Jeremy Guthrie is a good spot start against an inconsistent Tigers lineup.
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Here’s to a successful and abbreviated second edition of Extra Innings.
Chances are if you picked up or started the pitchers I recommended in last week’s Extra Innings, you gained some serious ground, or at least had a substantial week. They included two near-perfect games (Hiroki Kuroda, Jon Garland) and a dominating 13-strikeout performance by tantalizer Dave Bush. A look at the recommended seven starts from last week:
53 2/3IP 6 Wins 1.88 ERA 0.67 WHIP 43K
It’s easy to pick easy disaster starts, but even going out on a limb, the recommended sits pitched decent last week. Spending the weekend in northern Michigan, I myself didn’t follow the advice I gave to sit James Shields at home, and that was one of the best sits I advised. A look at last week’s recommended sits:
39 2/3IP 0 Wins 3.63 ERA 1.69 WHIP 32K
With that said, six of seven wins along with those peripherals is more than you can ask for from that number of starts typically. Between being stranded from society in the wilderness on vacation the past weekend, and a lack of worthwhile starts Thursday, here are some Extra Innings to eat, or not.
Friday, July 18
Start: Jeremy Guthrie (vs. DET), Tim Redding (vs. ATL)
Sit: Braden Looper (vs. SD), Aaron Laffey (@ SEA)
Saturday, July 19
Start: Oliver Perez (@ CIN), Aaron Cook (vs. PIT)
Sit: Randy Wolf (@ STL), Todd Wellemeyer (vs. SD)
Notes: One of several games FOX features Saturday, you’ll notice I’ve warned against both Randy Wolf and Todd Wellemeyer; I’m just not seeing a pitching duel here the way that the splits line up…While I recommend Tim Redding, I look for it to be a hit or miss start. Atlanta has a tendency to hit righties well, but Redding has faired well on the road…I would be cautious trotting out Kevin Slowey against Texas, even at home. He’s coming off two shaky starts, and this is not the same team from Arlington that the control specialist dominated last season…I don’t want to be responsible for any disastrous ERAs, but dare I say Jarrod Washburn might make for an interesting start against Cleveland. His ERA has settled around 3.00 since the beginning of June.
I’ll be back in a few days for a full slate of pitchers for next week. Take care.
