The Giants have activated Alex Cobb for his start today, as expected. In a corresponding move, Mauricio Llovera was optioned to Triple-A, per MLB.com’s Maria I. Guardado (via Twitter).
Cobb made eight starts at the start of the campaign but struggled in terms of his bottom-line numbers with a 5.73 ERA. He also, however, posted an impressive 2.73 FIP over that same time span. This tends to balance itself out over the long haul, but the discrepancy is especially apparent over a small 37 2/3 inning total.
Bottom line is that the results when Cobb took the hill haven’t been great thus far, but there are definitely some positive things to take away from Cobb’s start. One potential mitigating factor is the neck strain, and we can certainly speculate about how long Cobb might have been afflicted. After posting a 3.98 ERA/2.20 FIP over his first five starts (a total of 20 1/3 innings), Cobb hit a wall in his final three, where his ERA jumped to 7.79 ERA over those 17 1/3 innings. His FIP remained relatively stable at 3.14, even during those supposed clunkers.
The FIP likely takes into account a solid 19-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in those three starts. That’s a 25% strikeout rate and 5% walk rate, both of which are better than average for starters in 2022. But he also got clobbered in that time, yielding 24 hits and a pair of home runs as hitters slashed .338/.373/.493 on a .440 BABIP. That’s well above the .247/.315/.346 line on a .365 BABIP he was giving up in the five starts prior. If we just normalize that .440 BABIP down to .365 BABIP for those final three starts, the batting average against drops from .338 BA to .285 BA, and we can begin to see why FIP would think more highly of Cobb’s future.
Llovera, 26, made 11 appearances (one start), with a 4.66 ERA/4.69 FIP over 9 2/3 innings while serving up five hits and three walks against 10 strikeouts. He is in his first season with the Giants after signing as a free agent from the Phillies this past winter.
I love the additional analysis!
Nothing against Cobb but it still amazes me that someone can make 250 starts as a borderline average pitcher and retire before age 40 with $40 mill+ deposit in their bank account. What a country.
I don’t know how much of his earnings he’s spent, but Spotrac puts his career earnings so far at $66,595,287. On the other hand, Fangraphs puts the WAR value of his pitching at $111.9. And Forbes says the Marlins are the only franchise worth less than a billion at $990M. Indeed, what a country. But Forbes also says the highest-paid athlete isn’t in this country: it’s soccer star Lionel Messi.
VERY overpaid. One lucky dude.
All pro athletes are overpaid. Those of us who are not, are the idiots for enabling this social injustice to continue due to our continued financial support. The owners of these pro sports franchises who have already amassed billions of dollars through profits from other “legal” businesses, continue to pad their bank balances enabled by sports fans. Meanwhile, those who are serving the public good in impactful professions such as: police, firemen, members of our armed services, teachers, nurses, child care workers, nursing home workers, etc, pull down a relative pittance in comparison to those connected to pro sports. That’s our fault.
Social injustice?
Currently, in the US there’s roughly*
700,000 police officers
1,ooo,ooo firefighters
1,000,000 + armed forces members
1,000,000 physicians
5,000,000 nurses
In 150 years of MLB’s existence, there’s been about 20,000 pro ball players that have played in the major leagues — ever.
Many pro athletes make chump change before making it to the big leagues and most play at league minimums. If they can achieve success in such sparse company, it seems to me they make exactly what they deserve since there’s so few that can do what they can do. Lots of people can become lawyers, doctors, police officers, firefighters. Very few can do what a pro athlete can do. It’s rarified air And to say they don’t provide an “impactful” service? Think about what this world would be like without pro athletes and other entertainers?
Odd that someone posting on a sports website would have this opinion. A political rally sounds more like your speed.
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*Statistics pulled from a crude and quick Google search.
All pro athletes are overpaid. Regardless of sport, regardless of how many there are or how many there have been, or the fact that their level of skill in their chosen sport is unique.
They are paid for playing a game. The public, through our support of those pro sports subsidize and support that ongoing social economic injustice. That financial inequity extends to the financial rewards reaped off of the various pro sports by billionaire owners.
Meanwhile, outside of the pro sport stadiums and the luxury boxes, people who risk their lives every day, while serving for the good of society, are doing so for a comparative pittance of compensation. Is watching a game worth more than a LIFE ??
I disagree. You state athletes are overpaid like it’s a fact. In your mind perhaps. I’m not for socializing sports. I firmly believe sports provide a valuable service to the masses. I’d hate to live in a world without it and I want athletes to continue to have the greatest incentive to bring out their best. I also don’t believe everyone deserves a trophy. I’m sure we disagree there too.
Unfortunately, sports in general and professional sports in particular give society yet another distraction away from conversing and taking interest in the real and serious issues that face society. It is part of the reason that “life” fails to get better and the once Great United States of America is but a shadow of it’s former self. Instead of talking: about what is wrong, how things could be better, we are conversing about: sports, the weather, TV, movies, etc while our elected officials endlessly flap their gums and accomplish NOTHING. Do any of us truly know just where our tax dollars REALLY go???
I get it. Sports are evil. Thank you for clearing that up. I can’t wait to get season tickets for the next senate session.
Great topic. Thanks. For me, following sports is wonderful diversionary activity that gives me a break from all the serious stuff I’ve got going on and in the world. I find this site to be a great place to get relief from all that. Cheers!