Where's the love for Mike Leake?
by MVP Sports Talk on Jul 24, 2010 4:04 PM EDT
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While rookie phenom Stephen Strasburg of the Nationals is hogging all of the attention another rookie pitcher has quietly helped his team to near the top of their division. Mike Leake (above), pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, just a half a game out of first in the NL Central is right now one of the top contenders for the National League Rookie of the Year award, has a 7-1 Win/Loss record, 73 strikeouts, and a solid 3.45 ERA yet nobody outside of Reds Land seems to be paying him any attention. Right now everyone is just pressed over Stephen Strasburg, his triple digit fastball, and why he should have, or should not have made the allstar team (I'm happy that he didn't, he hadn't had enough starts). Now why would people ignore the real phenom here for a flamethrower that hasn't even been in the bigs for two months? Maybe its because Strasburg's changeup has been clocked faster than Leake's fastball, maybe its that Leake has two less strikeouts in 60 1/3 more innings, or maybe its because of Strasburg's miniscule 2.32 ERA and 1.07 WHIP? Right now I don't know, But what I do know is Mike Leak deserves some respect and hopefully he will get it in the voting for National League Rookie of the Year.
-Andrew F, MVP Sports Talk
This article was taken from the archives and edited with updated stats (July 8, 2010)
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I am a cards fan
and i have uber respect for garcia. He is very good pitcher
by MVP Sports Talk on Jul 24, 2010 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Sigh....
It is really simple. Stephen Strasburg is just better, thats why. It is not a slight on Mike Leake who is good, or perhaps very good. Stephen Strasburg just happens to be better than that.
I was listening to 1530 this week and it was brought up all week leading up to Wednesday and all I wanted to know was this: If the Nationals called and offered a straight up deal of Strasburg for Leake, not a single person would turn it down. Not one. That is why Leake is being over looked. He isn’t as good as Strasburg and that isn’t anything to hold against him (or Strasburg for that matter).
I'm curious, though
Leake for Jaime Garcia, straight up?
BBRef’s WAR has Garcia at a full WAR over Leake (including batting) but I’m not sure I’m that excited.
"And then there was the USAID guy in Kandahar who drove a giant pink Cadillac, which the locals set on fire one day. If you wanted to destroy something symbolic during a riot, you just could not do better than that. Good stuff." - Ghosts of Alexander
i believe strasburg is better, but leake is still a very good pitcher
by MVP Sports Talk on Jul 24, 2010 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I dunno....
Would you trade Strasburg for Leake and Chapman? If the Reds had spent the monster money on Strasburg I seriously doubt that they’d have had the money for Arnoldis.
Besides, I confess, I’d be scared to see what Dusty would do to Strasburg.
Tell you what- they split the honors. Strasburg gets Rookie of the Year, Leake gets World Series MVP. Seem fair?
leake has longevity
the problem w/ hard throwers is that they have a propensity to flame out after a few years of outstanding success.
the advantage leake has over strasburg is his control. you’re never gonna see mike leake mow down batters, but his control, his ability to outthink batters, and his confidence in the guys around him all add up to mike leake being able to have a much longer lasting career than strasburg. leake knows this is a team game, while you think stasburg has the approach that he has to do it all himself.
I don't buy that
I think we just believe throwing hard is more stressful on the arm. I think it is just more noticable when they do flame out, because most really successful pitches tend to throw 98 rather than 88.
Does anybody really remember the Scott Winchester’s, Bobby Livingston’s, or Brandon Claussen’s who blew out their arms by the time they were 28?
But we do remember the Kerry Wood’s, Mark Prior’s, Paul Wilson’s, and Bill Pulsipher’s.
I am thrilled for your success, hell I'm amazed by it. Nobody who knows you saw this coming.
by justin007000 on Jul 26, 2010 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions
And Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson all had long careers
hell, even Pedro Martinez lasted a long time before breaking down.
I think it all really depends on the specific pitcher’s mechanics.
Red Reporter or follow on Twitter: @redreporter. Buy The Wire-to-Wire Reds today!
And in Pedro's case, whether or not steroids are available!
"People don't kill people. Burning oreo packages kill people."
nolan ryan's a one of a kind pitcher
that’s mighty big shoes to fill.
roiger lost his credibility in my eyes, and when pedro came back he wasn’t a hard thrower.
randy johnson is like seven feet tall or something.
i just wanted to make a point for leake that he’s got some advantage. he’s more of a jamie moyer than a roiger clemens, and there’s no shame in that.
all i’m saying, granted this doesn’t have anything to do with rookie of the year, is that his style of pitching gives him a better chance of pitching well into his 30s, possibly later if he wants, and i don’t think strasburg will be pitching that long.
by NikoliVoltron on Jul 27, 2010 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions
I gave some anecdotal evidence because I've never seen a real study
but my point is that it is not the power of the pitcher that keeps him healthy, it’s the mechanics and workload. Bad mechanics will kill any pitcher. I don’t know enough about mechanics to say whose are better, but just because Strasburg throws harder than Leake does not automatically make him more prone to injury. Even though he looks smooth, it’s possible that Leake has a slight rotation in his shoulder that is going to break down and it’s possible that Strasburg has flawless mechanics for his body type. If we knew what the reality was in those situations, we’d have a much better idea of who will last longer than we do based on how hard they throw the ball.
Red Reporter or follow on Twitter: @redreporter. Buy The Wire-to-Wire Reds today!
serv'd
i can’t really think of anything else to argue for him.
maybe leake has the advantage in a leonardo di caprio look-a-like contest?
i agree that buster posey’s got as good a look at ROY as anybody
by NikoliVoltron on Jul 27, 2010 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions
how 'bout strasburg hitting the dl?
now people are talking about shutting him down for the year. it may not mean anything at all, but it’s certainly not good news for the youngster.
by NikoliVoltron on Jul 29, 2010 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions
sounds like he has the same thing Homer Bailey has
Since the Nats are in the cellar, I would shut him down. Strasburg has never pitched as much as he’s pitched this year. Why push him for no reason?
All Things Bubba: Because how can you not love a baseball player named Bubba?
because who wants to go see the 'nats play?
sometimes i long for those powder blue expos jerseys.
by NikoliVoltron on Jul 30, 2010 11:52 AM EDT up reply actions
Strasburg actually has outstanding control
Nothing's complicated if you understand it.
If Leake would have gotten . . .
some support and Coco hadn’t imploded a couple of his wins
(Atlanta, etc.), he could easily be 10-1. Obviously, SS is a ace in the
making, but Leake has a chance to be a Greg Maddux type pitcher.
As a pitcher/ coach, I can assure you that guys who locate and change
speeds, have just as much chance to be a big winner as the flame throwers.
Here’s to Mike Leake having a long and healthy career.
P.S. – Ohh, and he can hit a little as well !
It's GO time !
This should have been a FanShot.™
"Don't turn off the TV if we've still got bats in our hands." - Dusty Baker
would have been
but i updated the article for here from the original content
by MVP Sports Talk on Jul 24, 2010 7:00 PM EDT up reply actions
was the original content full of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage errors?
see what I did there with uzr? it’s like a LOL cats saber-pun combo.--Verka Serduchka
i don't see any in this one
where are they
by MVP Sports Talk on Jul 25, 2010 8:33 AM EDT up reply actions
Well...
1. Missing comma after ATTENTION
2. (above) should be (left)
3. should be in parentheses: just a half a game out of first in the NL Central
4. The first “right now” is grammatically unnecessary. The second and third times are tiresome, but grammatically correct.
5. second sentence is a run-on
6. sentences should be separated: “…ERA yet…” should be “…ERA. Yet…”
7., 8., 9. & 10. “why he should have, or should not have made the allstar team” should be “why he should have – or should not have – made the All-Star team.”
11. (I’m happy that he didn’t, he hadn’t had enough starts). The word “as” goes after the comma.
12. triple-digit is a hyphenate
13. “Now why would people” comma goes after NOW
14., 15. & 16. “its” should be “it’s” all three times
17. “that Leake has two less” extra space after “Leake”
18. “and 1.07 WHIP?” question mark should be a period
19. & 20. “Right now I don’t know,” needs a comma after “now” and a period after “know”
21. “But what I do know is Mike…” the word “that” goes before “Mike”
22. Mike Leake’s name is spelled wrong the final time.
23. comma after respect
24. Unless your last name is F, you are missing a period after it, Andrew.
25. “But” is a conjunction, and thereby should not begin sentences.
That’s all I see…anyone else?
"Don't turn off the TV if we've still got bats in our hands." - Dusty Baker
by PeteyHendrix on Jul 26, 2010 1:24 AM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Am I a Nazi in the mid-to-late 19th century?
I’d best go check my bloomers for swastikas.
"Don't turn off the TV if we've still got bats in our hands." - Dusty Baker
by PeteyHendrix on Jul 26, 2010 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
My high school english teacher was C.J. Foxlow
As you might expect from a name like that, he was a tweed-wearing, pipe-smoking, poetry-quoting character that would have been at home in many of the novels that he had us read. Anyway, he always explained to us that it was perfectly fine to begin a sentence with “but,” but not with “however.”
Nothing's complicated if you understand it.
C.J. Foxlow would be proud
Nothing's complicated if you understand it.
by ctnyc on Jul 26, 2010 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
But for sure would he.
Though some might argue that "best utility player" is a contradiction in terms.
BuubaFan...
#18 could probably be passed off as an intentional rhetorical device
- is not an issue.
and #26 – a pitcher cannot help a team to the top of “their” division.
that "1" should have been a 25
but apparently starting a sentence with a # automatically gets formatted as a list, and auto-numbered….
I am with holding judgement until Justin weighs in with his critique
Though some might argue that "best utility player" is a contradiction in terms.
BuubaFan...
Neither.
Edinson Volquez for Rookie of the Year!
by Gapper on Jul 24, 2010 10:23 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
It's silly to vote for Mike Leake
Strasburg is clearly the better pitcher. There is little reason to believe that Strasburg will not have as long a career as Leake (or longer). And Strasburg also has very good control and changes speeds well, like Leake.
I like Leake, he’s a very solid pitcher. He will (or at least should) get a few ROY votes as long as he doesn’t implode down the stretch. Jaime Garcia is more unjustly ignored than Leake though.
it may come down to who wins the division
or it may just be heyward because he plays for the braves.
Needs more bold
It's summertime - go Reds!
by NYCCats on Jul 25, 2010 10:28 AM EDT reply actions 7 recs
ROY SHOULD GO TO.....
BUSTER POSEY. This kid has been outstanding and has made a huge impact for his team. Not to mention he is currently on a 18 gm hit streak. As a reds fan I would love to see Leake get it, but as a die hard baseball fan I have to follow the numbers.
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