Yep, he was good today, and he was on my bench. If I start him, I know he's gonna bomb. Personally, I'm gonna try to trade him for something, and maybe you should do the same. Dang Clement.
I have Clement on one of my fantasy teams and I think for a lot of fantasy teams he should be a solid fifth starter until you can pick up those Mark Prior's when they come along . If the Cubs start to get hot, which they just might start to do soon, Clement should suffer less 5 and 6 ER games as the motiviation to pitch well into late innings rises. If this is the case, his ERA at the end of the season will lower slightly to around the 3.50 line with a slightly lower WHIP around 1.1. It seems to be a rule pitchers seem to do better with offensive support (exception being the Rockies of course). But, if the Cubs remain miserable(no offensive support), his ERA wil remain around the low 4.00's with the 1.26 WHIP he's sporting now.
So is he worth it? Definitley yes if the Cubs offensive heats up. If not, he's an average fantasy 5th starter.
On the subject of the Cubs, if, and I say IF, this Mark Prior fellow lives up to his billing, look for a huge season turnaround, perhaps even flirting with the playoffs. I can tell that the Cubs WILL be playing better the rest of the season, as it was only a matter a time before solid veterans Crime Dog and Alou do what they always do. Their big three pitching now: Wood, Lieber, Prior, will do more than keep them in every game they pitch. With Clement, that makes a pretty spetacular 1,2,3,4. If Cruz comes around, or they find a solid 5th starter, the Cubs should put on one hell of a show the rest of the season.
Agreed, players like Clement are extremely frustrating. The potential is there, and some games it shows, but you never know when he'll be on and when he'll be disastrous. hopefully, he'll harness his ability at some point...
Interesting thoughts about the Cubs. A player of Prior's ability could certainly put a jolt into the entire team. The Cubs will certainly be fun to watch!
I have Clement on my h2h team but I think I will keep him for a while yet. He pitched well yesterday for the win.
However, I was just wondering who you would prefer out of him and Todd Ritchie from the White Sox, because I was thinking of dropping one of the two, but now I'm not so sure. I have put in a waiver claim for Prior and if I get him, I will really have too many starters.
The best closer available is probably Mike DeJean, as it's a pretty deep league for pitching. But, who would you prefer out of Ritchie and Clement?
I'm not sure everyone will agree with me here, but right now, I'd prefer Clement over Ritchie. Looking at Ritchie's last five outings, and the 11/13 k/bb ratio he put up, makes me very worried. Hopefully, Ritchie will find his groove, but Clement seems like the better bet at the moment.
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by Tim » Thu May 23, 2002 9:17 pm 
. If the Cubs start to get hot, which they just might start to do soon, Clement should suffer less 5 and 6 ER games as the motiviation to pitch well into late innings rises. If this is the case, his ERA at the end of the season will lower slightly to around the 3.50 line with a slightly lower WHIP around 1.1. It seems to be a rule pitchers seem to do better with offensive support (exception being the Rockies of course). But, if the Cubs remain miserable(no offensive support), his ERA wil remain around the low 4.00's with the 1.26 WHIP he's sporting now.
