So I'm watching that Around the Horn crap, and Bill "What the hell is he talkin 'bout" Plaschke says that Lidge's season was the best by any closer he's ever seen. Now, I'm willing to believe that, because I doubt that Plaschke has seen much. He seems to just talk out of his ass.
But this wasn't even Lidge's best season. That was his second season in the league - 2004. He posted a WHIP of 0.919 and an ERA of 1.90. Now, he wasn't the full-time closer that year, so maybe we shouldn't count it. But this season wasn't that much different from his 2005 season - it just ended differently.
Still, what was the best single season for a closer? I think we can narrow this one down to three seasons: Eric Gagne's 2003 season, Billy Wagner's 1997 season (maybe 2003, too), and Mariano Rivera's 2008 season (again, maybe 2005 or 2001).
So what do we find when we look at the statistics (I'll be looking at WARP on this one; it's not perfect but it's pretty good)? Well, as I said, this wasn't Lidge's best season: 2004 was (9.0 vs. 6.3).
Gas Can's 1999 season was his best (though not by much: 8.1 in 1999 vs 8.0 in 2003). Mariano Rivera's 2008 season was his best ever (an incredible 10.3 wins above replacement) while Eric Gagne's 2003 season was obviously his best (10.1 WARP).
Now, I don't think WARP tells the whole story, but it does a damn fine job of it. And Lidge's "perfect season" is an impressive accomplishment. But Lidge wasn't even the best closer this season! Rivera blew only one save this year, right? What's the difference between that and Lidge's extra save? Rivera (and as much as I loathe the Yankees, he deserves props for this) possibly had the best season for a closer ever (again, this would require a lot more statistical analysis), but he's been overshadowed by Francisco Rodriguez and Brad Lidge. That's too bad.
Going to watch the Rockets-Mavs game. Fuck Dallas, baby!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment