Posted by Matt Sisson on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 9:20 pm

While reading through Bill James Online earlier today and having read about the Mets adding another key position player to the DL yesterday, I wanted to see how much of an effect it was having on teams so far in the 2009 season.  Here’s a quick breakdown of the percentage of games plated by opening day starters on each team. These graphs show a lot of good information that really tells, other than sheer differences in talent on the teams, what’s leading to a team’s success or  failure in 2009.

MLB Standings – For Reference

2009 American League: Percentage of Games Played by Opening Day Starter At Each Position

2009 National League: Percentage of Games Played by Opening Day Starter At Each Position

It’s no surprise that the team’s who have been able to keep their starters on the field are also hanging out at the top of the standings.  The difference injuries make have a lot to do with a team’s success.

Now lets move on to pitching:

Here is the data for AL and NL pitching courtesy of Bill James Online (subscription required):

American League – Starts Made by First Five Starters:

American League

2009

Team Apr May June July Aug Sept Total Los Angeles 17 13 8 0 0 0 38 Baltimore 20 17 6 0 0 0 43 Boston 20 25 18 0 0 0 63 Chicago 21 24 16 0 0 0 61 Cleveland 19 23 8 0 0 0 50 Detroit 21 24 15 0 0 0 60 Kansas City 20 19 11 0 0 0 50 Minnesota 19 22 12 0 0 0 53 New York 21 22 19 0 0 0 62 Oakland 19 24 17 0 0 0 60 Seattle 19 17 10 0 0 0 46 Tampa Bay 23 28 15 0 0 0 66 Texas 20 20 10 0 0 0 50 Toronto 19 13 9 0 0 0 41

Baltimore, Toronto, and Kansas City saw the number of starts their starting 5 drop significantly from at least one month to another, causing their team to tumble in the standings.

National League – Starts Made by First Five Starters:

National League

2009

Team Apr May June July Aug Sept Total Arizona 18 19 12 0 0 0 49 Atlanta 21 26 16 0 0 0 63 Chicago 21 24 13 0 0 0 58 Cincinnati 21 27 16 0 0 0 64 Colorado 19 23 17 0 0 0 59 Florida 21 21 16 0 0 0 58 Houston 19 24 16 0 0 0 59 Los Angeles 19 18 16 0 0 0 53 Milwaukee 22 28 19 0 0 0 69 Washington 21 24 10 0 0 0 55 New York 20 23 13 0 0 0 56 Philadelphia 20 25 11 0 0 0 56 Pittsburgh 21 29 17 0 0 0 67 St Louis 20 25 17 0 0 0 62 San Diego 19 17 11 0 0 0 47 San Francisco 20 29 20 0 0 0 69

San Diego and Arizona are both hanging around at the bottom of the rankings in starts made by their first five starters and they’re also hanging around in the bottom of their divisions.