Which Diamondback Pitcher Winds Up With The Most Wins?

[Diamondback Jay]

We already can establish that Brandon Webb is going to be the leader of this staff, however this question is simple-- who winds up being #2 in wins at the end of the 2007 season?

 

[green machine]

I went with Livan. I think he'll pitch deeper into games then the others will and thus end up with a couple extra wins.

 

[Espo]

I think it will be Davis. He tends to be a high strikeout/groundball guy and that is the best combination for a pitcher. I think with a solid defense up the middle that he wins a good amount of games.

 

[82CardsGrad]

If Hernandez can stay in shape and remain healthy, he should easily be # 2 in W's behind Webb... I do know this, RJ will struggle to reach 12 wins this coming season. I still can't believe the D-backs took him back...

 

[Espo]

If Hernandez can stay in shape and remain healthy, he should easily be # 2 in W's behind Webb... I do know this, RJ will struggle to reach 12 wins this coming season. I still can't believe the D-backs took him back...

How do you know that? I think RJ has a good chance to do very well. He had surgery to relieve his back pain which was a huge issue and he's back in a situation he is comfortable with. Those two factors are gonna prove to be huge.

 

[devilfan02]

How do you know that? I think RJ has a good chance to do very well. He had surgery to relieve his back pain which was a huge issue and he's back in a situation he is comfortable with. Those two factors are gonna prove to be huge.

82Cards is from NY, what else would you expect him to say of RJ? Not sure if he's a NYY fan but every Yankee fan thinks RJ is washed up and have wrote him off. Guess what, RJ didn't like pitching in NY and he wasn't healthy. His back is good now and a return to the offensively weak NL will do him wonders. All the people who say the Dbacks were wrong in taking RJ back better be prepared to eat crow. Will he be than the RJ of 2003, probably not. However, he's a healthy man on a mission (pitching in his back yard at that) and that's all I need to know.

The argument for who will have the second most wins can go either way. RJ's returning home where he's had the most success, he's healthy, pitches 200+ innings, and the weaker NL could result in 15+ wins. Davis is another rubber arm, is a great grounball pitcher, and now has a great defense behind him that could restore his confidence the way that Webbs was restored this past season. In 2005, Webb struggled mostly because our defense was horrible. He was trying to force pitches which resulted in a horrible loss of control and a subpar season. We acquire Hudson and promote Drew and Webb was carefree and was able to be himself again. I have high confidence that the same can happen to Davis.

I voted for Livan simply because he always puts together great seasons and it's his contract year. Livan has a lot to play for (possibly his last big contract/extension) and he's gonna deliver. I bet Webb has 19 wins and Livan has 17

 

[Diamondback Jay]

First off, I honestly think with the middle IF defense being as is, Davis will win about 16-18 games with a 3.57 ERA.

Johnson, it's hard to tell. Keep in mind, even though he "sucked" in New York (one Yank fan I talk to prominently stated Johnson should be not put in the Hall of Fame because of his "crappy pitching"), he still went 34-18 and won 17 games in each of his two Yankee seasons. If he lives up to par, he should win 17.

Livan, I think in a contract year, could really step up. I see him winning between 17-19, winding up with an ERA of 3.88.

 

[green machine]

First off, I honestly think with the middle IF defense being as is, Davis will win about 16-18 games with a 3.57 ERA.

Johnson, it's hard to tell. Keep in mind, even though he "sucked" in New York (one Yank fan I talk to prominently stated Johnson should be not put in the Hall of Fame because of his "crappy pitching"), he still went 34-18 and won 17 games in each of his two Yankee seasons. If he lives up to par, he should win 17.

Livan, I think in a contract year, could really step up. I see him winning between 17-19, winding up with an ERA of 3.88.

Wow if your projections are right this will be the best starting rotation ever, 1-4.

 

[devilfan02]

Who are the 3 people who voted for "other?" Would love to hear your insight

 

[Phill11]

Safest bets were obviously Hernandez and Davis. Hernandez is in a contract year and of course will win near 20 games for us, if not 20+.

Davis I think will win anywhere from 15-20. I think he's going to be a guy with 3.25 ERA and 15-18 wins for the next couple of years for us.

Johnson is a guy who I'd like to think can win 20 in a uniform for us this year, but he's obviously a risky pick. Though there are many who to this day oppose the RJ deal, I think it was great. I think he can definatley rejuvenate his career.

Also, Juan Cruz could suprise. 15 wins for him is not far off if he consistently starts and is not a part-time starter...

 

[devilfan02]

Safest bets were obviously Hernandez and Davis. Hernandez is in a contract year and of course will win near 20 games for us, if not 20+.

Davis I think will win anywhere from 15-20. I think he's going to be a guy with 3.25 ERA and 15-18 wins for the next couple of years for us.

Johnson is a guy who I'd like to think can win 20 in a uniform for us this year, but he's obviously a risky pick. Though there are many who to this day oppose the RJ deal, I think it was great. I think he can definatley rejuvenate his career.

Also, Juan Cruz could suprise. 15 wins for him is not far off if he consistently starts and is not a part-time starter...

I like the optimism but lets not get crazy. You have projected that possibly (I'm not saying you said they will win 20) 4 Dbacks will reach the 20 win mark. Here are some stats-

Since 2000, only 2 pitchers on the same team have reached the 20 win mark and that happened two years in a row (2001, 2002). RJ and Schilling did that and while our pitching staff is solid, we are no where near that type of 1-2 punch.

Since 2000, there hasn't been more than 4 pitchers in one particular season that have gotten to the 20+ wins mark (2001- RJ, Schilling, Matt Morriss, Jon Lieber).

amount of 20 game winners since 2000-
* 2000: 2
* 2001: 4
* 2002: 2
* 2003: 1
* 2004: 1
* 2005: 3
* 2006: 0 (most wins was 16)

We also have to remember that pitchers have to rely on his teams offense that particular day. While I think our offense will be fine, we are very inexperienced and we have yet to see how they'll do. This will affect our pitchers win totals this year. RJ wouldn't have near the 34 wins of the last 2 seasons if it weren't for the lineup that backed him up. The opposite can be said of his first stint in AZ. How many times did we have to watch him go 7+ innings, only giving up 1-3 runs, and he'd get the loss.... That's what we have to guard from- laying an egg offensively when our starter is pitching a good/great game.

All of our possible #5's are way too inconsistent to have anywhere near 15 wins. I agree that Cruz will most likely be our 5th starter but 10 wins would be a huge acheivement for him, 15 wins is out of the question (IMO)

I see Webb having a win total of 19, Livan having a win total of 17, RJ and Davis having +/- 14, and our #5 having +/- 8. That would leave us with +/- 72 wins from our starting staff which I would say is about right. The bullpen will acount for around 12-15 more wins which will leave us at around a hopeful record of +/- 85-77. I see our bullen having less wins because our starters will eat much more innings than last year and the loss of setup man Luis Vizcaino will hurt too (we had 21 relief wins last year).

This is all my opinion and in no way am I trying to ruin your optimism. I hope you're right and I'll gladly eat crow at the World Series parade

 

[BC867]

I see Webb having a win total of 19, Livan having a win total of 17, RJ and Davis having +/- 14, and our #5 having +/- 8. That would leave us with +/- 72 wins from our starting staff which I would say is about right. The bullpen will acount for around 12-15 more wins which will leave us at around a hopeful record of +/- 85-77.

I see your prediction as very realistic. I would switch Davis (17) and Livan (14) -- just a gut feeling.

And I agree that Randy will probably come in at about 14 victories, vs. the two 17-win seasons he put together with the Yankees' much more potent lineup.

You made a good point about the outstanding games he pitched the first time around ending in a loss. None of cleanup hitters we've tried was strong. And now we have no legitimate power in the middle of the lineup.

All in all, our starting staff is in pretty good shape, though.

The bullpen remains to be seen. But the pressure will be less with alot more inning-eaters starting than in the past few years.

The young hitters are probably going to take at least a full season to start cashing in their potential, which will eventually help the pitching staff.

 

[Stan C]

I agree with BC about the young bats. Hard to predict. We are all hoping.
But RJ has something to prove, and if he's really healthy, watch out!

 

[82CardsGrad]

Is RJ some sort of Super-Human freak?? The guys is 43 - he'll be 44 in September... Why in the world should anyone expect "big things" from a 43-44 year old pitcher?? That's just stupid...
RJ won 17 games last season with the Yanks. But he did with a 5.00 ERA...
I still contend that if he gets to 12 wins next season, it would be a good year for him... And yes, I'm from NY and I am a Yankee fan, and I can't believe the D-Backs were stupid enough to take this malcontent back...