Who else was in that Phillies rotation? Did they have Cain or Sanchez comps as well?

When he knows his subject, Joe writes really well. Unfortunately, that doesn’t include baseball west of the Mississippi.

At this point Matt Cain is indeed a deuce. And when you’re a deuce behind Tim Lincecum, that’s not too bad.

Entering play tonight (and at present Matt has a shutout) Matt’s ERA over the last year (May through April) is 4.26. On May 6th (two more starts) Tim will celebrate his first year in the majors. His ERA to date is 3.54. In other words, in the last year since Tim came into the league, he has been nearly three-quarters of a run better than Matt.

The reasons to like Matt are that he is a threat to throw a no-hitter each time, given his very low Batting Average on Balls In Play. The reasons not to like him are that he has been highly inconsistent and that he walks too many. Also that he isn’t quite as dominant as one would like an ace to be.

Tim’s only issue is control.

about the Dbacks pythag last year? Or the Giants pythag last year?

He should indeed talk about Sanchez. But, Cain has hardly been a beast this year. Would you have preferred that he point out Cain’s 77 ERA+, 5.27 ERA and 26 K / 18 BBs?

The Giants HAVE been lucky this season—and unlucky last. What makes you think that Joe Sheehan would deny any part of that? He wouldn’t.

we are 10-4 when our #3, 4, and 5 starters pitch

Barry Zito has been horrible, but the Giants’ problems extend far beyond Barry. The Giants are on pace to score even fewer runs than in 1985, the only season in franchise history in which they have lost 100 games. And this is a bigger-hitting era than 1985 was.

“Have they even watched the games?”

The answer to this is they haven’t. They have had these types of stories formulated even before the season started.

Also, to answer my question above, the ‘72 Phillies did not have anything close to Cain or Sanchez in their rotation.

Ken Reynolds ERA+ 84
Bill Champion ERA+ 71
Woodie Fryman ERA+ 82
Jim Nash ERA+ 57

To summarize: This article is complete trash. He wanted to write a “Lincecum v Carlton” article and ignored the fact that the data just wasn’t there to back up his preconception.

The Giants certainly aren’t boring. Few circuses are. :)

But they aren’t very good, either. Freddie Lewis likely isn’t for real. Jonathan Sanchez and Merkin Valdez could be.

The Giants’ bullpen has been good, particularly after the first week or so of the season. Yes, there IS hope—but it is several years down the road IMO. By then the Giants could have the best pitching in baseball and some decent hitting to support it.

Meanwhile it takes Steve Carlton-type arguments for Tim Lincecum to get his props on a team that may have a hard time giving him a lot of wins the next few years. If Tim wins big in the next few years, he almost certainly will have really EARNED them.

can’t find a better metric.

whatever it says on the pump

aggravating, and not truthful. Everyone on this site knows how poorly Zito has pitched, the defense isn’t that bad with Bowker, Velez, Bocock, and Castillo. The point about Lewis emerging is so true. He is rapidly becoming my favorite Giant (non-pitcher division). I think Joe wrote this piece in late Feburary, plugged in the current numbers, and went to press without actually watching a single game.