Enlisting Your Help (Again)

On Monday, I announced the FanSided All-AL Central team, but only announced part of the roster. Since then, the AL Central contingent on the FanSided network has come up with a pitching staff to complement that offensive lineup.

Well, sort of.

You see, we were able to agree on four of five starting pitching spots, but there was some contention about the fifth spot. We want you to help us out again.

The AL Central participants (including myself):

Southside Showdown (represented by new lead writer Travis Miller)
Deep Left Field (represented by Steve Kubitza)
Motor City Bengals (represented by Zac Snyder)
Puckett’s Pond (represented by Wally Fish)
John Parent of Motor City Bengals had voted before we were able to add Travis to the mix.

We’re trying to find a fifth starter who will complement our current selections.

Justin Verlander and Francisco Liriano were unanimous selections and are joined by John Danks of the White Sox and Max Scherzer of the Tigers. Joakim Soria and Matt Thornton fill the closer and setup roles, respectively.

That fifth starter spot,though, it’s a toughie. There are a few great choices remaining though – and that’s where you come in.

The Candidates

Carl Pavano

Year	Age	Tm	W	L	ERA	GS	CG	SHO	IP	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
1998	22	MON	6	9	4.21	23	0	0	134.2	100	1.285	8.7	1.2	2.9	5.5	1.93
1999	23	MON	6	8	5.63	18	1	1	104.0	80	1.462	10.1	0.7	3.0	6.1	2.00
2000	24	MON	8	4	3.06	15	0	0	97.0	158	1.268	8.3	0.7	3.2	5.9	1.88
2001	25	MON	1	6	6.33	8	0	0	42.2	71	1.758	12.4	1.5	3.4	7.6	2.25
2002	26	TOT	6	10	5.16	22	0	0	136.0	81	1.610	11.5	1.3	3.0	6.1	2.04
2002	26	MON	3	8	6.30	14	0	0	74.1	68	1.735	11.9	1.7	3.8	6.2	1.65
2002	26	FLA	3	2	3.79	8	0	0	61.2	107	1.459	11.1	0.7	2.0	6.0	2.93
2003	27	FLA	12	13	4.30	32	2	0	201.0	98	1.259	9.1	0.9	2.2	6.0	2.71
2004	28	FLA	18	8	3.00	31	2	2	222.1	137	1.174	8.6	0.6	2.0	5.6	2.84
2005	29	NYY	4	6	4.77	17	1	1	100.0	89	1.470	11.6	1.5	1.6	5.0	3.11

2007	31	NYY	1	0	4.76	2	0	0	11.1	98	1.235	9.5	0.8	1.6	3.2	2.00
2008	32	NYY	4	2	5.77	7	0	0	34.1	78	1.485	10.7	1.3	2.6	3.9	1.50
2009	33	TOT	14	12	5.10	33	1	1	199.1	84	1.375	10.6	1.2	1.8	6.6	3.77
2009	33	CLE	9	8	5.37	21	1	1	125.2	79	1.377	10.7	1.4	1.6	6.3	3.83
2009	33	MIN	5	4	4.64	12	0	0	73.2	95	1.371	10.4	0.9	2.0	7.2	3.69
2010	34	MIN	17	11	3.75	32	7	2	221.0	111	1.195	9.2	1.0	1.5	4.8	3.16
12 Seasons	97	89	4.34	240	14	7	1503.2	98	1.334	9.8	1.0	2.3	5.7	2.54
162 Game Avg.	13	12	4.34	33	2	1	205	98	1.334	9.8	1.0	2.3	5.7	2.54

MON (5 yrs)	24	35	4.83	78	1	1	452.2	92	1.440	9.8	1.1	3.2	6.0	1.91
NYY (3 yrs)	9	8	5.00	26	1	1	145.2	87	1.455	11.2	1.4	1.9	4.6	2.50
FLA (3 yrs)	33	23	3.64	71	4	2	485.0	114	1.245	9.1	0.7	2.1	5.8	2.79
MIN (2 yrs)	22	15	3.97	44	7	2	294.2	106	1.239	9.5	0.9	1.6	5.4	3.32
CLE (1 yr)	9	8	5.37	21	1	1	125.2	79	1.377	10.7	1.4	1.6	6.3	3.83

NL (7 yrs)	57	58	4.21	149	5	3	937.2	102	1.339	9.5	0.9	2.6	5.9	2.28
AL (5 yrs)	40	31	4.55	91	9	4	566.0	93	1.325	10.2	1.2	1.7	5.4	3.20

Pavano has made his way back from multiple injuries over the years and used his solid control to lead the league in complete games for the Twins.

Mark Buehrle

Year	Age	Tm	W	L	ERA	GS	CG	SHO	IP	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2000	21	CHW	4	1	4.21	3	0	0	51.1	120	1.442	9.6	0.9	3.3	6.5	1.95
2001	22	CHW	16	8	3.29	32	4	2	221.1	140	1.066	7.6	1.0	2.0	5.1	2.63
2002	23	CHW	19	12	3.58	34	5	2	239.0	126	1.243	8.9	0.9	2.3	5.0	2.20
2003	24	CHW	14	14	4.14	35	2	0	230.1	112	1.350	9.8	0.9	2.4	4.6	1.95
2004	25	CHW	16	10	3.89	35	4	1	245.1	122	1.255	9.4	1.2	1.9	6.1	3.24
2005	26	CHW	16	8	3.12	33	3	1	236.2	144	1.183	9.1	0.8	1.5	5.7	3.73
2006	27	CHW	12	13	4.99	32	1	0	204.0	95	1.446	10.9	1.6	2.1	4.3	2.04
2007	28	CHW	10	9	3.63	30	3	1	201.0	130	1.259	9.3	1.0	2.0	5.1	2.56
2008	29	CHW	15	12	3.79	34	1	0	218.2	121	1.335	9.9	0.9	2.1	5.8	2.69
2009	30	CHW	13	10	3.84	33	1	1	213.1	122	1.252	9.4	1.1	1.9	4.4	2.33
2010	31	CHW	13	13	4.28	33	3	0	210.1	102	1.403	10.5	0.7	2.1	4.2	2.02
11 Seasons	148	110	3.85	334	27	8	2271.1	120	1.280	9.5	1.0	2.1	5.1	2.48
162 Game Avg.	15	11	3.85	33	3	1	223	120	1.280	9.5	1.0	2.1	5.1	2.48

Buehrle has been a workhorse since day one, never making less than 30 starts as a regular and reaching 200 innings in every season other than his rookie year. He’s also got a couple Gold Glove awards and has tossed a no-hitter and perfect game.

Gavin Floyd

Year	Age	Tm	W	L	ERA	GS	CG	SHO	IP	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2004	21	PHI	2	0	3.49	4	0	0	28.1	130	1.447	7.9	0.3	5.1	7.6	1.50
2005	22	PHI	1	2	10.04	4	0	0	26.0	44	1.769	10.4	1.7	5.5	5.9	1.06
2006	23	PHI	4	3	7.29	11	1	1	54.1	65	1.877	11.6	2.3	5.3	5.6	1.06
2007	24	CHW	1	5	5.27	10	0	0	70.0	89	1.486	10.9	2.2	2.4	6.3	2.58
2008	25	CHW	17	8	3.84	33	1	0	206.1	119	1.260	8.3	1.3	3.1	6.3	2.07
2009	26	CHW	11	11	4.06	30	1	0	193.0	116	1.228	8.3	1.0	2.8	7.6	2.76
2010	27	CHW	10	13	4.08	31	1	0	187.1	107	1.372	9.6	0.7	2.8	7.3	2.60
7 Seasons	46	42	4.53	123	4	1	765.1	101	1.368	9.1	1.2	3.2	6.9	2.16
162 Game Avg.	12	11	4.53	33	1	0	202	101	1.368	9.1	1.2	3.2	6.9	2.16

CHW (4 yrs)	39	37	4.13	104	3	0	656.2	111	1.307	8.9	1.1	2.8	7.0	2.47
PHI (3 yrs)	7	5	6.96	19	1	1	108.2	66	1.739	10.4	1.7	5.3	6.2	1.17

AL (4 yrs)	39	37	4.13	104	3	0	656.2	111	1.307	8.9	1.1	2.8	7.0	2.47
NL (3 yrs)	7	5	6.96	19	1	1	108.2	66	1.739	10.4	1.7	5.3	6.2	1.17

Floyd is the only pitcher of these selections who has a strikeout rate above 6 K/9 and his career walkrate has been improving as a member of the White Sox staff. He’s had strong peripherals, but bad luck as his FIP in 2010 was 3.43, half a run better than Buehrle’s.

Fausto Carmona

Year	Age	Tm	W	L	ERA	GS	CG	SHO	IP	ERA+	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2006	22	CLE	1	10	5.42	7	0	0	74.2	83	1.594	10.6	1.1	3.7	7.0	1.87
2007	23	CLE	19	8	3.06	32	2	1	215.0	148	1.209	8.3	0.7	2.6	5.7	2.25
2008	24	CLE	8	7	5.44	22	1	1	120.2	79	1.624	9.4	0.5	5.2	4.3	0.83
2009	25	CLE	5	12	6.32	24	0	0	125.1	67	1.763	10.8	1.1	5.0	5.7	1.13
2010	26	CLE	13	14	3.77	33	4	1	210.1	102	1.307	8.7	0.7	3.1	5.3	1.72
5 Seasons	46	51	4.43	118	7	3	746.0	96	1.436	9.3	0.8	3.7	5.5	1.50
162 Game Avg.	12	13	4.43	30	2	1	190	96	1.436	9.3	0.8	3.7	5.5	1.50

Carmona has had two solid seasons and two rough seasons marred by injuries. He’s ranged from having excellent control to having none. His 2007 numbers are aided by a Cleveland team that made the playoffs and was obviously better than his 2010 counterparts so his numbers are similar, but not as good. He still had a strong 2010 despite his fourth place teammates.

You can vote in our poll once to help us determine who will round out our rotation. Then we take our juggernaut against the other American League divisions to see who takes on the National League’s team. The poll will be open until 11 a.m. CST on Monday, February 21.

Also, be sure to check out the other AL Central sites on FanSided as they present further discussion of their respective candidates. Those sites are, again:

Southside Showdown – Chicago White Sox
Deep Left Field – Cleveland Indians
Motor City Bengals – Detroit Tigers
Puckett’s Pond – Minnesota Twins

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