Monday, May 07, 2012

Max Scherzer makes me crazy

Chances are, Max Scherzer is either going to be really good, or really bad, whenever he takes the mound.

Looking at his Game Scores for this year, he has gone: 15 (really, really bad), 60 (really good), 48 (mediocre), 31 (really bad), 35 (really bad), 74 (really, really good).

Last year was much the same. He had an 81, two other starts above 70 and eight more at 60 or better. He also had six others of 55 to 59. So that's 17 of 33 starts in the really good to really, really good range.

He also had a 12 and two 13s. He had a 29 and three starts between 31 and 34. He also had four between 40 and 44. So that's 11 in the really bad to really, really bad range.

Justin Verlander last year -- realizing this is not a fair comparison -- had only six starts below 53, with his worst being 32.

David Price had only two starts worse than 37, with a low of 22. Jon Lester had six lower than 44, with only one lower than 25 (a 12). Mark Buehrle, who I don't think anyone would suggest has Scherzer's stuff, had seven below 43, with a low of 12.

Scherzer is maddening because when you watch him throw those really good games, you cannot understand why he has so much trouble in other ones. I thought he would harness this stuff and become an ace, but it might never happen.

No comments: