Postseason Baseball 2004

[eestlinc]

I said Schilling deserved the Cy Young before the playoffs and I still think the same.

Outfield GOld GLoves go to any three outfielders, and usually go to center fielders. What else could they do with both Andruw Jones and Jim Edmonds in the same league?

Anyway, fielding percentage is a very misleading stat. It doesn't take into account how many balls you manage to field that others would not even get to. And besides, since when has Sheffield been a great fielder? That is a joke. He only has a strong arm in comparison to Bernie Williams next to him. Sheffield is a capable right fielder but nowhere near Gold Glove capabilities.

[The Captain]

Eest, if you look at overall stats, Santana completely blew Schilling out of the water: Lower WHIP, Lower ERA, more strikeouts, and his team scored a heck of a lot fewer runs for him than for Schilling. Was Schilling amazing in the playoffs? Yes, he was, but Santana had a better season and had his team scored more runs for him, he would have had more victories than Schilling as well.

Take care all.

[Del Murder]

And even then he only had one less.

[Strider]

I was kinda surprised at The Sporting News and the people they gave the hardware to. For example, Jason Schmidt as NL Pitcher of the Year. While I'm not complaining, I do know, though, that he stumbled just a little bit down the stretch in September, when his leg started acting up again. After a bit of analysis, though, I still have to hope the baseball writers give him more than a fleeting thought in the NL Cy Young voting.

You figure the top three candidates for the award are Schmidt, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens. A lot of people are making a case for the Big Unit to win the award despite his wins and losses (16-14), but I found that he actually gave up more runs (88) than both Schmidt and Clemens. However, the defense behind him was awful enough to allow 17 unearned runs. If you reduce that number to 6 -- the same as Clemens' unearned runs -- his ERA jumps to a shade below 3.00. That's more comparable to Clemens and Schmidt.

Of the three, Schmidt hurled the most shutouts, while Johnson had the most innings. Johnson also gave up more hits than Clemens and Schmidt, but had considerably fewer walks. Johnson also led the NL in strikeouts, which I tend to think the voters overrate, but it nonetheless gives him an advantage. On top of that, his opponents' batting average is slightly better than Schmidt's (.197 vs. .202).

... Alright, you know what? I'll throw my weight behind Jason Schmidt to win the Cy Young, since he's my guy and all, but I fully expect Randy Johnson to come away with the win. Looking at the numbers, he really was just a notch above the rest this year.

[eestlinc]

I'm not saying Schilling had better stats. I'm saying Schilling was a better pitcher this year. It goes beyond quantification. It's based on my personal feeling that Schilling was the best pitcher in the American League this year. If you award the Cy Young on superior stats alone, why even bother voting? Why not just have a computer pick the winner?

[The Captain]

Santana pitched just as well as Schilling in the postseason, but played for a weaker team, so I don't hold that against him.

We'll agree to disagree, though I think if Schill can get to 220 wins or so, he's a lock for the Hall Of Fame. Then, again, why is Jack Morris not in there after his TEN INNING shutout in game seven of the world series a decade or so ago?

Take care all.

[Dingo Jellybean]

Pedro has more wins than Satchel Page...and he's already in the hall of fame.

But Schilling should be in the Hall of Fame. A shame he was a former Oriole.

[Strider]

Schilling in the Hall of Fame? Come on now.

Pedro Martinez, Kevin Brown and John Smoltz will have as legitimate a shot at the Hall of Fame when they're done as Schilling, if that tells you something. All of those guys are considered borderline, at best.

EDIT:

The only reason Pedro has more wins than Satchel Paige is because Paige didn't begin pitching in the majors until he was 42 years old. He only went 28-31 in the Majors, but look past all that. With his time in the Negro Leagues, Paige pitched for five decades. And straight up dominated, if I forgot to mention that, considered by everyone to be the best Negro League pitcher ever.

He racked up 64 scoreless innings in a row, longer than Orel Hershiser's recognized 58-inning streak in 1988. 21 straight wins at one point. 31-4 in 1933. Joe DiMaggio called him "the best and fastest pitcher" he'd ever faced.

[Del Murder]

Well wins are hard to compare with today's five man rotation and use of pitch counts. When the face of the game changes so should the mechanisms used to evaluate the best players.