NL Studs and Duds 4/9/11
Let's see how the studs and duds of the NL stack up against my picks from the AL. The studs of the NL are very recognizable names and represent the two best teams in the National League. The duds may not be quite as well known, and after this week they probably wouldn't mind people looking the other way on their performances.
The stud pitcher of the NL this week is Tim Lincecum. The Freak put together quite the week, going a combined 14 innings over his 2 starts and striking out a whopping 18 batters. He allowed 8 hits and only 1 ER leaving his ERA at a miniscule 0.64. Lincecum will try to avenge his tough luck loss to the Dodgers this week when Los Angeles comes to San Francisco to face the Giants.
The stud batsman of the week has been known to go on his fair share of monster hitting rampages. This week Ryan Howard's victims were the Astros and the rival Metropolitans. Howard had 4 multi hit performances in his first 6 games of the year. These include one 4-4 effort where Ryan went yard once and hit two doubles while knocking in 2 runs. All told Howard finished the week with a .480 batting average and 1.340 OPS. While the pitching has been taking the headlines this year in Philadelphia, Howard and the bats have come on strong to average just over 7 runs a game. When your offense is that good, you don't need guys named Lee and Halladay to win, but I's sure you won't be hearing any complaints out of Philadelphia.
Now let's mention one of Howard's victims. The Phillies vs. Mets series started off well enough for New York. It only took them 3 innings to drive Cole Hamels from the mound as they went on to a 7-1 victory. It all went downhill from there. Not to be outdone, the Phillies came back the next night and knocked this week's NL pitching dud Mike Pelfrey out of the game after only 2 innings. However, Pelfrey did not leave until he gave up 6 ERs. In his other outing last week, Pelfrey allowed 5 runs in 4.1 innings to the Florida Marlins. He allowed roughly twice as many hits (12) as innings pitched (6.1) and walks (5) to strikeouts (2). The damage done resulted in a robust ERA of 15.63. The double digit ERA mark is something no pitcher aspires to, no matter how young the season is.
I almost feel bad naming this week's NL offensive dud. The National League can at least take solace in the fact that it had no hitters that dipped below the .100 mark, something the AL could not say. Though there were a few candidates, Michael Morse is this week's winner, or well you know. Morse stepped to the plate 18 times and managed 2 hits, none for extra bases. He also struck out 6 times or for you stat geeks a hefty third of his total plate appearances.
Check in next week to see if the studs can keep up their solid starts and if someone lets the duds know that the regular season has begun.
The stud pitcher of the NL this week is Tim Lincecum. The Freak put together quite the week, going a combined 14 innings over his 2 starts and striking out a whopping 18 batters. He allowed 8 hits and only 1 ER leaving his ERA at a miniscule 0.64. Lincecum will try to avenge his tough luck loss to the Dodgers this week when Los Angeles comes to San Francisco to face the Giants.
The stud batsman of the week has been known to go on his fair share of monster hitting rampages. This week Ryan Howard's victims were the Astros and the rival Metropolitans. Howard had 4 multi hit performances in his first 6 games of the year. These include one 4-4 effort where Ryan went yard once and hit two doubles while knocking in 2 runs. All told Howard finished the week with a .480 batting average and 1.340 OPS. While the pitching has been taking the headlines this year in Philadelphia, Howard and the bats have come on strong to average just over 7 runs a game. When your offense is that good, you don't need guys named Lee and Halladay to win, but I's sure you won't be hearing any complaints out of Philadelphia.
Now let's mention one of Howard's victims. The Phillies vs. Mets series started off well enough for New York. It only took them 3 innings to drive Cole Hamels from the mound as they went on to a 7-1 victory. It all went downhill from there. Not to be outdone, the Phillies came back the next night and knocked this week's NL pitching dud Mike Pelfrey out of the game after only 2 innings. However, Pelfrey did not leave until he gave up 6 ERs. In his other outing last week, Pelfrey allowed 5 runs in 4.1 innings to the Florida Marlins. He allowed roughly twice as many hits (12) as innings pitched (6.1) and walks (5) to strikeouts (2). The damage done resulted in a robust ERA of 15.63. The double digit ERA mark is something no pitcher aspires to, no matter how young the season is.
I almost feel bad naming this week's NL offensive dud. The National League can at least take solace in the fact that it had no hitters that dipped below the .100 mark, something the AL could not say. Though there were a few candidates, Michael Morse is this week's winner, or well you know. Morse stepped to the plate 18 times and managed 2 hits, none for extra bases. He also struck out 6 times or for you stat geeks a hefty third of his total plate appearances.
Check in next week to see if the studs can keep up their solid starts and if someone lets the duds know that the regular season has begun.
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