FanNation - The Republic of Sport

nedenhunter said 06/19, 03:34 PM
Yes this has been a very dissapointing season pitching wise for what was predicted to be the best pitching division in baseball. The Rockies have been awful but I am going to have to go with the LA Dodgers as most dissapointing pitching staff.

The Dodgers already had big arms in Chad Billingsley, Derek Lowe and Brad Penny. Then gained more depth in the rotation by acquiring Japanese prospect Hiroki Kuroda and getting Jason Schmidt. The team also got Esteban Loaiza mid season from the White Sox. Seemingly a dominant starting rotation. However not 1 of these pitchers has a winning record. In fact these 6 pitchers combined are 19-30.

The bullpen would be expected to be as dominant as any others in the majors with Chan Ho Park, Tasaki Saito and Scott Proctor. Saito is 9 for 12 in saves this season, Park is 1 for 1 in saves and 0 holds in 20 games. Proctor has no saves and only 1 hold in 30 games this season.

nedenhunter said 06/20, 03:01 PM
For pitchers today the mid 30s seems to be their prime. Look at the best 4 year stretches for the great pitchers today. Randy Johnson was 36-39 between 1999-04, Curt Schilling 35-38 between 2001-2003, Greg Maddux was 31-34 between 1997-00.

I cant say that the Rockies pitching staff is a dissapointment because they didnt have a good pitching staff to begin with. Aaron Cook and Jeff Francis are the only expectations in the starting rotation and the bullpen wa expected to be run by Fuentes and Buchholz. Aside from Jeff Francis all 3 of these pitchers have been outstanding. Cook is 10-3 with a 3.29 ERA. Fuentes is 13 for 16 in saves with a 2.05 ERA and Buchholz has 1 save and 15 holds in 33 games with a sparkling 1.43 ERA. Not what I would call a dissapointment.

As for the Dodgers the whole starting rotation is a dissapointment. Lowe has been a dissapointment for as long as hes been in a Dodgers uniform. Penny was 16-4 last season with a 3.03 ERA. This season he is 5-9 with a 5.88 ERA. 1 more loss and he reaches a career high in losses and its not even the all star break yet. His 5.88 ERA also a career high. Billingsly has already reached a career high 7 losses in only 14 starts

nedenhunter said 06/21, 02:51 AM
Lets compare the starting rotations of both teams.

Rockies
Francis- 3-6, 5.22 ERA
Cook- 10-4, 3.57 ERA
Ubaldo- 1-7, 4.85 ERA
Reynolds- 2-4, 5.98 ERA
DeLaRosa- 2-3, 6.52 ERA

Ubaldo is a nobody so far who hasnt made a name for himself in the big leagues yet so no one expected much from him. Reynolds is a rookie so hes not doing bad for a rookie. DeLaRosa has never had a winning season and never had an ERA under 5.18 as a starter in 5 season so hes doing as expected. Cook has been great this year and Francis has been an upset.

Dodgers
Lowe- 5-6, 3.90 ERA
Billingsley- 5-7, 3.54 ERA
Kuroda- 3-6, 4.04 ERA
Penny- 5-9, 5.88 ERA
Schmidt- Disabled List

Lowe has done poorly since leaving Boston to become a Dodger. Billingsley was 12-5 last season with a 3.31 ERA, he already has more loses and his ERA went up. Kuroda pitched in the World Baseball Classic, won a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics and led the Japan league in wins and ERA. But came to the MLB and was a major bust. Penny had losing records only twice in his career, 1 was a season cut short by injury. He has never had an ERA over 4.81 (his rookie season). Penny could be the biggest dissappointment of all MLB.