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Hooded Viper

By Hooded Viper
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Sports Guy Hangout Grand Counsel

Sports Guy

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Oddly, in the first and last years of the decade, we saw the AL average team ERA to be 4.91...But otherwise, it has been in the 4.35-4.65 range...Fluctuates a little year to year but generally, the AL average from 2002-2008 is about 4.50.

So, there really isn't much evidence to suggest pitching is less important unless you feel 2009 is now going to be the norm and there really isn't any reason to believe that to be true.

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mweb Hangout Grand Counsel

mweb

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You can not compete on a consistent basis with a great offense and mediocre pitching unless maybe you are the Yankees and sink 120+ million into your offense but even then, I doubt you can.

As I said, on a flukish basis, it could happen in a given year.

Well you can with great offense and good pitching or great offense, average pitching, and great defense. You said very good pitching is mandatory, I don't think it is.

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mweb Hangout Grand Counsel

mweb

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If we raise our OPS to .840, highest in MLB last year was .839 by Yankees, we'd still have to drop our ERA to 4.5 from 5.15 to win 98 games. That would leave us 5 games behind the Yankees.

And in the playoffs. This was also a better year than normal from the Yanks.

I think you're misunderstanding my point though. I'm not saying that we shouldn't strive for very good pitching, I'm simply saying there's many ways to skin a cat.

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Sports Guy Hangout Grand Counsel

Sports Guy

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Well you can with great offense and good pitching or great offense, average pitching, and great defense. You said very good pitching is mandatory, I don't think it is.

A 4.20ish team ERA is going to be pretty mandatory to contend in our division on a consistent basis.

Again, in a given year, that isn't always the case but on a consistent basis, it is absolutely the case.

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GoldGlove21 All-Star

GoldGlove21

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If we raise our OPS to .840, highest in MLB last year was .839 by Yankees, we'd still have to drop our ERA to 4.5 from 5.15 to win 98 games. That would leave us 5 games behind the Yankees.

I think the bullpen is the part of a winning organization that is forgot about the most. I want to get to a point where a lead with 2 outs in the seventh is a loss to our opponent. I think signing a guy like Lackey does ten things for a team like the Orioles.

1.) We fill the TOR starter void.

2.) Takes some pressure off of the young staff.

3.) Provides a leader in terms of a player.

4.) He brings insight through his expertise and their respect for him.

5.) Allows one of the young starting arms to find a niche' in the bullpen.

6.) Major trade chip if most of our young pitching develops.

7.) Let's the rest of the league know we are here to play.

8.) Gives the bullpen a break on nights he pitches because he usually goes deeper into games.

9.) Gives us a player with a history of winning.

10.) Use him to recruit other players

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mweb Hangout Grand Counsel

mweb

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A 4.20 team ERA is going to be pretty mandatory to contend in our division on a consistent basis.

Again, in a given year, that isn't always the case but on a consistent basis, it is absolutely the case.

You don't have to have very good pitching to get to a 4.20 ERA though.

So again, we can be a consistent contender with a great offense and good pitching or with great offense, great defense, and average to good pitching.

Very good pitching is not mandatory, but obviously would be great. Just like having a very good offense is not mandatory, but obviously would be great.

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Wind Rider Major Leaguer Cup of Coffee

Wind Rider

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You don't have to have very good pitching to get to a 4.20 ERA though.

So again, we can be a consistent contender with a great offense and good pitching or with great offense, great defense, and average to good pitching.

Very good pitching is not mandatory, but obviously would be great. Just like having a very good offense is not mandatory, but obviously would be great.

Keep in mind 4.15 is dropping our ERA by a full run a game.

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wickedwitch Major Leaguer

wickedwitch

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He seems to be obsessed with pitching, when good pitching is no longer as important as it once was.
Sit down and think about this for a moment. Do you truly believe this? All the points about how much our offense needs to improve are debatable. I may disagree with you at times, but I understand your point of view. But this is lunacy, and you're too smart to truly believe it.

How could pitching's importance change? As far as I can tell, its importance will not change unless baseball itself goes through fundamental changes, as it did in the late 19th century. The level of offense may change, but it has no effect on pitching's importance. A few teams that do well with poor pitching don't prove anything except that there are more than one way to win. The Yankees situation is distorted because of the new stadium. It made their offense look better than it would in prior seasons and made its pitching look worse. IIRC, last season the playoff teams were almost strictly the teams with the best pitching.

I don't know whether McPhail's strategy will work. I don't know if he's putting too much emphasis on pitching. I don't know whether our offense will ever be capable of a .800 OPS. I don't know if I will ever have the pleasure of seeing the Orioles win a World Series. But I do know that pitching is as important as ever.

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