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Olier: "First of all, as far as I am concerned W-L is the ultimate stat defining a pitcher."
C'mon, you know better than that. Let's take (for example) Hershiser and Johnson's 2nd best Playoff performances to compare: we agree that '95 Hershisher and '95 Johnson were both their 2nd best performances in October, correct?
Let's put the numbers aside: Johnson faced 3 Elimination (as in lose, you go home) games within a week in 1995 (he won them all): the one-game playoff against the Angels, in which he dominated the Angels to get into the Playoffs, then down 2-0 to the Yankees in the DCS he dominated them in Game 3, then came into the game in relief in the 9th to win the game there, and in Game 3 of the LCS, he beat the Indians to put Seattle up 2-1. He got dinged up in the 8th Inning of Game 6 on short rest (facing a rested Offensive Juggernaut in the Indians), but was just plain out of gas by then.
Hershiser was also very impressive in '95, but he wasn't the guy driving the bus at that point in his career. His job was to hold the lead, and pitch decent (not necessarily dominate) until Belle, ManRam, Thome, etc. could slug their way back into the game. He also got lucky that postseason, because in his 1 DCS game, he was facing an overmatched Boston team that eventually got swept, and then faced a Mariner team that not only was beaten up and tired after a DCS Classic against the Yanks, but also couldn't reset their rotation after using all hands on deck in Game 5 the previous Series. RJ and Andy Benes were Seattle's top 2 pitchers, and they were both used in Game 5. Hershiser outdueled the fourth starter on Seattle's staff and had a great game against a beaten up line-up in Game 1 of the LCS. Again, that's not driving the bus, that's being along for the ride.
He doesn't have any other playoff performances that're close to those two. Johnson had a great postseason during his one year with the 'Stros, even though he got outdueled by a hot Kevin Brown and (I think) lost both games. He had something like a 1.93 ERA that Series.
"Randy is a great pitcher...but to have him at #4 and have Orel Hersheiser off of the top 10 presents some MAJOR inconsistencies."
I only had 7, Oil, not 10. But even if it was 10, I'd have a hard time putting Hershiser on that list. Like I said, the '88 Playoff performance was either the best or tied for the best single performance I've ever seen. I may have seen ones as good, but no way are they better than that.
I'd put Hershiser in more of the category of, "Great Single Season Pitcher Playoff Performances," a la Mike Scott or Jose Rijo, than I would the "Best Big Gamers of this Era" category.
I would easily take any pitcher on my list plus Di's Jack Morris and Dave Stewart over Orel if '88 is taken out of the equation.
Di: "sloops just having fun with you....i have to admit that i love these baseball threads you have being starting.....good stuff..."
Thanks, my man. And don't worry about giving me a hard time, we got way back, so its all good. Surprisingly, I get better (however limited) baseball conversation on BP than I get on the Yankees Insiders board. I haven't posted on BN in a year, but I do try to get some good threads going on the Yanks (to no avail).
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