Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Lackluster Recrap: Chacin shines again in another undeserved loss

Giants 3, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

Ubaldo Jimenez could have been a 23-24 game winner in 2010 with a little help from his friends.

I don't know how many more wins Jhoulys Chacin could have realistically had in 2011 with a little help from his friends, but I assure you he doesn't deserve 14 losses. Sure, he's had his games that disappointed me and discouraged me, but not that many. Not nearly that many.

Disclaimer: I know, I know. Wins and losses aren't the end all be all for determining a starting pitcher's success. What I wrote above lends further evidence to that. But you can't discard what goes on a player's record. Until they stop keeping track, it's fine to be annoyed when a pitcher's record doesn't look as pretty as it should.

Anyway, Chacin was really good on this particular night.

His line: 7 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Not at all discouraged by the lower strikeout total, but definitely encouraged by only one walk. Save the strikeouts for when you really need them, but consistently throwing more strikes early in counts to get quicker outs is exactly what Chacin needs to do to get on those higher levels that await him.

Of course one of those next levels would be throwing 200 innings on a yearly basis. He ended up at 194 this season. Just think of where that number could go with even a little bit more efficiency.