If John Ely Had Enough Innings to Qualify…

June 2, 2010 at 9:56 am | Posted in John Ely | 9 Comments

…he’d be 3rd in the NL in K/BB ratio, behind two guys you may have heard of, Dan Haren and Roy Halladay.

…he’d be 12th in the NL in ERA, right above Roy Oswalt, Yovani Gallardo, and Barry Zito.

…and most mindblowingly impressively, he’d be 2nd in WHIP and 2nd in OPS allowed, behind only Ubaldo Jimenez and above Halladay and everyone else in the NL.

And as the kicker, his FIP is actually just 2.09, lower than his 2.49 ERA.

Each week, we keep saying that a soft-tossing rookie like John Ely just can’t keep it up, and that hitters will figure him out eventually… and then he goes out and duels Dan Haren to a draw. If anything, he’s actually even better than those stats above show, since they include his mediocre 5 ER in 6 IP debut on a cold day in New York. He’s made six starts since then, and allowed 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, and 0 earned runs, while making it through at least six innings every time. If you ignore that first start, his season line is 1.80 ERA with a 33/5 K/BB ratio.

At some point, we’re going to have to stop looking at Ely with a giddy awe at this newfound treasure, and realize that he’s the real deal, here to stay. Not yet, perhaps. But pretty goddamn soon. (PS. Juan Pierre‘s hitting .241/.306/.271 for the White Sox right now. Ha!)

Oh, and Matt Kemp hit a walkoff homer. He’s sorta good too. Day game today!

(awesome fake SI cover from PA_Dodger via Sons of Steve Garvey)

9 Comments »

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That Sports Illustrated cover is priceless. Filled with all kinds of tidbits. Especially like the Frank McCourt quote.

Comment by ElbertFan— June 2, 2010 #

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- I love the GA feature
  
  Comment by EephusBlue— June 2, 2010 #
  
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  - I like the subtle “Blame Kemp” as for why the Cavs lost.
    
    Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— June 2, 2010 #
    
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I am stoked that we are winning with consistently unproductive atbats from GA. He’s just digging himself a deeper grave, which could bring XPaul back to us for good in 10 days…?

Comment by Ghost of Ortizii Past— June 2, 2010 #

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I wonder what ChiSox fans feel about their team trading away John Ely, especially for a crap player. Don’t they need pitching too? Peavy, Buehrle, Danks and Floyd aren’t pitching as well as they could as far as I know.

Comment by Gerson— June 2, 2010 #

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I wish Jason Heyward wasnt a rookie lol

Ely vs. Leake would be a cool ROY race.
early, but you hit it Mike. It’s just about time to realize, hey, this guy is pretty good and this is no fluke

Comment by Joey E— June 2, 2010 #

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Someone please explain. Top of the tenth Loney doubles with no-out, GA is the batter. You are trying to rest some of your regulars. GA has one of the highest strikeout rates of any current Dodger. Furcal well rested, switch hitter, decent bunter, very good speed. Does he pinch hit for GA-No, what does GA do he strikes out, and the Dodgers leave Loney stranded. Because Torre needs to pinch hit again he brings in Martin, person who may need the most rest. We are now into the 12th probably heading to the 13th, Dodgers frying their bullpen.

GA is a nice guy who had a very good career with the Angels, his time is past, Xavier Paul needs to be up, he will not be permanently damaged or stunted by being a pinch hitter and a fill in outfielder!

Comment by Louis— June 2, 2010 #

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I was just looking to post a comment saying the same thing. At what point will it be safe to call Ely somewhat of a pitching savant, a la Greg Maddux? Maddog may have thrown a bit harder when he was younger, but not by much. Both get by with laser-guided control, avg. stuff, and just being way smarter than their opponents.

If Ely and (oh man) MonoStereo keep up this dominating pitching nonsense, suddenly our starting 5… wow, scary.

Comment by sumdumfu— June 2, 2010 #

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- “At what point will it be safe to call Ely somewhat of a pitching savant, a la Greg Maddux?”
  
  When he has more starts than I have fingers, to start with.
  
  Comment by KempKershaw— June 4, 2010 #
  
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