Best rotation heading into AL playoffs
I separately posted on the AL Cy Young race - which highlights that the Indians have the best “top-two” starters in the AL (maybe in baseball… although the Padres with Peavy and Young have an argument). That post highlighted the top pitchers on each of the four AL teams - Boston (Beckett), NY Yankees (Wang), Angels (Lackey, Escobar), and Indians (Carmona, Sabathia).
What about the #3 starters? Let’s look at each of the four teams and their candidates for #3 starters:
Paul Byrd - 29GS, 181.1IP, 4.37 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 3.32 K/BB
Jake Westbrook - 22GS, 133.2IP, 4.38 ERA, 1.39WHIP, 1.50 K/BB
**One guy is #3, the other is #4.
Curt Schilling - 23GS, 145.0IP, 3.97 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 4.13 K/BB
Dice-K - 30GS, 190.0 IP, 4.41 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 2.48 K/BB
**One of these guys is the #2 and the other is the #3. I heard that Francona’s planning on using Dice-K in game 2 of the ALDS, fwiw.
Hughes - 11GS, 60.2IP, 4.75 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 1.98 K/BB
Clemens - 18G/17GS, 99.0IP, 4.18 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 2.19 K/BB
**One guy is #3, the other is #4.
Jered Weaver - 26GS, 150.0 IP, 3.90 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 2.55 K/BB
I dunno… if we’re talking about 3rd-best starting pitcher, I’d go with Jered Weaver myself. Considering the two in front of Weaver, and the two in front of Byrd/Weaver, it seems obvious the Angels and Indians are in much better shape in their rotations heading into the playoffs than either of the AL East teams. And when you factor in that the Indians safely go four deep in their rotation - and you look at the two aces at the top of their rotation - a strong case could be made that the Indians have the best starting pitching heading into the AL playoffs.
Fwiw, the same players above since the ASB….
Paul Byrd - 13GS, 79.2IP, 4.29 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 1.50 K/BB
Jake Westbrook - 13GS, 86.1IP, 3.34 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 1.41 K/BB
Curt Schilling - 8GS, 50.2IP, 3.55 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 6.00 K/BB
Dice-K - 12GS, 70.1 IP, 5.37 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 1.70 K/BB
Hughes - 9GS, 50.0IP, 5.04 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 1.77 K/BB
Clemens - 11GS, 59.1IP, 4.55 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 1.86 K/BB
Jered Weaver - 12GS, 74.0 IP, 4.14 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 3.79 K/BB
Based on the numbers post-ASB, you’d have to say its Jake Westbrook - but again, looks like Cleveland’s in great shape rotation-wise heading into the playoffs. Many (including yours truly) are saying that the Indians are the preferred playoff opponent over the Angels. I dunno… they *both* look quite tough. Quite frankly, however it plays out for first-round matchups, should we be surprised if we end up with an Angels-Indians ALCS?