but after giving up his third hit, Frank gave him the hook. 8 strikeouts in 8 innings, with just three hits allowed. Those were the good times, weren't they?

You're probably thinking that there's one missing -- Ramon Ortiz' near no-no from last Labor Day. It's close, but definitely no cigar. He finished with a game score of 78 because he allowed a run, walked three batters, only struck out five, and eventually allowed two hits. A great start, for sure. A great memory, definitely. But it's not, all things considered, one of the five best.