Final Grades: Starting Rotation

October 13th, 2009 | by Dave Tobener |

If you don’t have much of an offense to speak of, your starting pitching had better be lights out for any hope of a successful season. The Giants? Not much of an offense in ’09. The Giants’ starting pitching? Lights out. Here are my final grades for the 2009 Giants starting rotation:

Note: I didn’t include Ryan Sadowski, Joe Martinez, or Madison Bumgarner, since the sample size was too small to give a grade. Let’s give them a cumulative grade of…oh….a C+. Good? Good.

Tim Lincecum

15-7, 2.48 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, .206 BAA, 225.1 IP, 261 K, 68 BB

Grade: A

The record may not indicate it, but Lincecum was even better this year than he was during his Cy Young season of ’08. He had 3 less wins, but the progress he made in other categories is staggering: He doubled his complete games (4) and shutouts (2), lowered his hits allowed (182 to 168), runs allowed (72 to 69), walks (84 to 68), ERA (2.62 to 2.48), WHIP (1.17 to 1.05), and batting average against (.221 to .206), and did it all in basically the same number of innings pitched (227 to 225.1). In 32 starts, he recorded strike out totals of 7 or more in 26 of them. He was simply the most dominant pitcher in baseball.

That’s not to say there aren’t areas where Lincecum can improve; for instance, it’s troubling to see how hot weather seems to sap him of his energy so quickly. The knock on Lincecum coming out of college was that his slight frame wouldn’t hold up over the course of a Major League season. That hasn’t been the case so far, but it’s probably a good thing San Francisco isn’t a hot weather climate. That said, it’s not clear how Lincecum might go about fixing that: should he drink more fluids before hot games? Change his jersey after every inning? Have Fred Lewis at the ready with a spray bottle full of ice water? That’d be my suggestion.

He probably won’t win it, but Lincecum is deserving of another Cy Young award this year. He’s the Giants’ MVP, the face of the franchise, and is deserving of an A.

Brad Penny

4-1, 2.59 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, .205 BAA, 41.2 IP, 20 K, 9 BB

Grade: B+

He only made 6 starts with the Giants, but were it not for Penny, the Giants wouldn’t have stayed in contention for as long as they did. He was a Brian Wilson blown save away from being 5-1, and aside from one nightmare start in LA, Penny was arguably the most dominant Giants starter in September. His contributions weren’t limited to just on the field, either. Penny brought an attitude and a swagger to the pitching staff that hadn’t been seen since…jeez, I don’t know…John Montefusco, maybe? The point is, it’s been a while since the Giants’ staff has had that kind of passion. Penny was demonstrative, he yelled, he walked off the mound like he knew no one could touch him; basically, he did everything he used to do in LA, only this time I didn’t hate him for it.

After a disastrous stint in Boston, and after his reputation was trashed by the likes of Larry Bowa in LA, the case can be made that Penny needs the Giants as much as the Giants need Penny. It makes sense for the Giants to do everything they can to bring Penny back in 2010.

Matt Cain

14-8, 2.89 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .232 BAA, 217.2 IP, 171 K, 73 BB

Grade: B

This was almost the year Cain put it all together. He was completely dominant over the first half of the season, going 10-2 with a 2.38 ERA, earning his first All-Star selection in the process. Over the second half, however, Cain regressed, going 4-6 with a 3.49 ERA; more importantly, Cain blew up when the Giants needed him most, posting a 2-3 record with a 5.22 ERA in September. He admitted to pressing down the stretch, and it was evident in those starts.

Still, it was a successful season for Cain. Like Lincecum, he improved his numbers almost across the board, including lowering his ERA by almost a full run. His strikeout totals were down, but Cain seems to work best when he’s pitching to contact. When he falls in love with the strikeout, he gets himself into trouble, so a lower total in that category actually suggests Cain is becoming more of a complete pitcher. His next task is to figure out how to be the pitcher he was in the first half of ’09 over the course of an entire season; once he does that, the Giants will have the most dominant 1-2 rotation punch in baseball.

Expect to hear Cain’s name thrown around in trade rumors this winter, too. Since Brian Sabean would have to be on an acid trip to trade Lincecum (though he did almost trade him for Alex Rios a few years ago), teams are going to be asking for Cain in any potential deal. One would think it would take a monster deal to get the Giants to part with Cain, and even then, it’d be hard to justify trading a pitcher of his pedigree in any deal. Keep him.

Barry Zito

10-13, 4.03 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, .250 BAA, 192 IP, 154 K, 81 BB

Grade: C+

Forget about his contract for a second…ok, I couldn’t do it, either. But Zito deserves credit for completely turning his season (career?) around after a disastrous April and a lousy overall first half. In August, he was one of the best pitchers in the NL, posting a 1.93 ERA in 6 starts. He made significant strides in other areas, posting his highest number of strikeouts since 2005, his lowest number of walks since 2004, and his lowest ERA since 2006; also, he threw his first complete game since 2003. Zito posted a sub-.500 record for the third straight year, but lousy run support contributed to that: he received a loss or a no decision in 14 starts where he gave up 3 runs or less.

If it weren’t for his ridiculous contract, Zito would probably be considered one of the better back-of-the-rotation starters in the league. He kept the Giants in a lot of ballgames this year, and was arguably their best pitcher in the late summer. He even got a curtain call from the AT&T crowd, who chanted “Barry!” for the first time since Bonds was still around. His record doesn’t indicate it, but this was Zito’s breakout year in San Francisco, and it’s time for fans to start appreciating him for what he is…since he’s here for another four years.

Jonathan Sanchez

8-12, 4.24 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, .221 BAA, 163.1 IP, 177 K, 88 BB

Grade: C

Throwing the Giants’ first no-hitter since 1976 should automatically earn an A, right? Not quite. The no-hitter was nice, and gave a glimpse of the kind of pitcher Sanchez could be if he could just put it all together; unfortunately, he couldn’t over the course of the entire season. He was frustratingly inconsistent, lasting less than 5 innings in nearly 25% of his starts. His stuff was absolutely filthy, but walks and high pitch counts caused him to leave games early and tax the bullpen (including his no-hitter, Sanchez lasted 7 or more innings only 3 times in ’09).

If the Giants were to trade for a bat this winter, Sanchez seems to be the obvious piece to dangle at another team. He’s left-handed, can be unhittable at times (literally, I guess), and shows just enough potential to make people think he could be a top-of-the-rotation starter. At the same time, Sanchez is no longer a prospect. He’ll be 27 next season, and it’s time to fish or cut bait (I was going to use another expression involving a pot, but it’s probably not safe for Fanball). Potential can only go so far.

Randy Johnson

8-6, 4.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .262 BAA, 96 IP, 86 K, 31 BB

Grade: C

It’s a shame a shoulder injury in early July wrecked The Unit’s season, because chances are he’d have helped quite a bit over the last three months. He was adequate when he did pitch, and showed flashes of his old dominant self at times. Johnson came in to 2009 needing 5 wins for 300, and insisted that getting 300 wins was secondary to getting the Giants into the playoffs. He notched his 300th in early June, then showed he was a man of his word by continuing to pitch hard, including as a reliever after his shoulder healed. Johnson’s main contribution, though, was in the clubhouse. It’s probably no coincidence that Cain had the best year of his career with Johnson as a teammate, and it seemed like Lincecum, Sanchez, and others absorbed a lot from the future hall of famer. It’s highly, highly unlikely that Johnson will be back in San Francisco next year as a player, but it would be nice to see him join the organization in some capacity after he retires.

Up next: bullpen grades.

Rating: 10.0/10 (4 votes cast)

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