The start against Texas specifically — total domination over one of the best offenses in baseball — shows that Gaudin possesses the ability and potential to compete against the elite teams. Conversely the start against the very good Anaheim Angels shows that against other elite clubs and on certain nights, Gaudin has been rendered horribly and repulsively ineffective. Although, even on his poorest of nights he's not too much worse than Sergio Mitre has been since his ill-advised call-up. It must be noted that these stats, although showing some signs of encouragement they — with the exception of the Texas gem — were mostly accumulated in the highly inferior National League. It is questionable how well these other positive stat-lines will translate to the much more demanding AL East.
Even given his inconsistently though, its seems like Gaudin is the logical next choice for a shot at the fifth starter's role. The current placeholder, Mitre, is sporting an egregious 7.04 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP that can't make a self-proclaimed, reborn sabermetric thinker/theorist like Brian Cashman happy at all.
The Yankees currently have a comfortable lead over the Red Sox but that can change rather quickly with one rotator cuff injury to any of their super-starters currently populating the rotation. Because of their lack of depth of starting pitching, and Mitre's constant inability to get people out, it is clearly time for
Joe Girardi to give Gaudin a chance at starting ball games. Obviously the teams he starts against should be chosen with discretion, but unfortunately for a team as red hot as the Yankees, Gaudin may be their only viable option, especially if they intend to regulate Joba Chamberlain's innings. But in some rare cases — especially in ones in which the subject has a K/9 ratio like Gaudin's — the only viable option turns out to be surprisingly the best one.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Here's another great start someone had against Texas this year: 6 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Now, Gaudin will probably start a few games, perhaps win one or two, but with the lead New York has in the AL East, I don't think a fifth starter is going to make or break their playoff chances. He was probably a nice acquisition, though. I don't understand why more teams try to pick up those kind of guys, rather than only swing for the Halladays and Sherrills of the league.
The pitcher who made that start? Dontrelle Willis.
2 - Tony
That Willis stat was a low blow. That was so flukey and you know it. Either way, his strikeout totals do indicate possible effectiveness and hes better than Mitre.
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
You know the rules. Willis goes down, everybody suffers.
Actually, I look at look at the six times the Rangers were shut out. Really, he didn't lose to worldbeaters, except for the obvious one:
Chad Gaudin
Zach Greinke
Dontrelle Willis
Gio Gonzalez
Brian Tallet
Aaron Laffey
Back to Gaudin, his 10th best K/9 rate in the country goes with the third worst BB/9 rate (among qualifiers), just ahead of Clayton Kershaw and Jonathan Sanchez. In all fairness, that does have fifth starter written all over it.
4 - Tony
You're right, he does have control problems and I think I touched on that quite a bit. My point was that he either looks like a superstar or a total bum (much like Sanchez and Kershaw) and that makes his stats look a little worse than they really are.
If I made Gaudin out to be some blockbuster move I didn't intend to. I just factored in the price and the potential and wanted to frame him as a possible great bargain for a team that didn't and doesn't need a lot.
5 - Ricky Rocker
Yanks suck. Plan for a pennant in 2050.