November 29, 2008
PR for Kennedy
Peter Abraham lists Ian Kennedy's stats in the Puerto Rican Winter League. They're mostly good, but the nine walks in 19 2/3 innings bothers me. He's wild and tough to hit, something that doesn't work for most major league pitchers.
Correction: Fixed the title.
Posted by David Pinto at
05:22 PM
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Headline says Hughes. Post says Kennedy. Which one is it? :)
Wild and tough to hit....
For a pitcher that fails: Problem
For a pitcher that wins: "Effectively Wild"
Two issues with Jesse's post...
-- There are a whole lot more wild pitchers in the "fail" category than the "win" category. Matsuzaka and Scott Kazmir are two wild winners, but there aren't a whole lot of them. Sort of like hitters who are successful in spite of a lack of strike-zone judgment: the list is damn short after Vladimir Guerrero. The strike zone is the battleground of baseball, and he who controls it usually wins.
-- Even if a pitcher is both wild and successful, he creates problems for the team because his outings will be short. Matsuzaka wins, but he only goes 5-6 innings. Burns up the bullpen. I'd rather have a wild/successful pitcher than a journeyman, but a successful pitcher with control is far better.