Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Dumbest Thing You'll Read All Day

God bless the Nats PR staff, but not only have they polished that turd, they're putting it on a nice roll, served with a delicious side of peppers and onions.


Maybe, just maybe John Lannan is the best pitcher nobody has heard of... just look at the numbers against a pitcher everybody has heard of.
 ALCS MVP CC Sabathia vs. John Lannan
 Number of games started allowing three runs or less:
Sabathia:         23
Lannan:           23
 ERA in those games:
Sabathia:         1.78 ERA (32 ER/ 161.2 IP)
Lannan:           2.24 ERA (39 ER/ 156.2 IP)
 Individual Record in those games:
Sabathia:         18-0
Lannan:           9-5
 Team Record in those games:
Sabathia:         20-3
Lannan:           12-11
Lannan's biggest problem last year was the Nats offense. He was second from the bottom with a 3.71 run support average for pitchers with at least 200 IP. The Rays Matt Garza bested Lannan with a 3.68 RSA. It is the one statistic you never want to lead in.

Why does my sausage taste like crap?

posted by Chris Needham at 12:19 AM

10 Comments:

  • But why did he get so little run support? Going into last year, I expected Lannan to approach 15 wins, based on an improved offense. And the offense did improve and was about league average. So why did Lannan get so little run support?

    I'm sure it's just bad luck, part of the reason the Nats missed their Pythagorean record by so much. But it's good to keep in mind that his "good luck" at beating his FIP is balanced out by bad luck in terms of run support.

    By Anonymous cass, at 2/24/2010 8:35 AM  

  • The dumbest thing I'll read all day. Yep, that pretty much describes every post I've ever read at this blog. Except for the rare days when you post more than once - then I really have to stop and put some thought into which of the posts is dumber. God, I hate days like that.

    By Anonymous eggplant parmigiana guy, at 2/24/2010 8:56 AM  

  • See the Nats PR department has responded above!

    "Why does my sausage taste like crap?"

    = Tony Kornheiser would say because its got Hannah Storm wrapped in it.

    By Anonymous VladiHondo, at 2/24/2010 9:00 AM  

  • PS - Lannan is the type of pitcher FIP will always screw over. FIP measures the "true outcomes", strikeouts, walks, homers.

    Because he doesn't strike out a ton he will always get hosed by FIP.

    By Anonymous VladiHondo, at 2/24/2010 9:03 AM  

  • You're right about why FIP undervalues him, but there's a grain of truth to it.

    Lannan works because he's the perfect balance of control, command, stuff, location and, ummm...., moxie?

    But if he ever gets an injury, even mild, and some of the stuff goes away, or the command dips a bit, it could get ugly. He's the perfect balance of all those skills... if one dips, he won't be the same pitcher.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 2/24/2010 9:10 AM  

  • It's not how you start, it's how you finish. The Nats ended on a seven game winning streak and posted a 33-37 record after July 21st. They are better defensively and if they would have kept that pace over the season they would have finished 76-86.

    Grrrrr.

    By Anonymous ntr Harper, at 2/24/2010 10:32 AM  

  • "It's not how you start, it's how you finish. The Nats ended on a seven game winning streak and posted a 33-37 record after July 21st. They are better defensively and if they would have kept that pace over the season they would have finished 76-86."

    Grrrr.

    By Blogger Harper, at 2/24/2010 11:41 AM  

  • Why stop there? If they played at that pace all season, they'd go 162-0. Dream a little, people!

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 2/24/2010 11:43 AM  

  • In some second-rate sportswriters mind Tuffy Rhodes is still on pace for 486 homers...

    By Blogger Harper, at 2/24/2010 2:35 PM  

  • If you think that turd's been polished, just wait until you see the commercials we're working on for this season!

    By Anonymous ntr Nats pr department, at 2/24/2010 9:17 PM  

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