Chamberlain vs. Haren

Ok... for those of you who think Chamberlain is more of a keeper and that Haren is hands down better than him, I will post their stats lines against each other for the remainder of the season and then we'll see who has the better second half and with comparable first half's, the better season.

Chamberlein        Haren

Date   IP    H    R    ER    BB    SO    HR   ERA              Date    IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   HR   ERA

7/19   6      6     1      1       1        8      0      2.52               7/19    7      4    0    0     2      7       0     2.58

7/25   7      3     0     0      1        9       0      2.30              7/25    8     9     2    2     0      9      0      2.56

7/30  6      5     2      1      0        6       0      2.24              7/30   7      7     3    3     0      6       1      2.62

8/04 4.2   8     5      5      2        5       0      2.63              8/04  6      8     4    4     0      8       1      2.75      

Totals

GS     IP    H   R     ER     BB    SO    HR    ERA              GS    IP     H    R    ER   BB   SO    HR   ERA

3    23.2    22   8      7        4       28     0     2.66               3      28    28   9    9        2    30     2       2.89

S0... as you can see, Joba is pitching better than Haren, albeit slighty, but given that I got Morrow in the trade as well, I come out ahead.  

Chamberlain and Morrow Join the Elims

Just what the title suggests, Joba Chamberlain and Brandon Morrow are now Eliminators at the expense of Dan Haren, George Sherrill, and Joey Devine. "This was trade was difficult for us until we look at the numbers. Since 2006 Haren's ERA has risen drastically in the second half of the seasons going from 3.52 to 4.91 in 2006 and 2.30 to 4.15 in 2007. We're noticing a trend here and are predicting more of the same in 2008. Sherrill started out the season hot and has tailed off and really has no future potential. Devine has potential, but has yet to show it on a consistent basis and with him on the DL he is a nothing player on the Elims. Joba and Morrow will help my team more than Haren and Sherrill. This trade really wasn't that difficult" said GM/Owner Matt Caskey. Rumor has it that Morrow will become the teams new closer with Chamberlain taking over for Haren as the team's ace. 

Dye an Eliminator

Jermaine Dye will add a little more power to an already potent lineup. It's still being determined but it seems Dye will hit behind Sizemore, Ramirez, Crawford, and Teixeira, with Derek Lee supporting him from behind. It seems worcester now has two 40/40 candidates (Sizemore/Ramirez) and three 30+ HR candidates (Dye, Tex, Lee). There should be little doubt as to the power of the Eliminator lineup now and with its pitching being number one in the league, one has to think they are the favorites to take the east. Dye did not come cheap. Worcester has to give up streaky reliever Joaquin Benoit and two players to be named. "Dye will fit in nicely" is all GM/Owner Matt Caskey had to say about the deal.

Sizemore

Grady Sizemore is anything but platueing, like many of you in the league think. This season he has already matched his rookie season in HR with 22 and just six away from his career total of 28 set two seasons ago. Sizemore is on pace for career highs in HR (41), RBI (91), and SB (37). Currently, he ranks 1st in the AL in HR (22), 6th in BB (50), 7th in SLG. (.541), 8th in R (56), 9th in SB (20), and 9th in .OPS (.914). Not bad for a guy everyone had labeled as being predictable and washed up. Oh and by the way he is only 25 years old. Lets let him reach his prime before we say he is peaking. 

Eliminators in the All-Star Game

Starters

C Joe Mauer

SS Derek Jeter

SS Hanley Ramirez

Reserves

George Sherrill

Dioner Navarro 

Grady Sizemore

Team Leaders- Through 88 Games

# Batting Average P AVG

1 Joe Mauer C 0.325

2 Dioner Navarro C 0.318

3 Garret Atkins 3B 0.309

4 Derek Lee 1B 0.306

5 Hanley Ramirez SS 0.304

# Home Runs P HR

1 Grady Sizemore CF 22

2 Hanley Ramirez SS 21

3 Mike Jacobs 1B 18

4 Mark Teixeira 1B 16

5 Derek Lee 1B 15

# Runs Batted In P RBI

1 Mark Teixeira 1B 66

2 Derek Lee 1B 53

3 Garret Atkins 3B 50

4 Grady Sizemore CF 50

5 Mike Jacobs 1B 50

# Stolen Bases P SB

1 Carl Crawford LF 22

2 Hanley Ramirez SS 21

3 Alex Rios RF 21

4 Grady Sizemore CF 20

5 Derek Jeter SS 5

# Wins- Starters W

1 Tim Hudson 9

2 Dan Haren 8

3 Jesse Litsch 8

4 Jon Lester 7

5 Erik Bedard 6

# ERA- Starters ERA

1 Dan Haren 2.83

2 Tim Hudson 3.19

3 Jon Lester 3.21

4 Jeremy Guthrie 3.61

5 Erik Bedard 3.67

# Strikeouts- Starters SO

1 Dan Haren 103

2 Jeremy Guthrie 80

3 Jon Lester 76

4 Tim Hudson 73

5 Erik Bedard 72

# Wins- Relievers W

1 Heath Bell 6

2 Matt Guerrier 4

3 Joey Devine 3

4 Joaquin Benoit 3

5 George Sherrill 2

# ERA- Relievers ERA

1 Joey Devine 1.23

2 Scott Downs 1.80

3 Heath Bell 2.23

4 Pedro Feliciano 2.88

5 Matt Guerrier 3.06

# Strikeouts- Relievers SO

1 George Sherrill 41

2 Heath Bell 39

3 Mark Lowe 37

4 Scott Downs 36

5 Matt Guerrier 33