If you go by ERA, CC had two clunker (for a guy of his skill level) months and the same with FIP. Everybody has their ups and downs, but CC was generally good with quite a bit of excellent thrown in.

CC’s K/BB numbers give a clear idea of when he excelled and when he was struggling at times. You could say he was pretty damn good in August.

July’s a bit painful, huh? He had two starts where he gave up 5 runs, and one where he gave up 6 that month.

Through the end of September, CC has pitched 25 2/3 innings less than he did last year with two less starts than 2008 and with his last start of the year it will probably even out at about twenty.This includes the 1.1IP “start” in Florida where he got pulled early because of arm cramps, so in a way it’s really three less starts.

It’s not a huge difference in the grand scheme of things but it’s still significant going into the postseason. Looking at it another way, he’s only averaged about 1/3 of an inning less an outing this year but it adds up in the end. If you take out the 1.1IP start in Florida, that gap gets a bit smaller but again all the little parts things add up in the end.

]]> http://teamnerdrage.com/2009/09/28/looking-at-cc-sabathias-season-in-graphical-form/feed/ 1 http://teamnerdrage.com/2009/07/05/things-that-are-ridiculous-in-brief/ http://teamnerdrage.com/2009/07/05/things-that-are-ridiculous-in-brief/#comments Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:59:22 +0000 leokitty http://teamnerdrage.com/?p=1885

Robinson Cano strands more runners on base than the rest of the team combined. Intentionally walking A-Rod twice works both times for the Jays!

Roy Halladay allows 5 runs, including 3 homeruns. And he walked THREE! Three!! My brain is still reeling. Thanks, right field porch for that third homer! Today, we are friends although tomorrow that might change.

And a special non-Yankees related throw in that is completely amazing.

In 16 starts, Dan Haren has walked 15 batters.

Update by request:

Anyway, this will never happen for a lot of reasons (Brian Sabean seems to be serious about not trading Matt Cain–the Yankees did try to get him last year), but I can dream this beautiful dream.

• July 18th vs Oakland – 7-1
• July 19th vs Oakland – 4-3
• July 20th vs Oakland – 2-1
• July 21st vs Minnesota – 12-4
• July 22nd vs Minnesota – 8-2
• July 23rd vs Minnesota – 5-1

Today’s game against Minnesota wasn’t even really close. Mike Mussina looked really fantastic. Minnesota is not exactly the world’s greatest hitting team and it was the B-lineup but his 2-seam fastball is continuing to get great movement and his control is absolutely pinpoint. So, give credit where credit is due Mussina is pitching well. The biggest knock against him lately is that he doesn’t go past six innings, but he pitched 8 with 7Ks today. He got a standing ovation from the crowd and tipped his hat. Very nice to see, I really hope he keeps this up.

Per Pete Abe, here’s what he had to say about today:

Andy Pettitte was thrilled with his performance. “From the first pitch of the game everything felt good,” he said. “I really feel good about everything.”

The home run came on a backdoor curveball that was down. “I give (Victor Diaz) credit for hitting it,” he said. “Sometimes that happens.”

Some guy named Mariano Rivera also came out threw a few pitches and got some guys out. I don’t know how that went because I missed it while getting some coffee.

The bullpen situation continues to look…not so great. I know it’s just Spring Training but it’s already giving me a headache/making me want to kill others and myself. Just take a look!

Ohlendorf is pitching in the next game, so we’ll see how he does. For the time being I’m sticking with my guesses and hoping Hawkins’ performance today is not standard.

While specifics weren’t noted, looking at the roster I assume it’s all active players with at least 10 years of service time. I’m listing all the positions as what IGN published here instead of correcting obviously wrong ones so this is a critique of both 2K and IGN all at once.

• Pedro Martinez (P) – Yep, he is a living legend.
• Curt Schilling (P) – Okay, I guess I can fight this but you’ve got to fill a roster spot.
• John Smoltz (P) – Same as Schilling.
• Greg Maddux (P) – No arguments here!
• Randy Johnson (P) – Even if he wasn’t so good, he would be a living legend because he’s so frightening.
• Tom Glavine (P) – 300 wins makes you a legend, even if wins are the worst stat in the universe. (And no, I am not arguing that he isn’t anything but an excellent pitcher.)
• Kenny Rogers (P) – Uhhhh??????
• Trevor Hoffman (P) – Overrated but relief pitchers of his quality for so many years are very hard to find.
• Mariano Rivera (P) – No brainer.
• Tom Gordon (P) – Uh, okay I guess. Before he was Torre’d to death he was very good.
• Billy Wagner (P) – Same as Hoffman.
• Ivan Rodriguez (C) – No arguments.
• Mike Piazza (C) – No arguments.
• Jason Giambi (1B) – ?!?!
• Jim Thome (1B) – No arguments.
• Frank Thomas (1B) – No arguments.
• Jeff Kent (2B) – No arguments.
• Ray Durham (2B) – ?!?!
• Chipper Jones (2B) – Not a second baseman!
• Omar Vizquel (2B) – ?!?! + Not a second basemen!
• Ken Griffey Jr. (LF) – If we’re going with “not horribly injured Griffey” he should be in CF, but okay.
• Jim Edmonds (CF) – Not really in the “Living Legends” category outside of St. Louis.
• Gary Sheffield (RF) – I’ll buy it.
• Moises Alou (LF) – Arguments could be made either way.
• Kenny Lofton (CF) – Legendary annoyance, I suppose.

I’m not sure of the intricacies behind making the list but here are some players it makes no sense to leave off, especially when compared with the players that made the cut.

Mike Mussina (P) – Yes, once upon a time broken old Mike Mussina was one of the best pitchers in baseball. And this was true for many years, even when the Orioles became terrible after 1997. Nobody ever seems to remember this, but that is the Mike Mussina story in a nutshell.

Manny Ramirez (LF) – This is seriously a no-brainer.

Alex Rodriguez (SS/3B) – I don’t even think the point has to be argued.

Derek Jeter (SS) – He isn’t very good at fielding sure, but unlike Vizquel he doesn’t suck at that hitting thing.

The backpage of today’s Daily News sums this up pretty well:

That wonderful headline corresponds with the latest from Bill Madden who argues for many words that the Yankees should just trade everything because hey look the Tigers did it. The Tigers situation is a bit different from the Yankees, but okay let’s just ignore that and write this column now. Then in two months make sure to write one called “The Yankees Must Stop Giving Up The Future For The Present/Past (Part 82)”.

In Andy Pettitte news, he says he is thinking about pitching for more than one year. I wonder what happened at his family sitdown.

“I really believe now, especially after playing with the Astros and pitching with my elbow the way it was when I needed the surgery, I realize now I could go out and probably pitch until I’m 45 years old, because I was throwing 82-83 miles an hour and still being able to compete — maybe because I’m left-handed or whatever,” Pettitte told KRIV-TV on Tuesday in Houston.

Yay.

Before I forget, Pete Abrahms emailed golden boy Phil Hughes asking him how he’s dealing with all the trade talk. Phil responded:

It’s been tough trying to follow any of this the past week. One minute it’s a for sure thing, the next it’s not. I want to stay in NY and its good to know I have the backing of the fan base.

I guess he’s seen Save Phil Hughes!

Pettitte’s agent, Randy Hendricks, told the Associated Press that Pettitte began informing some of his teammates of his decision Sunday, at which time Hendricks notified general manager Brian Cashman.

Jorge Posada said last week that he had been speaking with Pettitte on a weekly basis, but the catcher felt that Pettitte was more likely to retire than return. Still, he said he would continue to lobby his teammate with the hope of changing his mind.

Apparently, it worked.

“Players such as Jeter and Posada told him how much they needed him back, as did Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi,” Hendricks said. “Andy decided this weekend that he didn’t want to keep the Yankees on hold as they sought to determine their team for next year.”

Now that Andy is definitely coming back can we pull Phil Hughes from the table, please?

The latest reports are that the Yankees have offered up Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera and this is where my crazy comes in: I don’t want to see this happen! I am probably a few steps ahead of many other people who don’t want to trade Hughes because I admit I am crazy, and I will even tell you that the crazy really just comes from me be very attached to the idea of the Yankees having a very good “homegrown” starting pitcher (we haven’t had one of those since Andy Pettitte, the verdict is out on Chien-Ming Wang until we see how he does next year) and I think that person will be Phil Hughes.

Strangely, I am not attached to Joba Chamberlain this way. If he were included in the trade I would probably whine, but then get over the whole thing.

I am also convinced that if the Yankees trade Hughes for Santana, that Santana will be stabbed by a wandering homeless man or hit by a bus on his way to pitch his first game for the team. Anything involving ACE PITCHER acquisitions has completely backfired on the Yankees since 2002.

And now Andy is really taking his time to make his decision about next season.

Pettitte’s agent, Randy Hendricks, told the Associated Press in an e-mail message that the left-hander would not be able to reach a decision by Wednesday and will declare free agency instead.

“I have spoken with Brian Cashman, who has reiterated what Hank Steinbrenner said about the Yankees wanting to give Andy all the time he needs to decide about next season,” Hendricks told the AP. “Accordingly, we are declining to exercise the option for 2008 and Andy will declare free agency in order to free up a roster spot for the Yankees.

“If Andy decides to play, I am confident we can reach an agreement with the Yankees within 24 hours. The only options, as Andy has stated, are the Yankees or retirement. He appreciates the Yankees’ willingness to give him the time he feels he needs. I do not expect him to make a decision for quite some time.”

This is understandable and I don’t think he is going to go anywhere else, but I do think he will probably retire. Which not only saddens me personally but strikes the fear of KEI IGAWA IN THE ROTATION FOR NEED OF A LEFTY into my soul

In better news, since Wirtz kicked it passed on, there are actual Blackhawks home games on TV in Chicago. They made a few spots advertising this, and they’re pretty funny. You can watch them here (I tried to embed it but NHL.com’s embedded player sucks, broke the page and worst of all has autostart.)