Mike Pelfrey won his second game yesterday, but it was far from a quality start. In 5.1 innings he gave up 10 hits, walked two, and hit a batter. That gave him a WHIP of 2.25, significantly higher than the National League average of 1.40. WHIP is calculated by adding Walks and Hits Allowed and then dividing that sum by Innings Pitched.
Amazingly, he just gave up two runs though he threw 99 pitches (61 were strikes) or almost 20 an inning. That's a lot of pitches.
Pelfrey had an interesting response when asked about his performance. He told the New York Daily News: "Anytime you give up 10 hits and only two runs, luck's gotta be involved a little."
In the 11 games Pelfrey's started this season, he's had just three quality starts (27%). In comparison, Tom Glavine has 21 quality starts in 29 starts (72%), El Duque 17 in 23 (74%), John Maine 15 in 28 (54%), and Oliver Perez 14 in 25 (56%).
When Pelfrey fails to notch a quality start he places an extra burden upon the bullpen. Luckily, last night, the bullpen did their job, limiting the Astros to three hits and a run over the final 3.2 innings.
Talk about a true pessimist. No where in your story do you even say the Mets won, let alone a blowout. True, Pelfrey wasn't at his "Atlanta" best, but I've already remarked that his performance was better that his statline. Other than Berkman's 1st inning HR, which was almost caught by Beltran, it seemed like every hit he gave up was either a bloop or a grounder that sniffed out a hole. And that's why he gave up only 1 run after the homer despite 9 more hits. It was a singles parade. It would also be remiss if you cite the 10 hits and not credit Pelfrey for working out of some tight spots. Perhaps earlier this season 10 hits would have resulted in 8 runs, but now it's only 2. Shows me he's maturing. I'm not extremely worried about his performances, anyway, because more than likely his season will end after September and the guys you mentioned (Glavine, Perez, Duque) will be the ones comprising the Mets rotation in the postseason.
ReplyDeleteThat's why I appreciate readers like you. If I focus on one aspect of a player's performance it doesn't mean that there aren't other ways of looking at it. Comments such as yours help to broaden the perspective.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Pelfrey's biggest issue right now is his tendency to get his pitch count too high before he can qualify for a quality start. I'd like to see him start throwing fewer pitches per inning so he can last for more innings.
Pelf is young...I call it the young guy syndrome, which we are seeing as evidenced with Maine and Pea right now. These are the guys who aren't seasoned enough and tend to get into jams and can work themselves out but are easily rattled. That's why we hardly ever see guys like Glav or Duque implode. so in any case, while Pelf may not have been as "impressive" as he was in Atlanta, he was good enough for the win and now he has to work on his pitch counts.
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