Another Round of CBs.

Continuing with the Crystal Ball Reviews

Chris Young the Pitcher

Crystal Ball: 29 starts, 180 innings, 174 hits, 93 runs, 87 earned, 27 homers, 63 walks, 159 strikeouts, 12-10, 4.35.

Reality: 30 starts, 173 innings, 118 hits, 66 runs, 60 earned, 10 homers, 72 walks, 167 strikeouts, 9-8, 3.12.

Comparison: Close on the pitching time, but he exceeded expectations in other departments, cutting his home run rate sharply for example. Big difference in H/IP...is that good luck, good defense, the park, or his own skill? Likely all of the above.

Gustavo Chacin

Crystal Ball: 30 starts, 191 innings, 194 hits, 107 runs, 100 earned, 22 homers, 61 walks, 109 strikeouts, 12-10, 4.70.

Reality: 5 starts, 27 innings, 29 hits, 17 runs, 17 earned, 6 homers, 7 walks, 11 strikeouts, 2-1, 5.60.

Comparison: Injuries.

John Danks

Crystal Ball: 14 starts, 72 innings, 73 hits, 52 runs, 48 earned, 14 homers, 46 walks, 69 strikeouts, 2-8, 6.02.

Reality: 26 starts, 139 innings, 160 hits, 92 runs, 85 earned, 28 homers, 54 walks, 109 strikeouts, 6-13, 5.50.

Comparison: Normalized for 139 innings, the CB shows 141 hits, 28 homers, 89 walks, 133 strikeouts, 4-15. Basically I don't think this was a bad projection. His control was better than expected, but he was more hittable than expected as well.

David DeJesus

Crystal Ball: 108 games, 447 at-bats, 62 runs, 139 hits, 26 doubles, 4 triples, 11 homers, 57 RBI, 39 walks, 68 strikeouts, 7 steals, 5 caught, .311.

Reality: 157 games, 605 at-bats, 101 runs, 157 hits, 29 doubles, 9 triples, 7 homers, 58 RBI, 64 walks, 83 strikeouts, 10 steals, 4 caught, .260.

Comparison: I thought DeJesus would have a great year on an at-bat basis but get hurt. Instead he played every day and stayed healthy for a change. However, he hit just .228 in August and .193 in September, looking very tired down the stretch. If not for the late summer slump the CB would have been a lot closer.

Boof Bonser

Crystal Ball: 32 starts, 200 innings, 202 hits, 98 runs, 93 earned, 29 homers, 55 walks, 160 strikeouts, 13-10, 4.19.

Reality: 30 starts, 173 innings, 199 hits, 108 runs, 98 earned, 27 homers, 65 walks, 136 strikeouts, 8-12, 5.10.

Comparison: More hittable and with worse control than I expected.