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OAKLAND - Tim Hudson 27 R and Mark Mulder 25 L and Barry Zito 24 L and Cory Lidle 30 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
HUDSON
1999 OAK 11 2 21 21 1 0 0 136 121 62 132 323
2000 OAK 20 6 32 32 2 2 0 202 169 82 169 414
2001 OAK 18 9 35 35 3 0 0 235 216 71 181 337
MULDER
1999 AAA 6 7 22 22 1 0 0 129 152 31 81 406
2000 OAK 9 10 27 27 0 0 0 154 191 69 88 544
2001 OAK 21 8 34 34 6 4 0 229 214 51 153 345
ZITO
1999 A 3 0 8 8 0 0 0 40 21 22 62 245
1999 AA-AAA 3 1 5 5 0 0 0 28 27 13 35 418
2000 AAA 8 5 18 18 0 0 0 102 88 45 91 319
2000 OAK 7 4 14 14 1 1 0 93 64 45 78 272
2001 OAK 17 8 35 35 3 2 0 214 184 80 205 349
LIDLE
1999 TAM 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 5 8 2 4 720
2000 TAM 4 6 31 11 0 0 0 97 114 29 62 503
2001 OAK 13 6 29 29 1 0 0 188 170 47 118 359
      Hudson now has a career record of 49-17.

      Zito had a bit of a rough start to the season, but almost completely stopped giving up runs during the summer. He is one of the best pitchers in the league, and is a good bet to get even better.
NEW YORK YANKEES - Mike Mussina 33 R and Roger Clemens 40 R and Andy Pettitte 30 L and David Wells 39 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
MUSSINA
1999 BAL 18 7 31 31 4 0 0 203 207 52 172 350
2000 BAL 11 15 34 34 6 1 0 238 236 46 210 379
2001 NYY 17 11 34 34 4 3 0 229 202 42 214315
CLEMENS
1999 NYY 14 10 30 30 1 1 0 188 185 90 163 460
2000 NYY 13 8 32 32 1 0 0 204 184 84 188 370
2001 NYY 20 3 33 33 0 0 0 220 205 72 213 351
PETTITTE
1999 NYY 14 11 31 31 0 0 0 192 216 89 121 470
2000 NYY 19 9 32 32 3 1 0 205 219 80 125 435
2001 NYY 15 10 31 31 2 0 0 201 224 41 164 399
WELLS
1999 TOR 17 10 34 34 7 1 0 232 246 62 169 482
2000 TOR 20 8 35 35 9 1 0 230 266 31 166 411
2001 CHW 5 7 16 16 1 0 0 101 120 21 59 447
      What was the best move of last year's off-season? Hands down, no questions asked, it was the Yankees' signing of Mike Mussina. The Moose was dominant the second half of the season, and was probably the Yankees' best pitcher for the year, though teammate Clemens won the Cy Young Award. Mussina is a great pitcher, and could be the favourite to win the Cy Young if Pedro Martinez continues to have injury problems.

      A sobering reality about Clemens' season: he pitched well, but not nearly as well as he did in his previous five Cy Young seasons, or in some other years that he didn't win the award. It was a fairly ordinary season by his own standards, but he Yankees scored over seven runs per game for him in support, giving him a great won-loss record.
      Oh well, I guess that helps make up for the crappy support he got in his last few years in Boston. Clemens turns 40 this year, and is 20 wins away from 300 in his career. Apart from his age, there is no obvious reason why he could not reach this milestone this season.

      If you are a Yankees fan, then you have to love Pettitte's performance from 2001. True, it wasn't dramatically different than from other years, and he didn't win as many games as he usually does... but the strikeouts were way up, and the walks were way down, a sign that his health, mechanics and confidence are all sound, and that he is gearing up for a strong second half to his fine career.
MINNESOTA - Joe Mays 26 R and Brad Radke 29 R and Eric Milton 27 L and Rick Reed 37 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
MAYS
1999 MIN 6 11 49 20 2 1 0 171 179 67 115 437
2000 MIN 7 15 31 28 2 1 0 160 193 67 102 556
2001 MIN 17 13 34 34 4 2 0 234 205 64 123 316
RADKE
1999 MIN 12 14 33 33 4 0 0 219 239 44 121 375
2000 MIN 12 16 34 34 4 1 0 227 261 51 141 445
2001 MIN 15 11 33 33 6 2 0 226 235 26 137 394
MILTON
1999 MIN 7 11 34 34 5 2 0 206 190 63 163 449
2000 MIN 13 10 33 33 0 0 0 200 205 44 160 486
2001 MIN 15 7 35 34 2 1 0 221 222 61 157 432
REED
1999 NYM 11 5 26 26 1 1 0 149 163 47 104 458
2000 NYM 11 5 30 30 0 0 0 184 192 34 121 411
2001 NYM-TAM 12 12 32 32 3 1 0 202 211 31 142 405
      Who was the best pitcher in the American League? A case can be made that it was Mays. The other top pitchers - Clemens, Mussina, Garcia, Mulder, Hudson - all pitched for great teams in pitchers' parks. Mays had to pitch for the Twins in the Metrodome. He's a terrific pitcher; the next couple of years will give us a clearer idea of how good he will be and how long he will last.

      When did Brad Radke become Bob Tewksbury? After a string of losing seasons, Radke finally got some support from his team and had a good year. He's a solid pitcher who eats up innings and has more good starts than bad. His control was also exceptional last season. Though he's only 29, I would not expect him to last more than 3-4 years; his margin for error is very small, and he can't afford to slip much.

      Milton is solid as a rock, has gone 28-17 over the past two seasons with the Twins. His ERA was good, his strikeout-walk ratio was sensational. He has still yet to break through with a big season, but there's time for that; he appears to be just inches away from joining the elite pitchers in the league.
BOSTON - Pedro Martinez 30 R and John Burkett 37 R and Dustin Hermanson 29 R and Frank Castillo 33 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
MARTINEZ
1999 BOS 23 4 31 29 5 1 0 213 160 37 313 207
2000 BOS 18 6 29 29 7 4 0 217 128 32 284 174
2001 BOS 7 3 18 18 1 0 0 117 84 25 163 239
BURKETT
2000 ATL 10 6 31 22 0 0 0 134 162 51 110 489
2001 ATL 12 12 34 34 1 1 0 219 187 70 187 304
HERMANSON
1999 MON 9 14 34 34 0 0 0 216 225 69 145 420
2000 MON 12 14 38 30 2 1 4 198 226 75 94 477
2001 STL 14 13 33 33 0 0 0 192 195 73 123 445
CASTILLO
2000 TOR 10 5 25 24 0 0 0 138 112 56 104 359
2001 BOS 10 9 26 26 0 0 0 137 138 35 89 421
      Pedro had problems with his rotator cuff, and was healthy for only two months. When he is on the mound, he is far and away the best pitcher in baseball. Some might argue that he is the best pitcher in baseball history - a lofty claim, though there is no obvious reason why it is not true. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that his injury problems are over.
SEATTLE - Freddy Garcia 25 R and Jamie Moyer 39 L and James Baldwin 31 R and Paul Abbott 35 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
GARCIA
1999 SEA 17 8 33 33 2 1 0 201 205 90 170 407
2000 SEA 9 5 21 20 0 0 0 124 112 64 79 391
2001 SEA 18 6 34 34 4 3 0 239 199 69 163 305
MOYER
1999 SEA 14 8 32 32 4 0 0 228 235 48 137 387
2000 SEA 13 10 26 26 0 0 0 154 173 53 98 549
2001 SEA 20 6 33 33 1 0 0 210 187 44 119 343
BALDWIN
1999 CHW 12 13 35 33 1 0 0 199 219 81 123 510
2000 CHW 14 7 29 28 2 1 0 178 185 59 116 465
2001 CHW-LA 10 11 29 28 2 1 0 175 191 63 95 442
ABBOTT
1999 SEA 6 2 25 7 0 0 0 73 50 32 68 310
2000 SEA 9 7 35 27 0 0 0 179 164 80 100 422
2001 SEA 17 4 28 27 1 0 0 163 145 87 118 425
      If I had had a vote for the Cy Young Award, I probably would have taken Garcia. He led the league in innings pitched and ERA - and I'll always take the guy who pitches better and more often than anyone else. His won-loss record was also as good as anybody's. Of course, he was helped by his team and his home park, but by any measure Garcia has to rank among the best pitchers in baseball.

      You probably heard, repeatedly, that Moyer was the oldest pitcher ever to win 20 games for the first time. I always thought this was a phony statistic; it gives the impression that Moyer is the oldest pitcher to win 20 games, which he is not.
      To say that he is the oldest pitcher to win 20 games for the first time is meaningless, like saying that Barry Bonds is the oldest player to hit 73 home runs for the first time. Who cares? All that means is that he never did it before, and it neither adds to nor detracts from his accomplishment.
      Moyer's been a good pitcher for several years; his chances of having another big season aren't as good as, say, Randy Johnson, but he'll probably pick up 12-15 wins.

      Paul "Bill Bevens" Abbott had a ridiculously lucky season, getting the most run support of any starter in the league. He pitched OK, but he's on the edge; I doubt he will be starting games in 2003.
ANAHEIM - Kevin Appier 34 R and Aaron Sele 32 R and Jarrod Washburn 28 L and Ramon Ortiz 29 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
APPIER
1999 KC-OAK 16 14 34 34 1 0 0 209 230 84 131 517
2000 OAK 15 11 31 31 1 1 0 195 200 102 129 452
2001 NYM 11 10 33 33 1 1 0 207 181 64 172 357
SELE
1999 TEX 18 9 33 33 2 2 0 205 244 70 186 479
2000 SEA 17 10 34 34 2 2 0 212 221 74 137 451
2001 SEA 15 5 34 33 2 1 0 215 216 51 114 360
WASHBURN
1999 ANA 4 5 16 10 0 0 0 62 61 26 39 525
2000 ANA 7 2 14 14 0 0 0 84 64 37 49 374
2001 ANA 11 10 30 30 1 0 0 193 196 54 126 377
ORTIZ
2000 ANA 8 6 18 18 2 0 0 111 96 55 73 509
2001 ANA 13 11 32 32 2 0 0 209 223 76 135 436
      There is probably not a pitcher I am rooting for more in 2002 than Kevin Appier. This guy, you may recall, used to be the best pitcher in the American League. He has struggled back from arm surgery to win 42 games over the past three seasons. Last year he pitched his best ball since the arm problems, but got stuck with an 11-10 record by the sad-sack Mets.
      Good veteran pitchers are hard to come by, and the Angels got a beauty for nothing.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX - Mark Buerhle 23 L and Todd Ritchie 30 R and Jon Garland 23 R and Rocky Biddle 26 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
BUERHLE
2000 AA 8 4 16 16 1 1 0 119 95 17 68 228
2000 CHW 4 1 28 3 0 0 0 51 55 19 37 421
2001 CHW 16 8 32 32 4 2 0 221 188 48 126 329
RITCHIE
1999 PIT 15 9 28 26 2 0 0 172 169 54 107 350
2000 PIT 9 8 31 31 1 1 0 187 208 51 124 481
2001 PIT 11 15 33 33 4 2 0 207 211 52 124 447
GARLAND
2000 AAA 9 2 16 16 2 1 0 104 99 32 63 226
2000 CHW 4 8 15 13 0 0 0 70 82 40 42 646
2001 CHW 6 7 35 16 0 0 1 117 123 55 61 369
BIDDLE
2000 AA 11 6 23 23 2 2 0 146 138 54 118 308
2001 CHW 7 8 30 21 0 0 0 129 137 52 85 539
      The Sox have shed themselves of Boomer Wells, and are turning their pitching fortunes over to their kids. Buerhle was the best last year, but Garland or Biddle (or Barcelo or Ginter) could be the best this year. The Sox also acquired veteran Todd Ritchie, who had a strange, tough-luck season with the Pirates but is a good pitcher and should be a good fit with the Sox.
TORONTO - Roy Halladay 25 R and Chris Carpenter 27 R and Luke Prokopec 24 R and Brandon Lyon 23 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
HALLADAY
1999 TOR 8 7 36 18 1 1 1 149 156 79 82 392
2000 TOR 4 7 19 13 0 0 0 68 107 42 44 1064
2001 TOR 5 3 17 16 1 1 0 105 97 25 96 316
CARPENTER
1999 TOR 9 8 24 24 4 1 0 150 177 48 106 438
2000 TOR 10 12 34 27 2 0 0 175 204 83 113 626
2001 TOR 11 11 34 34 3 2 0 216 229 75 157 409
PROKOPEC
1999 AA 8 12 27 27 0 0 0 158 172 46 128 542
2000 AA 7 3 22 22 1 0 0 129 118 23 124 245
2001 LA 8 7 29 22 0 0 0 138 146 40 91 488
LYON
2001 AA-AAA 10 3 20 20 2 1 0 127 125 19 98 369
2001 TOR 5 4 11 11 0 0 0 63 63 15 35 429
      Doc Halladay's career continues to take some weird and wonderful turns. After having one of the worst seasons by any pitcher in baseball history in 2000, he was sent back to the lower minors to start over. He returned to the rotation in midsummer, and was as good as any pitcher in the league the second half of the season.
      That's pretty nifty, shaving seven full runs off his ERA. So, what now? I have to be optimistic; I've always liked Halladay, and there is nothing not to like about his performance last season. His ERA, strikeout rate and strikeout/walk ratio were all sparkling. The young man can pitch.
TEXAS - Chan Ho Park 29 R and Kenny Rogers 37 L and Ismael Valdes 29 R and Doug Davis 27 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
PARK
1999 LA 13 11 33 33 0 0 0 194 208 100 174 523
2000 LA 18 10 34 34 3 1 0 226 173 124 217 327
2001 LA 15 11 36 35 2 1 0 234 183 91 218 350
ROGERS
1999 OAK-NYM 10 4 31 31 5 1 0 195 206 69 126 419
2000 TEX 13 13 34 34 2 0 0 227 257 78 127 455
2001 TEX 5 7 20 20 0 0 0 121 150 49 74 619
VALDES
1999 LA 9 14 32 32 2 1 0 203 213 58 143 398
2000 CHC-LA 2 7 21 20 0 0 0 107 124 40 74 564
2001 ANA 9 13 27 27 1 0 0 164 177 50 100 445
DAVIS
2000 TEX 7 6 30 13 1 0 0 99 109 58 66 538
2001 TEX 11 10 30 30 1 0 0 186 220 69 115 445
      Park had the good fortune to be the only top starter in this year's free agent market, and struck gold with the Rangers.
      Texas fans should be wary. Park loves Dodger Stadium, where he had a 2.36 ERA last year. On the road, his ERA ballooned to 4.83 (granted, those numbers include a few starts in Coors Field). The Ballpark is not a pitcher-friendly place; Park may find problems adjusting to his new park (or the new park may not suit Park).
      The Rangers' pitching staff was a horrendous disaster in 2001. John Hart has made a lot of improvements, but the starting rotation still has some question marks. Will Doug Davis take another step forward and become a good pitcher? Will Ismael Valdes ever figure out how to win? Will Kenny Rogers defy father time and have a good season? The answers, I think, are "yes", "maybe" and "no", but we will wait and see.
CLEVELAND - Bartolo Colon 27 R and CC Sabathia 22 L and Chuck Finley 39 L and Danys Baez 25 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
COLON
1999 CLE 18 5 32 32 1 1 0 205 185 76 161 395
2000 CLE 15 8 30 30 2 1 0 188 163 98 212 388
2001 CLE 14 12 34 34 1 0 0 222 220 90 201 409
SABATHIA
2000 AA 3 7 17 17 0 0 0 90 75 48 90 359
2001 CLE 17 5 33 33 0 0 0 180 149 95 171 439
FINLEY
1999 ANA 12 11 33 33 1 0 0 213 197 94 200 443
2000 CLE 16 11 34 34 3 0 0 218 211 101 189 417
2001 CLE 8 7 22 22 1 0 0 114 131 35 96 554
BAEZ
2000 AA 4 9 18 18 0 0 0 103 98 32 77 368
2001 CLE 5 3 43 0 0 0 0 50 34 20 52 250
      I can understand if Indians' fans are frustrated with Colon, who has yet to emerge as a star. He has his struggles, but he is still young and healthy and is overpowering when he is on his game. He could easily win the Cy Young Award this year.

      As for the rest of the staff... well, big things are expected of Sabathia, but I am skeptical. How many 21-year-old pitchers have repeated with big seasons? Dwight Gooden, for one; Bob Feller was another. I'm sure there have been others. But there have been far more flameouts, Kerry Wood, Rick Ankiel and Jaret Wright being some recent examples. Sabathia is good, but he still has some growing up to do.

      I've read lots of great things about Danys Baez, that he will be a key to the Indians' rotation. Maybe, but again I will wait and see. He pitched well last year, but didn't start any games. When he was a starter in the minors, he wasn't very good.
DETROIT - Jeff Weaver 26 R and Steve Sparks 36 R and Mark Redmon 28 L and Nate Cornejo 23 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
WEAVER
1999 DET 9 12 30 29 0 0 0 164 176 56 114 555
2000 DET 11 15 31 30 2 0 0 200 205 52 136 432
2001 DET 13 16 33 33 5 0 0 229 235 68 152 408
SPARKS
1999 ANA 5 11 28 26 0 0 0 148 165 82 73 542
2000 DET 7 5 20 15 1 1 1 104 108 29 53 407
2001 DET 14 9 35 33 8 1 0 232 244 64 116 365
REDMAN
2000 MIN 12 9 32 24 0 0 0 151 168 45 117 476
2001 MIN-DET 2 6 11 11 0 0 0 58 68 23 33 450
CORNEJO
2001 AA-AAA 16 3 23 23 3 1 0 154 131 48 127 257
2001 DET 4 4 10 10 0 0 0 43 63 28 22 738
      Weaver is an underrated and underapprieciated young pitcher. He's not Tim Hudson, but he's durable and improves every year, and he's better than, say, Paul Abbott. He's got good things ahead of him, though he likely won't win 20 games in a Tigers uniform.

      The rest of the Tigers' staff is surprisingly solid. Sparks is 36, but he's a knuckler, so he might not hit his prime until he's 40. He's a good pitcher. The Tigers stole Redman from the Twins; sure, he's not Randy Johnson, but he has a chance to be Kirk Rueter, and they didn't give up much for him. He was slowed for much of the year by a strained triceps. Cornejo pitched very well in the minors, though he got roughed up in ten starts with Detroit.
BALTIMORE - Jason Johnson 28 R and Sidney Ponson 25 R and Scott Erickson 34 R and Josh Towers 24 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
JOHNSON
1999 BAL 8 7 22 21 0 0 0 115 120 55 71 546
2000 BAL 1 10 25 13 0 0 0 108 119 61 79 702
2001 BAL 10 12 32 32 2 0 0 196 194 77 114 409
PONSON
1999 BAL 12 12 32 32 6 0 0 210 227 80 112 471
2000 BAL 9 13 32 32 6 1 0 222 223 83 152 482
2001 BAL 5 10 23 23 3 1 0 138 161 37 84 494
ERICKSON
1999 BAL 15 12 34 34 6 3 0 230 244 99 106 481
2000 BAL 5 8 16 16 1 0 0 93 127 48 41 787
2001 BAL
INJURED - DID NOT PITCH
TOWERS
2000 AAA 8 6 24 24 5 1 0 148 157 21 102 347
2001 BAL 8 10 24 20 1 1 0 140 165 16 58 449
      The Orioles' home park, the now-cavernous Camden Yards, made their pitchers look a lot better than they really were. Jason Johnson was 7-4 with a 2.97 ERA at home, but on the road was his old self, going 3-8 with a 5.32 ERA. His team stinks, and he is probably not nearly as good as he appeared to be last year, so I would not expect him to have a winning record. Josh Towers is a control freak who started well, but in the end was not all that impressive. I like Sidney Ponson a lot more, but he's underachieved to this point. And Scott Erickson... a big comeback would obviously be a major surprise.
      Pat Hentgen is hanging around as well, and his chances of coming back are probably as good as Erickson's.
KANSAS CITY - Jeff Suppan 27 R and Chad Durbin 24 R and Chris George 23 L and Paul Byrd 31 R
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
SUPPAN
1999 KC 10 12 32 32 4 1 0 209 222 62 103 453
2000 KC 10 9 35 33 3 1 0 217 240 84 128 494
2001 KC 10 14 34 34 1 0 0 218 227 74 120 437
DURBIN
1999 AA 8 10 28 27 1 1 0 157 154 49 122 464
2000 AAA 4 4 12 12 0 0 0 73 75 22 53 446
2000 KC 2 5 16 16 0 0 0 72 91 43 37 821
2001 KC 9 16 29 29 2 0 0 179 201 58 95 493
GEORGE
1999 A 9 7 27 27 0 0 0 145 142 53 142 360
2000 AA-AAA 11 7 26 26 0 0 0 142 139 71 107 368
2001 KC 4 8 13 13 1 0 0 74 83 18 32 559
BYRD
2000 PHI 2 9 17 15 0 0 0 83 89 35 53 651
2001 PHI-KC 6 7 19 16 1 0 0 103 120 26 52 444
      Dennis Leonard... Bret Saberhagen... Mark Gubicza... Kevin Appier... Jeff Suppan... well, not quite, but Suppan will have to do for now. He's durable and consistent and not awful, and that makes him the Royals' ace.

      Though he lost 16 games, Durbin's sophomore season was a heck of an improvement on his rookie year. He's a decent young pitcher who should continue to improve.

      Jose Rosado is by far their best pitcher, but has missed two full seasons. He was released, and then resigned, in spring training. I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound like he will be back in top form. At the very least, we can hope that he will be better than Paul Byrd.
TAMPA BAY - Tanyon Sturtze 31 R and Paul Wilson 29 R and Joe Kennedy 23 L and Nick Bierbrodt 24 L
YEAR TEAM WN LS GP GS CG SH SV IP HIT BB SO ERA
STURTZE
2000 CHW-TAM 5 2 29 6 0 0 0 68 72 29 44 474
2001 TAM 11 12 39 27 0 0 1 195 200 79 110 442
WILSON
2000 TAM 1 4 11 7 0 0 0 51 38 16 40 335
2001 TAM 8 9 37 24 0 0 0 151 165 52 119 488
KENNEDY
2000 A 11 6 22 22 3 2 0 136 122 29 142 330
2001 AA-AAA 6 0 11 11 0 0 0 73 51 12 75 099
2001 TAM 7 8 20 20 0 0 0 118 122 34 78 444
BIERBRODT
2001 AA-AAA 6 2 11 10 0 0 0 65 61 15 74 194
2001 ARI-TB 5 6 16 16 0 0 0 84 100 39 73 555
      Wilson is now 29, and I still don't know what to make of him. Last season was supposed to be his big chance at reviving his career, but he began the year pitching horribly, and was demoted to the bullpen. I think most people wrote him off after that... but then he returned to the rotation late in the year, and finished the season pitching brilliantly.
      So we're exactly where we were a year ago: Wilson is a talented pitcher who has recovered from major arm surgery, and who finished the season pitching great. Whether he can do that for a full season is anyone's guess.

      Joe Kennedy got everyone out in the minors, and made a respectable debut with Tampa Bay. I saw him pitch once; he appeared to have an awkward delivery, but that may just have been the V-hold on the television. If he stays healthy, he should be a fine pitcher.