ESPN’s Stark: Ian Kennedy the NL ‘Cy Yuk’ for first half
Jul 12, 2013, 9:35 PM | Updated: 9:35 pm
Ian Kennedy’s season has not gone the way anyone had hoped.
The D-backs’ Opening Day starter, Kennedy has produced a 3-5 record with a 5.31 ERA in 17 starts. He was dealt a 10-game suspension and also missed a start after cutting a finger washing dishes. In all, he’s struggled to find any type of consistency.
Kennedy has failed to regain the form he displayed in 2011, which has some wondering if he’ll ever be a reliable starter again. And now, ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark gave the right-hander his “Cy Yuk” award for the season’s first half.
I almost handed this prestigious non-trophy to the portion of the Giants’ rotation not known as “Madison Bumgarner,” since, at last look, that group had somehow run up an incomprehensible 5.15 ERA. But in the end, I decided this was just a bunch of guys with a championship track record who were paying the unfortunate cost of winning in an age where October has turned into a max-effort, four-week marathon. So I’ve turned instead to Kennedy, for all sorts of reasons.
Because his 5.31 ERA isn’t real ace-like for a team in first place, but is the third-highest among all qualifying NL starters. … Because he has allowed a .789 opponents OPS, the fifth-highest among NL starters. … Because he’s let opposing pitchers hit .281 against him. (They hit .107 against the rest of civilization.) … Because he has a 7.34 ERA against teams that are currently .500 or better. … Because he has gone 0-2, with a 6.63 ERA, in three starts against the club his team most lives to beat, the Dodgers. … And, speaking of the Dodgers, shouldn’t this guy get extra Cy Yuk points for setting off the ugliest brawl of the season by firing that pitch at Zack Greinke’s noggin, no matter how justified he might have thought it was at the time? Our committee said yes, he should. So there ya go.
Kennedy’s disappointing numbers are not much of a shock, bit it’s interesting that opposing pitchers are hitting a healthy .281 off the 28-year-old.
And while he’s not the worst pitcher in the National League, when you weigh his production against his stats you start to see how he could win this “honor.”
