I watched the whole game yesterday and cannot say enough about how dominant Santana was. 15 of the 17 strikeouts were swinging. When you get 15 swinging strikeouts and you don't throw a curveball, you are one helluva pitcher.
So, after next year Johan becomes a free agent. Carlos Zambrano just signed a 5 year, $90MM extension with the Cubs. Compare stats:
Zambrano -- 14-9, 139 Ks, 3.86 ERA
Santana -- 13-9, 191 Ks, 2.88 ERA
Santana, of course, pitches in the American League (the better overall league) and faces 9 hitters a game versus 8 + the pitcher. Well, Zambrano has more wins, right?
Earned runs Zambrana allowed in games he started that Cubs lost:
5, 6, 5, 2, 4, 7, 6, 1, 3, 1, 7, 6 -- 53 total (4.417 per loss)
Santana's earned runs allowed in Twins losses where he started:
4, 4, 3, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 6, 3, 3 -- 35 total (3.182 per loss)
My point -- if Santana played for a team that could hit the ball AT ALL he might very well have 18 or 19 wins by now. Unless he allows less than 3 runs, the Twins have basically no chance to win. So, put the guy on the Yankees or the Red Sox, he is even more impressive.
But if Zambrano is going to get $18,000,000 a year, the Twins will have to pay $22-25MM a year to keep Santana. That just ain't gonna happen.
So, I will enjoy the Venezuelan sensation for another year and then hope the Twins can get some hitters when they dump his salary in the middle of next year.
1 comments:
I immediately thougth of Santana when I heard abotu Zambrano's signing.
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