As threatened, postings will occur more frequently this year. If you’re looking for the Jon Garland thread, it’s over here.
Meanwhile, my latest is up at Hardball Times. It’s all about pitchers who ended up with losing records despite pitching very well. Dave Roberts’ epic 1971 campaign with the Padres tops the list.
Five times a Padres hurler has qualified for the ERA title and posted an ERA+ of 150 or better; Roberts is the only one to do so with a winning percentage below .625:
- Jake Peavy, 2004: 15-6, 2.27 ERA, 171 ERA+
- Kevin Brown, 1998: 18-7, 2.38, 164
- Jake Peavy, 2007: 19-6, 2.54, 157
- Dave Roberts, 1971: 14-17, 2.10, 157
- Randy Jones, 1975: 20-12, 2.24, 156
Enjoy…
I miss Jake Peavy.
Word.
Peavy will be missed by the lineup this year as well. I hope he pitches well in the AL Central like he did down the stretch last season. Good luck to Jake. What am i going to do with his Padres Cy Young pin?
You could have expounded a bit more on Dave Roberts’ circumstances. He was on a team with a staff ERA of 3.23 and the team lost 100 games. The hitting was pathetic, and I can’t believe the slugging was .332. To that they added the second most errors and second worst fielding percentage in the league. That’s instructive – you can have five Peavys in the rotation and it won’t matter. They gotta hit and catch the ball too.
Thanks, Larry, for the additional insights. I knew about the anemic offense but I hadn’t realized the defense was that bad. Those were some lean times.