This is a ranking of the best starting pitchers of the 2011 season, and it's based on the performance of last season alone.

1. Roy Halladay- His 2.20 FIP was awesome, his efficiency gets overlooked because of the hype surrounding the guy directly below him.

2. Justin Verlander- Deserved the Cy Young, but his season was a little overrated (.236 BABIP). Still, accomplishing a 2.40 ERA with 8.96 fans per nine is no easy feat.

3. Clayton Kershaw- Although Halladay should have won the award, it's tough to argue with a guy who had the pitching Triple Crown. But of course, the Triple Crown doesn't trump advanced statistics; even if it's still an incredible feat.

4. CC Sabathia- Lost among a season of elite pitching was Sabathia's 2011 campaign.

5. Cliff Lee- Had a 2.60 FIP and was in the thick of the "race", well, for those who paid attention to him.

6. Dan Haren- If you dig deeper, it becomes apparent that Haren was truly the best starter on the Angels last year.

7. Jered Weaver- But hey, Weaver did have a 2.41 ERA regardless of the luck involved.

8. Ian Kennedy- How could I not reward the former Yankees prospect?

9. Madison Bumgarner- This sophomore was no bum, as he garnered a 2.67 FIP.

10. Zack Greinke- A 10.54 K/9 and 2.56 xFIP? I think so.

11. C.J. Wilson- There's a reason why he's easily the top free agent starter on the market.

12. James Shields- Would have been in the top ten in most seasons; just not this one.

13. Matt Cain- The guy who somehow defies sabermetrical logic year in and year out, but he did have a 2.88 ERA that was in line with his 2.91 FIP this season.

14. Cole Hamels- Yeah, the Phillies offense really dragged the team down.

15. Doug Fister- And we thought this trade was meaningless when it first went down.

16. David Price- Wasn't all that much worse than his teammate, but he was still worse.

17. Matt Garza- Well, at least the Cubs got what they wanted in the trade; an over-performing pitcher. He won't always be this good, but that season alone might make that trade at least a solid one for the Cubbies.

18. Felix Hernandez- Yeah, I probably put him a little too low, but it really wasn't the best of years for Felix. But just you wait for 2012 Mariners fans, you'll have the Astros to beat up on.

19. Tim Lincecum- No top 20 is complete without Timmy's presence, even in a "down" year (he still had a 2.74 ERA).

20. Daniel Hudson- He and Kennedy are two young starters to build a rotation around.

21. Brandon McCarthy- Now who saw that coming?

22. Josh Beckett- He really carried the Red Sox sagging rotation this year with a 2.89 ERA.

23. Matt Harrison- Scouts love him when he doesn't nibble, and he had a solid year that he should be able to build on.

24. Chris Carpenter- A boss year in and year out, and to think that the Cards won it all without Wainwright.

25. Jaime Garcia- What better way to end a top 25 starter list than a World Champion?

What a rebound year

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: MLB, MLB Rankings, SPs, Yankees, CC Sabathia, Red Sox, Josh Beckett, David Price, James Shields, Justin Verlander, Doug Fister, CJ Wilson, Matt Harrison, Angels, Dan Haren, Jered Weaver, Mariners, Felix Hernandez, Brandon McCarthy, Astros, Phillies, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, St. Louis Cardinals, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Cubs, Matt Garza, Zack Greinke, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Clayton Kershaw, Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy

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9/2011 Team Scope: LA Angels

September 20th 2011 12:44

While they are still in the race, the Angels playoff hopes are basically over. What should haunt them is the fact that they traded a very productive power-hitting catcher, for a guy with a huge contract who is an old, marginal player. Not only does Vernon Wells have a massive contract, but he has a negative WAR total and one of the worst OBPs for an everyday player of all-time. Don't you hate it when GMs keep running these old scrubs out there all the time?

There have also been musings of Art Moreno girding up his loins to try to pursue the much-coveted Albert Pujols. If they could ever get their hands on Puj, this offense would go from ho-hum to elite. What to do with Kendrys Morales? Ship off the oft-injured first baseman to someone who could use him more. After all, he's not all that good when you compare him to the other first basemen around the league. And heck, they could end up with a couple of decent prospects in return.

Howie Kendrick is way ahead of all the other Angels' position players with a 5.8 WAR, but I do have some concerns with him. His .339 BABIP is a little fluky- but not as lucky as one might think- and he strikes out 20 percent of the time, while only walking five percent of the time. What really helps him are his baserunning and fielding abilities, and he has actually hit for more power than Torii Hunter this season.

Even if he is a little lucky, I think the plate discipline has to do with the fact that he doesn't have all that much power anyway. Like, patience is only a virtue- in baseball kids- for power hitters who wait for a pitch they can drive. Although Kendrick has good pop for a second baseman, he's best served going after a pitch he can put on the ground. Hence, the high BABIP total.

Torii Hunter may have 21 taters, but he really hasn't had a good season. He's been decent, but that's not the type of play the Angels want to get back with the money he makes. His contact has been poor, but he has done a solid job of drawing walks. The problem, however, is that a .261 BA with a .297 BABIP just doesn't cut it. UZR has actually rated Hunter as slightly below average in the field this season, and I have seen a noticeable drop-off in quality in his defense. Oh what to do, what to do with Mr. Hunter.

Dan Haren is a better pitcher than Jered Weaver. There, I said it. Hang me; no man vagabond, call me what you will. Haren has been better this season, and he is better overall. To me, the reasons are quite clear and are easy to spot once we look past ERA.

You see, Weaver benefits an awful lot from playing in Angel Stadium, because his FB% is almost at 50 percent. Yeah, Peter Bourjos really is that important to what the Angels do defensively. Haren, on the other hand, is well-balanced in the type of contact he dishes out. Both pitchers have similar strikeout rates, but what also sets them apart is the fact that Haren has much better control. Put it all together, and Haren has higher FIP, xFIP, and WAR totals than Weaver (6.2 WAR to 5.6 WAR).

Why do they play this guy?

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Posted By: Joe Soriano - Category: Angels, Dan Haren, Howie Kendrick, Peter Bourjos, Vernon Wells, Jered Weaver, Torii Hunter, Kendrys Morales, Art Moreno, Albert Pujols

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5/2011 Starting Pitcher Rankings

May 22nd 2011 14:01

1. Tim Lincecum
2. Roy Halladay
3. Josh Johnson
4. Cliff Lee
5. CC Sabathia
6. Adam Wainwright
7. Jon Lester
8. Felix Hernandez
9. Justin Verlander
10. Dan Haren
11. Josh Beckett
12. Ubaldo Jimenez
13. Jered Weaver
14. Clayton Kershaw
15. Chris Carpenter
16. Cole Hamels
17. David Price
18. Matt Cain
19. Zack Greinke
20. Tommy Hanson
21. Francisco Liriano
22. Yovani Gallardo
23. Roy Oswalt
24. Trevor Cahill
25. Wandy Rodriguez
26. James Shields
27. Chad Billingsley
28. Jaime Garcia
29. Clay Buchholz
30. Ryan Dempster
31. John Danks
32. Max Scherzer
33. Jake Peavy
34. Mat Latos
35. Johan Santana
36. Jorge De La Rosa
37. AJ Burnett
38. Shaun Marcum
39. Brett Anderson
40. Phil Hughes
41. Ricky Romero
42. Zach Britton
43. Michael Pineda
44. Jeremy Hellickson
45. Ricky Nolasco
46. Matt Garza
47. Jonathan Sanchez
48. Johnny Cueto
49. CJ Wilson
50. Madison Bumgarner

#39

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4/9 Game Recap: Angels and Jays

April 10th 2011 18:09

I was able to catch the end of the Angels' 6-5 victory in a long game against the Toronto Blue Jays played in Los Angeles. There were a lot of runs early on as starting pitchers Brett Cecil and Matt Palmer got blown early to the tune of 10 hits and 5 runs allowed apiece (4 ER for Palmer). However, four relievers in that game were perfect through at least an inning of work. Only one reliever gave up an earned run, and that came from the game-winning single.

Maicer Izturis was definitely the hero of the game for the Angels. He not only hit the game-winning single to score Peter Bourjos from second, but he also had 3 hits with two ribbies and a run during the game. Dan Haren came in at the end to get the win (2-0) and struck out a batter in a perfect inning of work. I view Haren as a darkhorse candidate to win the Cy Young. Before the season started, my good friend Aryan- who used to own a blog here- and I were talking about what would happen before the season. I told him that Haren and Russell Martin were my bounce-back players. So far, they have done me right.

Anyway, let's talk about the decisive run in the game. Jon Rauch would relief Shawn Camp for what would the last inning in the ballgame. He struck out both pinch hitter Brandon Wood and Jeff Mathis. It was looking like Rauch might strike out the side, and it certainly looked like we would be looking at more baseball. The young center fielder Peter Bourjos had other plans. He blasted a double to deep left to get into scoring position with two outs. The leadoff hitter was hitting .333 during the game thus far with a now .361 batting average. He hit a bloop single into right field, and that was all the Angels needed as Bourjos scored from second.

It was certainly an extraordinary game, and it was better than game one of the Yankees-Red Sox series that I also watched. Bartolo Colon looked great, and Boone Logan should never play out of the pen in an important situation. Travis Snider had two stolen bases, Howie Kendrick hit the game's lone homer, Jose Bautista went 2-4 with 3 walks, JP Arencibia was once again immense with a double and a triple, and John McDonald went 3-5 with two walks.