Dodgers of the Decade: Right-Handed Starter
January 5, 2010 at 9:12 am | Posted in Brad Penny, Chad Billingsley, Chan Ho Park, Darren Dreifort, Derek Lowe, Hideo Nomo, Hiroki Kuroda, Jeff Weaver, Kevin Brown | 17 CommentsI have to say, I’m surprised that Clayton Kershaw won for top lefty starter. Sure, he was great last year, but was that limited body of work enough to make him the best starter of the entire decade? Still, the crowd has spoken, so onto the roster he goes…
Dodgers of the Decade team:
C: Russell Martin (68%)
1B: James Loney (62%)
2B: Jeff Kent (88%)
3B: Adrian Beltre (80%)
SS: Rafael Furcal (87%)
LF: Gary Sheffield (62%)
CF: Matt Kemp (94%)
RF: Shawn Green (79%)
LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%)
…and we move on to right-handed starters. There’s a lot of good options here. Do you go with Derek Lowe or Brad Penny, both very good for several years? Kevin Brown, probably the best of all but only during a short period? Chad Billingsley, who may the best of anyone named here when he’s done? Or just say “screw it, I’m voting for Darren Dreifort”?
Right-Handed Starter
Derek Lowe (135 starts, 2005-08)
Dodger stats: 54-48, 3.59 ERA, 120 ERA+, .679 OPS against
WAR: 12.7
Brad Penny (115 starts, 2004-08)
Dodger stats: 46-33, 4.07 ERA, 106 ERA+, .741 OPS against
WAR: 10.1
Chad Billingsley (100 starts, 2006-09)
Dodger stats: 47-30, 3.55 ERA, 119 ERA+, .707 OPS against
WAR: 10.3
Kevin Brown (94 starts, 2000-03)
Dodger stats: 40-23, 2.76 ERA, 149 ERA+, .623 OPS against
WAR: 14.4
Hideo Nomo (85 starts, 2002-04)
Dodger stats: 36-30, 4.05 ERA, 97 ERA+, .734 OPS against
WAR: 3.3
Jeff Weaver (75 starts, 2004-05, 2009)
Dodger stats: 33-28, 4.04 ERA, 101 ERA+, .742 OPS against
WAR: 4.3
Chan Ho Park (74 starts, 2000-01, 2008)
Dodger stats: 37-25, 3.39 ERA, 123 ERA+, .681 OPS against
WAR: 9.9
Darren Dreifort (58 starts, 2000-04)
Dodger stats: 21-24, 4.41 ERA, 95 ERA+, .739 OPS against
WAR: 1.5
Hiroki Kuroda (51 starts, 2008-09)
Dodger stats: 17-17, 3.74 ERA, 109 ERA+, .665 OPS against
WAR: 5.4
Top three seasons
6.5 WAR Brown, 2000
5.9 WAR Penny, 2007
5.4 WAR Brown, 2003
Tough choices. It’s Jeff Weaver, right?
Who is your top righty starting pitcher?
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Kevin Brown’s 2000-2003 (94 starts) is really only a season and change of starts from Derek Lowe’s (2005-2008) 134 starts and Brown’s stats are much better IMO…
Comment by Greg— January 5, 2010 #
I agree with Greg. Derek was great, and he was consistent as they come, but he was no Kevin Brown.
Comment by The Fury— January 5, 2010 #
The way I saw it, from this list of Dodger righties if I had to pick a starter to pitch a crucial, must-win game scenario, I would have to go with Kevin Brown. In terms of raw stuff when Brownie was healthy, his arsenal of sinking fastballs and diving split-finger pitches can only aptly have been described as pure filth.
Comment by Adam S.— January 5, 2010 #
went with Brown. really wanted to go with DLowe, but had to go with Brown
Comment by Joey E.— January 5, 2010 #
Heckuva job, Brownie!
Comment by Shmolnick— January 5, 2010 #
I’m impressed that Lowe’s putting up a fight, though.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— January 5, 2010 #
Kevin Brown was a dick. It’s hard to vote for him. Lowe put up some good numbers in his Dodger career.
Comment by Penos Cabell— January 5, 2010 #
I had to go with Lowe over Brown. I just personally enjoyed D-Lowe pitch more than Brown. Maybe it was b/c Lowe came to the plate with that “Apple Bottom Jeans” song blaring, which I always thought was hilarious. Oh yeah, and he was about as consistent a pitcher as anyone could ask for. AND Jamie never liked him, which gets him huge points.
Comment by Wes— January 5, 2010 #
I went with Billingsley. Partly because he was unfairly shit on last year and partly because he is better than any of those guys were at his age. Interestingly, I think Billingsley’s stuff can in some ways be compared to that of Brown. I just wish Billingsley had half the commitment to physical fitness and a quarter of the downright mean that Brown had.
That said, Brown was absolute nails for the Dodgers. DePodesta moved Brown at the right time and the only reason Brown’s contract is so reviled is because the Yanks had to pay for the parts of it where injuries made him far less effective than before. The reality is that Kevin Brown was the best f’ing pitcher in baseball for about 5-7 years and no one knew it because he played for awful teams. John Smoltz had a Cy Young on his mantle because Kevin Brown played for a terrible offensive Florida team. He was worth damn near every penny of that massive contract.
Comment by Alireza— January 5, 2010 #
[...] (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin Brown [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Left-Handed Reliever « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness— January 6, 2010 #
Aliraza, that’s a good defense of Brown’s contract. It was a harbinger of mega-deals to come for much iffier starting pitchers, so it’s an easy target for lazy pundits. In comparable deals since, most teams don’t get what the Dodgers got from Brown in those four years.
Comment by Casey— January 6, 2010 #
[...] (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin Brown (42%) LH reliever: Hong-Chih Kuo [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Right-Handed Reliever « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness— January 7, 2010 #
[...] (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin Brown (42%) LH reliever: Hong-Chih Kuo (57%) RH reliever: Paul Quantrill [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Closer « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness— January 8, 2010 #
[...] (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin Brown (42%) LH reliever: Hong-Chih Kuo (57%) RH reliever: Paul [...]
Pingback by Just Killin’ Time… | LADodgerTalk.com - Get Your Daily Dodger Juice, Dodger News and Dodger Rumors— January 8, 2010 #
[...] (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin Brown (42%) LH reliever: Hong-Chih Kuo (57%) RH reliever: Paul Quantrill (33%) Closer: Eric Gagne [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: General Manager « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness— January 11, 2010 #
[...] (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin Brown (42%) LH reliever: Hong-Chih Kuo (57%) RH reliever: Paul Quantrill (33%) Closer: Eric Gagne (71%) [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Manager « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness— January 13, 2010 #
[...] (62%) CF: Matt Kemp (94%) RF: Shawn Green (79%) LH starter: Clayton Kershaw (56%) RH starter: Kevin Brown (42%) LH reliever: Hong-Chih Kuo (57%) RH reliever: Paul Quantrill (33%) Closer: Eric Gagne (71%) [...]
Pingback by Your Dodgers of the Decade Team « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness— January 14, 2010 #