`tis the summer of chris carpenter data -- all heat and fragrance.
nl era leaders, june
(source: day to day database)
| player | ip | h | r | er | bb | so | w-l | era |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| carpenter | 40 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 4-1 | 0.90 |
| oswalt | 38 | 31 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 | 4-1 | 1.66 |
| dontrelle | 37.2 | 41 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 25 | 4-0 | 1.91 |
| v zambrano | 27.2 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 1-1 | 2.60 |
| pedro | 38 | 28 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 34 | 3-1 | 2.61 |
i got no words to describe him this month; the p'formances speak for themselves. but danup has something to say: it's the fastball, he reckons, that's making all the diff'nce -- full speed and tailing, a cruel combination for lh batters.
by whatever means, carp is posting one of the best 1st-half mound performances stl has seen in the last 35 years. here are the winningest 1st-half card'l hurlers since 1970, again courtesy dave pinto's day to day database (first half = games 1 through 81):
| w-l | era | ip | h | r | er | bb | so | sho | final line | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| andujar 1985 | 15-3 | 2.38 | 144 | 136 | 42 | 38 | 32 | 66 | 2 | 21-12, 3.40 |
| andujar 1984 | 13-6 | 2.98 | 142 | 119 | 50 | 47 | 38 | 83 | 4 | 20-14, 3.34 |
| mcglothen 1974 | 12-3 | 2.42 | 115.1 | 91 | 32 | 31 | 44 | 79 | 3 | 16-12, 2.69 |
| gibson 1970 | 12-3 | 3.38 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 2 | 23-7, 3.12 |
| bottenfield 1999 | 12-3 | 3.69 | 100 | 99 | 46 | 41 | 45 | 83 | 0 | 18-7, 3.97 |
| carpenter 2005 | 11-4 | 2.77 | 113.2 | 98 | 39 | 35 | 29 | 112 | 3 | tbd |
| kile 2000 | 11-5 | 4.63 | 114.2 | 107 | 63 | 59 | 31 | 110 | 0 | 20-9, 3.91 |
| carlton 1971 | 11-5 | 3.79 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | 3 | 20-9, 3.56 |
if matt morris wins next wednesday, the cards will have two first-half 10-game winners for the first time since 1985, when jack andujar and danny cox did it. morris by the way has twice reached the season's midpoint with 10 wins:
| w-l | era | ip | h | r | er | bb | so | sho | final line | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| morris 2001 | 10-4 | 2.65 | 112 | 114 | 41 | 33 | 28 | 78 | 1 | 22-8, 3.16 |
| morris 2002 | 10-5 | 3.27 | 121 | 111 | 46 | 44 | 41 | 106 | 1 | 17-9, 3.42 |
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got a number of good comments in yesterday's game thread on the whys and wherefores of Cedeno You Suck Syndrome. also a very thoughtful post on the subject today at cardnilly. i'm coming to the conclusion that it wasn't just roger's numbers that raised hackles -- couldn't be, since his numbers last year were no worse than those of other recent 5th outfielders. indeed, they were slightly better:
| avg | obp | slg | ops | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bonilla 2001 | .213 | .308 | .339 | .647 |
| robinson 2001 | .285 | .330 | .344 | .674 |
| robinson 2002 | .260 | .301 | .359 | .660 |
| palmeiro 2003 | .271 | .336 | .347 | .683 |
| waste o flesh 2004 | .265 | .327 | .373 | .702 |
(Update [2005-6-26 12:45:55 by lboros]: here's a little info i ran across this morning: during june and july last year, when the cardinals made their move, cedeno started 20 games and hit .352/.414/.477/.891. through august 6 (the day walker came over), cedeno had season avgs of .322/.377/.449/.826.)
i don't recall any of cedeno's predecessors eliciting quite as much disgust as he did. for whatever reason -- demeanor, effort (or seeming lack thereof), common sense (ditto), personality (ditto) -- he irritated. now he's gone and luna is here, an improvement defensively but seemingly no better offensively. . . . . . there is bench help out there, walt will come up w somebody.
finally, this is the game thread -- marquis vs perez. the guys at uss mariner got a discussion going last week on this question: "Why does Tony LaRussa bat Jason Marquis ninth in the lineup when his .978 OPS is second on the team?" some amusing responses. . . . . .
