04/18/24
December 28, 2006
How Good Is Your #4 Starter?: Jeff Sackmann, of The Hardball Times and Brew Crew Ball runs the numbers and concludes: back-rotation starters suck. But you might be surprised at how bad they generally are.
That's some dense reading. Thanks for the link. It told me something I knew, which is the Mariners have no ace.
posted by vito90 at 12:56 PM on December 29, 2006
Well, that's how this article caught my eye in the first place, holden. Right now, the Brewers faithful are divided into two camps - the "a deep rotation is a good rotation" camp, and the "we need to sign a power bat for the outfield" camp. In the current market, I think Suppan at 10.5mil/year is a steal, and I agree that he's at least a #3. In the Brewers' rotation, he's a #4, and depending on how Villanueva does and Gallardo progresses (and how the injuries fall, it should go without saying), by next year he could be the #5. Maybe that's too much to be paying for a "#5 Starter", but if he puts up numbers consistent with his career, that means the Brewers would have the deepest, and potentially the best, rotation in the NL. Wow -- amazing to see all of those high 4s and 5s (and a 6 thrown in there for good measure by our friends in KC) in the fourth starter ERA listings. Yeah, it took me by surprise. For any team that throws anything resembling a league-average pitcher out in the #4 and #5 spots, this is a comforting analysis.
posted by rocketman at 01:06 PM on December 29, 2006
I found it interesting that while Detroit didn't have lights out numbers at the number one position, the rest of their rotation was quite good; having among the best ERA's for their spot. 4.48 ERA at the number five spot seems fantastic when you look at other teams reaching the sevens.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:51 PM on December 29, 2006
How good is your #4 starter? For your Brewers, rocketman, it appears to be good enough for $42MM over 4 years. Just kidding, of course. Suppan is at least a 3rd starter. (Of course, with the Cardinals last year, he was the number 2 starter, but that says more about the woeful Cardinals' pitching last year than about Suppan's abilities.) Wow -- amazing to see all of those high 4s and 5s (and a 6 thrown in there for good measure by our friends in KC) in the fourth starter ERA listings.