Sunday, April 24, 2005
Nationals 11, Mets 3
Victor Zambrano isn't a good major league pitcher. There's just no way around that. He's not a tweak or two away from excellence. He may not even be a tweak or two from adequacy. Even putting aside the stupidity of the way in which he was acquired, if he keeps pitching like he has so far this year, sending him out every five days to pitch is going to be a serious drain on this team.
Today was his worst start of the season to be sure. If, four starts into your season, the one where you give up eight runs in five and one-third innings isn't your worst start, you've got serious issues. He did only walk three batters, which is a sort of progress for him, but then, he only struck out four and did hit two batters and give up nine hits including one home run. He's now got an ERA of 5.64 and an astounding WHIP of 2.01. Every inning he pitches, an average of slightly more than two batters reach base.
Last year, the pitcher with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title with the highest WHIP in the National League was Colorado's Jason Jennings, with a comparably paltry 1.70. Al Leiter's baserunner bonanza of 2004 yielded a mere 1.35. Zambrano has been flatly bad so far this year, and not just because he's been forced into the position to be the Mets' third best pitcher by various injuries. His pitching is making me long for the consistent mediocrity of Kris Benson.
The Mets' offense didn't have too great a day either, though they did collect ten hits and three walks. Every starter reached base at least once. But only Jose Reyes had more than one hit, going 2-for-5. And only Mike Piazza went for extra bases, driving in three of the Mets' four runs with a double in the first inning.
Still, the Mets took two out of three in this series, are now 7-2 at home and remain just a game out of first place. Tomorrow they start a three-game series against one of the two teams tied for the top spot as they face the Braves. The first pitching matchup is hardly the most glamorous as Aaron Heilman (1-2, 6.00) takes on Horacio Ramirez (1-1, 3.78). ¶ joe | 10:52 PM |
Victor Zambrano isn't a good major league pitcher. There's just no way around that. He's not a tweak or two away from excellence. He may not even be a tweak or two from adequacy. Even putting aside the stupidity of the way in which he was acquired, if he keeps pitching like he has so far this year, sending him out every five days to pitch is going to be a serious drain on this team.
Today was his worst start of the season to be sure. If, four starts into your season, the one where you give up eight runs in five and one-third innings isn't your worst start, you've got serious issues. He did only walk three batters, which is a sort of progress for him, but then, he only struck out four and did hit two batters and give up nine hits including one home run. He's now got an ERA of 5.64 and an astounding WHIP of 2.01. Every inning he pitches, an average of slightly more than two batters reach base.
Last year, the pitcher with enough innings to qualify for the ERA title with the highest WHIP in the National League was Colorado's Jason Jennings, with a comparably paltry 1.70. Al Leiter's baserunner bonanza of 2004 yielded a mere 1.35. Zambrano has been flatly bad so far this year, and not just because he's been forced into the position to be the Mets' third best pitcher by various injuries. His pitching is making me long for the consistent mediocrity of Kris Benson.
The Mets' offense didn't have too great a day either, though they did collect ten hits and three walks. Every starter reached base at least once. But only Jose Reyes had more than one hit, going 2-for-5. And only Mike Piazza went for extra bases, driving in three of the Mets' four runs with a double in the first inning.
Still, the Mets took two out of three in this series, are now 7-2 at home and remain just a game out of first place. Tomorrow they start a three-game series against one of the two teams tied for the top spot as they face the Braves. The first pitching matchup is hardly the most glamorous as Aaron Heilman (1-2, 6.00) takes on Horacio Ramirez (1-1, 3.78). ¶ joe | 10:52 PM |
