Unlike the American League, the National League has seen the demise (for now) of some of last seasons top tier pitchers. Ubaldo Jiminez, Big Time Timmy Jim Lincecum, Edinson Volquez, Mat Latos, Johan Santana (remember him?), Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright are not dominating like years past. In some cases, they aren’t even pitching at all. This is the life of a major league hurler. One year, you are the toast of the town. Untouchable. The next big thing (*ahem* Mark Prior *ahem*). Nothing is a guarantee, which makes consistency and longevity that much more impressive. I’m not talking Tim “I’ll never throw my arm out so I can pitch until I’m 65″ Wakefield consistency and longevity. I mean the guys who just go to work every fifth day until they can’t anymore. The grinders. The true workhorses.
The Tim Hudson’s for example. Remember back to 1999 if you will. The Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Hudson era was about to be underway. And in just 136 and 1/3 innings, Hudson began his career with an 11-2 record. A telling sign of things to come. A decade later, and Hudson seemed to be on his last leg. He only mustered seven games during the 2009 season and spent the rest of the season on the disabled list. He was 34 at the time, and it seemed like his best years were behind him. I certainly didn’t expect him to come back, start 34 games, rack up 17 wins, and post a 2.83 ERA through 228 and 2/3 innings for the Braves in 2010. But he did. And he’s still doing it in 2011. 17 starts. 7-6 record. A complete game. Oh yeah, he also hit his second career homerun. At 36, it remains to be seen how much longer he can keep this up. But for now, he is as important to the Braves playoff push as…
Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson. This pair of 25-year olds are not only the future for Atlanta, they are major players in the present, too. After going 14-10 in 2009, Jurrjens battled through injuries during his 2010 campaign and fell by the wayside. A forgotten arm in the hodgepodge of the MLB pitching hierarchy. Well, he is back in a big way with a stat line of: 11-3, 1.89 ERA, 63 K’s, and a 1.06 WHIP. He is tied for the league lead in wins and leads the entire MLB in ERA. If Jurrjens is the ace of this staff, Hanson is 1A. Hanson broke into the league in 2009 and appeared to be Hudson 2.0. 11-4 record through 21 starts. 2.89 ERA. 116 K’s through 127 and 2/3 innings pitched. The torch seemed ready to be passed. But, much like Jurrjens, Hanson faltered in 2010. While he posted 10 wins during his sophomore season, he finished with 11 losses and a 3.33 ERA. This season, even with a stint on the DL, Hanson is back on his game with a 10-4 record, a 2.52 ERA, and 103 K’s in 96 and 1/3 IP. The triumvirate of Hudson, Jurrjens, and Hanson has the perfect blend of youth infused with a veteran presence (let’s not forget about Derek Lowe) and should be a terror come October. Much like…
The three headed monster in Milwaukee. This trio came together without any blown out of proportion ESPN hype (or much notice for that matter). Yovani Gallardo, Zach Greinke, and Shaun Marcum may be the best three pitchers no one talks about, and maybe they like it that way. Gallardo has been making a name for himself since he broke into the majors in 2007. After a lost season in 2008, he bounced back to win 13 games in ’09, followed by 14 wins in ’10. Through 110 and 1/3 IP this season, Gallardo has already recorded nine wins at the top of the Brewers rotation. After starting off 2-2, he strung together six consecutive wins from May 7th – June 4th, all the while never allowing more than two earned runs in a single contest. While he is the undoubted ace of this staff, Gallardo was unable to carry the Brewers last season, which resulted in them missing the playoffs by a large margin. Because of this, Greinke and Marcum were brought in via trades and have paid immediate dividends for the Brew crew. While Greinke has a John Lackey-esque ERA (5.66) he is sitting pretty with a 7-3 record and has been a pivotal piece in the Brewers rotation. After dominating 2008-2009, Greinke is following up a sub-par 2010 with a solid 2011. Meanwhile, 29-year old Marcum is having his coming out party – sort of. He has been stashed away in Toronto for the past six years and his talents have been hidden for the most part behind a mediocre team. In Milwaukee, Marcum has already posted a 7-3 record with 97 K’s in 105 and 2/3 IP. For the Brewers to make it deep into October they will need their top three guys to continue to push forward. Their offense is there, but the entire NL Central has plenty of offensive fire power. Outside of these three guys, the only pitcher with top of the line stuff this season has been…
Johnny Cueto, and he only has 11 starts under his belt thus far. Yes, the Pirates collectively have been pitching their asses off. Jaime Garcia has continued on in his winning ways. But outside of Milwaukee, the pitching has been below average. Except for Mr. Cueto. While he only boasts a 5-3 record, his 1.77 ERA through 11 starts shows his development and maturity (’08: 4.81, ’09: 4.41, ’10: 3.64). Volquez has yet to gain control on the hill, and Bronson Arroyo, Travis Leake, and Homer Bailey will never amount to anything more than a good supporting cast. So in order for the Reds to find themselves in contention by September, they will need Cueto to keep up his winning ways, and keep down his ERA. The Reds have plenty of offensive fire power to out-slug other teams, but their pitching needs some semblance of balance. The way Cueto is alone atop the Reds rotation seems eerily similar to…
Clayton Kershaw in Los Angeles. The 23-year old has shown flashes of top of the rotation stuff since he broke into the Dodgers rotation, but this is by far his best season to date. He came into this season with a career 26-23 record. Nothing spectacular, but not bad either. Through 18 games started this season, Kershaw has three complete games with two shut outs. He is 8-4 with a decent 3.23 ERA, but the impressive stat on this lefty is his league leading 138 punch-outs. He has seven more K’s than Roy Halladay, eight more than Justin Verlander, and 10 more than Cliff Lee. Also, he is five years younger than Verlander, and both Lee and Halladay were almost out of Little League by the time Kershaw was born. The NL West is full of pitching talent (Madison Bumgardner, Lincecum, Matt Cain, Latos, Daniel Hudson, etc.) but the top dog for now – and possibly the foreseeable future – is Kershaw. Kershaw is a one man show in Los Angeles though. Luckily, he is young enough to build around and allow to continue to develop. The Dodgers have some pieces around him, so if they’re lucky, they can make a run around Kershaw much like…
The Phillies did around Cole Hamels in 2008. Sure, Hamels was three years older at the time, but the staff around him looked nothing like it does right now. Hamels was the undoubted, unproven ace on the staff but he put it together for one post-season stretch an was untouchable. Much like he has been most of this season. Through 17 starts, Hamels is 9-4 with 110 Ks and a 2.41 ERA. On a team with three aces, he seems to get lost in the wash, but if the Phillies want to claim their second title in four seasons, they will need Hamels as much as they need…
Cliff Lee to pitch like he did during the month of June. Lee faced five different teams in June. Over 42 innings, he allowed one run, eight walks and 21 hits while striking out 29. Outside of the month of June, Lee is 4-6. Not exactly what the stagnant Phills need when their offense decides to go to sleep. He’s been top three in strikeouts all season long, and his ERA is a more than respectable 2.92, but in order for the Phillies to win it all this season ad live up to their hype, Lee is going to have to pitch like…
Roy Halladay has his entire career. I wanted to end this two-part article with the undoubted, unrivaled, best pitcher on the planet. The pitcher who seems to get better with every passing day. The throwback to yesteryear. The reincarnated version of CY Young. Since 1998, Halladay has 64 complete games. 19 of them shutouts. He has 180 wins, and only 89 losses. Since 2005, he only has two seasons where his ERA was higher than 2.79. In 1999, he even recorded a save. A decent year for Halladay is a banner year for most. He has only reached double digit losses three times and they all came in the past three seasons (’08: 20-11; ’09: 17-10; ’10: 21-10). Since 2002, Halladay has reached at least 230 innings pitched all but twice. Through 51 starts with the Phillies, Halladay only has six no decisions… and only 13 losses. 32 wins through 51 starts in the National League. This season has been just as exceptional as the others. 11-3. 2.44 ERA. 131 strikeouts. 17 walks. Six complete games. He is playing a completely different game than everyone else in the majors. During an era of inflated power numbers and overly worried managers who jump to their bullpen at the first sight of a struggle, Halladay dominates from start to finish and never wavers.
When people look back at the 2000′s like we do with the likes of Babe Ruth, Cy Young, and Honus Wagners of the late 1800′s and early 1900′s, the first three names that come to mind should be: Mariano Rivera, Albert Pujols, and Roy Halladay.
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