On second thought regarding Halladay...

by jonk on Jul 9, 2009 9:50 PM EDT Comment 6 comments

I think I may be backing off of the Halladay bandwagon. The dude is good, we all know that. But, let's look at his comparables on BR.

Consider me underwhelmed for a guy who would be demanding 3 top tier prospects. There is not one hall of famer in that bunch (yet, though maybe Mussina and definitely Pettite). Hey, I want Halladay, but he just doesn't strike out a ton which could be a problem in our park. If he were a free agent, I'd say to throw the wallet at him. But paying him his money AND the prospects for him might be too much.

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Fair point about the strikeout rate, but the guy is a groundball-generating machine. Something like 2:1 G/F ratio for his career, I think. I like him for the same reason I wanted us to go get Derek Lowe, but he’s younger and better than Lowe.

by dajafi on Jul 9, 2009 10:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Lowe only cost money though.

For Who? My teammates.

For What? To Win.

How Much? Where do I sign?

by jonk on Jul 9, 2009 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wouldn't he have cost a draft pick, though?

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on Jul 10, 2009 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think it only would have been our second rounder after the Ibanez signing.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Jul 10, 2009 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

His K rate

is about 6.5 K/9 for his career. Not tremendous, but he doesn’t walk anybody either (2.0 BB/9). But since 2007 he’s averaged 6.95 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9. That’s a pretty crazy ratio right there. You already mentioned his G/F ratio, which is near the top in the league. Also, the guy eats up innings too, averaging something like 7/GS.

I wanted us to pick up Lowe this offseason too, but if we have a chance at Halladay for w/o sacrificing too much minor league talent, we should take it.

by Screen Name 20 on Jul 10, 2009 8:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bingo.

As a fairly extreme groundball pitcher, you worry more about Halladay’s walk rate than his strikeout rate. It’s sort of a souped-up version of the argument of, “Well, Aaron Cook is a more valuable than his strikeout numbers indicate.”

Screen Name 20 pointed this out: while his K rate is about average, his GB and BB rates are fantastic, and BP mentioned the other day that he throws the least pitches per inning (right around 14) out of any starter in the majors. When you pound the strike zone with good sinking stuff, this is what happens: you become a top-tier, workhorse starting pitcher. 3.48 career FIP? I’ll take him.

by PhillyFriar on Jul 11, 2009 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs