Brandon Webb Deserves Your Attention

Last night, Brandon Webb extended his scoreless streak to 42 innings by throwing a complete game shutout against the Braves (his third straight complete game). In the process, Webb gave up just three baserunners while striking out six. This is the 12th longest such streak in MLB history, and the 5th longest since 1940, surpassed only by Orel Hershiser (59), Don Drysdale (58), Bob Gibson (47), and Sal Maglie (45). He'll attempt to extend the streak when the Diamondbacks face the Brewers next week.

So...is Webb going to ride his devastating sinker to his second consecutive NL Cy Young Award? To date, Jake Peavy has the leg-up on this honor, but Webb is certainly making a strong push as the season winds down.

• Webb: 13-8, 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 161 K's, 2.82 K/BB
• Peavy: 13-5, 2.19 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 175 K's, 3.80 K/BB

...And, to think that Brandon Webb is being paid Joel Pineiro-type money?? After all, Webb inked a four-year contract extension worth $19.5M after his successful 2005 campaign (14-12, 3.55 ERA, 172 K's).

I know, I know...you're all wondering where Brandon Webb now ranks in my pitching rankings? The exact same place I had ranked him on June 5th (see below link for previous rankings). He's the 4th best pitcher in MLB, only trailing Santana, Bedard, and Peavy. Who's 5th? None other than Red Sox Nation's own Josh Beckett. And, yes, I'm well aware that Dan Haren isn't in my top 5. Quite honestly, Haren's name doesn't belong amongst the aforementioned aces.

http://thewincolumn.blogspot.com/search?q=brandon+webb

Top 25 SP's in MLB

In putting together these rankings, heavy emphasis was put on recent success (specifically, the 2005 & 2006 seasons), the current season, the future which lies ahead, the league in which they pitch, and one's health resume. Essentially, my basis came down to which 25 pitchers you would trust most with the ball in their hands...going forward (in 2007 and beyond, to a much lesser degree).

(Disclaimer: These are not fantasy rankings)

(It should be noted that these rankings were not made on a whim, as I studied and analyzed every meaningful stat out there -- PECOTA peripherals, defined ERA+ numbers, replacement value, PERA stats, EqERA stats, etc.)

1. Johan Santana: 6-5, 3.30 ERA, 91 K's

2. Jake Peavy: 7-1, 1.68 ERA, 92 K's

3. Roy Oswalt: 6-4, 3.20 ERA, 57 K's

4. Brandon Webb: 5-3, 3.39 ERA, 75 K's

5. Roy Halladay: 5-2, 3.90 ERA, 45 K's

6. John Lackey: 9-3, 2.37 ERA, 65 K's

7. John Smoltz: 7-2, 2.82 ERA, 65 K's

8. C.C. Sabathia: 8-1, 3.78 ERA, 75 K's

9. Josh Beckett: 8-0, 2.95 ERA, 59 K's

10. Chien-Ming Wang: 4-4, 4.19 ERA, 25 K's

11. Dan Haren: 6-2, 1.70 ERA, 70 K's

12. Carlos Zambrano: 5-5, 5.62 ERA, 51 K's

13. Erik Bedard: 4-3, 3.73 ERA, 95 K's

14. Cole Hamels: 8-2, 3.55 ERA, 91 K's

15. Ben Sheets: 6-3, 3.51 ERA, 48 K's

16. Justin Verlander: 5-2, 3.44 ERA, 50 K's

17. Felix Hernandez: 3-3, 4.10 ERA, 42 K's

18. Jeremy Bonderman: 5-0, 3.27 ERA, 60 K's

19. Rich Hill: 4-4, 2.89 ERA, 63 K's

20. Tim Lincecum: 2-0, 4.05 ERA, 39 K's

21. Andy Pettitte: 3-4, 2.96 ERA, 41 K's

22. Chris Carpenter: 0-1, 7.50 ERA, 3 K's

23. Scott Kazmir: 3-3, 3.95 ERA, 71 K's

24. Barry Zito: 6-5, 3.87 ERA, 44 K's

25. Matt Cain: 2-5, 3.42 ERA, 54 K's

Others which garnered consideration (in no particular order): Harang, Schilling, Clemens, Jered Weaver, Chris Young, Hudson, Willis, Harden (way too injury prone...and likely bullpen-bound)

...I tried being COMPLETELY objective (if you know me, you know it pained me to drop Wang all the way down to #10). Where do we agree/disagree???

(As I'm writing this, the Red Sox just tied the game...in the 9th, on a Wily Mo Pena single. Francona is managing this team perfectly this year, thus far. It makes me sick.) Goodnight!