Carlos Zambrano for Chris Volstad: What's the Deal?
The Carlos Zambrano era is over, with the Cubs eating $15 (or $15.5 ) million of the $18 million their veteran starter is owed in 2012 so they could finally be rid of the irreparable relationship. Phil Rogers is excited , but I'm kind of depressed; for years Zambrano's off-field (or at least in-dugout) drama was matched with impressive consistency on the mound, at least until the past couple years, when everything went south. In some ways, Zambrano was a good compliment to his new Marlins teammate Mark Buehrle, a well-above-average pitcher with matchless reliability. That things went so sour the Cubs had to pay the Marlins to take him off their hands is a bit sad, though the team had little choice but to do so.
But it's not just a personality dump. The Cubs ex-Rated Rookie Chris Volstad, a tall drink of water and an intriguing flier. And, as Chris Cwik argues, Volstad, right now, may be as good a pitcher as Zambrano ... if you ignore his ERA:
Volstad might not strike out many batters, but he limits walks much better than Zambrano. Volstad hasn’t been the most durable pitcher, either — but he’s still thrown 60-plus more innings than Zambrano during the past two seasons. Their ERAs might not show it, but Volstad has been nearly as good since 2010. Zambrano’s lead in FIP is a slim 4.17 to 4.33, and Volstad actually posted a superior xFIP (4.05) in that period.
Which puts him in good company among the loveable losers:
Volstad’s ability to outperform his ERA points to a trend for Cubs pitchers this upcoming season. All five of the Cubs’ current starters — Volstad, Travis Wood, Randy Wells, Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza — posted stronger xFIPs when compared to their ERAs.
FIP is Fielding Independent Pitching ; xFIP is FIP without the hard-to-predict home-run-rate variable. The idea is that Volstad has more immediate talent than his recent history would indicate, and he has a tendency to show up on lists of hard-luck pitchers. In late October, Jeff Zimmerman put together a list of the luckiest and unluckiest pitchers in the major leagues, comparing their results on the season with the numbers you might expect from their performance. Two Cubs made the list of part-time starters : Randy Wells, fourth from the bottom, and Chris Volstad, tied for the unluckiest starter in baseball.
Rated Rookie Baseball Card - News
Rookie fifth-round pick TJ Yates, a former North Carolina quarterback, has completed 61.2 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions and an 80.7 passer rating. He has been sacked 15 times behind an offensive line that allowed
The Cubs ex-Rated Rookie Chris Volstad, a tall drink of water and an intriguing flier. And, as Chris Cwik argues, Volstad, right now, may be as good a pitcher as Zambrano if you ignore his ERA: Volstad might not strike out many batters,
What Russ Springer gave me a song I didn't really have an option -- and other rookies. Black Eyed Peas boom boom out and -- Mut and Merloni talk about the fans that attend Gillette Stadium and wonder why it's one of the quieter crowds in the NFL.
Matt Schaub was the quarterback in that game, not rookie TJ Yates, and the Texans were playing for the first time without outside linebacker Mario Williams, who tore a chest muscle the previous week. Houston still led 14-13 in the third quarter,
2005 - Peyton Manning shatters the single-season passer rating record by finishing the season with a 121.1 rating, well ahead of the 112.8 set by San Francisco's Steve Young in 1994. 2009 - Mississippi beats Texas Tech 47-34 in the final Cotton Bowl