Bartolo Colon- LAA- Cold- For only the second time this season Colon failed to record a quality start. He lost his first game of 2007 by giving up 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2 in 4-1/3 IP. There are indications that perhaps Colon is not completely recovered from his torn rotator cuff. His ability to garner strikeouts has been very inconsistent. It's been either fest or famine for Colon. In 4 of his starts he has gotten 2 or fewer Ks, while in the other 3 he has recorded 5 or more. In fact, his second start of the season, when he struck out 11 Devil Rays, skews his 2007 numbers. If you remove that game from his stats, his K ratio goes from .65 K/IP (comparable to his good seasons) to .47 (worse than last year.) Recently, Colon's K/BB ratio has taken a dive as well. In his last 3 starts it is 9/7 and 6 of the strikeouts came three starts ago. It's not a case of complete lack of control, as Colon has thrown 171 strikes in his 242 pitches in his last 3 starts. It looks like Colon is just inconsistent. He will go through stretches where he will lose the plate and give up a walk. He also seems to have lost the ability to put a batter away. Perhaps he was rushed back a little too soon.
Chone Figgins- LAA- Cold- A day after breaking a 6-game hitless streak, Figgins took the doughnut again, the only Angel who failed to get a hit against the Tigers. He has not been able to get untracked this since starting his injury-delayed season. Figgins has an uncharacteristically low .33 Batting EYE this season, drawing only 4 walks while striking out 12 times in 73 at bats. The lack of times on base has also negatively impacted his steals, as he only has 3 in 20 games. Figgins has been a victim of extreme bad luck, as his BHIP was a freakishly low .078 when the Fantistical Player Charts were last updated Tuesday. That part should start to even out, but he still needs to get back his sense of the strike zone and draw some walks to return to having some positive fantasy value.
Brian Roberts- BAL- Hot- Roberts went 3-for-3 with 2 walks and a stolen base to continue his torrid May. He has failed to get a hit in only 1 game this month and has a .383 batting average. The biggest indicator that jumps out is his 1.44 Batting EYE. Roberts isn't showing the power he had in his breakout season of 2005, but is contributing in other facets of the game.
Curt Schilling- BOS- Cold- Schilling had thrown 118 pitches in his prior outing and seemed to have suffered yesterday because of it. He was touched for 6 runs (5 earned) on 12 hits in 6 IP. Schilling just seemed very hittable, as control wasn't an issue. He walked no one, struck out 3 and threw 64 of his 93 pitches for strikes. Schilling just didn't have enough to finish batters off. His problems may not just be isolated to overwork from his last outing. In his last 3 starts, Schilling has an ERA of 5.71 and WHIP of 2.02. His next start will definitely be one to keep an eye on.
Jon Garland- CHA- Cold- Garland was in quality start territory after 6 innings against the A's. He had allowed 2 runs on 8 hits and a walk while striking out 4 and throwing 107 pitches. Manager Ozzie Guillen tried to stretch Garland some more, with an off day allowing him and extra day of rest before his next start. The results weren't pretty. He allowed a single, then homer to the first two batters he faced before getting a ground out and then being removed. It looks like Garland pitched past his point of fatigue, ending up with 114 pitches. He threw 16 pitches in the 6th inning, but 11 of them were in an extended match up with Mark Ellis, before he got Ellis to ground out. Pitching too long or when tired is not a good thing. Hopefully the extra rest will allow Garland to avoid any carryover effect.
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