The goal of Unearned Run Cost (URC) is to show how many extra runs a team gives up due to their errors or how successful the team is in not allowing those errors to cost them on the scoreboard.
Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez believes that his relationship with Madonna will allow him to bring a championship to the Bronx in 2009.
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By Christopher Reina
At RealGM, we use the Field Impact Counter (FIC) to objectively measure how effective players are performing and then use the Reina Value to evaluate their financial worth.
The player with the highest FIC for the season, therefore, ?deserves? the highest salary, which is Alex Rodriguez?s $33 million contract for 2009. The player with the 308th highest FIC, 'deserves' Guillermo Mota's $2.35M contract for 2009.
Pujols has a 112 point lead over Joe Mauer for the OPS lead with a mark of 1.132. Pujols is slightly ahead of his OPS+ of 2008, which was his previous career best.
2. Tim Lincecum: 215, 3,570%
Tim Lincecum has a slightly better Fielder Independent Pitching mark of 1.98 than Zack Greinke's 2.04. Dan Haren, Lincecum's main rival for the NL Cy Young, is posting a 2.70.
3. Justin Morneau: 196, 86%
Morenau has a higher OPS this season (.994) than when he won the AL MVP in 2006 with a .934.
4. Dan Haren: 190, 175%
Dan Haren is allowing a BABIP of just .251 this season.
5. Chase Utley: 190, 71%
Utley has been seeing more sliders this season and has been hitting them much better than last season, though he has struggled against the curve.
6. Zack Greinke: 190, 407%
Since his 0.50 ERA April, Greinke has marks of 1.57, 4.05 and 2.42 in May, June and July respectively.
7. Felix Hernandez: 184, 399%
Hernandez is having his best season in terms of strikeout frequency while also reduce his walk rate.
8. Justin Verlander: 182, 414%
Verlander trails only Lincecum in strikeouts per nine innings with 10.34.
9. Prince Fielder: 182, 168%
Fielder's BABIP has increased to .347 this season, up from his career average of .308.
10. Roy Halladay: 182, 30%
No pitcher has been better at enticing batters to swing out of the strike zone than Halladay, which is largely due to how frequently he throws a first pitch strike.
11. Josh Beckett: 181, 61%
Beckett has been keeping the ball on the ground far more than he has in any season since 2003.
12. Mark Teixeira: 166, -13%
Teixeira's home/away OPS splits are 1.025/.828, while his OPS has increased from .720 to .930 since the return of Alex Rodriguez.
13. Adam Wainwright: 166, 510%
When Wainwright has his two-seam fastball moving like he did last week against Washington, he is one of the most unhittable pitchers in the MLB.
14. Matt Cain: 166, 474%
Cain has a left on base percentage of 87.3%, which is the highest amongst qualified starters.
15. Wandy Rodriguez: 163, 538%
Rodriguez has signficantly lowered his walk rate from his pre-2008 levels, while also learning how to pitch out of trouble far more effectively.
16. Ryan Braun: 162, 1498%
Bruan has improved his defense this season, with a respectable UZR of 0.6, up from -3.2 last season.
17. Shane Victorino: 161, 396%
Victorino's OBP has climbed to a career high of .383, as he's drawing more walks.
18. Josh Johnson: 160, 992%
Johnson's BABIP allowed is .286, down from .332 last season when he still managed to post a 3.61 ERA.
19. Jered Weaver: 160, 3173%
Weaver has been most effective when using the slider and change-up this season.
20. Javier Vazquez: 159, 30%
Vazquez has made hitters swing and miss with the greatest percentage of his pitches this season.
21. CC Sabathia: 159, -2%
The Yankees are just 11-10 when CC Sabathia takes the mound.
22. Mark Buehrle: 156, 7%
Buehrle lowered his ERA to 3.28 following his perfect game.
23. Hanley Ramirez: 156, 173%
Ramirez has a BABIP of .384, third in all of baseball and higher than his still high career average of .351.
24. Jonathan Broxton: 155, 712%
Broxton is striking out 14.39 batters per nine innings, which is flatly dominant.
25. Chad Billingsley: 152, 2953%
Billingsley's ERA is higher than it was in each of the previous two seasons and he has been getting fewer groundball outs, but he has still fully emerged as one of the NL's best young pitchers.
26. Raul Ibanez: 152, 101%
Ibanez has an isolated average of .341, which trails just Pujols.
27. Cliff Lee: 152, 140%
Lee has a 1.44 ERA since the break in 25.0 innings, as the Indians look to maximize his trade value.
28. Johan Santana: 151, -25%
Santana has a road ERA of 4.48, compared to 1.86 at Citi Field.
29. Marco Scutaro: 151, 1173%
Amongst players on this list, Scutaro has the best UZR.
