Game Results By Starter
Posted by Steve L. on September 5th, 2008 · Comments (6)
The Yankees record, this season to date, in games started by the following pitchers:
Mussina: 20-9
Wang: 12-3
Chamberlain: 8-4
Pavano: 3-0
Ponson: 7-5
Pettitte: 14-15
Rasner: 8-12
Kennedy: 2-7
Hughes: 1-5
Giese: 0-3
Now, look at it this way:
Mussina: 20-9
Wang/Chamberlain: 20-7
Pettitte: 14-15
Kennedy/Ponson/Giese/Pavano: 12-15
Hughes/Rasner: 9-17
In some ways, the ineffectiveness/injury of Hughes and the ineffectiveness of Rasner, could be seen as a major reason as to why the Yankees record is what it is this season.
That’s asinine. What’s your methodology there? “Let’s look W/L of the team in the games these guys started, and then let’s see here, if I group Hughes and Rasner together it makes Hughes look bad! Eureka!”
I’m not defending Hughes’ performance this year. He struggled, then got injured, and he did not help the Yankees at all this season. But your logic is flawed, to say the least. That grouping of names and numbers in your post means nothing.
Couldn’t you just as easily group together Kennedy and Rasner, or Kennedy and Geise, or Hughes and Geise, or Hughes and Kennedy, or Pettitte and Rasner, and so on and so forth? I don’t like the use of team W/L, but even if you want to go that route, isn’t the only conclusion you can draw from those numbers that “in some ways, the ineffectiveness/injury of Hughes and Kennedy and the ineffectiveness of Rasner, Pettitte and Geise, could be seen as a major reason as to why the Yankees record is what it is this season?” Well that’s pretty profound stuff right there, I had no idea.
Really… I’m embarrassed for you just reading that post. You’re a popular blogger with a large audience and SNY behind you, you should really be trying just a tad harder to provide insightful content. (And don’t worry waswatching fans, I know, if I don’t like it I can show myself the door, yadda yadda.)
~~What’s your methodology there?~~
FWIW, I looked at Moose and Pettitte and saw they each had 29 starts. So, I grouped the others in a way that their starts would also equal 29 starts, or close to it. I did nothing more than that.
Ponson replaced Wang in the rotation. As Chamberlain/Wang were both in the rotation together for at least 2-3 starts, your grouping them together is no less arbitrary than had I grouped Hughes and Wang together to make for a combined record of 13-8.
There’s no point trying to argue that Hughes had a good 2008 season. He didn’t. But to attribute the struggles of the 2008 season to Hughes (and Rasner) is again to ignore the fact that the Yankees are on pace to score 200 fewer runs this season than last.
Go ahead and keep on blaming Hughes for everything if that’ll make this season’s bitter pill go down easier. But don’t forget that the stats are showing the offense — and not the pitching — as the real culprit for this year’s results.
Hear that Scuttlebutt on Miked Up? The Yanks have Halladay Jr in Joba and he wants him in the bullpen!?! Very out there. AND they are starting Joba as a bullpenner next year? Do they plan to sign CC, Sheets and AJ ( big mistake, he is perfect for the Jays, and pitches to a 5 ERA) all at once? They want to throw maig fairy dust and make another castoff a great pitcher? If Cash comes back that would be the height of insanity! Right now the inmates are running the asylum.
MJ, we both agree on the bad offense this year. Yeah ,they face Halladay and Burnett every so often BUT they are terrible with RISP. They need to change the offense, perhaps being more aggressive and getting roleplayers to play smallball. Or better yet, practice bunting in the spring.
Mike Francesa can be a real thick-head. I heard him say yesterday about making Joba a permanent bullpen guy in 2009. How dumb is that? With three, maybe four, quality pitches. You don’t waste that in the bullpen.
Yes, Joba will likely start 2009 in the bullpen, as he did in 2008. That is owing to the number of innings and concern regarding the 30+ innings matter with young pitchers.
Mike Francesa can be a real thick-head. I heard him say yesterday about making Joba a permanent bullpen guy in 2009.
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This is nothing new and not surprising. Back in late May when the team started stretching him out for his first start, M&MD were lambasting the Yankees for even considering taking Joba out of the bullpen.
The truth, however, is that I’m afraid Joba will be a reliever for the rest of his career. Between health and idiotic conventional wisdom, Joba’s future seems a bit cloudy for the rotation.