Quote:
Originally Posted by CMIZ5290
I agree, Arrieta would get my vote. Also, keep in mind, he pitches in Wrigley field! Nobody hardly talks about that...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sycks22
My fingers hurt thinking about how long it took to write all of this. Lots of great points Bill, but Jake is my man. Wrigley is one of the hardest parks to pitch in the majors and a lot tougher than Chavez Ravine.
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Well, Wrigley Field may really not be the hitters park people tend to think it is. At least, it isn't now. According to
this list compiled by the Sporting News, Wrigley Field is neither a hitter friendly or a pitcher friendly park. It is ranked 15th of the 30 home stadiums (with #1, Coors Field, being the most hitter friendly park, and #30, Petco Park, being the most pitcher friendly). So, Wrigley Field is dead in the middle, a neutral park overall, per their rankings. I don't know why that is now (and I would like to see their methodology), as I do know that Wrigley used to be considered more of a hitter's park, especially for left-handed pull hitters. But this ranking system is based off of recent analysis. I'd tend to put Wrigley a little higher up this list, high-neutral towards a hitters park. I grew up in Milwaukee, and while I've never been to a game at Wrigley, I watched a lot of them on WGN as a kid. My father grew up in Chicago. The Braves were his team, but he went to many games at Wrigley, to see the Braves when they were in town, or to go watch the Cubs with his friends. Based on what he's told me, and from my memories, I think some of the neutrality in this ranking tends to come from the unpredictability of the winds, though it may be overstated. It can be a hitters paradise, or a pitchers dreamland, depending on which way the wind is blowing. It's nothing like hitting at Dodger Stadium at night, where fly balls go to die. I absolutely agree that Wrigley is a tougher place to pitch than Dodger Stadium, though. While I think Greinke has improved since leaving Milwaukee, a good part of his numbers can be attributed to switching from Miller Park to Chavez Ravine.
I'll look around a little bit, and see where other rankings have the stadiums listed. Really, it's a moot point, because Arrieta was sensational
away from Wrigley. I mean, 13-1 with a 1.60 ERA on the road is...wow. Kershaw wasn't as good on the road, 5-4 with a 2.60 ERA (certainly not bad, at all, as most pitchers would kill for that kind of road ERA), but some of that is explained by two road starts at Coors Field. Take away his May 10th start, and he has a 2.32 road ERA for the season.
Oh well, as Lou alluded to, after a while, you can over-analyze things, and the numbers all start to run together.