Brad Radke: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Mostly)



The sad truth I am admitting right now is this: I have watched two Twins games in the last couple of weeks. Maybe that is obvious from my lack of posting here... but I should make it clear. Work and whatnot has really cramped my viewing schedule. I am however, watching tonight's game against San Diego. I am glad to be seeing the ol' Twinkies play some baseball... but it is certainly a bittersweet viewing.

The score is now 7-1 Padres and Brad Radke has reminded me that not much has changed since I last watched a game. His pitiful first innings were always a point of humor for me over the last few years. After he made it through the first without allowing a run I would make a remark like "PHEW! This game is in the bag." Now I cannot even laugh about it. Observe this line:


By Inning / Pitches	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Inning 1	69	20	28	6	1	7	20	1	0	12	0	0	.406	.408	.826	1.235

Now typical thinking would leave you to believe that a starting pitcher gets worse as a game goes along. This is not true for old Brad. In the first innings he makes players look like Barry Bonds. Sure, he almost always gets better as the game goes along, but these first innings are becoming big obstacles.

Here are his numbers in 3 inning sets. Considering how bad his first innings statistics are, its amazing how much he improves after inning one.

By Inning / Pitches	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Inning 1-3	176	29	54	10	1	10	28	1	0	28	1	1	.307	.307	.545	.853
Inning 4-6	154	11	38	2	0	7	11	2	1	26	3	1	.247	.256	.396	.652
Inning 7-9	46	8	15	5	1	1	5	1	1	6	0	0	.326	.347	.543	.890

My gripe is that it is hard starting off in a 2-0 hole after one inning. We have come to expect this from Brad, which is inexcusable. Our offense shouldn't be saddled with that burden in EVERY GAME! This is especially true from a pitcher that started opening day for us. Something has to be done whether its more focus, willingness to walk more hitters instead allowing homers, or more bullpen work, SOMETHING has to be fixed.