All-Decade Team: 2000s – Starting Pitchers

[Freakshow]

I realize that the Current Events Forum has recently run polls on this. However, those ballots appeared to be drawn up somewhat unsystematically, the OF were all thrown together, and they weren’t even in alphabetical order. I think we can do this a bit better. Here’s my format:

• We’ll create a 25-man team, which will be the ballot for the final election.
• We’ll have ten preliminary polls, one for each position.
• We’ll vote for two players at each position (16 players total), plus five starting pitchers, plus four relievers. DH will not be listed separately, since only a handful of significant players played a majority of their games there.
• Data will be provided: total Win Shares 2000-2008 plus top 3 seasons in the decade; total WARP3 2000-2009 plus top 3 seasons; Cy Young award top 3 finishes in the decade. Other stats (OPS+ allowed; ERA+; etc.) are as of the 2009 all-star break.
• Players will be ranked only on their play in the decade 2000-2009; performance before 2000 should be ignored. Active players should be projected only to the end of this season; what you think they might do after this season is irrelevant.
• I’ll try and get the ten polls up fairly quickly. They’ll stay open for about a month.

We'll vote for five starting pitchers. If a pitcher is one of the Top 5 in a stat among these pitchers it's highlighted below.
Player 3CY ASG ERA+ OPS+ W W-L% WHIP IP WARP3 Top 3 WS Top 3
Mark Buehrle 5-x-x 4 122 100 131 0.593 1.265 1965.2 47.9 (7.5-6.9-6.5) 133 (22-18-17)
Roger Clemens 1-1-3 4 133 73 107 0.682 1.201 1454.1 45.0 (10.6-8.0-5.6) 120 (24-19-19)
Roy Halladay 1-2-3 6 132 85 132 0.680 1.172 1767.1 54.3 (9.0-8.6-8.3) 136 (23-23-21)
Tim Hudson 2-4-6 2 125 80 135 0.643 1.247 1881.0 52.6 (8.5-8.2-6.5) 142 (23-23-17)
Randy Johnson 1-1-1 4 137 80 143 0.647 1.113 1881.0 56.4 (11.3-10.3-9.0) 148 (29-26-26)
Derek Lowe 2-x-x 2 120 93 123 0.562 1.282 1751.2 51.4 (10.8-7.0-6.9) 123 (22-19-16)
Greg Maddux 3-x-x 1 117 83 134 0.570 1.172 1939.2 48.6 (9.9-8.2-6.2) 125 (24-20-19)
Pedro Martinez 1-2-3 4 153 59 107 0.686 1.029 1423.1 52.3 (13.8-8.7-8.3) 126 (29-21-20)
Mike Mussina 5-6-6 0 116 84 134 0.606 1.209 1790.2 46.6 (8.2-7.6-7.2) 127 (20-18-18)
Roy Oswalt 3-4-4 3 137 94 134 0.663 1.200 1741.1 59.6 (8.3-8.0-7.9) 137 (21-20-20)
C.C. Sabathia 1-5-x 3 120 95 125 0.613 1.237 1787.2 53.1 (10.3-7.8-6.2) 123 (24-23-15)
Johan Santana 1-1-3 4 144 82 119 0.672 1.109 1659.1 63.5 (11.7-9.9-9.5) 141 (26-24-23)
Curt Schilling 2-2-2 3 133 76 117 0.650 1.129 1569.1 47.6 (9.0-8.5-8.4) 129 (24-24-21)
Brandon Webb 1-2-2 3 142 73 87 0.584 1.239 1319.2 44.5 (8.9-8.9-8.7) 108 (22-21-20)
Carlos Zambrano 5-5-5 3 128 90 101 0.608 1.288 1484.0 49.2 (8.2-7.7-7.4) 110 (20-18-18)

[PVNICK]

In no particular order: Pedro, Johan, Johnson, Halladay and Oswalt.

[dgarza]

I went with Martinez, Johnson, Santana, Schilling, and Webb.

I would have dropped Webb for Lincecum if the choice was given.

[Freakshow]

I would have dropped Webb for Lincecum if the choice was given.Lincecum? Pitcher of the Year-and-two-thirds, sure. Pitcher of the Decade? No.

[dgarza]

Lincecum? Pitcher of the Year-and-two-thirds, sure. Pitcher of the Decade? No.
Not Pitcher of the Decade...but Fifth Pitcher of the Decade...there's a big gap between 1st and 5th here no matter who I'd pick 5th.

To be fair, he's really got almost 3 years of innings under his belt, seeing that the average starter throws 180-190 innings a year.
Your trying to belittle his time by calling it "year-and-two-thirds".

[Freakshow]

Not Pitcher of the Decade...but Fifth Pitcher of the Decade...there's a big gap between 1st and 5th here no matter who I'd pick 5th.

To be fair, he's really got almost 3 years of innings under his belt, seeing that the average starter throws 180-190 innings a year.
Your trying to belittle his time by calling it "year-and-two-thirds".I agree on the gap between #4 and #5 here. However, the "year-and-two-thirds" is simply the span of his career where he's pitched really well, nothing more. I suppose he's a candidate for #5 assuming he notches another CY award; I didn't look for careers that short when making the list of candidates.

[Senor Octobre]

In no order...

Halladay
Johnson
Martinez
Oswalt
Santana

[Jsquared83]

Halladay, Johnson, Pedro, Mussina, Oswalt.. kinda surprising on how well Oswalt stacks up since his rookie year in '01. If he hangs on with a few fluff years after 2 more solid ones, he's a HOFer, no question.

[micsmith]

Jake Peavy - pitching triple crown, Cy award, two ERA titles, two triekout titles. I would have liked to have seen him as at least a choice.

[Fielding Marshall]

In no particular order:

Halladay
Schilling
Martinez
Johnson
Santana

Oswalt would have been 6th.

Jake Peavy - pitching triple crown, Cy award, two ERA titles, two triekout titles. I would have liked to have seen him as at least a choice.

Well, you beat me to the post.

If Lowe and Zambrano are on there, Peavy is a very curious omission.

[Freakshow]

Jake Peavy - pitching triple crown, Cy award, two ERA titles, two triekout titles. I would have liked to have seen him as at least a choice.Peavy has comparable career length to Brandon Webb, who has the fewest IP among the candidates here. Peavy is a very poor man's Webb. Webb's support so far is negligible. Better than Lowe and Zambrano? I'll have to check.

[Edgartohof]

I no particular order:

Randy Johnson
Johan Santana
Roy Oswalt
Pedro Martinez
Roy Halladay

[STLCards2]

Santana
Johnson
P.Martinez
Halladay
Oswalt

Hudson wasn't far away.

[Freakshow]

Peavy is a very poor man's Webb. ...Better than Lowe and Zambrano? I'll have to check. 3CY ASG ERA+ OPS+ W W-L% WHIP IP WARP3 Top 3 WS Top 3
Lowe 2-x-x 2 120 93 123 0.562 1.282 1751.2 51.4 (10.8-7.0-6.9) 123 (22-19-16)
Peavy 1-x-x 2 119 97 92 0.575 1.186 1342.2 44.8 (10.7-7.9-7.5) 87 (21-16-15)
Zambrano 5-5-5 3 128 90 101 0.608 1.288 1484.0 49.2 (8.2-7.7-7.4) 110 (20-18-18)From this, I don't see any compelling reason to put Peavy in the poll ahead of the other two.

[Freakshow]

The top five here are clear choices, but the race for #1 is close.

[Seattle1]

Fyi Jamie Moyer has 140 wins so far 2000-2009.

[STLCards2]

Fyi Jamie Moyer has 140 wins so far 2000-2009.

FYI - we all know and not a single other person cares.

[KCGHOST]

R. Johnson
Santana
Pedro
Halladay
Oswalt