You wouldn't do that because Roy has a history of success that Sosa doesn't. That said, Sosa <B>this season</B> has been every bit as good, if not better, than Roy. Being someone's equal and having equal trade value are very different things. Sosa has a lower ERA and a better winning percentage than any other starting pitcher in this series, except for Clemens in ERA. Better than Pettite, Oswalt, Smoltz, Hudson, etc.
He's certainly his equal - if you ignore the part where he doesn't go six innings a start, walks a ton more batters than Roy, doesn't strike out as many batters and this is the only year in the league he hasn't been bad.
But he's not a better pitcher than they are. And if you think he is, you're absolutely nuts. When did winning percentage become a key stat? I'll play your pick-out-favorable-numbers game. Sosa averages 5 1/3 innings per start. His WHIP is 1.39. That's the same as Horacio Ramirez's. It's 0.02 better than John Thomson's. It's .24 worse than John Smoltz's, .19 worse than Roy Oswalt's. It's worse than Chris Reitsma's. Andy Pettitte's ERA is .16 runs better than Sosa's. Sosa walks 4.3 batters per 9 innings. And when he pitches in game 3, he'll be the sixth-best starting pitcher to have appeared in the series.
Good thing for him that the goal of baseball is to minimize runs, rather than to walk the fewest batters or strikeout the most batters then, eh?
Given that a team's goal is to win games, and a pitcher's goal is to minimize runs, I find it entertaining that you decided WHIP and walks-per-inning are more important than win percentage and ERA. I forgot that a pitcher's goal is just to walk as few people as possible.
I'll be there to see Roy O go 8 innings of 1 run, 6 hit ball, and then Lidge come in to send them down 1-2-3 in the 9th. Go Stros!
major has been defeated. I'll be there saturday as Roy throws a perfect game while Sosa gets shelled for 23 runs. yes... 23 runs.
Yeah, except that walking fewer batters and striking out more is a pattern of consistent success - Jorge Sosa has been lucky, and counting him Roy's equal based on a year where he pitched 130 innings is lunacy - I mean, he barely goes five innings a start. I know tonight's result was dissapointing - but let's not go off the deep end.
Ignoring the fact that walking more batters and striking out fewer is a strong indicator that more runs will be allowed... ...going less than six innings per start with that bullpen behind you isn't the best way to minimize runs.
Ah, right. Never mind the results on the field - it can't be that he might actually be good. It can't be that, like tons of pitchers before him, Atlanta's pitching coach taught him how to pitch and win. It must just be luck. This year, he has been Roy's equal. You don't have to like it. You don't have to accept that this is a career path. It doesn't change the facts. The 130 innings would be relevent if he was inconsistent - but he's not. An ERA of 3.00 in April and under 3 every single month since. "Luck" doesn't produce that kind of consistency.
Yes, clearly we'll see that Saturday. Just like we learned today that Roger is a terrible pitcher, right? Because one game sample sizes are much better than a season's worth.
Well, it generally is luck. Luck + a good defense + a pitcher's park. Comparing Roy and Sosa is really silly. One is a front line starter who threw nearly 250 innings for a team that needed it's starters to pitch well - the other is a back end starter who got yanked at the first sign of trouble. Please, step back - I know people are dissapointed, but this comparison talk between these two is just ludicrous.
I'll be at Game 3, can't wait! Oswalt is one of the best pitchers in baseball, going against a guy with no proven track record. I like our chances, definitely.
But he's wrong. Look, even if you accept - and I don't for a minute, and I can't believe anyone else does - that Jorge Sosa is more likely, on any given day, to give up fewer runs per nine innings than Roy Oswalt is, that doesn't mean he's giving his team a better chance to win. Because Roy gives you SEVEN innings of 2.94 ERA before turning things over to a GOOD bullpen, and Sosa gives you FIVE AND A THIRD innings of 2.55 ERA before turning things over to a BAD bullpen.
Sosa isn't equal to Oswalt, no way. But, Sosa has had a solid year and we will have our work cut out for us. And if you are the type to judge pitchers on only one game, then Smoltz > Clemens.
