Soft-tossing Right Handers.

Brad Hennessey

He's in some competition for the 5'th starter position in SF, but he rarely hits 90 MPH. He pitched some good games last year and I think he can have a decent career by keeping the ball down and continuing to develop a changeup to make his 88-89 heater look faster.

by DrBGiantsfan on Feb 18, 2006 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Saarloos

I think his strikeout rate will rebound to a reasonable level eventually. And he sure doesn't throw gas.

by tbac on Feb 18, 2006 12:36 AM EST reply actions

dang right

Was so pissed when the A's got over on us with Saarloos for Harville. Completely opposite guys. The Astros have not carried a long man in years and thought he was no good. They wanted Harville in the draft but Berkman fell and they swooped onto him.

Love watching the swooping balls that Saarloos throws.

Tim Purpura, This Bud is for you.

by Shamus on Feb 18, 2006 5:32 PM EST up reply actions

hey, me too!

love those crafty righties. my favorite is carlos silva right now, but for all-time you just cannot beat vintage greg maddux.

by jpahk on Feb 18, 2006 12:49 AM EST reply actions

MADDUX

is the quintissential(?) soft tossing righty of all time.

by cronie on Feb 18, 2006 12:51 AM EST up reply actions

Maddux

The difference is that Maddux can dial it up when he needs to putting as good as a 7.8 K/9 in 1995.

by count sutton on Feb 18, 2006 9:26 AM EST up reply actions

Carlos Silva can bring it

I have seen him hit 95-96 on a friendly radar gun.

by limozeen on Feb 18, 2006 6:14 PM EST up reply actions

Silva

Yeah, I think people look at his K and BB rates and assume he's a soft/finesse thrower. What he does is pitch to contact with a hard, hard sinker and hitters just beat it into the ground. Drives the statheads crazy. Now, he'll probably never be considered a great pitcher, but as long as that pitch keeps sinking, he'll be a very useful guy to have on the team as a #3 or #4 pitcher.

by DrBGiantsfan on Feb 18, 2006 8:44 PM EST up reply actions

Silva

Has reasonable velocity, I think. I watch him every time he pitches, and he's around 90. He just doesn't have the great change or breaking ball that will get him the Ks. That, and everything he throws is in the strike zone. He's a wonder to watch.

by tmelander on Feb 22, 2006 4:28 AM EST up reply actions

possibly

Darrell Rasner, the new guy the Yanks just scraped off waivers. A former UNR Wolfpack pitcher, the Nats let him go b/c they saw him as just a 5th starter/MR and they said his velocity was down. He said so what, Im still getting people out(which he is)....

by jrose643 on Feb 18, 2006 1:52 AM EST reply actions

the Byrd-man

I'm an Angel fan who had the opporunity to watch all of Paul Byrd's starts last year. Byrd is a very crafty pitcher, getting the max out of his stuff. Not surprisingly, he's got great control. I also love his attitude and competitive fire. He always seems to give it his all. By the end of the year, he was my favorite Angel pitcher to watch. Sorry he slipped through the club's fingers. Fans of the Tribe are going to enjoy watching him this year, believe me.

by Crows Landing on Feb 18, 2006 8:15 AM EST reply actions

That's good to hear!

Hello Crows Landing,

Thanks for the analysis on Byrd - that's certainly very reassuring to hear.

I, for one, was quite happy the Indians signed him, as I always thought he was sort of underrated. I think he will fit in very nicely in the #4 spot.

Thanks again for the analysis - I look forward to seeing Byrd this year and beyond. I think more Indians' fans will better appreciate the signing as the 2006 season progresses as many of them are still boo-hooing over the loss of Millwood.

Granted, Millwood is a good pitcher, but at that price with that injury history, the Indians couldn't afford that risk. Heck, even the Red Sox didn't meet that asking price. I think the Indians will be better off in the long run with the route Shapiro took.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care and have a great Sunday!

by indiansfan on Feb 19, 2006 12:17 AM EST up reply actions

#4 Starter?

Considering his ERA from last year would be #1 on this years staff, that doesn't really fit. Sabathia is still seen as a number one, and i guess Lee number 2, but Byrd is a hell of a lot better than Jake Westbrook.

www.faketeams.com SportsBlogs' own all-sport fantasy blog. Check it out.

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 19, 2006 2:32 PM EST up reply actions

I was thinking Jake was more the #3 because...

he has been the last two seasons.

Hello ohad,

I'm thinking that Westbrook will bounce back and have a better 2006; many of Westbrook's stats tend to indicate that he was a bit unlucky last year, so I think his numbers will rebound a bit.

However, the rumor is now that the rotation may look like

Sabathia
Westbrook
Lee
Byrd
Johnson

This article is speculating that this might be the rotation:

http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060220&content_id=1316690& ;vkey=spt2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle

It's to keep the lefties, Sabathia and Lee, separated, while also separating the sinkerballers, Westbrook and Johnson.

Personally, I'd rather have either

Sabathia
Lee
Westbrook
Byrd
Johnson

OR

Sabathia
Lee
Byrd
Westbrook
Johnson

I think Sabathia and Lee are different enough pitchers to handle the similarity of them being left-handed as Sabathia has more velocity than Lee, while Lee really has a great curveball (Sabathia's curveball isn't bad and is getting better, but I think Lee's might be better at this point.)

Personally, I see Westbrook and Byrd being similar pitchers, but since Westbrook has slightly better velocity and most think that he will rebound in 2006, I still would put him in the #3 spot, followed by Byrd in the #4 spot. I could see a switch-around with those two though if it was thought to be a better order. Of course, you'd leave Johnson in the #5 spot.

Besides that, if the Indians do reach the playoffs and the pitchers pitch as you would expect them to, I would think you would go with Sabathia as your #1 and Lee as your #2. Either Byrd or Westbrook could follow as the #3 (though I suppose you could insert Byrd as the #2 between Sabathia and Lee since Byrd did well in the 2005 postseason as the #1 starter against the White Sox.)

Therefore, I'm not sure if separating the left-handers is that essential; separating the sinkerballers I think is a good idea, but separating the lefties I'm not sure is necessary.

I don't think Sabathia and Lee are as similar to each other as say a Santana and Liriano are.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care and have a great day!

by indiansfan on Feb 22, 2006 12:57 AM EST up reply actions

Radke

I guess it's odd to call him a soft tosser as Radke does hit 90 (as did Maddux at times) but I think of Radke of a soft tosser anyway.

I won't get married until the Red Sox win the World Series. AGAIN!!

by Shep on Feb 18, 2006 9:25 AM EST reply actions

Like Silva...

I don't think Radke fits the category. Think John Stephens or such.

by tmelander on Feb 22, 2006 4:29 AM EST up reply actions

Cla Meredith

Cla Meredith - the Sox "prospect" (he was considered a top 20 guy at this time last year, still only 22). Alas, his career MLB ERA is higher than his age, which probably doesn't help his image or confidence.

by SmokeyJoeWood on Feb 18, 2006 10:45 AM EST reply actions

Speaking of not helping...

Making your debut, in the rain, bases loaded, against a good team? Not the greatest situation.

by drjayphd on Feb 20, 2006 7:58 PM EST up reply actions

kevin slowey

will be one of these guys.

by hotshotschamp on Feb 18, 2006 12:41 PM EST reply actions

Slowey

He's got the name for it.

by DrunkIrish on Feb 18, 2006 2:28 PM EST up reply actions

Tim Wakefield

Definitely a soft-tossing righty and extremely fun to watch, especially with Manny in LF.

by sdangler on Feb 18, 2006 4:25 PM EST reply actions

Really

Do knuckleballers count? ;)

by drjayphd on Feb 20, 2006 7:58 PM EST up reply actions

Justin Duchscherer

he was a former starter, converted to bullpen...last couple years has been the long reliever, middle reliever, setup, and even closed...also started several games his 1st yr. He tops out at 87-88 mph, but developed a cutter along with a plus curveball. One of the more versatile relievers in the AL and was the A's all star rep last yr

by rayver723 on Feb 19, 2006 12:40 AM EST reply actions

by the way, Beane made 2 great under the radar...

trades. got saarloos for harville and duchscherer for luis vizcaino. 2 hard throwers for 2 soft tossers

by rayver723 on Feb 19, 2006 12:42 AM EST reply actions

My favorite is Neal Cotts

He's got to have the fastest 90 MPH fastball in the game.

by limozeen on Feb 19, 2006 1:48 AM EST reply actions

Cotts is lefty

Nice try tho' einstein

In Billy We Trust

by I Love Oakland As on Feb 19, 2006 5:08 AM EST up reply actions

You're the only one allowed to do brilliant satire

I guess...

by limozeen on Feb 19, 2006 12:11 PM EST up reply actions

I vote Maddux.

Radke does 88-91 typically and can dial it up to about 94. IIRC, Maddux is mostly around 84-86 these days, and is still a good pitcher.

by steve johnson on Feb 20, 2006 2:17 PM EST reply actions

ME

I vote for myself! Pedro seems like a strange choice. But for large parts of the season (beginning and end of it) he's throwing in mid 80's with incredible success. What is amazing is that it is the same guy having great success when he is regularly throwing 95.

by pedrophile on Feb 22, 2006 3:04 PM EST reply actions