At what point does the MLB reallign so we don't have six teams in one division?
Chicago Cubs
| NAME | IP | FIP+ |
|---|---|---|
| Kerry Wood | 66.3 | 194 |
| Scott Eyre | 11.3 | 148 |
| Jeff Samardzija | 27.7 | 145 |
| Rich Harden | 71 | 138 |
| Ryan Dempster | 206.7 | 124 |
| Carlos Marmol | 87.3 | 121 |
| Angel Guzman | 9.7 | 108 |
| Sean Gallagher | 58.7 | 105 |
| Randy Wells | 4.3 | 103 |
| Sean Marshall | 65.3 | 103 |
| Michael Wuertz | 44.7 | 102 |
| Bob Howry | 70.7 | 102 |
| Neal Cotts | 35.7 | 102 |
| Carlos Zambrano | 188.7 | 101 |
| Ted Lilly | 204.7 | 99 |
| Chad Gaudin | 27.3 | 98 |
| Kevin Hart | 27.7 | 98 |
| Jason Marquis | 167 | 95 |
| Jon Lieber | 46.7 | 88 |
| Rich Hill | 19.7 | 73 |
| Jose Ascanio | 5.7 | 68 |
| Chad Fox | 3.3 | 48 |
| Carmen Pignatiello | 0.7 | 27 |
Kerry Wood missed some time due to injury this season as well, but for the most part he stayed on the field and excelled. 66.3 innings of 194 FIP+ ball is pretty impressive. Throw in Jeff Samardzija and Carlos Marmol and the Cubs bullpen is extremely solid for years to come, assuming that Wood does re-sign in Chicago. Rich Harden or Ryan Dempster were the Cubs best starter, but unfortunately for the Cubs only one other starter, Carlos Zambrano finished with a FIP+ over 100, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis, and potentially some combination of Chad Gaudin or Rich Hill will need to rise to the occasion next season. Chad Fox's attempt at a return did not go well or last long.
Cincinnati Reds
| NAME | IP | FIP+ |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Bray | 47 | 135 |
| Edinson Volquez | 196 | 124 |
| Jeremy Affeldt | 78.3 | 121 |
| Francisco Cordero | 70.3 | 120 |
| Jared Burton | 58.7 | 118 |
| Daniel Herrera | 7.3 | 112 |
| David Weathers | 69.3 | 108 |
| Ramon Ramirez | 27 | 101 |
| Bronson Arroyo | 200 | 99 |
| Mike Lincoln | 70.3 | 99 |
| Matt Belisle | 29.7 | 97 |
| Aaron Harang | 184.3 | 95 |
| Johnny Cueto | 174 | 91 |
| Kent Mercker | 13.7 | 91 |
| Nick Masset | 17.3 | 89 |
| Gary Majewski | 40 | 87 |
| Josh Fogg | 78.3 | 74 |
| Todd Coffey | 19.3 | 73 |
| Homer Bailey | 36.3 | 71 |
| Jon Adkins | 3.7 | 67 |
| Daryl Thompson | 14.3 | 67 |
| Adam Pettyjohn | 4 | 43 |
This just in: Edison Volquez is really, really good. The two bullpen additions were pretty solid as well in Jeremy Affeldt (a free agent this off-season as well) and Francisco Cordero. You'll note that most of the Reds' above average pitchers were relievers, including Daniel Herrera who was the other part of the Josh Hamilton deal. Bronson Arroyo delivered about 200 innings of average ball, and Aaron Harang was slightly worse, as was Jonny Cueto. Homer Bailey and Josh Fogg were pretty awful to tally more than 100 innings, even worse: Fogg logged 3/4ths of them.
Houston Astros
| NAME | IP | FIP+ |
|---|---|---|
| LaTroy Hawkins | 21 | 295 |
| Jose Valverde | 72 | 124 |
| Chris Sampson | 117.3 | 120 |
| Geoff Geary | 64 | 120 |
| Wandy Rodriguez | 137.3 | 119 |
| Doug Brocail | 68.7 | 118 |
| Roy Oswalt | 208.7 | 113 |
| Alberto Arias | 8 | 111 |
| Randy Wolf | 70.7 | 111 |
| Fernando Nieve | 10.7 | 111 |
| Brian Moehler | 150 | 94 |
| Wesley Wright | 55.7 | 89 |
| Jack Cassel | 30.3 | 85 |
| Tim Byrdak | 55.3 | 80 |
| Chad Paronto | 10.3 | 79 |
| Shawn Chacon | 85.7 | 76 |
| Brandon Backe | 166.7 | 74 |
| Runelv. Hernandez | 19.3 | 74 |
| Dave Borkowski | 36 | 74 |
| Oscar Villarreal | 37.7 | 57 |
I think LaTroy Hawkins may have avoided the non-roster invitee tag with his 21 innings in Houston. Chris Sampson is still going to be a steal for some team if they can pry him from Ed Wade's hands. Roy Oswalt recovered from a rough start to finish above average, although not by as much as you would expect. Serious question: how did Brandon Backe rack up 167 innings for Houston?
Milwaukee Brewers
| NAME | IP | FIP+ |
|---|---|---|
| Todd Coffey | 7.3 | 202 |
| Julian Tavarez | 7.3 | 172 |
| C.C. Sabathia | 130.7 | 168 |
| Ben Sheets | 198.3 | 125 |
| Brian Shouse | 51.3 | 113 |
| Salomon Torres | 80 | 104 |
| Yovani Gallardo | 24 | 103 |
| Manny Parra | 166 | 102 |
| Zach Jackson | 3.7 | 102 |
| Mitch Stetter | 25.3 | 97 |
| Seth McClung | 105.3 | 96 |
| Mark DiFelice | 19 | 96 |
| Guillermo Mota | 57 | 96 |
| Carlos Villanueva | 108.3 | 94 |
| Dave Bush | 185 | 86 |
| Tim Dillard | 14.3 | 83 |
| Jeff Suppan | 177.7 | 79 |
| David Riske | 42.3 | 78 |
| Eric Gagne | 46.3 | 71 |
| Derrick Turnbow | 6.3 | 44 |
The Brewers made restructuring their bullpen a top priority last off-season, which is why it's somewhat ironic that their top two contributors (in terms of FIP+ at least) from the pen were late season acquisitions Julian Tavarez and Todd Coffey while Eric Gagne and David Riske were two of the worst. Derrick Turnbow was also just pitiful. I believe I called their bullpen one of the most volatile I'd seen purely from the amount of boom or bust types, and boy they delivered. Salomon Torres was a bit above average, and there's really not much more to say about CC Sabathia, he was just straight up amazing at times. Ben Sheets was also very good, almost topping the 200 innings mark as well.
Pittsburgh Pirates
| NAME | IP | FIP+ |
|---|---|---|
| Ty Taubenheim | 6 | 127 |
| Damaso Marte | 46.7 | 125 |
| Matt Capps | 53.7 | 124 |
| Tyler Yates | 73.3 | 100 |
| Paul Maholm | 206.3 | 99 |
| Romulo Sanchez | 13.3 | 98 |
| Jesse Chavez | 15 | 97 |
| Zach Duke | 185 | 93 |
| John Grabow | 76 | 91 |
| Phil Dumatrait | 78.7 | 90 |
| Ian Snell | 164.3 | 89 |
| Jeff Karstens | 51.3 | 85 |
| Yoslan Herrera | 18.3 | 85 |
| Jason Davis | 34 | 84 |
| Denny Bautista | 41.3 | 82 |
| T.J. Beam | 45.7 | 81 |
| Sean Burnett | 56.7 | 81 |
| Franquelis Osoria | 60.7 | 80 |
| Ross Ohlendorf | 22.7 | 77 |
| Tom Gorzelanny | 105.3 | 64 |
| Craig Hansen | 15.7 | 60 |
| Matt Morris | 22.3 | 58 |
| Marino Salas | 17 | 54 |
| Evan Meek | 13 | 53 |
| Jimmy Barthmaier | 10.3 | 50 |
| John V. Benschoten | 22.3 | 48 |
One day Pirates fans are going to look back at their 2008 pitching staff like Rays fans do their 2007 staff. Outside of Matt Capps there was not much positive happening post-trade deadline. Paul Maholm ate a ton of innings at an average rate at least. Tyler Yates was okay too, but otherwise there's not much to say. They will be better next year, I have faith in Neal Huntington.
St. Louis Cardinals
| NAME | IP | FIP+ |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Motte | 11 | 418 |
| Josh Kinney | 7 | 336 |
| Chris Carpenter | 15.3 | 141 |
| Aaron Miles | 1 | 134 |
| Russ Springer | 50.3 | 118 |
| Adam Wainwright | 132 | 110 |
| Kyle Lohse | 200 | 107 |
| Kyle McClellan | 75.7 | 106 |
| Brad Thompson | 64.7 | 101 |
| Anthony Reyes | 14.7 | 99 |
| Christopher Perez | 41.7 | 95 |
| Ron Villone | 50 | 95 |
| Todd Wellemeyer | 191.7 | 92 |
| Braden Looper | 199 | 91 |
| Ryan Franklin | 78.7 | 90 |
| Joel Pineiro | 148.7 | 87 |
| Mike Parisi | 23 | 86 |
| Jason Isringhausen | 42.7 | 85 |
| Randy Flores | 25.7 | 85 |
| Mark Worrell | 5.7 | 73 |
| Mark Mulder | 1.7 | 69 |
| Mitchell Boggs | 34 | 65 |
| Kelvin Jimenez | 24 | 59 |
| Jaime Garcia | 16 | 58 |
And then there's the Cardinals. Aaron Miles pitched one inning and has a 134 FIP+, gotta love that. Kyle Lohse getting a big deal looks awful using your pitching metric of choice, 4/41 for a 107 FIP+? Ew, and consider that the Cardinals dealt Anthony Reyes, who probably puts up near similar numbers given the opportunity, good get by the Indians. Jason Isringhausen enters the free agency market with one of his worst seasons.