Are any of our Starters even going to get 200 innings?

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Out of all of our starting pitchers, Jeff Suppan leads the team with 156.1 innings. Considering there are 37 games left, that leaves about 7 more starts for Suppan. He will have to average over 6 innings per start to get to 200 innings. The next closest pitcher is Bush with 143.2. How pathetic is it that we can't even get a 200 inning pitcher in a season? Part of this is due to Gallardo and Parra coming on in mid season and injuries, but this is mostly due to crappy starting pitching.

[dadofandrew]

Suppan did not get 200 last year, but if he does not miss a start, he is likely to this year.

[logan82]

Actually 200 innings is kind of a misleading number. If you look over Suppan's career he averages around 6.5 innings per start during the years when he pitched 200 innings. To reach 200 innings all you have to average over 32 starts is 6.25 innings per start. The harder part would be making 32 starts during the year. Suppan looks to be no more than a 6.5 inning pitcher even in his best years. Since 2004 he hasn't made it to 200 innings or averaged more than 6 innings per start.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Then why did people classify him as an "innings eater"?

[JoeHova]

Then why did people classify him as an "innings eater"?

 

Good question. I guess it's because he hasn't pitched under 188 innings in a year since 1998, but at the same time, his career high is only 217 innings. He's not a Livan Hernandez who is going to give you 220-250 innings a year.

 

[M Skjellyfetti]

I brought up that same question (about Suppan being hailed as an innings eater) when we signed him, but it was explained away as being a factor of Tony La Russa being his manager. It's still possible that that played a part, but I doubt Suppan will see the sunny side of 210 the rest of his career, and may only have one or two (or less) 200 inning seasons left in him.

[logan82]

So basically, just looking at his innings, he is Vargas with a bigger contract?

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

So basically, just looking at his innings, he is Vargas with a bigger contract?

That's one way to put it. A couple good games in the playoffs gets you 42 million dollars though.

[JohnBriggs12]

If Vargas puts together two more seasons like his last two, double figure wins, winning record, ERA under 5, you can bet get he'll get a real nice multi year deal too.

 

A lot of what Suppan got was based on consistency and durability (which to smaller markets is worth a lot).

[lukevan]

Suppan was probably misconstrued as an innings eater when he should've been labeled as guy that makes every start.

 

I guess if he only gets to 195 IP I'll survive.

[bklynbrewcrew]

The only thing positive you can say about Suppan is that he makes every start. The guy rarely makes it out of the sixth inning so his reputation as an innings eater is way off. Really the only starter that we have that can be counted on for 7 or more innings when healthy is Sheets. Next season I think we will be able to say the same thing about Gallardo and possibly Villanueva. Capuano used to be capable of pitching 7 solid innings but hasnt been able to do that much this year.

[Brian the Automator]

Then why did people classify him as an "innings eater"?

...because he's never hurt.

 

[logan82]

Then why did people classify him as an "innings eater"?

Because it is a nice way to say he is an average starter who will make all of his starts and not get hurt.

[mothershipconnection]

"Innings eater" may not be the best label. However, Suppan is a very durable pitcher who makes 30 starts a year, so "dependable" or "reliable" when referring to his health would technically be more accurate. So he still has the durability of an innings eater, but he gets pulled because he's not a great pitcher and gets into trouble too often. To be a true innings eater, you'd need to either be an above average pitcher or be average on a team with a crap bullpen who's out of the race. Suppan would have looked more like an innings eater on the 2002 Brewers.

[DHonks]

Suppan was a 6 inning pitcher with the Cardinals because that is how Tony LaRussa uses most pitchers. He plays "the game within the game" more than any other manager. Yost lets his starts try to get to 100 pitches, so that plays a big role in getting to 200 IP.

[RU Rah Rah]

If there was a thread of "Top 10 Bf.net Arguments," I think "Suppan: yea or nay?" would have to be on the list.

 

In terms of IP, I'm much more disappointed in Sheets this year than Suppan. If we're lucky, he'll wind up with maybe 150-ish IP. That's following years of 156 and 101 IP.

 

(I know that he hasn't intentionally gone out and gotten himself hurt yet again, but it's nonetheless a problem.)