With Zack Wheeler officially jumping ship to join a division rival, the Mets are exploring options on the starting pitching market, speaking with free agent right-hander Rick Porcello and his representatives, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
At the outset of the offseason, MLBTR tabbed Porcello to receive a one-year deal worth $11MM. Coming off an awful 2019 season, the 30-year-old doesn’t have all that many factors working in his favor, but the sheer number of teams lacking depth in the starting rotation makes it a likely proposition that Porcello attracts his fair share of interest—especially given his durability; he’s never made fewer than 27 starts in any of his eleven big league seasons.
And while he can hardly be considered a direct substitute for Wheeler’s production, Porcello nonetheless represents an intriguing option with some potential. After a nice 2018 showing, Porcello regressed considerably last year, stumbling to a 5.52 ERA that ranked dead last among qualified starters. But his control and K:BB ratio makes him a viable candidate for a spot in the back end of a Major League rotation.
The question that defines Porcello’s market is how much teams buy into his ability to spin the baseball, which ranks among the best in baseball. Per Statcast, the spin rates Porcello generates on his curveball and fastball rank in the 89th and 74th percentiles, respectively, with his slider also grading out well. Teams who think they can transform that skill into on-field results might look to add Porcello on a relatively low-risk deal.
However, that profile glosses over his troubling inability to prevent home runs. Porcello ranks firmly below average in groundball rate and home run rate, and while that in itself isn’t a dealbreaker (he shares company with names like Jack Flaherty, Gerrit Cole, and Justin Verlander) it often spells bad news for a pitcher who doesn’t miss a lot of bats—Porcello saw his K/9 drop from a career-best 8.9 in 2018 to just 7.4 last year. The aforementioned trio of Cy Young contenders is distinguished from Porcello in that their opponents simply don’t put the ball in play enough to do real damage with the home run. It bears mentioning that New York’s Citi Field certainly offers a more pitcher-friendly environment that could mitigate Porcello’s weakness somewhat.
While the Cy Young Award on his mantle suggests otherwise, Porcello has never really been a bona fide ace. Still, he showed in 2018 that he can be a fine complementary rotation piece, filling out the Boston staff behind Chris Sale and David Price. Just one season removed from that 4.28 ERA/4.01 FIP year, Porcello could fill a similar role behind the Mets’ Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. And given the organization’s penchant for honing starters’ sliders, the Mets may aim to boost his slider (and curveball) usage at the cost of his fastball and sinker, which opposing hitters collectively mashed in 2019.
david klein
Guy is terrible at this stage but with cheap ownership and a bad gm he’ll probably be signed
MetsFanaticDanny
Go troll somewhere else loser. Now with NEW Ownership & a creative GM, Porcello would be a solid addition as a #5 SP. The Mets need a durable, reliable pitcher that can log 170-200 IP next season.
astrosbox8
The Mets don’t have new ownership
StandUpGuy
What’s the big deal with spin rate? I always hear of places like statcast supporting pitchers because of their spin rate but I haven’t seen much of a correlation between high spin rates and great pitchers. I haven’t even seen anything to suggest that a high spin rate even implies that it won’t belong to a TERRIBLE pitcher. What’s the point of even keeping up with that stat and why does anybody care if it seems to have nothing to do with whether a pitcher is or even will be good?
YankeesBleacherCreature
fivethirtyeight.com/features/baseballs-top-staffs-… … There is enough imperfect data to support that higher pitcher spin rate results in better outcomes.
Backup Catcher to the Backup Catcher
I once read that the recently released Jared Eickhoff of the Phillies had the second best spin rate on his curve ball.
No way, and pardon the pun, one can spin all that spin rate jargon and project Eickhoff to be anything more than a back-of-the-rotation option for a team uber-desperate for a starting pitcher.
Phanatic 2022
They kinda do. Nobody knows who is calling the shots or level of input that is going on prior to official transfer. I would be shocked if the wilpons had the power to increase payroll to 600M the year before transfer with no oversight.
juanpursuit
The Wilpons are still the managing owners and will continue to be for the next 5 years. Your comment is embarrassingly incorrect.
MetsFanaticDanny
They do have new ownership morons. Part of the deal has the Wilpons keeping their titles for 5 FINAL seasons. Steve Cohen, however, owns 80% of the Mets. Idiotic people like yourselves have no business talking about things you CLEARLY know nothing about. LGM!!!
juanpursuit
You are soooo dumb. Cohen doesn’t make decisions. That’s what MANAGING Owner means.
callingoutdummies247
Cohen is not the owner. The deal hasn’t been finalized
steelerbravenation
It’s not official yet
MLB gotta approve it & that isn’t a guarantee
The Cohen dude got some red flags. He got violations on Wall Street & was barred from handling other ppls money
Also was a murder some years back at his Greenwich estate.
He is far from a shoe in
sufferforsnakes
Sounds perfect for the Mets!
thecrown24
@Juan If you think Cohen won’t open up his checkbook for premiere players while He waits in the wind to take ownership you’re an idiot.
thecrown24
watch and see when he’s voted in lmfaooo what a clown
thecrown24
Idiot he has all the money in the world and is already a MINORITY OWNER!!! Once the deal goes through you really think he’s going to sit back and watch the wilpons not spend then take over a team that’s worse then it was 5 years ago. Wilpons aren’t the ones spending a dime it will all be his money slowly but surely putting together a contending team. YOU MUST KNOW ZERO ABOUT INVESTMENT
deweybelongsinthehall
My guess though is they wouldn’t have announced anything if preliminary unofficial MLB consent wasn’t already given. He paid his fine and is again allowed to handle other people’s money. The intriguing part though is already possessed his minor ownership status what that news came out. I don’t know much about the murder but while it occurred on his property, he to my knowledge was never a suspect.
xmadxtiox
Amen my brother. From somewhere that I read, Steve Cohen can actually start bringing in new players just as soon as the deal gets approved. So yeah, he IS the boss right now basically.
AngelDiceClay
Nothing has been finalized with the ownership. He has get approval from the other 29 owners before its finalized And that’s after they scrutinize his finances. It’s not a slam dunk
jorge78
What is up with Cohen letting the Wilpons run the team for five years!!??
I hope the Wilpons are salivating over spending Cohens money as they won’t spend their own…..
johnsilver
He’s worth 8-10m. Will give that 170-200IP u mentioned as a #3-5 every season and has for 10 seasons in a row, something only small handful of pitchers have done during that period. What gets left out is he’s still only 31yo and has lost no velocity on his sinking FB yet at 91-92mph all day long, then able to elevate his 4 seamer to change eye level up to 94 sometimes when needs to.
Trick with Porcello is he’s a groundball machine and MUST have infielders who can play defense. Any team has statues playing the IF will pay.
dynasty in boston
Porcello in Italian translates to “just gave up another singer.”
Rking
So close
bleedblueandorange
Lol
pasha2k
Rick is. Or a ground ball pitcher, he’s fly ball in recent yrs.
deweybelongsinthehall
Agreed. Last year he gave up a lot of homers but such could have been the ball at least partially. That said, his ground ball rate in 2019 was I think the lowest of his career.
johnsilver
Right Dewey. Last year his GB% dipped below 44% for the 1st time in his career to 38%. Doubt it happens again. Whether or not ball played into it is unknown since his HR allowed went up to near career high of 31. His HR allowed last 3 seasons have been higher than prior 7 in fact.
Maybe the days of 50+ percent GB are gone, which Porcello at one time put in year after year throwing mainly 2 seamers pitch after pitch. Many change some later on during a career, but think getting back to 45% of 2017-18 would be easy enough.
david klein
Brodie made the Cano trade, was that creative? More like terrible
Bart Harley Jarvis
You be nice.
PhilsPhan
lol
Eatdust666
He wasn’t completely wrong, because Porcello is coming off one of the worst seasons in his career, as he went 14-12 with a career worst 5.52 ERA, but he would probably do better in Citi Field than Fenway Park.
deweybelongsinthehall
Agreed but I’m not sold that he won’t be back in Boston which remains from what I’ve read, his first choice. Despite what’s been said by Boston ownership, until they trade away a big piece, I’m not convinced they will lower payroll significantly this offseason. Better plan would be to wait one more year and then if there is no re-marriage with Betts, $60m could come off between him, JBJ and potentially JDM (should none be traded in July). Hopefully The other starters rebound as their trade value next year could not be lower than what it is today.
jvent
Not worth $11 mill being that he’s on the 3rd tier list and had a bad year last year maybe $5-6 mill
Ejemp2006
Porcello is better than a ton pitchers making big bucks. I hope he goes to the Astros, Rays, or A’s. You know, places where they get the best out of high ceiling guys.
thorshair
Wouldn’t be a bad 5th starter option
jorge78
He would make a good batting practice pitcher…..
Phiilies2020
I chose Porcello to the Mets in the contest. He’s a NJ native and I figured the Mets would be in the market for a starter considering they were going to lose Wheeler. He’s a fly ball pitcher so I think he could have a nice bounceback campaign pitching his home games at spacious Citi Field. Based on his spin rates and that he’s just three years removed from a CY Young award, I’d be on board with the Phillies taking a chance on him as their 5th starter. There’s no denying his durability and you cant argue with 160-180 innings out of your #5. Plus he will be pitching 2020 as a 31 year old, so he’s relatively youthful.
miltpappas
I also chose him for the Mets. If they sign him, that destroys my 0-for record.
jorge78
Good luck!
Phiilies2020
Haha. Milt, c’mon man you didnt get Wainwright right? Or Abreu?
miltpappas
I go for the dark horse candidates. I had Abreu to Cleveland, Wainwright to Milwaukee.
pasha2k
I want Rick back in Boston:(
cheesesteak
Pitching in the AL East is a tough way to make a living. Relocating for a 1/10 show-me deal would be a wise career decision.
WalterNYR
It’s really Stroman replacing Wheeler and Porcello replacing Vargas (if they sign him).
hiflew
Unlike Wheeler, Porcello has actually really accomplished real life things on the field. Wheeler looks better on Fangraphs than in reality, Porcello looks better on the field than on the stat sheet. I know who I’d rather have. You may feel free to disagree, but I’m sticking with my opinion.
Ezpkns34
Would be no use for comments sections if we all had the same opinion
DumpsterFireinQueens
I’d like to have Porcello as our #5 on a reasonable deal. However, I don’t really understand what it means that he looks better on the field than the stat sheet. Does he look like more than a mediocre pitcher that has provided mediocre results for his entire career, other than one terrific season that looks like an outlier?
hiflew
What I meant was that WAR tends to value strikeout pitchers a lot more than pitch to contact pitchers. To me, getting a weak ground ball to short or an infield pop up is the same as a strikeout even if it is not as sexy. It may even be better because groundouts usually take fewer pitches than strikeouts.
Willy Mays
So lets talk what he’s done.For hs career he has a 1.31 whip which is terrible. For his career he has a 4.36 era which is terrible.Then when you consider he won a Cy Young which lowered his career numbers it means for most of his career his numbers have been worse. As to him being an innings eater as some people have claimed last year in 32 games he threw 174 innings which averages out to less then 6 innings a game.I don’t care what WAR counts his overall numbers are horrendous. In the last 3 years his era was 5.52 4.28 and 4.65 The Mets throwing Gsellman as there fifth starter would be better off then throwing Porcello
Ejemp2006
He pitched many years on Tigers team with atrocious infield defense. Miguel Cabrera 3B. Johnny Peralta SS. Ramon Santiago 2B. Prince Fielder 1B.
That is poisonous for a ground ball artist like Porcello.
Additionally, Porcello has an underreported anxiety disorder that I am sure finally caught with him in Boston.
He would be a beast again in a small market with a Hoover vacuum cleaner infield defense. A’s, Rays, and Astros.
Willy Mays
So then how do you explain that with the Red Sox he has had eras of 4.92 4.65 4.28 and 5.52 in 4 of the 5 years with Boston. Also how then does it bode well for him pitching for a NY Met team that had a terrible infield last year and are losing their best defensive infielder Frazier
DTD_ATL
Opinions are fine, just usually helps if they’re based in reality.
hiflew
Reality is in the eye of the beholder when looking at stats. You can find numbers to back up almost any opinion if you manipulate them properly.
SFGRab
If you torture the data long enough it will confess to anything 😉 Straight up I’ll take Wheeler over Porcello though.
jdgoat
Wheelers career ERA is literally half a run lower than Porcello’s with better stats at everything. They aren’t even in the same conversation. Wheeler is like 2-3 tiers better than Porcello.
What’s the point of making a comparison like this and then just the blaming stats for saying the better pitcher is better?
Ejemp2006
Porcello has infinitely more rings and Cy Young trophies than Wheeler.
Birch
Have you watched Wheeler pitch? Have you factored in that he pitched his career with the Mets? All of his advanced statistics, over the short career that he’s had, suggest he’s better than the old-school pitching statistics because… he is. This is the same team that has had a back-to-back Cy Young winner with a combined 21-17 record in those seasons.
I’m also fairly confused by you claiming that Porcello has accomplished real life things (whatever that means). This guy has a Cy Young year (most would call that a fluke) with only two other years of under 4.25 ERA ball. His winning percentage is slightly higher, however he trails Wheeler in ERA, ERA+, FIP, WHIP, and SO/9.
Yet, here we sit and the most telling sign that Wheeler is better than Porcello… one signed a 5 year, $118M pact and one is on track to get a one-year at around $10M and are currently aged 29 and 30 respectively.
MoRivera 1999
A fine argument for Wheeler’s worth. Interesting how few of these we saw in the Comments the day he signed with Philly. After weeks of glowing assessments of him as the 3rd best pitcher on the market, suddenly it was like he was a sketchy #4 who was going to break into pieces every two months.
throwinched10
A move to an NL team with a big park is probably the right choice for him.
matt11209
Isn’t Jason Vargas available?
NYFAN77!!
Prove it year for porcelain Porcello. 1 yr/ 7 million dollar contract anything over that is an overpay.
NYFAN77!!
If the Mets signed Bumgarner 2/ 30 million then we might be saying something finally for them.
mecousinvinny
2 yrs 30 mil ? never happen Wheeler 24 mil Hamels 18 mil Madbum 6yrs 150-170 mil
iamhector24
Is this a video game or something? I don’t mind differences in opinion but you’re insane.
krillin89
If I were a Mets fan, I would be fine with this signing if the price is for a 5th starter, which is essentially what he would be as a Met.
jim stem
I’m a Mets fan who loves fantasy baseball. On my 25 leagues, most feature 20 teams, which means player pools run very deep, I have Porcello on exactly zero teams and refuse to add him. He is terrible no matter how many star abbreviations you use to evaluate him.
NYFAN77!!
If I were the Mets I would do whatever it took to trade for Snell. Not a Met fan but I would try to get this pitcher roster for opening day. Pitchers are in random order.
Porcello
Snell
Bumgarner
Stroman
Brian Anderson
Perksy
What about Mookie Betts?
Samuel
They don’t need him.
The Mets are going to trade for Lindor and play him in the OF, right after they sign Rendon to play 3B and trade for Chapman and Yates to turn around the bullpen.
Yankees don’t need Chapman as they’re going to pitch Cole 5 days a week out of the bullpen. That’s what the analytics show as the best use of his talents. Think outside the box!
Samuel
Additionally, Brodie has a relationship with Sparky Lyle, as The Spark used to come watch Stanford play baseball when Brodie was there.
Negotiations are now in progress to bring back Sparky to function as an Opener with the Mets. He’s been successful pitching in that tough New York market, so there’s that.
Begamin
Haha i’d be surprised if the Mets even attempt to do any of that.
Eatdust666
Also, they have another guy that has been a dominant closer in the past in Zack Britton. Sure, he doesn’t have the velocity and strikeout stuff that Chapman has, but he’s pretty tough to hit.
iamhector24
Wow this is the dumbest thing I’ve read on here. Congrats on that!
spinach
Doesn’t throw the slider enough.
Samuel
Yes, it’s a risk to go against Fangraphs.
But The Spark is projected to be 84.5% successful if the temperature is above 47 degrees, the wind is coming from the northwest at less then 15 MPH, it’s not a 3/4 moon, and the ballpark they’re playing in sells french fries with gravy.
Willy Mays
Forget Snell. Why don’t you get Verlander and Cole and Nola and you could use a couple of them out of the bullpen
whyhayzee
Porcello was victimized by the fake ball. Put the real ball back and he is fine. Durable, adequate, worth signing.
Bill
And what evidence is there that the ball is going to change back in 2020?
pasha2k
Rick co my e back to Boston! 🙁
Willy Mays
What was his excuse in 2018 and 2017 then. when he put up eras of 4.28 and 4.65
bravesfan
Good. Braves bats will gladly trade for Wheeler
Larry David's Joe Pepitone Jersey
Anything is better than Walker Lockett and Corey Oswalt.
wedgeant27
But is he less likely to threaten reporters than Vargas?
Dan Hunter
Good 5th starter.
Fever Pitch Guy
Always makes me laugh when people say “Sure he’s got an ERA near 6, but the IMPORTANT thing is you can count on him to be awful for 30 games a year.”
BTW George, with all due respect I believe you meant to write “After a nice 2018 showing, Porcello regressed considerably last SEASON”. Because we’re still in 2019 ;O)
SheaGoodbye
Rick Porcello and a bad defense do not seem to be the best combination…
metslvt17
Yes and no. He doesn’t give up a lot of ground balls, which negates the bad infield defense. If the Mets get marte to man centerfield with Citi’s big outfield, it may work out ok for him.
diller1340
Porcello grew up in New Jersey as a mets fan could be a solid reunion for him
of9376
The Coupons are bargain shopping once again.
Mystery Team
People can say what they want about Porcello but I’d sign him at the right price. He never gets hurt and he will eat innings. He is what he is and what he brings has good value for any team.
brian214
I liked the idea of Phils signing him if he could be had for a reasonable 1 yr deal. VV needs to go to the pen and Pivetta to LHV. Good bounceback candidate. Mets could do a heck of a lot worse for a #5.
Weighed
Lol
Strike Four
Since 2014 Porcello has gone: good year-bad year-good-bad-good-bad-
I’d bet on him being good in 2020.
Begamin
I think youre giving his 2018 too much credit.
09 – good
10-12- very bad
13 – bad
14 – good
15 – very bad
16 – very good
17 – bad
18 – meh
19 – very bad
Begamin
This is so Mets
nymetsking
This comment is so Begamin
mecousinvinny
Porcello stinks why would anyone sign him because there is a shortage of SP Mets dont have 10 mil or more to spend on him also just another smoke screen to make fans think they could sign a FA my guess is Angels, Rangers, Twins, Reds, Seattle, Detroit Angels gave Matt Harvey 11 mil last yr
shortytallz
Take a flier, sure. NL might suit him.
Rich Hill’s Elbow
Twins should take a chance.
deweybelongsinthehall
Not the right blog for this but…
Good luck Dwight Evans in the HOF vote which is to released tomorrow, Sunday, December 8th.
AtlSoxFan
How about a possible fit with the astros? Before you laugh look at four boxes he checks:
1) he’d be open to a short term deal
2) he’s affordable to enter the vacancy
3) he’s always been durable
4) he has great spin rate
Astros love all those things in picking reclamation projects. He had that one cy season, so there’s potential upside that may be unlocked, even if not to that level.
deweybelongsinthehall
Atl, I hope you’re wrong but the fit is certainly there in Houston but tax wise, I don’t know if they have the room even if Coles comes off the books. To exceed it by a lot for Coles is one thing but just exceeding it for Porcello may not be. I’m also not sure he wants to move south.
AtlSoxFan
No question he loves boston, and in a world where there hadn’t been these moves nibbling payroll down wards I’d have loved to see him (as well as holt and jbj) all remain.
I think given the reality he won’t likely return though, he would enjoy going to a contender with a history of getting good results working with guys like him (and attractive income tax) above going to a less likely to contend team.
For their part, the Astros may prefer a trade for a cheaper option if the price climbs
jakec77
I’d rather have Wheeler than Porcello.
I’d rather have Porcello at $11 million than Wheeler at $100 million.
okiguess
This is equivalent to replacing a qualified brain surgeon with the drunken small town doctor.
phillyballers
I think there are at least 10 position players could post a 5.52 ERA that are making less 11M.
diller1340
I’d love to see a position player win a Cy Young(like porcello) let alone pitch a full season with a 5.52 ERA. Porcello isn’t great but he is defiantly a quality 4 or 5 starter
Willy Mays
Define quality.Is your definition below league average era in 8 of his 11 years as a starter. If so you are right he is a quality 4 or 5 starter
deweybelongsinthehall
His durability, ability as shown by his CYA and his 2018 playoff run is all you need to know.
MikeyHammer
Believe me, as a Mets guy I understand how comical it may seem with The Yanks courting Cole, Stras, etc., while The Mets headline is about Porcello. But, with deGrom, Thor, Stroman, and Matz, the need for a #1 is really not a priority, whereas, an inning eating #5 is interesting. I’ll go back to my liquor and excuses now.
Willy Mays
When did 174 innings with a 5.52 era become anybody’s definition of an innings eater
megaj
They should just trade with the Cubs. Bryant and Quintana in exchange for a prospect package and Nimmo instead of paying Porcello. Quintana will give you pretty much what Porcello would and Bryant is a game changer in the lineup.
megaj
Good trade for both teams because it frees up close to 30M for the Cubs to get the ace they need while adding to the farm. The Mets get reliable pitching depth and a premier 3B/OF.
Willy Mays
Did you suggest the Mets take on 30 million dollars in payroll. We are talking about the NY Mets right?
MikeyHammer
I would not be opposed to that.
diller1340
This would be a great trade for the Mets but I don’t think they have the prospects to make it happen.
metsie1
Nearly 6 ERA. So yeah, he’ll eat innings while getting drilled throughout the ballpark. He stinks. One last lash from the Wilpons before they exit.
deweybelongsinthehall
Forget the top few. Pitching in general got hammered last year. Someone will pay $8 – $9+ (maybe $11m) for one year hoping for magic or believing he can turn it around. I see him staying in the Northeast although another blogger suggested Houston which makes sense too.
AtlSoxFan
Porcello is durable and healthy. No reason not to expect 30+ starts from the guy, and 185-210 IP.
Porcello also has a pattern, for whatever reason, of good years/meh years, they alternate one after another. I don’t believe in era as a stat, I prefer FIP since it focuses more on each pitchers individual performance.
He is a guy who will save a weak/shallow bullpen some mileage every 5th day when he goes, on average 6+ or 7 innings
If your weakest link/fifth man can notch a 2.75 FIP then congrats on your WS ring. For the teams in the real world, getting an always healthy, durable pitcher who lessens pressure on the bullpen while having a FIP right around 4, that should have value if the price is reasonable.
If his longstanding pattern holds, (and juiced ball aside) next year should be a very good year for rick in FIP. Your outcome may vary based on the product you put behind him.
Willy Mays
Couple of facts for you, Last year he didn’t have 185 innings pitched he had 174. Another fact.The last 2 years he averaged less then 6 innings a game. Also while you say you dont like era as a stat thats fine for one year but when I guy consistently has a high era over 11 years that is what you are going to get. Finally you say he’s good one year bad the next.Lets see how that works these are his eras in order 3.96 4.92 4.75 4.59 4.32 3.43 4.92 3.15 4.65 4.28 5.52, I’d love for you to now explain your good one year bad one year theory.You can talk all you want about not liking era but those eras are not good, Also his career whip is 1.31 but I guess putting men on base is not important to you either
butch779988
ATL Sox fan is correct.
AtlSoxFan
@willy
I’ll indulge you, troll, even though you ignore what I said and try to attack it using a relatively meaningless stat when evaluating individual performance.
FIP (if you even know what that is) evaluates the individual’s body of work ignoring the shortcomings of those around him.
2019 – FIP 4.76
2018 – FIP 4.01
2017 – FIP 4.60
2016 – FIP 3.40
2015 – FIP 4.13
2014 – FIP 3.67
Can you see the up/down pattern he has settled into?
You like era. How about era+, the measure adjusted for ballpark and league?
2019 – 87
2019 – 103
2017 – 98
2016 – 142
2015 – 87
2014 – 113
Then there’s you lack of grasp of English language. “On average” is not the same thing as saying “averages” – it means that if you take a random appearance, what his run of the mill performance will be. Like any pitcher, throughout the year you will get a few short outings but his average – as in run of the mill, the word has more than one meaning – appearance will be 6 or 7 innings.
Speaking of innings totals:
2019 – 174.1
2018 – 191.1
2017 – 203.1
2016 – 223.0
2015 – 181.1 (9.1 in minor leagues)
2014 – 204.2
All this info covers his age 25-30 seasons which is a proper indication of what a pitcher developed into.
Hes basically good for about 2 or more fwar per season as well.
As I’ve said… not your front line #1 starter, but, everything you’d like to wrap in a typical/realistic number 5.
Willy Mays
Ok Im the troll.I also happen to have 2 Masters degrees and all but thesis to my PhD in experimental psychology which menas I’ve taken 5 post graduate classes in statistics. When you on average includes bad games it also involves outliers where he went long in a game.Thats what average is. An average over a lot of games (32) shows you what you can expect in any given game. Your argument denies exactly what average means.You can’t argue well he had a couple of bad games.Over 2 years he averaged less then 6 innings a game period. As to your argument about era, There might be fluctuation between a year or 2 but when you look at 11 years of production and you have a 4.36 era. Thats what you get. The truth is his one Cy Young year is the outlier.Its amazing how you quickly jump to calling someone a troll when he disagrees with you. Sounds like my definition of a troll. I said nothing in my response to denigrate you yet you immediately jump to name calling
AtlSoxFan
If your qualification is “oh, I have a masters, I’m a big deal” I’ve got both a masters and a doctorate already myself.
Again, look up the definition of “average” like I said before.
I used it as an adjective where the dictionary says
“of the usual or ordinary standard, level, or quantity”.
You are trying to twist my statement assigning an alternate meaning of the word which, not only was not intended in the original post, but, after correcting you and stating exactly what meaning I was trying to use you, again, try to redefining and twist my statement to say something I didn’t, just because it allows you to try to argue something I didn’t say.
Trying to twist and change someone’s words into something else then attack what they’re saying is troll.
Willy Mays
Ok lets talk facts. FIP which you favor is a predictive stat. Its basic premise isif youtake the thingsa pitcher can control strikeouts walks hbps and hrs you can hopefully predict what a pitcher might do as he ages. That stat doesn’taddress the fact that a pitcher might strikeout a decentamount of guys and not not walk to many guys and control the amount of hrs he allows but still give up a ton of hits.You can se thats true with Porcekko based on his career 1.31 whip. The problem when you use that with Porcello is there is no need to predict his future.You know what he has done during his career so it makes no sense to look at him and use a predictive stat.You also use WAR which is a stat based on weighted values originally developed by a man named Thomas Bayes thus the name Bayesian statistics.I took a class at the Graduate Center of NY on 34th street taught by a major proponent of these stats. The problem with the way its used in WAR is that these weights are based on nothing more then a subjective view of whats important and whats not as well as questionable ways of developing these weights. WAR is an extremely flawed stat and really is not a good measure for anything. Heyward long term contract is proof of that as WAR overexagerates defensive ability thus Heyward long term albatross for Chicago .When I mentioned my degrees it was because they involve statistics to a large extent.If you doubt me I’d be glad to discuss MANOVAs Canonical Correlations regreession lines and statistical theory with you. I know what average is What you said was over a year he will have a few short outings I was merely stating he will have a few long outings but it doesn’t change the fact that his mean average is what it is. There are pitchers who will regularly go over 6 innings in their games. Early in his career Porcello was that pitcher.The last 2 years he hasn’t been
okiguess
5.52 ERA? Mets third basemen will need hockey-goalie equipment instead of a glove.
jim stem
Please, just say “no”. I’ve never seen a guy that has won so much get lit up so often.
jim stem
Well, he’s no Mike Pelfrey…oh wait, yes he is. I’d rather have the Phillies’ pitchers that they have given up on.
mecousinvinny
Mets dont need Porcello – he stinks — besides he will want 10 mil