The problem, in my opinion, has been two fold:
1) Starting pitchers in our league are undervalued compared with the real world of baseball
2) horrendous starts are not punished enough (in the real world an horrendous start means your team loses; in Smokey Louis, you can still get a couple of points)
So, here is what I propose. I thought the comments area would be a good place to debate the pros and cons of this.
Eliminate the +4 bonus points for pitching the first inning
Keep the +4 for a win
1 point for each complete inning pitched
1 bonus point for each complete inning starting with the 6th inning
20 points for a shut out, 30 points for a no hitter and 40 points for a perfect game (currently it is 15, 25, & 35)
E.g., on May 5, 2010, Barry Zito-SP-SF pitches 7 innings against the Florida Marlins and gives up 1 earned run and earns the win. He would score 12 points under the new system.
E.g., on May 4, 2010, Clayton Kershaw-SP-LAD pitches 1 & 1/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers and gives up 7 earned runs. He would score -6 under the new rules.
Rationale: the new rules would make SPs, especially those that tend to have quality starts, more valuable in our league thus bringing their worth more in line with real baseball. It would also punish a bad start and bring it more in line with the negative points received for a blown save.
14 comments:
I see some positives in this proposal but will want to mull over the additional point for shutouts, etc. I agree that pitchers are undervalued in some instances and overvalued on others and that ther should be a balance.
I also beleive that relief pitchers are ALWAYS overvalued and if we are going to change the pitcher rules (or consider changing them) all of the pitchers should be in consideration.
One other comment regardign blown saves--in many instances a blown save does not result in negative points (pitch one inning, have one earned run blow the save---still get 1 positive point). This is out of sync in the valuing of a save. If a 1 inning save is worth 6 then how is a blown save worth 1?
DC,
I am with you on all accept for the bonuses for shutouts, no-hitters, and perfect games. I say keep those in tact as is, but, I do like the idea for 1 point for each complete inning pitched and one bonus point for each starting with the 6th inning.
I do agree with Ron in that blown saves should be more detrimental to a team's point totals for the week. Perhaps
Perhaps we could make it -2 for a blown save and -2 for a relief loss...
Mike Chopp is a Pudknocker
Ron $ DW--I am not wedded to increasing the bonus points for a shut out, no hitter, perfect game.
I disagree about RPs. How many times have we each had an RP give up runs, blow a save, get the loss, & not record an out & cost us the game? They are punished for horrendous perfomances. A -5 from a closer that should have had +6 (an 11 point swing) can easily cost a team the game.
...and yes, Mike Chopp is a huge pudknocker
Dave-
I do NOT support your proposal for the following reasons:
-by eliminating the starting pitcher (isn't it +5) points for getting through the first, we would actually be making the starting pitchers MORE risky vs. other positions.
-Your proposal significantly benefits pitchers on good teams that get a lot of wins, not necessarily good starting pitchers on average teams.
-If we want to improve the value of starting pitchers vs other positions, I suggest that we increase the points for making a start by +1. Otherwise, I recommend keeping the starting pitcher points the same and not changing.
Thanks!
Sean Roarty
I am still not in favor of making a change to this rule. Thanks.
Sean
In light of the comments, something to consider: quality starts.
I believe in the real-world at least 6 innings pitched and 3 er or less qualifies as a quality start. Perhaps rewarding such efforts with 2 bonus points could add value to pitchers without making that value dependent on team?
So if Kershaw goes 7 innings and gives up 1 er and gets the loss: 5 points for the start, 2 points for innings, 2 points for a quality start, -1 for the er = 8 points. This would be 6 under the old format.
DK
I've always been in favor of SP getting one point per inning. If we're going to award bonus points, I believe they should have to complete six innings first to qualify for a so-called quality start. Thanks!
V
What if we kept all of the other starting pitcher rules the same as they currently are today, and just add a +1 point bonus for each full inning pitched beginning with the 6th inning. This is a simple change that rewards a starting pitcher for going deeper into the game.
Sorry...the idea above for the +1 bonus for each inning beginning with the 6th inning for starting pitchers was proposed by Sean.
I will vote no on the pitching proposal, however I do see its merits. I agree with Ron when he states that we should look at relief pitchers as well. So, in my opinion, I would either want to leave pitching points as they are presently, while looking at revamping sp and rp in the future. Mike
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