(05-12-2017 01:08 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-12-2017 12:01 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-12-2017 08:40 AM)stever20 Wrote:  so was looking at baseball-reference. 1st off- he right now leads the NL in WAR in there as well- not too often a guy leads in WAR in both FG and BR.

was looking at their comps of similar pitchers thru his age..... Verlander, Smoltz, Mussina, Hamels, Welch, Saberhagen, Lester, Bunning, Peavy, and Jack Morris. Got me thinking. Does he have a shot with another 2-3 good years of actually making the Hall of Fame? I wouldn't have thought so originally but man you look at his numbers and they aren't bad.

wouldn't have thought it possible either, but like you said if he can turn in another 2-3 good years then there's a chance. A lot will depend on how willing the voters will be to lower their bars. We need to change the definition of what it means to be a hall of fame pitcher

Yeah. If he could keep this year up and get another Cy Young, that'd be 2(plus his incredible 2015 year where voters should treat all 3 of him, Arrieta, and Kershaw as having Cy Young seasons given how incredible all 3 were that season). And the thing is looking at him- he's still only 33. You would think he's still got 2-3 really good years left after this year. He's got a shot at getting up to around 250 wins(which I feel we're going to look at years from now as the new 300).

(05-12-2017 01:08 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-12-2017 12:01 PM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-12-2017 08:40 AM)stever20 Wrote:  so was looking at baseball-reference. 1st off- he right now leads the NL in WAR in there as well- not too often a guy leads in WAR in both FG and BR.

was looking at their comps of similar pitchers thru his age..... Verlander, Smoltz, Mussina, Hamels, Welch, Saberhagen, Lester, Bunning, Peavy, and Jack Morris. Got me thinking. Does he have a shot with another 2-3 good years of actually making the Hall of Fame? I wouldn't have thought so originally but man you look at his numbers and they aren't bad.

wouldn't have thought it possible either, but like you said if he can turn in another 2-3 good years then there's a chance. A lot will depend on how willing the voters will be to lower their bars. We need to change the definition of what it means to be a hall of fame pitcher

Yeah. If he could keep this year up and get another Cy Young, that'd be 2(plus his incredible 2015 year where voters should treat all 3 of him, Arrieta, and Kershaw as having Cy Young seasons given how incredible all 3 were that season). And the thing is looking at him- he's still only 33. You would think he's still got 2-3 really good years left after this year. He's got a shot at getting up to around 250 wins(which I feel we're going to look at years from now as the new 300).

(05-12-2017 02:45 PM)stever20 Wrote:  looking at his next several opponents- remember what I said about Kershaw and his tough slate prior to All Star Break(starting tonight vs Rockies in Colorado)? Well, Greinke is much luckier... his opponents thru all star break should things work as scheduled- Mets, White Sox, @ Brewers, @ Marlins, Padres, @ Tigers, @ Rockies, Phillies, Rockies, and @ Dodgers. A few tough ones but also some like the Mets, White Sox, and Padres. Much more balanced than what Kershaw is seeing. Amazing how that can work out some times.

(05-15-2017 08:00 AM)stever20 Wrote:  Michael A Taylor with a homer last night to give the Nats a split with the Phils and gives them a 2-1 series win. 7.5 game lead now on the Mets- it looks like it's over now.

Taylor batting .333 since the Eaton injury. .516 babip won't last- but he does have 7 of the 18 hits for extra bases(which might last). Definitely with how he's going- if he can keep up anywhere near this- Nats won't have to make a move to sure up the CF position.

(05-15-2017 09:43 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 08:00 AM)stever20 Wrote:  Michael A Taylor with a homer last night to give the Nats a split with the Phils and gives them a 2-1 series win. 7.5 game lead now on the Mets- it looks like it's over now.

Taylor batting .333 since the Eaton injury. .516 babip won't last- but he does have 7 of the 18 hits for extra bases(which might last). Definitely with how he's going- if he can keep up anywhere near this- Nats won't have to make a move to sure up the CF position.

it won't?

(05-15-2017 03:15 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 09:43 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-15-2017 08:00 AM)stever20 Wrote:  Michael A Taylor with a homer last night to give the Nats a split with the Phils and gives them a 2-1 series win. 7.5 game lead now on the Mets- it looks like it's over now.

Taylor batting .333 since the Eaton injury. .516 babip won't last- but he does have 7 of the 18 hits for extra bases(which might last). Definitely with how he's going- if he can keep up anywhere near this- Nats won't have to make a move to sure up the CF position.

it won't?

Heh. Even with his *slightly* above norm BABIP, his wRC+ is sub-90, BB at 5% and K at 37.5%, so you can see where he is headed. Thing is, Nats are so productive I think all they need is for Taylor to be a decent fielder and "not terrible" at the plate. In fact, they might be fine even if he IS terrible if the rest of the team can sustain something near where they are now.

(05-16-2017 08:42 AM)stever20 Wrote:  so if I told swoosh back opening day on May 16 Matt Cain would be 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA(and a 4.15 FIP) with 8 starts made, I think he would have thought the Giants would have been in really good shape. You take out the dreadful start vs the Reds, he's got in the other 7 games a 2.31 ERA. For what was supposed to be a 5th starter, just what you would want.

(05-16-2017 10:44 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 08:42 AM)stever20 Wrote:  so if I told swoosh back opening day on May 16 Matt Cain would be 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA(and a 4.15 FIP) with 8 starts made, I think he would have thought the Giants would have been in really good shape. You take out the dreadful start vs the Reds, he's got in the other 7 games a 2.31 ERA. For what was supposed to be a 5th starter, just what you would want.

I don't really believe in that ERA, or the FIP for that matter, but I'm happy for him.

(05-16-2017 10:47 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:44 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 08:42 AM)stever20 Wrote:  so if I told swoosh back opening day on May 16 Matt Cain would be 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA(and a 4.15 FIP) with 8 starts made, I think he would have thought the Giants would have been in really good shape. You take out the dreadful start vs the Reds, he's got in the other 7 games a 2.31 ERA. For what was supposed to be a 5th starter, just what you would want.

I don't really believe in that ERA, or the FIP for that matter, but I'm happy for him.

Right but if I had told you back in March that Cain would be 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA/4.15 FIP- with 8 starts made 40 games into the season- where would you have thought the Giants would be right now?

(05-16-2017 10:59 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Matt motherf'ing Cain. I found myself saying "yeah, it's the Giants" last night. Late last week and over the weekend I was saying "yeah, it's Coors Field." I can't keep doing that. At this point last year the Dodgers were 20-18 and 1 game back of the Giants. The offense was terrible mediocre and guys were injured or recovering from injuries, so there was room for improvement. Now they're 22-17 and 2 games back. Offense is actually decent; pitching is pretty good. Problem is the Rockies are just playing great right now. Statistically it's not obvious why they're playing so well. Maybe I'm missing something or maybe it's an indicator that the standings will change as the season moves along. Way too early to panic but can't help worrying a little...

(05-16-2017 11:20 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:47 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:44 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 08:42 AM)stever20 Wrote:  so if I told swoosh back opening day on May 16 Matt Cain would be 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA(and a 4.15 FIP) with 8 starts made, I think he would have thought the Giants would have been in really good shape. You take out the dreadful start vs the Reds, he's got in the other 7 games a 2.31 ERA. For what was supposed to be a 5th starter, just what you would want.

I don't really believe in that ERA, or the FIP for that matter, but I'm happy for him.

Right but if I had told you back in March that Cain would be 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA/4.15 FIP- with 8 starts made 40 games into the season- where would you have thought the Giants would be right now?

ahead of the dodgers

(05-16-2017 11:22 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:59 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Matt motherf'ing Cain. I found myself saying "yeah, it's the Giants" last night. Late last week and over the weekend I was saying "yeah, it's Coors Field." I can't keep doing that. At this point last year the Dodgers were 20-18 and 1 game back of the Giants. The offense was terrible mediocre and guys were injured or recovering from injuries, so there was room for improvement. Now they're 22-17 and 2 games back. Offense is actually decent; pitching is pretty good. Problem is the Rockies are just playing great right now. Statistically it's not obvious why they're playing so well. Maybe I'm missing something or maybe it's an indicator that the standings will change as the season moves along. Way too early to panic but can't help worrying a little...

I think the playoffs will be quite fun this year. In the AL you'll have a battle between the Indians and Astros, as well as possible contests between the Yanks and Sox. And in the NL the Dodgers and Nats could be fun again, while the Cardinals and Cubs are likely to be in the mix (i expect the Cubs to look to add a starting pitcher). And I've been a big believer of the Rockies for the last few months and that has not changed. They're due to improve once Gray comes back

(05-16-2017 11:26 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 11:20 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:47 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:44 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 08:42 AM)stever20 Wrote:  so if I told swoosh back opening day on May 16 Matt Cain would be 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA(and a 4.15 FIP) with 8 starts made, I think he would have thought the Giants would have been in really good shape. You take out the dreadful start vs the Reds, he's got in the other 7 games a 2.31 ERA. For what was supposed to be a 5th starter, just what you would want.

I don't really believe in that ERA, or the FIP for that matter, but I'm happy for him.

Right but if I had told you back in March that Cain would be 3-1 with a 4.04 ERA/4.15 FIP- with 8 starts made 40 games into the season- where would you have thought the Giants would be right now?

ahead of the dodgers

exactly. You just don't want your 5th starter to be a black hole quite frankly. Giants are 5-3 in his 8 starts, and 1 of the losses he allowed only 1 run before the pen imploded.

Giants fans should be rooting for him big time next 2 months because given his contract status, they could trade him and get something in return for him near the deadline.....

(05-16-2017 11:38 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 11:22 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:59 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Matt motherf'ing Cain. I found myself saying "yeah, it's the Giants" last night. Late last week and over the weekend I was saying "yeah, it's Coors Field." I can't keep doing that. At this point last year the Dodgers were 20-18 and 1 game back of the Giants. The offense was terrible mediocre and guys were injured or recovering from injuries, so there was room for improvement. Now they're 22-17 and 2 games back. Offense is actually decent; pitching is pretty good. Problem is the Rockies are just playing great right now. Statistically it's not obvious why they're playing so well. Maybe I'm missing something or maybe it's an indicator that the standings will change as the season moves along. Way too early to panic but can't help worrying a little...

I think the playoffs will be quite fun this year. In the AL you'll have a battle between the Indians and Astros, as well as possible contests between the Yanks and Sox. And in the NL the Dodgers and Nats could be fun again, while the Cardinals and Cubs are likely to be in the mix (i expect the Cubs to look to add a starting pitcher). And I've been a big believer of the Rockies for the last few months and that has not changed. They're due to improve once Gray comes back

still say don't sleep on Arizona. They are in a really soft part of their schedule. From now until June 20- or 30 games, the only games they have with a current winning team- 7 with Milwaukee. Then the 19 games before the break are just huge. with 6 with Colorado, 3 with St Louis, and 3 with the Dodgers included in those 19 games. They could get to that stretch though like with a 42-28(going 20-10 in these 30 games).

(05-16-2017 11:47 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 11:38 AM)stever20 Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 11:22 AM)flyingswoosh Wrote:  

(05-16-2017 10:59 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Matt motherf'ing Cain. I found myself saying "yeah, it's the Giants" last night. Late last week and over the weekend I was saying "yeah, it's Coors Field." I can't keep doing that. At this point last year the Dodgers were 20-18 and 1 game back of the Giants. The offense was terrible mediocre and guys were injured or recovering from injuries, so there was room for improvement. Now they're 22-17 and 2 games back. Offense is actually decent; pitching is pretty good. Problem is the Rockies are just playing great right now. Statistically it's not obvious why they're playing so well. Maybe I'm missing something or maybe it's an indicator that the standings will change as the season moves along. Way too early to panic but can't help worrying a little...

I think the playoffs will be quite fun this year. In the AL you'll have a battle between the Indians and Astros, as well as possible contests between the Yanks and Sox. And in the NL the Dodgers and Nats could be fun again, while the Cardinals and Cubs are likely to be in the mix (i expect the Cubs to look to add a starting pitcher). And I've been a big believer of the Rockies for the last few months and that has not changed. They're due to improve once Gray comes back

still say don't sleep on Arizona. They are in a really soft part of their schedule. From now until June 20- or 30 games, the only games they have with a current winning team- 7 with Milwaukee. Then the 19 games before the break are just huge. with 6 with Colorado, 3 with St Louis, and 3 with the Dodgers included in those 19 games. They could get to that stretch though like with a 42-28(going 20-10 in these 30 games).

they might be able to stay in the hunt for the WC. I just didn't include them because i don't think they'd put up much of a fight in the postseason. Was really just doing a general summary of the possible fun matchups