Quote:
Originally posted by str8outavannuys
Hey Thurgreed.
Remember back in October when I wrote on here that Contreras was done?
Contreras is done.
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I do. And he certainly looks like shit. But I'm not willing to give up on him already. He pitched very well for a decent stretch last season. He's not focusing and apparently has absolutely zero concentration when runners are on base.
This is from a Neyer article on ESPN:
"Contreras, on the other hand, doesn't have Mussina's track record so we can't just assume he'll be a Cy Young candidate. If you weren't paying attention last season, though, it was easy to miss how well Contreras actually pitched. In 71 innings with the big club, Contreras allowed only 52 hits (four home runs) and struck out 72 batters.
Ron Shandler wrote, 'From a skills perspective, this debut justified last winter's bidding war. ... Assuming good health, he will emerge as an elite-level SP.'
Baseball Prospectus wasn't quite so enthusiastic. Here's the entire comment from this year's book:
'Contreras showed electric stuff at times, but also had some trouble commanding it, a flaw that caused him to struggle against the more patient teams he faced. Fortunately for him, six of his nine starts were against the Devil Rays, Tigers, Orioles, and Reds, and he had a 1.48 ERA against those teams. He misses bats, which is a big plus in front of a defense that misses balls. Contreras will likely settle in as a mid-rotation starter, but an inconsistent one, mixing game scores of 91 and 19 with frustrating frequency.'
Well, Contreras hasn't pitched against the Devil Rays, Tigers, Orioles, or Reds this season (not that all those teams are pushovers this season, anyway). Instead he's pitched against the White Sox and the Red Sox (twice). All those Sox are patient, and Contreras has walked nine batters in 11 innings. More damaging, though, have been the 17 hits, including four home runs."
If he can get ahold of his control and stop tipping his pitches, things may change. Although, it may be hard to concentrate on baseball when your family is in Cuba and there seems to be no hope of getting them out any time soon.
It's still only April, man. I'll give him another five starts before I pee on him.
TM
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