Stats Sunday: Most Improved Baseball Teams of 2025

 The Regular season of MLB came to an end last month some would say that for the White Sox  it did so mercifully.  I would  beg to differ. 

Me (In my best Dickensonian pauper's voice) : Please Sir, may I differ? Please?!? Could I kindly differ?

When you lose 100 or more games in a season  3 years in a row as my beloved South Sliders (misspelling intended) have it would  ostensibly make sense for anyone covering the team to write  an end of the season review as a post-mortem.  Over the past few weeks I have read many that looked just like that,

However,  as I mulled it over in my mind, I realized that the 2025 record of 60 wins paired with 102 losses ,  an abysmal 21 games below .500, was in actuality 19 wins better than their record setting (in a bad way) 2024 season total.  This made me wonder how the White Sox would match up to the rest of the league in terms of most improved win total from 2024 to 2025.

2025 MLB Teams (Listed from most improved  to least improved regular season from 2024 to 2025)

     Team                          2024      2025   

1. Toronto Blue Jays      74-88    94-68 +20 

2. Chicago White Sox    41-121 60-102 +19

3. Miami Marlins           62-100 79-83   +17

4. Los Angeles Angels   63-99    72-90  +9

5. Chicago Cubs             83-79   92-70   +9

6. Boston Red Sox         81-81    89-73   +8

7. Athletics                     69-93    76-87   +7

8. Cincinnati Reds         77-85    83-79   +6

9. Seattle Mariners         85-77   90-72    +5

10. Milwaukee Brewers  93-69   97-65   +4

11. Texas Rangers            78-84   81-81  +3

12. Detroit Tigers             86-76   87-75  +1

13. Philadelphia Phillies   95-67  96-66   +1

14. San Francisco Giants  80-82  81-81   +1

15. New York Yankees      94-68   94-68   E

16. Houston Astros            88-73    87-75 -1.5

17. Tampa Bay Rays          80-82    77-85 -3

18. San Diego Padres         93-69    90-72 -3

19. Kansas City Royals      86-76    82-80 -4

20. Cleveland Guardians    92-69    83-74 -4.5

21. Washington Nationals  71-91    66-96 -5

22. St. Louis Cardinals       83=79  78-84  -5

23. Pittsburgh Pirates          76-86   71-91 -5

24. Los Angeles Dodgers    98-64   93-69 -5

25. New York Mets              89-73  83-79 -6

26. Arizona Diamondbacks  89-73 80-82 -9

27. Minnesota Twins            82-80 70-92  -12

28. Atlanta Braves                89-73 76-86 -13

29. Baltimore Orioles           91-71 75-87 -16

30. Colorado Rockies           61-101 43-119 -18

Analysis: I marked each record in bold if that team went to the playoffs the year listed.  Of the 7 teams that made the playoffs in 2024 and 2025, three did so with more wins than the previous year, 1 team had the identical record each campaign, and 3 won more games in 2024 than they did this year.  

Of the 3 cities with 2 teams , Chicago was the only city that had both teams improve let alone be in the top 5 of improved teams.

Top 10 most improved home and road teams. (Teams in bold are in tp 10 in both categories)

Home                       Road

Blue Jays +15          White Sox +9    

Red Sox + 10            Athletics +9

White Sox + 10        Marlins +9

Marlins + 8               Blue Jays +5

Angels +7                  Mariners +3

Padres +7                   Mets +3

Yankees +6                Cubs +3

Cubs + 6                    Angels +2

Reds + 6                     Guardians +1

Brewers +5                 Nationals +1

Pirates + 5                  Giants + 1

So, yes the improvements from one year to the next for our Chicago teams is something to be celebrated.   Similar improvements next year are not impossible dreams.  If  The Cubs improve  by 9 wins next year they would be past the 100 win mark.  If the Sox win 19  more games next year they would only finish 2 games below .500.  Will that happen, who knows?  But steps in the right direction are signs of life not cause for a post-mortem.

WHYDFML Index ratings of the AP Top 25 College Football teams

 I love stats.  I don't love sports because of stats but statistics is one of the love languages I use to convey my love of sports.  

Some of my favorite stats are the ones I make up like the STBFI Or the WHYDFML Index that is reference in the title of this post.  The  STBFI stands for Soon To Be Fired Index and WHYDFML stands for What Have You Done For Me Lately,  

The STBFI is straightforward, forward it is a list of the major coaches and managers in a city, (for me it's Chicago )in order of the likelihood that they will be the next person on the list to be fired or otherwise leave their position.  The WHYDFML     (pronounced y dee eff em el) is actually a name for many statistics that measure productivity from most to least recent.

Each Sunday during the college football season, The Associated Press releases a poll of the top 25 teams in College football.  I decided to look out this past Sunday's  rankings thtough the lens of one of the WHYDFML indices.

This particular index takes the results of the last 5 games and scores them this way.  A win in the most recent game counts as 5 wins whereas a loss in the least recent game counts as only 1 loss.  In cases of ties a tie would be treated as 1/2 the points in the win column and 1/2 the points in the loss column  . You then fihure out the win percentage by taking the adjusted win amount and dividing it by the adjusted total game amount.  

For example, if there are 4 teams that are 4-1 in their 5 most recent games (let's call them Teams A through E), and each one of them lost a different game on the time line between most and least recent they would all have different winning percentages in their WHYDFML Index.

Let's say Team A just lost their most recent game after winning the previous four.  Their results would wook like this with the point value for the loss or win in parentheses:

L(5)W(4)W(3)W(2)W (1)

This would make Team 10-5  with a winning percentage of .667 (10/15)

If Team B won 3 games in a row, then lost, and then won again, their results, adjusted record and winning percentage would look like this

W(5)L(4) W(3) W(2) W(1) 11-4 ..733

Team C 

W (5) W(4) L (3) W(2) W (1) 12-3 .800

Team D 

W (5) W (4) W (3) L (2) W (1) 13-2 .867

Team E 

W (5) W(4) W(3) W (2) L (1) 14-1 .933

Now that we have a better understanding of the WHYDFML index, we can compare the AP top 25 using said index.  At this point in the season, most teams have played 2 games.  Some, like Notre Dame, have only played one, and some, like Iowa State, have already played 3.  In order to use a record over the last 5 games, we will need the results of the last 2-4 games of the previous season, including bowl games and playoffs.  I will list each team from the best to worst by its WHYDFML winning percentage, with the best ranking breaking any ties.  

Team              C         L5R         L5C            WHYDFML    AP Rank 

Ohio State    2-0      5-0 1.000 WWWWW  15-0 1.000           1

LSU              2-0      5-0 1.000 WWWWW 15-0 1.000           3

Illinois          2-0      5-0 1.000 WWWWW 15-0 1.000           9

Missouri        2-0      5-0 1.000 WWWWW 15-0 1.000      25

Iowa State     3-0       4-1  .800 WWWWL   14-1 .933        14

Ole Miss        2-0       4-1  .800 WWWWL  14-1 .933        17

South Florida 2-0       4-1  .800 WWWLW 13-2 .867         18

Penn State      2-0       4-1  .800 WWLWW 12-3 .800          2

Oregon            2-0      4-1  .800  WWLWW 12-3 .800          4

Georgia            2-0     4-1  .800 WWLWW   12-3 .800          6

South Carolina 2-0     4-1 .800 WWLWW    12-3 .800        11

Tennessee          2-0    4-1 .800 WWLWW     12-3 .800       15

Utah                    2-0   3-2 .600 WWWLL        12-3 .800      20

Texas Tech         2-0    4-1 .800 WWLWW     12-3 .800       21

Auburn                2-0    4-1 .800 WWLWW     12-3 .800      24

Florida State       2-0     3-2 .600 WWLWL       11-4 .733      10

Indiana                 2-0    3-2 .600 WWLWL       11-4 .733      22

Miami (FL)         2-0     3-2 .600 WWLLW       10-5 .667      5

Oklahoma           2-0      3-2 .600 WWLLW       10-5 .667      13

Michigan            1-1      4-1 .800 LWWWW       10-5 .667      23

Texas A&M        2-0      2-3 .400 WWLLL          9-6  .600      16

Texas                   1-1      3-2 .600 WLLWW         8-7 .533       7

Clemson              1-1      2-3 .400 WLLWL          7-8 .467       12

Alabama              1-1       2-3 .400 WLLWL          7-8 .467      19

Notre Dame         0-1       3-2 .600 LLWWW        6-9 .400       8

Notre Dame by virtue of their loss in the CFP finals, their first week loss to Miami and a second week bye has  the lowest percentage of the AP 25. Illinois, Ohio,State, LSU, and Missouri have all won 5 of their last 5 games but if any of them lose this week they will be down near the bottom to .667 and some won’t stay on the AP 25 with a loss.

I meant to share this on Sunday after I did all the research, but had a very busy week. I will  try to publish an updated list after the new AP poll comes out tomorrow.

Fisk gets two outs at home plate

"Moments" | Pierce Pettis | "Studio-A: New Music" | WFSU-TV (1983)

As we speak, I am watching Pierce Pettis in concert in Lake Forest (Go Bears!) Illinois. I was first famiiar with Mr. Pettis' work as a song writer in the late 1980. He wrote I don't ever want to live without You which is a cornerstone of Randy Stonehill's 1989 Return to Paradise. This song Moments is the title tune of his 1984 independently released debut album. Bot sure if he'll play it today, but it should be a good concert either way.

45th Anniversary of 1980 All Star Game

On This Day 45 years ago White Sox Pitcher Ed Farmer faced Pete Rose in the 1980 All Star Game. This was back when the Houston Astros were in the National League and the Milwaukee Brewers were in the American. In the 6th inning with 1 out, Farmer pitched to Rose who hit a ground ball to 2nd Willie Randolph, who flipped the ball to SS Robin Yount for the 1st out and then threw out Rose at First Base.

 

Special Shout out to Sox Nerd who reminded me of this play in his Jan 1, 2025 post, Pete Rose and The White Sox. Rose passed away in 2024, and Farmer in 2020, making the footage from my youth feel even  more poignant. 

Marty (1953) starring Rod Steiger 4/4

St Louis CARDINALS at Chicago CUBS 6/22/84 Original WGN Broadcast

Marty (1953) starring Rod Steiger 3/4

Breakfast Serials: Marty Television Presentation Part II

On April 11th 1955, The Film Marty premiered. It would go on to be nominated for 8 Academy Awards and win 4 Best Film. Best Director: Delbert Mann, Best Actor: Ernest Borgnine and Best Screenplay: Paddy Chayefsky.  

Chayefsky's screenplay was adapted from a television play  he wrote which was performed live in The Philco Television Hour in 1953.  Each Tuesday in June at 6:30 A.M. central I will be posting a section from the television program with some fun facts at the end.  Since I am showing these in serialized fashion, and showing them in the a.m., I am calling them Breakfast Serials.

Marty 1953 Part II

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Fun Facts:  Marty was originally shown on the Philco Television Playhouse on NBC. 

Paddy Chayefsky, the writer of Marty, wrote many productions for Philco.

Lee Phillips who plays Marty's cousin Tommy was replaced by Jerry Paris in the film.  Paris and Phillips also became directors mostly in television in addition to acting.  Paris ended up directing Phillips in a Dick Van Dyke episode.  Paris was also a co-star in the show portraying Dr. Jerry Helper Rob and Laura's neighbor. 

 

Join us next week for another installment of Marty.  

Wordless Wednesday: A troubling sign for surgeons who took out massive student loans for med school

For more Wordless Wednesday click here.  

Dick Allen's Famous Chili Dog Game

Today is the 53rd anniversary Dick Allen's Chili Dog Home Run.  

This is also the first year we can watch this video without wondering when Dick will finally make it into the Hall of Fame. 

This video pays tribute to a day famous in White Sox lore.  

 

Breakfast Serials: Marty Television Presentation 1953 Part 1

On April 11th 1955, The Film Marty premiered. It would go on to be nominated for 8 Academy Awards and win 4 Best Film. Best Director: Delbert Mann, Best Actor: Ernest Borgnine and Best Screenplay: Paddy Chayefsky.  

Chayefsky's screenplay was adapted from a television play  he wrote which was performed live in The Philco Television Hour in 1953.  Each Tuesday in June at 6:30 A.M. central I will be posting a section from the television program with some fun facts at the end.  Since I am showing these in serialized fashion, and showing them in the a.m., I am calling them Breakfast Serials.

Marty 1953 Part I

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Fun Fact:  Esther Minciotti, Joe Mantell, and Augusta Ciolli  who played The respective parts of Marty's Mom ,best friend, and Aunt  all reprised these roles in the 1955 film.  Mantell was nominated for best supporting actor Oscar but did not win.   

Join us next week for another installment of Marty.  

12 New Movies: Saturday Night 2024

George Carlin circa 1975 
The year he hosted the first episode of Saturday Night Live

By Little David Records - eBay, Public Do
main, Linkhref="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12827989">Link

  As with all the 12 New Movie reviews , I will attempt to do the following: 

1. Rate each movie on a 1 (worst movie ever) to 5 (best movie I have seen) scale.
2.  Provide a 2-3 sentence summary of the movie. 
3.  I will share 1 theme from the movie.  
4. Write one thing I liked about the movie and 1 thing I disliked about the movie. 
5. State who I think would make the best audience for this movie. 

Saturday Night (2024) Rating 3 1/2 stars out of 5 

 Summary: It is 1975 and in a few  hours the first episode of Saturday Night Live is going to premiere, or will it?   Loren Michaels must battle with censors, sponsors, affiliates, actors, writers, and network executives among others to try to revolutionize the variety show. 

Theme: You can't recognize something you've never seen before.

 Likes: Excellent ensemble casting throughout.  The director and the casting director do an excellent job and as do the actors themselves in doing what Variety "taking Icons and making them human

Dislikes:  I liked the frenetic pace of the movie and the fact that it seemed to really capture the inten.

sity of the last few hours before the show started.  There were times when the intensity was so much it became difficult to watch.  My wife actually had to stop watching because the she thought the intensity was raising her blood pressure.  

 A Good Audience for this Film: Fans of the work of Ivan Reitman, will love this homage to SNL by Ivan's son Jason.  Fans of Saturday Night Live and people who like behind the scenes back stage origin stories should enjoy this movie.  

2025 New To Me Film Update

 I have watched and reviewed 4 films:

Films released from 2009 to 2024                      Watched 1 Remaining 1 

Films released from 1994 to 2008                      Watched 1 Remaining 1 

Films released from 1979 to 1993                      Watched 0 Remaining 2 

Films released from 1964 to 1978                      Watched 1 Remaining 1 

Films released from 1949 to 1963                      Watched 0 Remaining 2 

Films released before 1934 and up to 1948       Watched 1 Remaining 1 

Poetry Friday: Life In A Hall of Mirrors

 It's Poetry Friday time and since this is my first Friday since school ended, I thought I might celebrate the start of my ntwith sharing a poem here.

I wrote this poem 32 years ago when I was in my late 20's.  I came across it today when going through boxes stored in our Garage Attic or the Grattic as we like to call it.

I recited this poem publicly  some 30 years ago.  It went over like a lead balloon like all the poems I recited that night.  I tool one of them out of mothballs and posted it here on Poetry Friday 3 years back. It was well received so I thought I'd share this one as well.

Life In A Hall of Mirrors

Distant music of the Ice Cream Truck

Wafts sweetly through the streets

Children Stop Their Playing

Pavlovian dogs pull allowance out of pockets

Catching A glimpse of the truck

They pursue their pied piper

The Truck stops; The smiling driver is cheered by the crows

The children happily exchange their money

For sticks wrapped in paper

An old man watches them pretend to eat ice cream

And tells of the old days

When The Ice Cream Man sold Ice Cream

(And it cost less too!)

The children say they like pretending better

The Ice Cream Man drives off

Wondering what to leave off next

The stick or the wrapper

Karen Edmisten is hosting Poetry Friday this week.  Click here to get there. 

UKRAINE | ALLEN LEVI

Rock Musicians keep dreaming until Jesus Rocks their world.

Introduction: Vladimir Lebedev is one of my favorite people in the world.  I have thought this about him almost since I met him in Khabarovsk, Russia in December of 1992. Vladimir has has worn many hats in the time I've known him. chauffeur, itinerant musician, soldier, interpreter, pastor, international student, father, husband, missionary but with every hat he's always tried to adorn himself with humility, wisdom, grace, and a desire to show God to others.

To that end, I was delighted, but not surprised, when Vladimir  shared some thoughts on musicians using their platforms on his Facebook page earlier this week.  I am sharing them here with links to some of the songs that he referenced. I'll add some of my thoughts about his musical musings at the end.

Rock musicians keep dreaming. Good intentions. Strong lyrics. Terrific music. Is there a solution to the world’s evils? Can humanity come together to live in peace? Can we stop hypocrisy and greed in the governments to bring wars to an end? Can we finally start caring for one another instead of looking for reasons to separate and hate? 

 Long ago, John Lennon with his “Imagine.” Freddy Mercury of Queen with his “Show must go on.” Ozzy (Osbourne) with his “Dreamer.” Russian rockers of various types Zemlyane, Kruiz, and Aria with their “songs for peace.” And more recently Udo Dirkschneider with his soul-shattering “One Heart, One Soul.”

This indeed is a passionate call for common sense, for something every human soul feels deep within.  But where is it really taking us? Is there something missing in this search? Is it not crying out into a void? It is impossible to, in the words of Bono from U2, "find what we are looking for" without turning to our Creator and Savior who revealed himself to humanity in the person of Jesus the Christ. He has everything that our whole beings are craving for.

Maybe Blacky Lawless of WASP is right when he sings:

Jesus, I need you now

Show me, I'm lost somehow ...

Is there no hope for me?

Oh, somewhere you'll show for me?

Ooh, Lord remember me, take me up tonight

(Golgotha, 2015)

Imagine by John Lennon

The Show Must Go On - Queen (Lyrics Video)

Dreamer by Ozzy Osbourne

[Verse 1] Gazing through the window at the world outside Wondering will mother earth survive Hoping that mankind will stop abusing her sometime After all, there's only just the two of us And here we are still fighting for our lives Watching all of history repeat itself time after time [Chorus] I'm just a dreamer I dream my life away I'm just a dreamer Who dreams of better days [Verse 2] I watch the sun go down like everyone of us I'm hoping that the dawn will bring a sign A better place for those who will come after us this time [Chorus] I'm just a dreamer I dream my life away, oh yeah I'm just a dreamer Who dreams of better days This indeed is a passionate call for common sense, for something every human soul feels deep within. But where is it really taking us? Is there something missing in this search? Is it not crying out into a void? It is impossible to “find what we are looking for” (in the words of Bono of U2) without turning to our Creator and Savior who revealed himself to humanity in the person of Jesus the Christ. He has everything that our whole beings are craving for. Maybe Blacky Lawless of WASP is right when he sings: Jesus, I need you now Show me, I'm lost somehow . . . Is there no hope for me? Oh, somewhere you'll show for me? Oh, I'm holding on, believing there's a reason I can find Ooh, Lord remember me, take me up tonight (Golgotha, 2015) Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Sing 2

Zemlyane: The Grass Besides Our Home

English Lyrics

Earth in the viewport,

 Earth in the viewport,

 Earth in the viewport that I see…

 

 Like a son missing his mother,

 Like a son missing his mother, 

We miss our Earth - we have but one… \

But the stars nevertheless, 

But the stars nevertheless,

 Draw closer, though they’re still as cold as ever… 

 And like at the hour of eclipse, 

And like at the hour of eclipse, 

We wait for light and see our earthly dreams… 

 And we dream not of thunder at the cosmodrome, 

Not of the ice-cold blue of the sky -

 But we dream of grass - the grass beside our house 

Green, green grass… — 

 And we fly our orbits,

 Unbeaten paths - 

 Lifetimes like meteors in the vastness…

 Courage and risk were justified, 

For the music of space 

Floats into our matter-of-fact talk… 

 In some opaque haze 

Earth in the viewport - 

An early evening-time twilight… 

 But the son misses his mother 

But the son misses his mother - 

The mother waits for her son, as the earth awaits her children…

 And we dream not of thunder at the cosmodrome, 

Not of the ice-cold blue of the sky - 

But we dream of grass - the grass beside our house 

Green, green grass…

 

Dave's Thoughts: I really appreciated Vladimir's take on this,  I think it's especially important to note that trying to fix a  broken world is a universal pursuit. It is not just an American past time. In the 1970's there were many popular songs that I would call searching songs.  Songs like Desperado by the Eagles and Dust In the Wind by Kansas.  In the late 70's early 80's the years of my spiritual formation many people would use these songs in the same way Paul used the statues on Mar's Hill, as a way to pointing to the truth of Jesus. Vladimir is essentially doing similar work in his comments here.  

Stand-Up and Win - SNL

I'm not sure how I missed this Saturday Night Sketch, when it first came out, but it is comedy gold!

Team Saturdazzle: The One With Roasted Hope and the zest of Lemon

Yesterday I posted Ronald Reagan's commencement address from Eureka College when He was President of the Unite States. . Today, I have footage of him while Governor of California performing at a celebrity roast for Bob Hope.

 

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 Headline of the week: 

 A Pope Who Ministers to the Suffering? Yup, He's A White Sox Fan.

New York Times 5/10/2025

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My Brother texted me during the coverage of the announcement of the new pope that one of my childhood White Sox heroes, Chet Lemon had passed away.  Now, that Dick Allen has been elected to the Hall of Fame, Lemon is one of the best White Sox players to not make it to Cooperstown.  A 3 time all star,  and a World Series  champion with the 1984 Tigers.  Lemon was aggressive at the plate, on the base paths, and patrolling center field.  In the time he played in the MLB between 1975 and 1990 he was 2nd in being hit by a pitch.  He holds the American League single season record for most put outs as a centerfielder (509 in 1997) when he was with the White Sox.

Some of Lemon's leatherwork is in display when he was on the Baseball Bunch T.V. show.  In the episode he works with young players on how to run down a ball and be aware of the fence.  

 

Footage of Lemon's famous catch in game 3 of the 1984 World Series.  

*****************************************************************************

That's all the Saturdazzle I have for today, Hope to be back next week with more.  

Eureka College Commencement Address: President Reagan's Commencement Add...

I shared a clip from this speech last year. I thought it would be interesting to share the speech on it's 43rd anniversary, the year that the average Eureka grad is reaching retirement age.

 

Judson University Choir, Featuring Bob Bennett - "Come and See"

Judson University is located about a mile from my house.  I drive by it 10 to 15 times a week and have seen many concerts and performances at it over the years. I even ran in a 5 k there.   A few years ago I walked into the church I was attending at the time and saw that Bob Bennett was going to be performing a few songs during the service.  

The director of the Judson Choir was also the worship director at this church and Bob and  the Choir were recording a live album together and the director had arranged for Bob to sing at our church that Sunday morning.

I took one or two videos from my phone of his songs and have posted them on you tube and some of them here over the years.  I didn't take this video it was filmed at Judson during the course of making the album.  Now, that the A to Z challenge is over I'd like to have a few more midweek music breaks and thought this would be an excellent place to start.