My latest article is up at Hardball Times: “Ten pitching seasons to forget.” Two of these guys actually won the Cy Young Award at some point in their careers, which just goes to show that anyone can have a bad year.
Enjoy!

I seem to be on a Hall of Fame kick lately. Maybe it’s because I actually visited the place this summer. Or maybe there’s not much else going on right now (seriously, don’t make me bust out some transaction haiku on the Darin Erstad and Miguel Olivo signings). Whatever the case, that’s where my head is at, so let’s take a look at another worthy candidate, Rich “Goose” Gossage.
On second thought, let’s take a look at someone else taking a look at Gossage. In this case, we’ll check in on a couple of guys with a vote, ESPN’s Phil Rogers …read more

San Diego Padres right-hander Jake Peavy has won the 2007 National League Cy Young Award. As someone who has been watching him pitch since he wore #22 for the Lake Elsinore Storm, I couldn’t be happier. Congratulations!
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Josh Beckett? C.C. Sabathia? You liked Beckett (60%) over Sabathia (27%) in our poll. The voters have spoken in favor of the large left-hander representing Cleveland. This surprises me somewhat because it’s actually the right call.
If I had a vote that counted for anything, mine would have been for Sabathia. He and Beckett put up very similar numbers this year, but Sabathia pitched about 40 more innings. Here are the top 10 pitching win shares totals in the AL for 2007:

Sabathia 23.7
Carmona 22.6
John Lackey 22.0
Javier Vazquez 19.6
Dan Haren 19.0
Erik Bedard 18.7
Beckett 18.6
Kelvim Escobar 18.3
J.J. Putz 18.2
Johan Santana 18.1

Not that win …read more

The other day, in discussing the Cy Young Award candidates, I mentioned a lack of faith in the writers to vote for the right person. Folks have been asking me about this, and although it’s old hat to me, I suppose it bears repeating:
I will trust the writers to vote for the right person in any given award only after they have done so.
Update, 12 Nov 2007: It has been pointed out to me that the example I chose to use — Gold Glove Award — does not, in fact, fall under the jurisdiction of the BBWAA. Although the ensuing …read more

We touched on the Cy Young award last week — specifically Rich at Baseball Analysts’ take on the leading candidates. Now another heavy hitter — ESPN’s Jayson Stark — weighs in with his thoughts.
Like everyone else, Stark has San Diego’s Jake Peavy and Arizona’s Brandon Webb in the top two slots in the National League. Nice to see Stark also recognize what Aaron Harang is accomplishing on a very bad Cincinnati team.
I still think Dodgers closer Takashi Saito belongs in the discussion. Lefties are hitting just .194/.239/.311 against him this year. They are the lucky ones: right-handers are batting — …read more

Well, technically Jake Peavy and Andy Pettitte have been named Pitchers of the Month for August. It’s just that they get a sweet high-definition TV for their efforts. Like I always say: If there’s one thing a millionaire needs, it’s someone handing them a high-definition TV that they couldn’t possibly afford on their own.
Oops, sorry ’bout that; we’re congratulating the players, not mocking the system. My bad.
Peavy, who has never received a single Cy Young award vote, appears to be the National League’s leading candidate this year. No matter how you break down his numbers, there just aren’t any weaknesses. …read more

Dissecting is such a gruesome word for it, don’t you think? Maybe dismantling would have been better. Hmm, maybe not.
Anyway, the important thing is that Rich at Baseball Analysts has taken a nice look at this year’s contenders. The American League race is extremely tight (and who knew how good Hideki Okajima has been!), while a couple of right-handers out west are leading the pack in the National League.
What, no love for Adam Eaton or Jose Contreras?

FOX Sports reports that the Cubs have signed right-hander Carlos Zambrano to a 5-year, $91.5 million contract extension (tip o’ the Knuckle Curve cap to David at Baseball Musings). On the one hand, $18 million a year is a bit much for a pitcher. On the other, that’s what the Giants are paying Barry Zito.
Of course, there are differences between Zambrano and Zito. The most important are:

Zambrano is three years younger.
Zambrano’s contract is two years shorter.
Zambrano is a much better pitcher. He’s having an off-year, but it’s still better than anything Zito has done since 2003.

I guess the real take-home …read more

It kills me that I keep having to list the Red Sox and Yankees in these things, but that’s the way the money bounces. Happy Friday, folks!
American League

Angels at Red Sox, 4:05 p.m. PT — This is the second game of a day-night doubleheader and features not only the AL’s two best teams but also a matchup of Cy Young contenders John Lackey and Josh Beckett. If you like offense, you might also want to tune into the first game, which starts at 10:05 a.m. PT. Ervin Santana goes for the Angels. Opponents are batting .341/.416/.626 against Santana away from …read more