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[NJDevs4978]

Dude, seriously...I stopped reading about two sentences in. The people you talk about aren't on this message board, in fact I don't really remember that many comments posted about Pedro one way or the other here when he signed.

And most of the comments here since are in reaction to stuff you post. Shoot we have our own problems as it is, why would we even care except having to see it bumped up every five days?

Edited August 29, 2009 by Hasan4978

[nmigliore]

Dodgers acquire Jon Garland and Jim Thome, per Jon Heyman on twitter.

wow, surprising moves.. Loney has been alright but his bat really doesn't fit too well at 1B.. I think Thome will start and Loney will be used as a late-game defensive replacement/pinch hitter. Jon Garland is what he is; a nice mid-to-back of the rotation starter.. This gives them Billingsley-Kershaw-Wolf-Garland-Padilla. Very deep rotation to finish the year..

Good upgrades for LA who definitely are going for it all this year.

On a side note - Giants picked up Brad Penny.. Last time I checked, Joe Martinez was their #5 starter, so Penny is an upgrade over him.

edit, sept 1st: apparently Thome wont play 1B unless its an emergency situation.. so i guess hes just a pinch hitter (and DH if they get to the World Series). Still worth it though since they got him for nothing and didn't even have to pay for his remaining salary.

Edited September 1, 2009 by nmigliore

[nyrsuck26]

They were saying on MLB network that the Rockies acquired Contreras from the Chi Sox as well. I guess they just gave up after going into the tailspin that they have been in for the last week. Makes you wonder what they are gonna do with Peavy now...

[nmigliore]

Well Peavy isn't going anywhere, hes under contract until 2012 (with a big club option for 2013).. they are better off shutting him down for the year though. Contreras and Thome are free agents after this season so it was probably smart to trade them for at least something (well they got a terrible return for Thome, but got a quality AAA arm for Contreras, so I guess it balances out).

Hard to say this wasn't a good night for the Dodgers though - they get Thome and cash for next to nothing and Garland for a PTBNL. I wonder what they do with Garland after the year; hes got a 2010 mutual option for $10M, which he probably isn't worth, but hes such a durable starter who you can count on to make all of his starts and give you 200 innings.

edit: Dodgers also got cash in the Garland deal.. it pays off the rest of his '09 salary and his 2010 buyout money. Wow, that just adds to their great night...

Edited September 1, 2009 by nmigliore

[nmigliore]

(double post)

Edited September 2, 2009 by nmigliore

[devilsrule33]

And another Red Sox castaway, who by the way looked like one of the worst pitchers in baseball this year, looks like a superstar in the NL. 8 scoreless innings in his debut. He had yet to go 8 innings, let alone 7 all season in Boston.

[nmigliore]

Penny was actually worse in the NL last year with the Dodgers than he was with Boston in the AL this year. Also he hasn't pitched as bad as his ERA would indicate - FIP (which I think is a better scale of a pitcher's effectiveness opposed to ERA since it removes defense from the equation and only looks at three factors that a pitcher has control over

[DH26]

penny's pitched really well a few times for Boston this year too. If he consistently does this then something's up but he had some high highs with the Sox too so let's not get carried away with one start. Like was previously said, Penny was never a world beater when he was in the NL before anyway

[devilsrule33]

Well when I think of Penny in the NL...I think of the 12-1 start to the season with the Dodgers finishing 16-4. I also think of two wins in the world series against the Yankees.

[nmigliore]

Well when I think of Penny in the NL...I think of the 12-1 start to the season with the Dodgers finishing 16-4. I also think of two wins in the world series against the Yankees.

well 2007 was his arguably his best year.. but other than that hes been about a 4.00 to 4.20 ERA pitcher in the NL with the Marlins/Dodgers, which is about what he should have been with the Red Sox if things broke better for him.

also regarding that start in 2007, i decided to look up penny's 1st half/2nd half splits for that 2007 season and for his career... and found out hes very noticeably a 1st half pitcher:

2007 1st half: 10-1, 2.39 ERA, 1.19 WHIP

2007 2nd half: 6-3, 3.84 ERA, 1.46 WHIP

Career 1st half: 66-46, 3.97 ERA, 1.35 WHIP

Career 2nd half: 36-37, 4.48 ERA, 1.36 WHIP

hell, even this year he has a difference between 1st half/2nd half..

2009 1st half: 6-3, 4.71 ERA (should have been around 4.20ish), 1.48 WHIP

2009 2nd half: 2-5, 6.46 ERA, 1.50 WHIP

and penny wasn't exactly dominant in those 2 starts vs the yankees in the 2003 world series: 12.1 IP, 15 hits, 5 BB/7 K .. he somehow managed to scatter 20 baserunners in 12.1 IP and only give up 3 ER.

Edited September 3, 2009 by nmigliore

[Beezer34]

Did anyone here happen to see the Giants/Phillies game tonight? C'mon ladies, you all knew the Beez would be back after a night like tonight.

7 IP... 9 K's... 1 ER... no walks, for the 2-1 victory. You now all can officially lick my b@lls.

*Season`Thus-far: 23 IP --- 23K's --- 9 ER's --- ERA: 3.52 --- 3-0 Record --- 3 Walks.

With his 6th game coming Tuesday -vs- the Nats... the Phillies have yet to lose a game where Pedro starts. However let me beat everyone to the pending excuse, once Pedro wins that game too... "IT'S WASHINGTON... THAT'S WHY HE WON!!"

With Maine, Putz, Niese, Nieve, Perez, and Johan all nursing boo-boo's.... you think Pedro might've helped this season? Bang up job by the Mets letting Pedro (who direly wanted to stay) walk. But you know what, if he ends the season with a ring... I don't think he'll give a sh!t one way or the other.

hasan & nmigliore You b!tches work for me now.

----------EDIT----------

"He's amazing. Just to get to see what kind of stuff he still has, it's just ridiculous how nasty he still is today. You can see that he knows what he's doing, he's not just winging it out there, hoping that he's getting outs. He's pitching with a purpose. He knows how to get guys out and that was apparent tonight. He still has alot left that's for sure." -Tim Lincecum

"The way he (Pedro) is pitching in Philly, it's a real testament to his work ethic. He's owed an apology from Minaya, and that entire organization. Omar had people believing he couldn't get an out from Troop 11 of the Boy Scouts of America. How much egg do the Mets have on their face now? How much more will they have if Pedro can win a Championship this season?" -Marc Malusis

Edited September 4, 2009 by Beezer34

[nmigliore]

[Beezer34]

aww, look. Someone's discovered the new Troll smiley.

[nmigliore]

fangraphs has a new stat that subtracts ERA from FIP; basically if the difference is negative, the pitcher is over-achieving and is ERA is probably lower than what it should be.. if the difference is positive, the pitcher is under-achieving and his ERA is probably higher than what it should be..

Over-Achieving Starting Pitchers This Year

1) J.A. Happ (2.77 ERA) : -1.54 differential

2) Matt Cain (2.51 ERA) : -1.39 differential

3) Kevin Millwood (3.77 ERA) : -1.12 differential

4) Randy Wells (2.84 ERA) and Edwin Jackson (3.10 ERA) : -1.01 differential

Under-Achieving Starting Pitchers This Year

1) Ricky Nolasco (5.27 ERA) : 1.72 diffential

2) Carl Pavano (5.09 ERA) : 1.10 differential

3) Paul Maholm (4.72 ERA) : 0.89 differential

4) Brad Penny (5.15 ERA) and Livan Hernandez (5.44 ERA) : 0.80 differential

Starters like CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Josh Johnson, and John Lackey have ERA's that accurately represent the way they have pitched this year, and so none of them have under achieved nor over achieved this year.

Edited September 8, 2009 by nmigliore

['7']

delete

Edited September 9, 2009 by '7'

[Beezer34]

...another game, another solid outing. Hmm, what else is there to say? PM's wins are starting to become routine. Four strikeouts in six innings tonight, three earned runs, 120 pitches, and only one walk. However most importantly, another victory. 6 Starts for Pedro... 6 Wins for the Phil's. Will 45 ever lose a game or what?!

*Start #7.... (drumroll) ...Sunday, September 13th --vs-- THE NEW YORK METROPOLITANS! (Redding to be exact) on ESPN. This game's going to be even better than Round 1.

SEASON`UPDATE: -6 Starts; 29 IP.. 29 H.. 29 K's.. 12 ER's.. 4 Walks... 4-0 Record.

"The time has come!" -the Walrus said; "...to lick Beezer's balls!"

[nmigliore]

so how about the colorado rockies? they were a team people wrote off quickly after their slow start in april and may (they were 13.5 GB 1st in the NL west and 8.5 GB the NL wild card on may 31st).. and now, as of september 11th, they lead the NL wild card by 4.5 games and they are only 2 games behind the dodgers in the NL west and riding a 7 game win streak! and how about the records since the allstar break:

dodgers: 27-26

rockies: 34-19

the dodgers go to san francisco while the rockies go to san diego this weekend.. speaking of san francisco, this is probably a make or break series for them since they are starting to slip in the playoff race; in fact i just looked at their latest playoff odds and they sit at a little over 5% .. ouch. anyway, 2 of the 3 games will be on MLB network too - 10:05pm ET tonight and 9:05pm ET tomorrow - very nice! should be great games to watch.

Edited September 11, 2009 by nmigliore

[nmigliore]

(double post)

Edited September 11, 2009 by nmigliore

[DH26]

so how about the colorado rockies? they were a team people wrote off quickly after their slow start in april and may (they were 13.5 GB 1st in the NL west and 8.5 GB the NL wild card on may 31st).. and now, as of september 11th, they lead the NL wild card by 4.5 games and they are only 2 games behind the dodgers in the NL west and riding a 7 game win streak! and how about the records since the allstar break:

dodgers: 27-26

rockies: 34-19

the dodgers go to san francisco while the rockies go to san diego this weekend.. speaking of san francisco, this is probably a make or break series for them since they are starting to slip in the playoff race; in fact i just looked at their latest playoff odds and they sit at a little over 5% .. ouch. anyway, 2 of the 3 games will be on MLB network too - 10:05pm ET tonight and 9:05pm ET tomorrow - very nice! should be great games to watch.

the rockies were the favorites to trade away half the roster and even after they traded away Holliday, they do this. Street, Atkins, possibly Helton were all possibly gone. Then suddenly they turn into a juggernaut and Tulo is an MVP candidate after being dead wood last year. Amazing

[nmigliore]

the holliday deal seems likes it has worked out well for them too.. carlos gonzalez has been a monster in the 2nd half of the season - .349/.416/.659 and huston street has been one of the best closers in the NL (although hes currently injured and franklin morales is stealing his closer's job).

tulowitzki has had a big bounce back year, but the guy that has surprised me is seth smith. last year he was about league average (99 OPS+), this year hes been so much better - .316/.400/.561 which comes out to a 144 OPS+. also their rotation has done a very good job - guys like marquis and jimenez are having career years and jorge de la rosa (whose another guy thriving in the 2nd half this year) and jason hammel have been quality at the back of their rotation; all while their ace aaron cook has been 'meh' most of the year and is on the DL now with a shoulder strain.

[Beezer34]

130 Pitches... 8 Shutout Innings. (first time in 8 years) 7 Starts... 7 Wins... Undefeated!

SEASON: *ERA: 2.87... *38 IP... *35 H's... *34 K's... *12 ER's... *WHIP: 1.09... *6 Walks... *5-0 Record.

Sit there and hide ladies... but don't forget to lick b@lls.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/ALeqM4

"Martinez (5-0) threw 130 pitches in eight shutout innings. At one point between the 2nd & 5th innings, Martinez retired 10 straight. With the victory, the NL East-leading Phillies are now 7-0 when he starts. Pedro (by issuing this loss) mathematically eliminated the Mets from the playoffs tonight. "I have to tell you, I'm sorry for them," -Martinez said. The 32nd straight sellout crowd chanted "Let's Go Pedro!" and wildly cheered every strike Martinez pitched throughout the evening. But the Phillies fans weren't done showing him some appreciation once the game ended. Fans rushed the dugout and filled up five or six rows, chanting "Pedro! Pedro! Pedro!" as he did his postgame interview."

Edited September 14, 2009 by Beezer34

[SC Devs Fan]

My Nats suck. But we'll get Harper next year in the draft.

[nmigliore]

My Nats suck. But we'll get Harper next year in the draft.

Strasburg and Harper in consecutive drafts is overkill.

I saw a highlight video of him hitting in a power showcase last year and he was hitting moonshots at tropicana field.

edit: linky .. his swing is so sweet too.

Edited September 15, 2009 by nmigliore

[overtime98]

The MLB is still playing?

[DH26]

My Nats suck. But we'll get Harper next year in the draft.

and he shouldn't be nearly as much of a pain to sign as Strasburg and hitters at the top of the draft are usually more sure things than pitchers so good for the Natties