anyone else worried about this? he has certainly been less than stellar. 5.30 era and 13 walks in 18 2/3 IP to put that in perspective.... duckworth and redding have combined for 9 walks allowed in 30 1/3 IP thoughts?
Spring Training means absolutely nothing. Tim Redding is known for having strong spring trainings. How has that translated to the regular season?
ok well let me go further into my point. backe had a great finish to last year but he was not someone who was thought to be a pitcher that could maintain the level he was pitching at. further his strength is not walking people and maintaining good control. you can't say spring training means nothing for a pitcher who is not a known commodity, which is what backe is. there are things you can look for in spring training for pitchers to see potential red flags for guys that are question marks, and walks is one of them. also, i didnt mean to say that redding was pitching great i was just saying he wasnt walking a ton of people like backe is.
To expect Backe to be as good as he was in game 5 of the NLCS is ludicrous. His numbers for the other playoff games were solid... but not as spectacular... and I don't think it would be too much to expect that sort of performance from him in the long run. Overall, a 3.50-4.00 ERA, 10-15 wins, and a decent K-BB ratio is what I expect from Backe this year (which is right in line with most #4 starters).
I know... and he has a chance to match the #'s of guys like Jason Marquis, Steve Trachsel and John Thomson... definitely do-able.
I wouldn't be opposed to trading him and Burke for a strong bat. Backe's trade potential could be at an all time high right now. I would hate to see him diminish and regret not getting anything for him.
man i dunno why you would want to trade burke. he could become that strong bat you are talking about unless you know that we could get someone great for him. i mean the guy gets on base, steals bases, has good pop, and hits for a decent avg...what else do you want?
Backe being a sure thing at the #4 starting pitching spot is in question. Backe certainly did enough last season to warrant a long, hard look this season. But we have to be realistic, Backe may not be able to perform as well as he did last season (as Redding has not been able to duplicate his '03 numbers). The Astros may need to carry 6 starting pitchers on their roster, just in case Backe fails to produce. The sixth pitcher may be Astacio who starts out in AAA and brought up as necessary. Or both Redding and Duckworth may make the squad, with the hope that between Redding and Duckworth and Backe the Astros will find their #4 and #5 starting pitcher, with Astacio in the wings. Personally I would not bet against Backe becoming a solid #4 pitcher for the Astros.
We have some nice new major league prospects and we can trade Redding and probably Hernandez for prospects. Astacio and Duckworth work for the 4 and 5 spots so if Backe works out great if not he is a better 5 than Redding or Munro. How about Redding and Hernandez/Backe for Kazmir. Now Backe does not sound so important does he. Chill the guy is going to do fine in the 4/5 spot.
Duckworth is fighting for a spot on the team. He has to go out there like it was his last time pitching. Backe is all but guaranteed the 4th spot. He needs to work on his pitches, get the stamina back up, and not get hurt. There is a huge difference in the 2 situations. Regardless, no one expects Backe to win 20 games. As long as he eats up some innings and keeps them in the game, I'm fine with it. If he happens to win 15+ and keeps his era relatively low, then it's a bonus from a guy who no one expected to be in this position this time last year.
