## What Does Pythagoras Have Against the Sox?

It’s been a tough month in Red Sox Nation. Thanks to a 5-14 record this month, the Sox have dropped from a sure playoff appearance to clinging to a 1 game lead in the loss column. They have scores 113 runs in those 19 games and given up 123. According to the Pythagorean record calculation:

$\frac {(Runs Scored)^2} {(Runs Scored)^2+(Runs Allowed)^2}$

the Red Sox should have won 45.8% of those games, or 8.7 out of 19.

$\frac {(113)^2} {(113)^2+(123)^2}=0.458$

$19(0.458)=8.7$

I know that if the Sox had won 4 more of these games I’d be much more relaxed about our chances. C’mon Pythagoras – you owe us!

Why are the Sox underperforming their Pythagorean record? Check out the standard deviation in Runs Scored & Runs Allowed. For Runs Scored it’s 5.7 runs, while for Runs Allowed it’s only 3.1 runs. A little more consistency in offensive production is what we need.

– George

I am a math instructor at College of the Sequoias in Visalia, CA. If there’s a particular topic you’d like me to address, or if you have a question or a comment, please let me know. You can reach me through the contact page on my website – http://georgewoodbury.com.