AL Pitching Studs and Duds 4/22/11
April 22nd 2011 23:45
One team was able to sweep this week's AL Pitching studs and duds. Several high profile pitchers came close to becoming this week's pitching stud, but a not so recognizable name took home the prize. This week brought a complete reversal for this week's dud, and he will see how it feels to go from the top to the bottom.
There were some solid pitching performances this week in the American League. Josh Beckett has put together two more above quality starts to move his ERA below 2.00. Jered Weaver remained sharp and became the first to 5 wins, but this week Scott Baker of the Minnesota twins gets my nod for best pitcher. Baker had two impressive performances last week and was able to lower his ERA from 6.55 to 3.24. Baker held the Rays to 1 ER over 7 innings of 4 hit baseball and then last night held the Orioles scoreless over another 7 innings. During this two game stretch, Baker recorded 15 strikeouts while only walking 2 batters. The Twins hope Baker can help the club continue their climb back to .500.
There were several players that felt inclined to nominate themselves for this week's AL pitching dud. Ervin Santana was awful over 4 innings against the Rangers, and Erik Bedard even went to the trouble of being terrible in consecutive starts this week. However, I chose this week's dud just to show the sometimes dramatic ups and downs of a baseball season. Last week Carl Pavano was great, allowing a single run over 16 strong innings. The week before Pavano was not so great, allowing 7 ER in his debut against the Blue Jays. Pavano reverted back to his not so great form this week and for that he is crowned AL pitching dud. Pavano only lasted 4.2 innings against the Baltimore Orioles, surrendering 7 ER. Last week Pavano saw his ERA drop to a respectable 3.60. After his most recent performance, it is back to 5.47. The Twins hope Pavano can become more consistent and produce results closer resembling those that earned him last week's AL stud pitcher.
Tomorrow we will look at the best and the worst of the National League.
There were some solid pitching performances this week in the American League. Josh Beckett has put together two more above quality starts to move his ERA below 2.00. Jered Weaver remained sharp and became the first to 5 wins, but this week Scott Baker of the Minnesota twins gets my nod for best pitcher. Baker had two impressive performances last week and was able to lower his ERA from 6.55 to 3.24. Baker held the Rays to 1 ER over 7 innings of 4 hit baseball and then last night held the Orioles scoreless over another 7 innings. During this two game stretch, Baker recorded 15 strikeouts while only walking 2 batters. The Twins hope Baker can help the club continue their climb back to .500.
Baker dominated AL East opponents this week
There were several players that felt inclined to nominate themselves for this week's AL pitching dud. Ervin Santana was awful over 4 innings against the Rangers, and Erik Bedard even went to the trouble of being terrible in consecutive starts this week. However, I chose this week's dud just to show the sometimes dramatic ups and downs of a baseball season. Last week Carl Pavano was great, allowing a single run over 16 strong innings. The week before Pavano was not so great, allowing 7 ER in his debut against the Blue Jays. Pavano reverted back to his not so great form this week and for that he is crowned AL pitching dud. Pavano only lasted 4.2 innings against the Baltimore Orioles, surrendering 7 ER. Last week Pavano saw his ERA drop to a respectable 3.60. After his most recent performance, it is back to 5.47. The Twins hope Pavano can become more consistent and produce results closer resembling those that earned him last week's AL stud pitcher.
Pavano could not replicate last week's success
Tomorrow we will look at the best and the worst of the National League.
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Comment by Joe Soriano
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Comment by Short
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That was an impressive performance by Sanchez last night against one of the hotter offensive teams in the majors. His inconsistency is a concern, but it will be interesting to see what kind of season he has. I'm not sure how many years of control the Marlins have left, but Sanchez could be an interesting piece at the deadline.