deez nuts
12-11-2003, 03:13 PM
Pettitte Heads to Houston
by Ted Carlson - Associate Editor, Fanball.com
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Despite receiving a more lucrative offer from the New York Yankees, free agent pitcher Andy Pettitte signed a three-year, $31.5 million deal with the Houston Astros on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Pettitte grew up near Houston, and the pull of his native city proved stronger than the three-year, $39 million contract offered by his incumbent ball club.
The 31-year-old lefty started 33 games in 2003 and compiled a 21-8 record. It marked the second time in nine seasons that Pettitte won more than 20 games. Last season also saw the hurler post a 4.02 ERA and a career-high 180 strikeouts over 208.1 innings. The long-time Yankee has won 149 games, boasts a career 3.94 ERA, holds four World Series rings, and is tied with Braves’ pitcher John Smoltz for the most postseason victories (13) in major league history.
In Houston, Pettitte will likely nestle in between hard-throwing right-handers Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller atop the Astros’ starting rotation. It's a comfortable spot for Andy, who previously found himself wedged between Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina in New York. The Astros have a number of available options to fill out the final two spots, including Jeriome Robertson, Tim Redding, Brandon Duckworth, and possibly Carlos Hernandez.
The Astros surely love the state of their rotation heading into 2004, and with those big three pitchers, the team can not only compete for the National League Central title but also make a deep playoff run.
Fantasy owners should not expect a major change in Pettitte’s value with this move. There are a number of positives and negatives that will be discussed below, but we can safely pencil in Pettitte for 15-to-17 wins, an ERA in the 3.90-to-4.40 range, and 150 strikeouts. Just as in fantasy seasons past, he’ll be a solid fantasy commodity entering 2004 but not an elite starter.
On the positive side of the slate, the move to the National League means no designated hitter. Senior Circuit hurlers often post lower ERAs than their American League brethren due to the DH rule, and Pettitte should prosper by having the opposing pitcher sitting the ninth spot.
Also, although the Astros can’t boast the consistent winning ways of the Yankees, Houston has the makeup of an 85-to-95-win team. Thus, in theory, Pettitte will have ample opportunity to win just as many games as he has in past seasons.
On the flip side, we see a few potential downfalls to Pettitte’s transition. First, the Astros dealt away closer Billy Wagner earlier this offseason. Octavio Dotel, Brad Lidge, and Ricky Stone (amongst others) performed admirably in the Astros’ bullpen last season, but Wagner is one of the game’s dominant closers, as is the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera.
The Yankees’ bullpen surely struggled at times in 2003, but the Bronx Bombers still had an ace to finish off Pettitte’s games. While we like Dotel, he’s not as proven a closer as either Wagner or Rivera. Our questions about the Astros’ bullpen could knock Pettitte’s projected win total down a notch.
Second, the dimensions of Minute Maid Park do not favor left-handed pitchers. The left field foul pole stands only 315 feet away, and the left-center gap ends at 362 feet. Back in Yankee Stadium, left field is a similar 318 feet, but left-center occupies a spacious 399 feet.
Pettitte only allowed six home runs over 100.0 innings at Yankee Stadium in 2003, but on the road, the lefty surrendered 16 bombs. For a comparison and possible projection, we can turn to Robertson, the Astros’ main left-handed starter. In 80.1 innings in Minute Maid Park, Roberston was juiced for 16 homers. Over 80.1 innings away from home, Jeriome only allowed seven dingers. When Andy is on his game, the opposition is putting the ball on the ground and not in the air, but the potential increase in home runs allowed pushes Pettitte’s projected ERA up a bit.
Lastly, we will note that the Yankees (877) outscored the Astros (805) by 72 runs in 2003. That’s roughly one-half of a run per game, which sounds minor enough but could result in one or two extra losses for the Astros’ new lefty.
As we stated earlier, though, the positives and negatives surrounding this move basically cancel each other out, and Pettitte is left with the fantasy value that he has held over the previous nine campaigns.
Back in the Bronx, the Yankees currently sport a starting rotation with at least one hole. Javier Vazquez, Mike Mussina, and Jose Contreras will hold three of the spots, and the recently signed David Wells could hold down a fourth position. However, the Yankees will now work feverishly to procure more pitching talent.
The Associated Press is reporting that the Yankees are already close to a deal that would bring in Kevin Brown from the Dodgers, and past rumors have suggested that the Yankees may target Greg Maddux, Sidney Ponson, or Odalis Perez. Whatever the Yankees choose to do, fantasy owners will want to take note, as pitchers in pinstripes are often friendly to fantasy leagues. And, of course, Fanball will be here to provide commentary when George Steinbrenner and the Empire strike back.
oh man this sucks
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=fanball-pettitteheadstohoust&prov=fanball&type=lgns
by Ted Carlson - Associate Editor, Fanball.com
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Despite receiving a more lucrative offer from the New York Yankees, free agent pitcher Andy Pettitte signed a three-year, $31.5 million deal with the Houston Astros on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. Pettitte grew up near Houston, and the pull of his native city proved stronger than the three-year, $39 million contract offered by his incumbent ball club.
The 31-year-old lefty started 33 games in 2003 and compiled a 21-8 record. It marked the second time in nine seasons that Pettitte won more than 20 games. Last season also saw the hurler post a 4.02 ERA and a career-high 180 strikeouts over 208.1 innings. The long-time Yankee has won 149 games, boasts a career 3.94 ERA, holds four World Series rings, and is tied with Braves’ pitcher John Smoltz for the most postseason victories (13) in major league history.
In Houston, Pettitte will likely nestle in between hard-throwing right-handers Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller atop the Astros’ starting rotation. It's a comfortable spot for Andy, who previously found himself wedged between Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina in New York. The Astros have a number of available options to fill out the final two spots, including Jeriome Robertson, Tim Redding, Brandon Duckworth, and possibly Carlos Hernandez.
The Astros surely love the state of their rotation heading into 2004, and with those big three pitchers, the team can not only compete for the National League Central title but also make a deep playoff run.
Fantasy owners should not expect a major change in Pettitte’s value with this move. There are a number of positives and negatives that will be discussed below, but we can safely pencil in Pettitte for 15-to-17 wins, an ERA in the 3.90-to-4.40 range, and 150 strikeouts. Just as in fantasy seasons past, he’ll be a solid fantasy commodity entering 2004 but not an elite starter.
On the positive side of the slate, the move to the National League means no designated hitter. Senior Circuit hurlers often post lower ERAs than their American League brethren due to the DH rule, and Pettitte should prosper by having the opposing pitcher sitting the ninth spot.
Also, although the Astros can’t boast the consistent winning ways of the Yankees, Houston has the makeup of an 85-to-95-win team. Thus, in theory, Pettitte will have ample opportunity to win just as many games as he has in past seasons.
On the flip side, we see a few potential downfalls to Pettitte’s transition. First, the Astros dealt away closer Billy Wagner earlier this offseason. Octavio Dotel, Brad Lidge, and Ricky Stone (amongst others) performed admirably in the Astros’ bullpen last season, but Wagner is one of the game’s dominant closers, as is the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera.
The Yankees’ bullpen surely struggled at times in 2003, but the Bronx Bombers still had an ace to finish off Pettitte’s games. While we like Dotel, he’s not as proven a closer as either Wagner or Rivera. Our questions about the Astros’ bullpen could knock Pettitte’s projected win total down a notch.
Second, the dimensions of Minute Maid Park do not favor left-handed pitchers. The left field foul pole stands only 315 feet away, and the left-center gap ends at 362 feet. Back in Yankee Stadium, left field is a similar 318 feet, but left-center occupies a spacious 399 feet.
Pettitte only allowed six home runs over 100.0 innings at Yankee Stadium in 2003, but on the road, the lefty surrendered 16 bombs. For a comparison and possible projection, we can turn to Robertson, the Astros’ main left-handed starter. In 80.1 innings in Minute Maid Park, Roberston was juiced for 16 homers. Over 80.1 innings away from home, Jeriome only allowed seven dingers. When Andy is on his game, the opposition is putting the ball on the ground and not in the air, but the potential increase in home runs allowed pushes Pettitte’s projected ERA up a bit.
Lastly, we will note that the Yankees (877) outscored the Astros (805) by 72 runs in 2003. That’s roughly one-half of a run per game, which sounds minor enough but could result in one or two extra losses for the Astros’ new lefty.
As we stated earlier, though, the positives and negatives surrounding this move basically cancel each other out, and Pettitte is left with the fantasy value that he has held over the previous nine campaigns.
Back in the Bronx, the Yankees currently sport a starting rotation with at least one hole. Javier Vazquez, Mike Mussina, and Jose Contreras will hold three of the spots, and the recently signed David Wells could hold down a fourth position. However, the Yankees will now work feverishly to procure more pitching talent.
The Associated Press is reporting that the Yankees are already close to a deal that would bring in Kevin Brown from the Dodgers, and past rumors have suggested that the Yankees may target Greg Maddux, Sidney Ponson, or Odalis Perez. Whatever the Yankees choose to do, fantasy owners will want to take note, as pitchers in pinstripes are often friendly to fantasy leagues. And, of course, Fanball will be here to provide commentary when George Steinbrenner and the Empire strike back.
oh man this sucks
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=fanball-pettitteheadstohoust&prov=fanball&type=lgns