meanwhile, the forgotten young stud

by npurcell on Sep 2, 2007 7:32 PM EDT

Billingsley.... 7IP 4H 0ER 1bb 9K

Billingsley's season totals:

122.2IP 106H 14hr 50bb 118k 3.30era

Billingsley as a starter this year:

87.2IP 77H 13hr 37bb 78k 3.39era

Billingsley after the all star break:

68IP 62H 8hr 28bb 60k 3.04era

This is also his age 22 season in the bigs so his control is only going to get better. I remember alot of people were down on him last year because of his krates and k/bb ratios but has progressed wonderfully over the past year.

The NL west is going to be hell for hitters with all the solid young pitching blossoming in that division.

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Comments

need to cut down the walks/hr

otherwise very good

by rayver723 on Sep 2, 2007 7:49 PM EDT reply actions

of course he does

but thats nitpicking. He has completely turned around his peripherals from last year and this is only his age 22 season. Its safe to assume he will only continue to get better in the walks department and his homerun rate should return to around what it was in the minors.

by npurcell on Sep 2, 2007 7:53 PM EDT up reply actions

remember it's the NL

by Bravesin07 on Sep 2, 2007 8:05 PM EDT reply actions

whats your point?

I mean, that doesn't stop posters from going gaga over cain, lincecum, bailey, gallardo, etc, etc.

by npurcell on Sep 2, 2007 8:09 PM EDT up reply actions

nl has much weaker lineups

and more pitchers ballparks, remember Bills is pitching in dodger stadium.

by Bravesin07 on Sep 2, 2007 8:12 PM EDT up reply actions

True

on lineups, of course but, he has the BOB and Coors in his own division! Petco is the best park for a pitcher in the bigs but, AZ and Col are two of the worst and Dodger stadium hasnt played like the tremendous pitchers park of old the last couple of seasons.

by casejud on Sep 2, 2007 8:40 PM EDT up reply actions

dodger stadium

billingsley has better numbers pitching on the road then at home this season.

Dodger Stadium isn't really the pitchers park everything thinks it is. Its really a neutral place now that all the foul ground has turned into seats.

by npurcell on Sep 2, 2007 10:33 PM EDT up reply actions

The future is bright

for Billingsley. You can see the potential in him every time he's out there. But after seeing him pitch numerous times this season, I don't know how much of a help he has been to the staff this season. His pitch count is always always high by the middle innings and he struggles to make it through five. And the dodgers bullpen isn't good enough to handle the extra work.
But he has ace potential definitely.

by cronie on Sep 2, 2007 8:11 PM EDT reply actions

pitch counts

i dont know if you have seen him lately but hes had 3 straight outings of 7IP or more.

in the second half of this year, he is averaging 6.1IP per start.

I really don't see that huge of a problem. hes been LA's BEST SP in the second half.

by npurcell on Sep 2, 2007 10:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Always High?

I am having a hard time understanding why somebody could say Billz hasn't helped the staff. Schmidt/Wolf/Kuo done for the season. Billz steps up into the starter role (remember trained all spring and first half of the season as a reliever).

Billz has done nothing but help the team. And pitch counts? They aren't that bad . . .

9/2: 7 IP 95 pitches
8/28: 7 IP 99 pitches
8/23: 7 IP 93 pitches
8/18: 5 IP 85 pitches
8/13: 5 IP 116 pitches
8/8: 5 IP 98 pitches
8/3: 7.2 IP 108 pitches

Saito locks down the 9th and Broxton locks down the 8th. Soon they will have Meloan finishing the 7th.

It seems that Billingsley is starting to live up to the hype and coming into his own.

by gunkdog on Sep 2, 2007 10:42 PM EDT reply actions

Billingsley

Yup. He's had a good year. I look forward to many great pitching duels between him and Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum. Defnitely a bright spot in what is becoming a disappointing season for the Dodgers. Maybe Ned will come to his senses and let Loney, Kemp, Ethier take the ball and run with it next year?

by DrBGiantsfan on Sep 2, 2007 11:01 PM EDT reply actions

billz

he's been much better than i thought. got to give the kid props--he had a good ERA last year with weak peripherals, and rather than the ERA getting worse, he's improved his peripherals to the point where they support his outstanding ERA. he's been great.

by jpahk on Sep 3, 2007 12:16 AM EDT reply actions

Loved him as a minor leaguer...

and he impresses me more everytime I see him pitch.

It looks like he's gotten alot more comfortable, and his fastball is back, his curveball is nasty, and his slider is hard and sharp. I always liked his mechanics, and he has the perfect build for a shorter rightie to be durable.

by SenorGato88 on Sep 3, 2007 2:04 AM EDT reply actions

The NL

Has Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Houston, Arizona, and Colorado as hitters parks, New York, Florida, Washington, and San Diego as pitchers parks, and everything else as pretty much neutral. New York and Washington are being replaced next year by parks that will be neutral at best, alas.

by Vaux on Sep 3, 2007 4:19 AM EDT reply actions

I was wrong

Not that I know a lot about minors but I have been following him for 3 years and have seen the progress. And I liked how the Dodgers have handled him ...giving him exposer in the pen was really good experiencde IMO.

Compare this year (NOW) to his first few games....What a difference. He's a stud.

One year from tonight we will be talking about Homer Bailey in the same sort of way....

by LipstickOnDipstick on Sep 3, 2007 5:52 AM EDT reply actions