Who do you think will be a better producer for the rest of the season? Brown's been injured in the past, Oswalt in the current. Both seem over it now though. Oswalt has benefit that Astros should score more runs with that offense.
A few factors that seperate them. As you mentioned, the Astros offense, at least once Berkman and Bagwell get rolling, should score plenty of runs, while the LA offense is extremely week. However, the run support is partially offset by the ballpark factor, with juice box being an extreme hitters park, while Dodger Stadium is an extreme pitchers park. If a pitcher is off his game at all, they can well get crucified in Minute Maid, which makes Oswalt and Miller both scary at times.
Then you have the injury factor. Brown's past two years is well known, but Oswalt could well be equally risky. Keep in mind that he is tiny (6'0, 175 lbs), and pitching as many innings as he has at his young age and with his slight build could eventually cause burnout and possible injuries. Overall, Brown is a slightly greater injury risk.
Really it comes down to what you are looking for in terms of stats. I would think that for the balance of the year, Brown should have a better ERA and WHIP, while Oswalt will probably win more games because of the offensive support. Take Oswalt for wins or Brown for ERA/WHIP.
A healthy Brown is a better pitcher than Oswalt. People mention that Brown is an injury risk, but last time I checked Brown was healthy and Oswalt was coming off the DL. The Dodgers can't hit, but Brown has been lights out and can look to get his fair number of wins.
Thinking Brown was healthy last season, I rejected the offer of Oswalt for him. A week later, he got hurt. LoL. This year, I traded Brown away for Garcia. And this time, Brown decides to become a stud again. So no matter what I think about what you should do when it comes to Brown, go the opposite way. I'd pick Oswalt.
My hair's turnin' white, my neck's always been red, my collar's still blue
We've always been here tryin' to sing the truth to you
Guess you could say we've always been red white and blue
"Red White and Blue," Lynyrd Skynyrd
As Yankfan alluded to, owners of Brown last year know that he seemed perfectly fine until he went down for the season. No warning signs, just BLAMMO, bye-bye season. Not saying it will happen again, but it could because Brown doesn't exactly have smooth mechanics.
Then again, when healthy he is a cy young candidate so it depends on your risk tolerance. I'd stick with Oswalt though.
Definitely Oswalt. Brown is great, but there's one other factor no one else has mentioned here.
The guy is old, and he's missed a good portion of the last two seasons. Even if he doesn't get hurt (a big if), it's unlikely he has the stamina in his arm to dominate the whole season. He'll likely go through a dead arm period sooner or later, like any pitcher whose had a long time off.
With Oswalt's youth and his reliability over the last two years, I'd take him in a heartbeat, esp in a trade. If I had them both on my team, I wouldn't mind sticking with Brown and trading Oswalt if he could get more in return. But I would still be very wary of trading for Oswalt.
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by jmintert » Mon Jun 02, 2003 4:04 pm 
