Penny vs. Contreras
There has been some discussion about Brad Penny and Jose Contreras.
Other than the W-L I, at least, was surprised by their stat comparisons.
Penny
5.61 ERA, 131 2/3 IP, 160 hits, 17 HR, 42 walks, 89 strikeouts
Contreras
5.42 ERA, 114 2/3 IP, 121 hits, 11 HR, 45 walks, 89 strikeouts
Wow. Well, hopefully Contreras will turn out to be a good clubhouse guy. My feeling is J.Tracy nixed wanting to deal with Penny after prior experiences? (as you mentioned in another thread)
Just a minor detail missing from the story: Penny is 14-3 with a 3.06 ERA against the Rockies and may start against them in next series. He is 5-3 with a 3.28 ERA against the Giants. He is 3-3 with a 3.56 ERA against Dodgers. Not to mention he is 8-3 with a 2.14 ERA against the DBacks. He has pitched on all the mounds in the NL West and knows most of the hitters. He is having a down year but coming back to the NL West should help him regain his old form.
Sorry I still am not hot on Penny. I will admit in spring training I asked Tracy about him though. But hindsight is always 20/20 so I admit I was wrong then. Looks like Penny was ok in the past and so was Contreras. They have both had ups and downs, whether injuries or mental blocks or tempers.
I say he gives the Giants the same as what Contreras does for the Rockies and these moves will be a wash. Nothing to base on besides opinion of where these guys are both at in careers and their makeup.
This will come down to the remaining guys on the rosters for both teams.
Two huge differences.
1) Penny pitched in a strong AL East, Contreras pitched in a weak AL Central.
2) Penny signed a minor league deal with San Francisco. Contreras cost the Rockies a player that I believe had higher trade value than this.
Townie, I agree to disagree on them with you. I see your points on the divisions but still we shall see how it all pans out.
Townie, one other huge difference.
Penny wanted to come to Colorado and went to San Francisco after Rockies had no interest for whatever reasons.
Were the Rockies correct in their decision? Time will tell, but obviously it was a choice they made, not something they had to settle for.
I will, however, be very interested to see how Penny handles being spurned when and if he does face the Rockies.
I’ll be the happiest person here when Contreras proves me wrong.
Tracy, any truth to the rumor that Jim Tracy didn’t want Brad Penny on the ballclub because he a clubhouse cancer?
TexasSteve, best way to put it is Tracy is familiar with Penny from when he managed him with the Dodgers.
Tracy Ringolsby said:
Contreras is a free agent after the season. This is the final year of a three-year deal.
So, does this mean that if the Rockies do not re-sign Contreras and someone else signs him, we will receive a compensation pick in the 2010 draft?
Don, don’t know if he would bve a Type B or Type C player. But I would assume Rockies won’t offer arbitration, either, so odds are no.
OK, after getting home and having the chance to look at some stats, I’m o.k. with acquiring Contreras. I would have preferred Penny and Garland (in that order), but Garland really wasn’t enough better to warrant that $2.5 million buyout. I also was probably higher on Hynick than most others. And I still don’t expect him to be very good. But better than Russ Ortiz? Umm, yeah.
But I’m not buying the “money had nothing to do with it” line. Money probably had everything to do with it, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of — one month of Garland really isn’t worth a halfway decent prospect PLUS his prorated salary PLUS a 2.5 million buyout. Management would do better to just explain that rather than saying that money wasn’t an issue.
Here’s to hoping that Contreras is better than the old once-hyped plus-sized Cuban that we acquired about this time last year: Livan Hernandez. To be fair, Contreras actually is a very talented pitcher. He’s just never been able to harness that talent into consistently winning. Maybe the Rockies can turn him around. They’ve done well with De La Rosa. And, to a point, Marquis has turned his career around here. (the Cubs didn’t even want Marquis in their rotation). Hopefully, Contreras can do the same. And we only need him to be good for a few starts while we wait for Cook to come back.
Hey Tracy, what has happened to Sal Fasano’s power that we saw a number of times in spring training? I’d been hoping that his HR power we saw back then would warrant adding him as another right handed bat, although he has hit only 3 HRs with the Sky Sox. I realize Paul Phillips is ahead of him and has been called up….and by the way, I’m not related to Fasano….lol….in case you were wondering.
I’d just like to see us with more right handed hitting, so when we face the LHP’s like Zito, Kershaw, Doug Davis, [all in our division] and we’ve loaded up the lineup with right-handed hitters, we’d still have more right handed hitters to come off the bench with. Any solid ideas?
One of the strengths of the Rockies for years has been to play well in September when they could add reinforcements….those callups seemed to make managers look like geniuses as they kept playing hard…..well, at least, brilliant in September…..lol.
Don, the batting practice fastballs down the middle are not as common once the calendar turns to April.
When i wrote you earlier about Sal Fasano, i didn’t realize that Paul Phillips had only one HR all season in AAA. Doesn’t exactly sound like either of them will provide much thump, although it does sound like Fasano has a little more than Phillips. In an interview i heard with O’Dowd, as well as another one with Jim Tracy yesterday, it sounded like they are both concerned with FLEXIBILITY with numerous options as each game plays out, so I’d think it would make some sense to have 4 catchers in September since they could all be pitch hit for from time to time. What do you think about this and has anyone brought the idea of having 4 catchers up to Tracy?