It was a profoundly uninteresting ball game, as was reflected by the Chat, much of which turned to a discussion of which picture of Scarlett Johannsen was the most pleasing to contemplate. As is my wont during Friday Night Chats, I went fishing for Game Report Ideas, having not had an original idea of my own for Quite Some Time now. Rob (also known as "the other Rookie") happily shared some of his research on the worst hitters in Tampa Bay history. This is indeed an interesting subject, but the wealth of available material suggests that it might best be suited for a full length book rather than a Humble Game Report.
I had to absent myself from the Chat for awhile, and just now looking over the log, I came upon the following disturbing exchange:
[20:44] Hall really really wants to pick off Zaun [20:44] Catchers are strange dudes [20:45] Kinda like goalies [20:45] goalies are complete loons
As an old goalie myself, I'd like to have a word with PaulS. You have to some explaining to do, sir.
Anyway, the score was 10-3 by this time. Or was it 10-5? No one was quite sure. Baseball fans were arguing with one another - we were absorbed, engrossed in a gripping debate, exchanging our views, each arguing for their particular point of view. The clash of minds and wits - you've heard of the Algonquin Round Table? Well, it was nothing like that. But gradually, a consensus emerged, and the consensus was that this
was the one we liked best.
Meanwhile, back at the ball park, Gustavo Chacin was improving his record to 8-5. There are a few items of interest in connection with young Mr Chacin's season that I'd like to share with you.
Gustavo Chacin is putting together one of the finest seasons by a rookie pitcher in team history. Chacin's next start will be his 20th of the season - he hasn't missed a turn, and assuming he's not traded or injured, he should end up making some 30-32 starts this season. Only two Toronto rookies have ever made 30 starts in a season: Jerry Garvin in the inaugural 1977 season, and Phil Huffman in 1979. Garvin and Huffman both lost 18 of those starts: there is no way Chacin is going to duplicate that awful accomplishment. He's already won more games than Huffman, who went 6-18. Garvin, who was 10-18 in 1977, is one of just two rookie Toronto lefties to win 10 games in a season; the other was Jeff Musselman, who went 12-5 in 1987, working almost entirely in relief.
Chacin's season is obviously not the best by a Toronto rookie pitcher - that was Mark Eichhorn's amazing 1986 season - but he has an excellent chance to win more games than any Jays rookie starter, ever, and Eichhorn's overall rookie record of 14 wins is not out of reach. At the moment, the best season by a rookie starter would be Juan Guzman's 1991 campaign - Guzman was only called up in early June of that year, after Dave Stieb was injured. He made 23 starts, and the last of those was a 3 inning tuneup for the playoffs. Still Guzman and Garvin are the only rookie starters to win 10 games in a season. Chacin looks pretty likely to be the third.
And so - it's not a scientific ranking, by any stretch of the imagination. But here are the best seasons by Blue Jays rookie pitchers. And no, I didn't forget Jimmy Key. It just wasn't that great a year...
Player Age G ERA W L SV GS CG SHO IPT HIT R ER BB HR SO BFP ERA+ Mark Eichhorn 1986 25 69 1.72 14 6 10 0 0 0 157.0 105 32 30 45 8 166 612 246 Juan Guzman 1991 24 23 2.99 10 3 0 23 0 1 138.7 98 53 46 66 6 123 574 142 Mike Timlin 1991 25 63 3.16 11 6 3 3 0 0 108.3 94 43 38 50 6 85 463 134 Billy Koch 1999 24 56 3.39 0 5 31 0 0 0 63.7 55 26 24 30 5 57 272 145 Roy Halladay 1999 22 36 3.92 8 7 1 18 1 1 149.3 156 76 65 79 19 82 668 126 Duane Ward 1988 24 64 3.30 9 3 15 0 0 0 111.7 101 46 41 60 5 91 487 119 Bob File 2001 24 60 3.27 5 3 0 0 0 0 74.3 57 28 27 29 6 38 299 145 Aquilino Lopez 2003 28 72 3.42 1 3 14 0 0 0 73.7 58 31 28 34 5 64 316 138 Kelvim Escobar 1997 21 27 2.90 3 2 14 0 0 0 31.0 28 12 10 19 1 36 139 159 Victor Cruz 1978 20 32 1.71 7 3 9 0 0 0 47.3 28 10 9 35 0 51 199 230 Jeff Musselman 1987 24 68 4.15 12 5 3 1 0 0 89.0 75 43 41 54 7 54 381 109 Darren Hall 1994 29 30 3.41 2 3 17 0 0 0 31.7 26 12 12 14 3 28 131 141 David Bush 2004 24 16 3.69 5 4 0 16 1 1 97.7 95 47 40 25 11 64 412 132 John Cerutti 1986 26 34 4.15 9 4 1 20 2 1 145.3 150 73 67 47 25 89 616 102 Dave Stieb 1979 21 18 4.31 8 8 0 18 7 1 129.3 139 70 62 48 11 52 563 101 Jerry Garvin 1977 21 34 4.19 10 18 0 34 12 1 244.7 247 127 114 85 33 127 1046 100
And now I know what to do next Friday night! Aaron Hill, and the rookie hitters...
