Scott Kazmir: Likely 2007 MLB strikeout king

by killa3312 on Sep 28, 2007 12:11 PM EDT

Sure, he would of never had a chance at it had Bedard not got hurt, but regardless, a hell of an accomplishment for a 23 year old. He finished the season with a 13-9 record, 3.48 ERA, 239 K's (206.2 IP), 89 BB, and a 1.38 WHIP. Walks are still a problem at times, but he clearly has a special arm.

Meanwhile, Victor Zambrano gave up 8 ERs in 0.2 IP in his last outing for Baltimore.

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Leave the poor Mets fans alone, already.

But seriously, how good was Kazmir in the second half?

94.1 IP
77 hits (.222 BAA)
2.39 ERA (though a higher RA due to 4 unearned)
6 HRs
31 BBs
124 (!) Ks
1.14 WHIP
2.96 BB/9IP
11.83 K/9IP
4.00 K/BB

by abbreviatedman on Sep 28, 2007 12:13 PM EDT reply actions

His better results

almost exactly coincided with him moving back to the left side of the rubber. Hopefully he can do this for a full season, in which case the Rays might have a Cy Young candidate.

Vice-Chairman of the Sonnanstine Underground Railroad

by Brickhaus on Sep 28, 2007 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

efficiency

On top of that, his pitches per inning dropped from 18.4 in the first half to 16.4 in the second. That's still not Johan Santana territory, but it's the difference between lasting five innings and consistently going six-seven. Which, with this bullpen ...

Does anyone have any insight into his pitching mechanics? I've seen contradictory opinions, and I don't really have much of an eye for that kind of thing.

by abr on Sep 28, 2007 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions

LOL the Mets

by Bravesin07 on Sep 28, 2007 12:13 PM EDT reply actions

John's crystal ball for Kazmir is looking good

by Bravesin07 on Sep 28, 2007 12:16 PM EDT reply actions

which one?

he did 3 of them

by Wheelhouse on Sep 28, 2007 12:23 PM EDT up reply actions

John's 2007 projection

on his crystal ball was very close to the season Kaz ended up having.

by killa3312 on Sep 28, 2007 12:32 PM EDT reply actions

His best case senario is looking good too

in the best case it had Kaz going 15-12 with a 3.41 ERA with 245 K's in 219 innings. Wow that is almost precise.

by Bravesin07 on Sep 28, 2007 12:42 PM EDT reply actions

Santana

In addition to Bedard's injury, Santana's rain shortened 3-inning outing on Wednesday helped.

by cooper7d7 on Sep 28, 2007 1:10 PM EDT reply actions

I find it interesting

That the three best K artists in the AL are all lefties

by Kanst42 on Sep 28, 2007 1:30 PM EDT reply actions

Sabathia struck out 209 in 241 IP this season

and he too is a lefty! :-)

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Sep 29, 2007 1:11 AM EDT up reply actions

I always think of lefties having

better changeups and outpitches compared to RH pitchers.

by Bravesin07 on Sep 28, 2007 1:31 PM EDT reply actions

It's not a coincidence.

A change is so effective when used against an opposite-handed batter that power pitchers that possess a good one often have near equal splits. And since there are twice as many righties than lefties in the game, it gives them a huge advantage over other left-handed pitchers trying to vie for a job.

It's the hardest pitch to learn how to throw but it pays off big time when mastered.

by elrey34 on Sep 29, 2007 11:15 PM EDT up reply actions