Mulder Injury, Implications

[Walden warriors]

So, I just wrapped up the regular season title, and next Sunday (the 7th), I begin the defense of my league title. My team had the #1 pitching staff in our league this year, due in no small part to Mark Mulder. And of course, I can't use him in the playoffs.

I picked up Cliff Lee from Cleveland, as his numbers were the best on the free agent wire. That said, I"m desperate for advice on who might suggest consistency over the last two weeks of MLB's regular season. I'm not asking for Mark Mulder, but I need something quasi-reliable.


As our trade deadline has passed, here's a (pathetic) list of the best available free agent pitchers.
Jarod Washburg, Kelvim Escobar,
Batista, Miguel (SP, RP-Ari)
Pavano, Carl (SP, RP-Fla)
Soriano, Rafael (SP, RP-Sea)
Escobar, Kelvim (RP, SP-Tor)
Washburn, Jarrod (SP-Ana)
Perez, Odalis (SP-LA)
Trachsel, Steve (SP-NYM)
Thomson, John (SP-Tex)
Suppan, Jeff (SP-Bos)
Lohse, Kyle (SP-Min)
Leiter, Al (SP-NYM)
May, Darrell (SP, RP-KC)
Kinney, Matt (SP-Mil)
Ortiz, Ramon (SP-Ana)

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[jdh]

Jarod Washburg,
Kelvim Escobar,
Batista, Miguel (SP, RP-Ari)
Pavano, Carl (SP, RP-Fla)
Soriano, Rafael (SP, RP-Sea)
Escobar, Kelvim (RP, SP-Tor)
Washburn, Jarrod (SP-Ana)
Perez, Odalis (SP-LA)
Trachsel, Steve (SP-NYM)
Thomson, John (SP-Tex)
Suppan, Jeff (SP-Bos)
Lohse, Kyle (SP-Min)
Leiter, Al (SP-NYM)
May, Darrell (SP, RP-KC)
Kinney, Matt (SP-Mil)
Ortiz, Ramon (SP-Ana)

Well, there's a lot of decent options here, so much so that I'd consider subbing these guys in on a start by start basis based on matchups rather than going with one pitcher for the whole playoffs.

First, here are the ones I'd avoid:

Suppan: has been horrible since coming to the AL and is being skipped in the rotation
Soriano: is in long relief and probably will stay there with Garcia pitching better lately
Thomson: I would never trust a Texas pitcher given the park they pitch in
Kinney: was good early in the season but came back to earth quickly
Ortiz: too many homers and walks given up, hurts your WHIP and ERA usually even when he gets a win and gets really shellacked from time to time.
Pavano: too erratic to trust. Follows a couple good start by absolutely putrid ones (ie 8 ER in 0 IP at Boston)

Here are some options you might want to look at using on spot start basis:

1. Leiter and Trachsel: Very hot lately (2.16 and 2.10 August ERAs). However, they have a tough schedule with divisional play in a brutal division with the Braves, Phillies, Marlins and Expos and the Mets ability to give run support for wins could be suspect.
2. Escobar: He's great on the road and awful at home (6.18/2.18 home/road ERA splits). Good start on the road against probably every AL team except Yanks and BoSox.
3. Perez: opposite of Escobar; great at home and terrible on the road (3.03/5.82). He also tends to throw a great game when he's on and if he is could win you a week.
4. Washburn: Has been solid in August (3.29 ERA). He gives up alot of HR so he is probably a good start against teams that don't have alot of great power hitters (ie Oakland and Seattle), but to be avoided against teams like Texas.
5. Batista: Very streaky but has been remarkably solid all year. (3.00 first half ERA/3.00 second half ERA). DBacks offensive support is a problem, but I would start him against all but the strongest offenses. He hasn't given up more than 5 ER in a game this year, and has given up more than 3 ER only 6 times in 31 games.

[Madison]

Batista, Escobar, Perez. You've got some decent choices. I play in 5 leagues and those 3 are not availiable in any of them.

[pkarr5000]

escobar

[demoflauchy]

Batista and Escobar would be my two choices

[Guest]

Escobar is going to be traded very soon, so he will probably go to a contender and should do pretty well, even though he has sucked recently.
I would also look at Od. Perez and Ramon Ortiz. They're solid as the last man in your rotation.

[jdh]

Escobar won't be traded now, because it's past the playoff roster deadline. Any team that acquires him now wouldn't be able to use him in the playoffs, which really would defeat the point. The Jays are trying to sign him to a long term deal.

[HOOTIE]

I would probably go Leiter, Perez, Trachsel.