Thursday, May 20, 2004
NL Central: One Quarter Down...
Okay, we're not officially through 1/4 of the season, but Houston and Chicago both have 39 games under their belts, and St. Louis has played 40. So I thought I'd look at a few comparisons between the Big 3.
through May 19
Entering the season, the pitching staffs in Houston and Chicago drew the most attention. "Experts" were split on which team had the better rotation, and neither has yet established themselves.
Here is a look at the 1-5 guys in each rotation so far, compared to each other:
A few things jump out. Carlos Zambrano is a stud. He's almost rivaling Clemens. And despite missing Prior, Chicago hasn't missed much. Based on stats thus far, I'd give them the edge over Houston, with St. Louis a clear third (but in better shape that what many expected from them). Jason Marquis has been a surprise, though Woody Williams has been awful.
I expect that if and when Prior comes back, Chicago will maintain a slight edge over Houston in their respective rotations. Andy Pettitte has performed well since his opening start debacle, and with Tim Redding turning the corner (hopefully for good) the Astros have five solid starters. Cubs fans need to hope that Kerry Wood doesn't spend much time on the DL, or else the pendulum could swing toward Houston.
I will try to get to the offensive side later, but I can say that Houston shows a clear edge there in every category except HRs.
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through May 19
Houston 24-15 (projects to 99-63)
Chicago 23-16 (projects to 95-67)
St. Louis 21-19 (projects to 88-74)
Entering the season, the pitching staffs in Houston and Chicago drew the most attention. "Experts" were split on which team had the better rotation, and neither has yet established themselves.
Here is a look at the 1-5 guys in each rotation so far, compared to each other:
1
H- Oswalt (2-2) 3.34 ERA, 1.13 WHIP
C- Wood (3-3) 2.82 ERA, 1.01 WHIP
S- Morris (4-3) 3.69 ERA, 1.06 WHIP
advantage: Chicago, clear
2
H- Pettitte (4-1) 3.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP
C- Zambrano (4-1) 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP
S- Williams (1-4) 4.69 ERA, 1.40 WHIP
advantage: Chicago, clear
3
H- Clemens (7-0) 1.72 ERA, 0.96 WHIP
C- Maddux (3-3) 4.41 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
S- Suppan (3-4) 3.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
advantage: Houston, clear
4
H- Miller (5-3) 3.02 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
C- Clement (5-3) 2.53 ERA, 1.09 WHIP
S- Carpenter (4-1) 3.86 ERA, 1.11 WHIP
advantage: Chicago, slight
5
H- Redding (2-3) 5.29 ERA, 1.53 WHIP
C- Mitre (2-2) 4.93 ERA, 1.62 WHIP
S- Marquis (2-3) 3.58 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
advantage: St. Louis, clear
A few things jump out. Carlos Zambrano is a stud. He's almost rivaling Clemens. And despite missing Prior, Chicago hasn't missed much. Based on stats thus far, I'd give them the edge over Houston, with St. Louis a clear third (but in better shape that what many expected from them). Jason Marquis has been a surprise, though Woody Williams has been awful.
I expect that if and when Prior comes back, Chicago will maintain a slight edge over Houston in their respective rotations. Andy Pettitte has performed well since his opening start debacle, and with Tim Redding turning the corner (hopefully for good) the Astros have five solid starters. Cubs fans need to hope that Kerry Wood doesn't spend much time on the DL, or else the pendulum could swing toward Houston.
I will try to get to the offensive side later, but I can say that Houston shows a clear edge there in every category except HRs.
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