Alabama's Ace?

[allhailSEC]

With the season halfway over and SEC play coming up on our third round, who is the Ace of the Alabama pitching staff?

My vote goes to the young lefty Wade LeBlanc. He is the win leader with a record of 5-1 with his one loss coming off of a 2-run walk off blast when he had just entered in the ninth inning. He had a poor outing vs. Georgia due to some arm soreness but has bounced back against Ole Miss in a stellar performance to earn the SEC Pitcher of the Week Honor.

Wade leads the team with IP (51.1), Wins (5), Games Started (Tie-7), and Strikeouts (44). LeBlanc boasts a 1.58 ERA while only giving up 9 runs (five in SEC play and 4 against UGA).

Seth Johnson is also a top pitcher boasting the lowest ERA (0.41) and most saves (3). But since he is only a reliever/closer, then its difficult to call him the ace, but still a good pitcher.

What are some of your opinions?

 

[38 Special]

Nice write up Mrs. LeBlanc. Just kidding. Brent Carter is still the ace. He's ailing a bit but is a proven year-long SEC pitcher. On that same note, come LSU series and things continue as they are, Wade has a legitimate case.

 

[Tideboys]

iam gonna go along and say wade

 

[bustareed]

Carter has shown to be very good over a years time, but right now if i had to win one game wade leblanc would toe the bump for me

 

[baseballfan4ever]

Carter is still a good pitcher, he just doesn't seem to have the "Friday night" mentality. Why would we move Wade when he is doing such an amazing job. Tank was commanding last year on the mound. He holds the intimidating, fearless mentality we need to show on that first outing each weekend

 

[bustareed]

Id disagree, when it comes to friday night you want a guy that can not only go out there and get you a win, but a guy that can go deep into the game setting the bullpen up for the rest of the weekend. How intimidating the guy is really doesnt become a factor, sure you'd like to have that ingredient, but isnt as important as the others in my opinion.

As for Tank on friday night, he didnt throw well last year as a starter(check his numbers last year) and seems to be more comfortable coming out of the pen. Carter is still your friday night starter, id keep wade comfortablly in his saturday spot. Just got to hope that Brent can turn it around and start pitching the way he did last season.

regardless of the fact, if we cant muster more than 10 runs on an sec weekend then it doesnt matter how well we pitch

 

[38 Special]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by bustareed:
Id disagree, when it comes to friday night you want a guy that can not only go out there and get you a win, but a guy that can go deep into the game setting the bullpen up for the rest of the weekend. How intimidating the guy is really doesnt become a factor, sure you'd like to have that ingredient, but isnt as important as the others in my opinion.

As for Tank on friday night, he didnt throw well last year as a starter(check his numbers last year) and seems to be more comfortable coming out of the pen. Carter is still your friday night starter, id keep wade comfortablly in his saturday spot. Just got to hope that Brent can turn it around and start pitching the way he did last season.

regardless of the fact, if we cant muster more than 10 runs on an sec weekend then it doesnt matter how well we pitch</font>

Busta,
Ditto, Ditto, and Ditto
Nice post.

 

[baseballfan4ever]

Tank wasn't himself towards the end of last year, but did it never occur to you that the surgery he had immediately after the post season might have had to do with an injury he had been dealing with for months? He pitched through it, and might have not done as well as he had in the beginning, but who would expect him to since he was hurt.

 

[JoJoforHeisman]

It really all depends on how you define the term "ace." Take last year's Arizona Diamondbacks, for example. Both Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling were battling injuries and struggled, finishing with records that were very disappointing, by their lofty standards. There was no doubt that Brandon Webb was the best pitcher on the Arizona staff in 2003. However, not many people would have ever referred to the rookie Webb as the staff "ace." That may be a rather loose comparison, but it is intended to illustrate that there can be some variance among interpretations of what constitutes a true "ace." It's really a matter of opinion when you have a team without a clear-cut ace. Our last "undisputed" ace was Lance Cormier. Wade LeBlanc may ultimately prove to be the next.

Among the starters, LeBlanc has clearly been the most effective to date. In fact, if he keeps up his current pace, you could make a strong case for his being named not only SEC Freshman of the Year, but possibly SEC Pitcher of the Year. He may very well emerge as the legitimate ace of the staff before too long. At present, Carter has been going through some struggles, but he is a proven veteran with plenty of experience and success in the SEC. I wouldn't give up on Carter just yet. So for now, I'll have to be wishy-washy and consider the two as #1 and #1A, sort of the way the D-backs characterized Randy and Curt.