[Stark] Roy Oswalt: Most Underrated Player in the league

The wizard needs love.

Maybe if he put on his robe and hat he could get some love.

 

What I like about Oswalt is that he DOESN'T need love. Just give the guy a ******* bulldozer and he's the happiest redneck in town.

 

I love Roy O, but that article is complete garbage (at least the part about Oswalt is - I stopped reading after that). Number of 20-win seasons, Winning % and number of Cy Young Awards not won are three of the most absurd ways to judge a pitcher. His best full season was last year, when he 'only' won 15 games, while 2004 was undoubtedly his 'worst' season, yet he still won 20. I put 'only' and 'worst' in quotations because, obviously, those terms are quite relative.

And the reason why he's never won a Cy is, surprise!, because he's never been the best pitcher in the league in any one season. There is a solid argument that he's been the NL's best over the past 6+ years, but every year there has been at least one pitcher who has been clearly better. You could certainly argue that he could have won last year, but it was no travesty that Webb & Carpenter finished ahead of him (though it is a travesty that Hoffman got more votes).

There's definitely a case to be made that Roy O is one of the game's great players that nobody knows about, but Jayson Stark comes nowhere near that case in this puff piece.

 

stark is speaking in terms that make sense to the average reader.
his point, that oswalt is underrated, is still true.

oswalt may have not been the single most dominant pitcher in any one year over the last six, but how many pitchers are as good every single year? i'm just guessing, santana and halladay obviously. maybe carpenter? that's about it.

oswalt is my absolute favorite player, i hope he keeps it up, first astro pitcher in the hall of fame?

 

The reason Oswalt doesn't get noticed is that he goes out and does his job and makes it look so easy. He goes up, throws strikes, keeps the ball down, works fast, doesn't get hit much, and certainly doesn't walk many. Baseball is as much about the drama as anything. When you stay ahead of every batter. Oswalt looks amazing when he throws that big looping curveball for a strikeout. But what makes him so great are all those right-on-the-spot fastballs and sliders for first pitch strikes. I don't know where the stats are on this, but I'd bet that Oswalt throws the fewest pitches per inning of anyone.

Guys who limp out to the mound with a bloody sock get attention. Guys that go up and make quick work of batters get ignored by the average fan.

 

I love the guys who don't care for attention. He lets that right arm do the talking.

 

My favorite Astros games over the past 6 years have been Roy O's 2 hit 82 pitch 1 hour and 56 minute complete game specials.

 

should have won the cy young last year...I don't see how you can give it to Webb just based on an extra win.

 

I'd disagree that Jake Peavy's so underrated. But I didnt know his numbers were that good.

Oswalt has been consistently the 2nd-3rd-4th best pitcher in the league the past few years. There's always been a pitcher who was just a liiittle better, even on his own team (Roger Clemens). As long as he keeps doing what he does best - pinpoint control, few walks, fast-pace pitching - he'll get his recognition in the Hall

 

Preaching to the chior...RoyO is great, but he's on a sh*tty team right now and until the bats liven up, he's domed for another year with no Cy young consideration...

 

No consideration? He's finished in the top-5 every season he's been healthy.