Matt Harrison

Less than Dave · Post by **Less than Dave** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:55 pm

I feel like I missed the boat here... what's with everyone bidding ridiculous amounts of money on this guy (and they're respectable players too, not newbies overbidding)? I get that he's had a great first 2 starts, but he was terrible last year, and no one was interested in drafting him... I've never seen him pitch, is he really THAT good? At least the stuff I've read on Esmil makes some sense as to why people bid so high on him but what's with Harrison?

SlimShady · Post by **SlimShady** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:15 pm

Originally posted by Less than Dave:

I feel like I missed the boat here... what's with everyone bidding ridiculous amounts of money on this guy (and they're respectable players too, not newbies overbidding)? I get that he's had a great first 2 starts, but he was terrible last year, and no one was interested in drafting him... I've never seen him pitch, is he really THAT good? At least the stuff I've read on Esmil makes some sense as to why people bid so high on him but what's with Harrison? Doesn't throw hard, will not get you a lot of Ks. But, he plays on a very good team with a powerful offense. Tommy Hunter got a lot of wins last year, in the same situation. Considering what is available in free agency, it is not a bad pickup. Not a $200 pickup, but definitely worth $50-80.

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:30 pm

I bid $30 on him last week. I read that he actually threw as high as 97 mph in his first start against the Red Sox and was changing speeds well. There was some other stuff about him that had me buying last week too.

Hells Satans · Post by **Hells Satans** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 2:46 am

He's always thrown hard. Fangraphs has his actual FB speed at 93 up from 92.2 last year. It's possible he reached 97 in a pitch or two. You could do worse for a flyer.

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:58 am

I bid $77 on Harrison in my DP league and I think he was a nice consolation prize if you missed out on Britton. He may be even better in the longterm with lots of Seattle and Oakland matchups on the horizon.

But yeah - fangraphs had this little tidbit on him on Friday fangraphs. He seemed like a worthy flier and a lot cheaper than Britton.

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Mon Apr 11, 2011 5:26 pm

Yes, it's nice to have some starts potentially lined up against the Mariners and A's... And let's not forget the Angels who are three outs away from being shutout from ace Mitch Talbot.

Big test this weekend for Harrison against the Yankees.

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:47 pm

Round one to Harrison

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Fri Apr 15, 2011 5:31 pm

Originally posted by Ryan C:

Round one to Harrison

Yes indeed !!

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 4:57 am

Watched most of this game and while Harrison was not dominating, he mixed his pitches well and induced a lot of ground balls which led to 6 double plays

. He was very economical with his pitches as well.

[ April 16, 2011, 12:02 PM: Message edited by: Ryan C ]

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 1:30 pm

I didn't realize last night that the Rangers had 6 double plays. A little more about that:

"The 25-year-old left-hander held the vaunted Yankees lineup to two runs (one earned) in a 5-3 victory in the first game of a three-game series. He did it thanks to a steady diet of sinkers that led to plenty of ground balls and a record-tying six double plays. Yes, six. He becomes just the third pitcher since 1954 to induce six ground ball double plays in a game, joining Mark Buehrle (Aug. 7, 2009) and Kansas City's Dick Drago (May 6, 1972).

Ryan C · Post by **Ryan C** » Sat Apr 16, 2011 3:34 pm

Wow - they said it was a Yankee record, but didn't note that it was also an MLB record.

Hells Satans · Post by **Hells Satans** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 1:18 pm

not so good tonight

single

single

BB

BB

BB

BB

bjoak · Post by **bjoak** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 1:44 pm

Corrections are fun!

Dirt Dogs · Post by **Dirt Dogs** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 2:31 pm

add Hochevar & Masterson to the finally corrected list.

rkulaski · Post by **rkulaski** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:35 pm

Originally posted by bjoak:

Corrections are fun! Oh no they're not! Call me crazy but I'll go on record as saying Harrison ends up with a respectable year... 4.10 ERA, .1.32 WHIP, 13 wins. I might eat that last sentence but wouldn't it wouldn't be the first time (nor the last).

Hells Satans · Post by **Hells Satans** » Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:48 pm

Add Harang, although Black deserves most of the blame for leaving him out there to die in the 6th inning when he clearly had lost his slot and had no idea where the ball was going

BEF · Post by **BEF** » Wed Apr 27, 2011 3:40 pm

I was at that Yankee game (took my son for his 11th birthday) when they set the record for GIDP's, and Harrison was constantly around the plate and did a nice job of mixing things up. Yanks were constantly chopping at the ball, resulting in all of those grounders. He also fielded his position quite well, starting one of the DP's himself with a nice play. I don't know if he'll enjoy a breakout year, but on that team I can definitely see him winning at least 12 games with a respectable ERA and somewhat highish WHIP (some of those grounders will find their way into the outfield eventually). It was a nice effort, and it was fun to attend a record-setting game in person (even if we were wearing four layers plus a blanket...man, it was cold out there).