It wasn't a quality start (officially), but Brandon Webb hurled 7.0 IP and allowed 4 ER to win his 15th game of the year. Talk about consistency. A look at his last three years shows a slowly improving ERA (3.54, 3.10, 2.99), WHIP (1.26, 1.13, 1.17), and strikeouts (172, 178, 184 and counting). In 2005 and 2006 he made exactly 33 starts and so far this year, he has 31 with a couple of weeks left in the regular season. He's always in the top-tier of pitchers drafted, but I think he moves up even more going into 2008 and will likely be in the top-3 conversation (Santana, Peavy, Webb).
Chad Billingsly wasn't expected to get the start, but he filled-in for injured Derek Lowe and did a pretty good job. He went 6.0 IP and gave up just 1 ER and 5 K's and 4 BB's to earn his 11th W of the season. In fact, he has gone 6 decisions without a loss and 4 W's. He was touted as a big-time prospect in the Dodgers organization and he hasn't failed to disappoint, going 11-4 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and .233 BAA. Add a K/9 of 8.6 in there too.
Jeremy Hermida has had a modest season for the Marlins this year, but will enter 2008 as a solid sleeper with some power. He's hitting .289 with a .862 OPS and a 0.67 FPI in 2007. He hit his 16th HR of the season yesterday, bringing his HR/AB rate to 22.5. At that rate, he definitely has the ability to put up some big power numbers when he gets regular playing time. What I especially like about Hermida is that he hits lefties and righties equally well. And when I say equal, I mean it - against lefties .289, against righties .289. He definitely has more HR against righties with 12, but his HR/AB is essentially the same (20.8 against lefties compared to 23.1 against righties).
Three straight and counting. Chipper Jones continues to miss playing time during an important fantasy stretch due to a strained muscle in his right side. He said he's going to try and play this weekend at Washington, but the gigantic ice pack surrounding his abdominal should raise some red flags. You'll have to decide if your back-up 3B at 100% is better than a Chipper Jones at 75%. One thing to help you with the decision is that he said it feels better when he swings from the left-side compared to the right side. The upcoming Nationals series features lefty Matt Chico on Friday and two righties on Saturday and Sunday in Jason Bergmann and Shawn Hill. With everything we know, I would keep him reserved for Friday and then play him throughout the weekend if he's back in action.
The Cubs, Cub fans, and Ryan Dempster have survived another full season of 9th inning nail-biting. I can't believe he's still the closer on the northside of Chicago. If you had asked me before the season if Lou Piniella would have stuck-it-out with Dempster, I would've said "no way." Instead, Dempster has converted 26 saves while posting a 3.97 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and .217 BAA. Last night was another nail-biter, but he got the save (his first since Sept 2nd). He gave up 2 hits, a walk, and an earned run before shutting the door on Houston.
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