This blog has been created since I spend all of my life arguing sports with Willis Austin. Being the two knowledgeable sports fans that we are this is our first attempt to include people on the daily banter that often consumes one's life. This blog will often have a daily topic in which you the public will have the opportunity to chime in and give your respective opinions.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Year of the Pitcher
This year has been the pitcher in Major League Baseball as we approach Father's Day Weekend; who do you think the top 10 pitchers in baseball and rank them (not just any order).
The pitchers have the upper hand once again and it's great for baseball. Now we all know there's an elephant in the room as to why but I won't say why I'll just say I'm happy baseball is back to the normal days. MY top 10 pitchers in baseball right now!!! Meaning I know Johan was a bad-man in his time but right now Tommy Hanson is a better pitcher. I'm just saying that right I'm not handing our career achievement awards. Ok my top 10 pitchers in baseball
1. Roy "Doc" Halladay. Ace in every sense of the word. Amazing stuff, works deep in games, doesn't walk hitters and he's the hardest worker on the team. This year, his first in Philly in Spring Training he showed up at 630 am for 8am practice. Kyle Kendrick and Cole Hamels started showing up at 630 as well so Doc started showing at 6am!!! Ace
2.Tim Lincecum. 2 Cy Young awards in his first 3 seasons. Nuff said!
3.Cliff Lee. Hear me out first, 2008 Cy Young 22-3 in the AL. He then pitched the Phils into the World Series and was dominant there, this year back in the AL dominating again. He amazing
4. CC Sabathia. See 2008 pennant race for reason. He took the ball on 3 days repeatedly and went deep into games. Bulldog!
5. Jon Lester. 50-18 career record, pitches well in the postseason and has a no-no
6. Mariano Rivera. all-time great!!
7. Ubaldo Jimenez. 12-1 with a Bob Gibson like era and whip.
8. Chris Carpenter. Overlooked because he plays with other stars but he's tough. Hasn't lost double digits games since 2001.
9. Adam Wainwright. Same as Carpenter, people don't talk about these 2 but there the best 1-2 in the league.
10. Steven Strasburg. 14 k's in his debut. He's going to be #1 very soon!
1. Ubaldo Jimenez - Look at his record for God sake.
2. Tim "The Freak" Lincecum - back to back Cy Young's. He's 5'11" 172 lbs and throws a fastball at 97 mph consistently, along with his 12 cv, and circle change. Best hopes are that he gets hit by the ball every time he pitches.
3. Roy Halladay - he threw the 20th perfect game in MLB history. What more do I need to say.
4. "King" Felix Hernandez - Career 3.61 era One of the only reasons to even watch the Mariners play. Don't be fooled by his career record, you can't blame a guy for playing for one of the worst teams. His job is to pitch and he does it well. Put him on any contender and he will probably be the best pitcher in rotation.
5. Cliff Lee - I love the Yankees, but if he had help last year, it possibly would've been a repeat of 2001 against the Diamondbacks or '03 vs. the Marlins. Dude is that good. If you have any doubts take a look at the Game 1 boxscore from the '09 World Series.
6. CC Sabathia - Some say overpaid and overhyped. Wrong on both. How much is a guy worth who basically dominated the first part of his career with only 3 pitches. How much is having the best team worth, the Yanks only weakness was pitching he came in with tons of pressure and got it done.
7. Francisco Liriano - His elbow is fixed watch out.
8. Matt Cain - Along with Lincecum arguably the best tandem in the NL. That's why the Giants are rolling.
9. Johan Santana - The guy goes out day in and day out not knowing if he is going to get help from the other pitchers or his bats.
10. Mariano Rivera - He gets everybody out with 1 pitch.
1. Tim Lincecum- 2 cy youngs in 3 yrs in MLB of service!
2. Ubaldo Jimenez- numbers say it all and besides he hits 100 on the gun and also throws a nasty curve at 85 mph. And he pitches in coors field!
3. Roy Halladay- Absolute workhorse tries to finish every game. Leads the league in complete games almost every year.
4. Felix Hernandez- 24 years old, not nicknamed King for no reason, 19-5 2.38 era 217 k's and 238. 1 ip's. Led the MLB in quality starts. Peter Gammons said "King Felix has the best stuff in baseball; hands down."
5. Cliff Lee- yea he's been great recently with a 22-3 and carrying the Phils in the playoffs last season. Also sent down to the minors 3 season ago.
6. Johan Santana- goes out and dominates despite low strikeout numbers despite getting no run support from is his teammates. Maybe the unluckiest starter in the league.
7. Zach Greinke- not really a huge fan of but his talent is undoubtedly good. Last years Al cy young winner despite i think king felix should have won. Down on this list b/c he is about 2-8 this year. But also lacks extreme run support.
8. Dan Haren- extremely consistent, the Majors leader in strikeouts this season, last 3.14 era 228 ips and 223 k's.
9. Chris Carpenter- great pitcher but also get hurts a lot.
I gotta leave out closers cuz it's too hard to compare what a guy does for 7+ innings to a guy who tosses 1 inning. My list...
1. Lincecum
2. Halladay
3. Jimenez
4. Adam Wainwright
5. Cliff Lee
6. Felix Hernandez
7. Chris Carpenter
8. Josh Johnson
9. Dan Haren
10. CC Sabbathia
Ubaldo has been unbelievable this year, but show me this over a 3 year period before I consider you the best. Lincecum and Halladay were basically a toss-up, but I gotta give the edge to Timmy due to the ridiculously high K/9 rate. Wainwright, Mr. Lee and the King coulda all been flipped in any order, but the nod goes to the NL pitcher who doesn't have to face a DH, giving him better numbers. I think Josh Johnson is one of the most underrated and unappreciated pitchers in the bigs due to where he pitches, but he's a stud. And I think I like Jon Lester and Clayton Kershaw, who both woulda made my top 15, along with Strasburg, David Price, and Johan Santana
Matty P, i do agree with you about Josh Johnson i believe he was 7 out of his last 8 starts. The only loss being to Halladay which was the perfect game?
The pitchers have the upper hand once again and it's great for baseball. Now we all know there's an elephant in the room as to why but I won't say why I'll just say I'm happy baseball is back to the normal days. MY top 10 pitchers in baseball right now!!! Meaning I know Johan was a bad-man in his time but right now Tommy Hanson is a better pitcher. I'm just saying that right I'm not handing our career achievement awards. Ok my top 10 pitchers in baseball
ReplyDelete1. Roy "Doc" Halladay. Ace in every sense of the word. Amazing stuff, works deep in games, doesn't walk hitters and he's the hardest worker on the team. This year, his first in Philly in Spring Training he showed up at 630 am for 8am practice. Kyle Kendrick and Cole Hamels started showing up at 630 as well so Doc started showing at 6am!!! Ace
2.Tim Lincecum. 2 Cy Young awards in his first 3 seasons. Nuff said!
3.Cliff Lee. Hear me out first, 2008 Cy Young 22-3 in the AL. He then pitched the Phils into the World Series and was dominant there, this year back in the AL dominating again. He amazing
4. CC Sabathia. See 2008 pennant race for reason. He took the ball on 3 days repeatedly and went deep into games. Bulldog!
5. Jon Lester. 50-18 career record, pitches well in the postseason and has a no-no
6. Mariano Rivera. all-time great!!
7. Ubaldo Jimenez. 12-1 with a Bob Gibson like era and whip.
8. Chris Carpenter. Overlooked because he plays with other stars but he's tough. Hasn't lost double digits games since 2001.
9. Adam Wainwright. Same as Carpenter, people don't talk about these 2 but there the best 1-2 in the league.
10. Steven Strasburg. 14 k's in his debut. He's going to be #1 very soon!
1. Ubaldo Jimenez - Look at his record for God sake.
ReplyDelete2. Tim "The Freak" Lincecum - back to back Cy Young's. He's 5'11" 172 lbs and throws a fastball at 97 mph consistently, along with his 12 cv, and circle change. Best hopes are that he gets hit by the ball every time he pitches.
3. Roy Halladay - he threw the 20th perfect game in MLB history. What more do I need to say.
4. "King" Felix Hernandez - Career 3.61 era One of the only reasons to even watch the Mariners play. Don't be fooled by his career record, you can't blame a guy for playing for one of the worst teams. His job is to pitch and he does it well. Put him on any contender and he will probably be the best pitcher in rotation.
5. Cliff Lee - I love the Yankees, but if he had help last year, it possibly would've been a repeat of 2001 against the Diamondbacks or '03 vs. the Marlins. Dude is that good. If you have any doubts take a look at the Game 1 boxscore from the '09 World Series.
6. CC Sabathia - Some say overpaid and overhyped. Wrong on both. How much is a guy worth who basically dominated the first part of his career with only 3 pitches. How much is having the best team worth, the Yanks only weakness was pitching he came in with tons of pressure and got it done.
7. Francisco Liriano - His elbow is fixed watch out.
8. Matt Cain - Along with Lincecum arguably the best tandem in the NL. That's why the Giants are rolling.
9. Johan Santana - The guy goes out day in and day out not knowing if he is going to get help from the other pitchers or his bats.
10. Mariano Rivera - He gets everybody out with 1 pitch.
The best in the game i believe are as follows:
ReplyDelete1. Tim Lincecum- 2 cy youngs in 3 yrs in MLB of service!
2. Ubaldo Jimenez- numbers say it all and besides he hits 100 on the gun and also throws a nasty curve at 85 mph. And he pitches in coors field!
3. Roy Halladay- Absolute workhorse tries to finish every game. Leads the league in complete games almost every year.
4. Felix Hernandez- 24 years old, not nicknamed King for no reason, 19-5 2.38 era 217 k's and 238. 1 ip's. Led the MLB in quality starts. Peter Gammons said "King Felix has the best stuff in baseball; hands down."
5. Cliff Lee- yea he's been great recently with a 22-3 and carrying the Phils in the playoffs last season. Also sent down to the minors 3 season ago.
6. Johan Santana- goes out and dominates despite low strikeout numbers despite getting no run support from is his teammates. Maybe the unluckiest starter in the league.
7. Zach Greinke- not really a huge fan of but his talent is undoubtedly good. Last years Al cy young winner despite i think king felix should have won. Down on this list b/c he is about 2-8 this year. But also lacks extreme run support.
8. Dan Haren- extremely consistent, the Majors leader in strikeouts this season, last 3.14 era 228 ips and 223 k's.
9. Chris Carpenter- great pitcher but also get hurts a lot.
10. Mariano Rivera- no description needed..
I gotta leave out closers cuz it's too hard to compare what a guy does for 7+ innings to a guy who tosses 1 inning. My list...
ReplyDelete1. Lincecum
2. Halladay
3. Jimenez
4. Adam Wainwright
5. Cliff Lee
6. Felix Hernandez
7. Chris Carpenter
8. Josh Johnson
9. Dan Haren
10. CC Sabbathia
Ubaldo has been unbelievable this year, but show me this over a 3 year period before I consider you the best. Lincecum and Halladay were basically a toss-up, but I gotta give the edge to Timmy due to the ridiculously high K/9 rate. Wainwright, Mr. Lee and the King coulda all been flipped in any order, but the nod goes to the NL pitcher who doesn't have to face a DH, giving him better numbers. I think Josh Johnson is one of the most underrated and unappreciated pitchers in the bigs due to where he pitches, but he's a stud. And I think I like Jon Lester and Clayton Kershaw, who both woulda made my top 15, along with Strasburg, David Price, and Johan Santana
Matty P, i do agree with you about Josh Johnson i believe he was 7 out of his last 8 starts. The only loss being to Halladay which was the perfect game?
ReplyDelete