On to the pitchers ... who will post the best league-qualifying ERA in MLB '08?
| Erik Bedard |  12 (4.56%) |
| Roy Halladay | 41 (15.59%) |
| Dan Haren | 6 (2.28%) |
| John Lackey | 5 (1.90%) |
| Roy Oswalt | 4 (1.52%) |
| Jake Peavy | 69 (26.24%) |
| Johan Santana | 92 (34.98%) |
| Brandon Webb | 19 (7.22%) |
| Chris Young | 6 (2.28%) |
| Other (who?) | 9 (3.42%) |
263 votes | 6 featured comments
Pitching success, I think, is harder to project, so even selecting the list of candidates for this poll was harder than usual. Among those left yout: Penny, Carmona, Smoltz, Sabathia, Beckett and Hudson, who were all Top-15 MLB'07 ERA leaders.
Interestingly, three of our nine candidates changed teams in the off-season.
That said, I am curious to see if the default-homer vote gives Halladay a blowout win in this poll. He's as good a choice as anyone there, of course, but I personally went with the "other" Roy, Oswalt.
I voted for Santana, but I think Halladay is a good dark horse choice. He doesn't have the stuff he once had, but he's still very good and could end up playing in front of the AL's best defense. Santana will be facing far weaker lineups, though.
Peavy. As long as half his starts are in San Diego.
Peavy is obviously an excellent pick. On the other hand, Santana will be throwing to pitchers instead of designated hitters. He also gets to work in Shea Stadium, which has always been a fine place for pitchers in general (and power pitchers in particular.)
His ERA might not be as low as Peavy's - on the other hand, he might take a run at 300 Ks.
His ERA might not be as low as Peavy's - on the other hand, he might take a run at 300 Ks.