Lance Broadway made a heck of a statement in his first major-league start,
holding the Kansas City Royals scoreless through six innings, striking out eight and allowing only a pair of hits and a pair of walks.
Standard caveats apply -- he made the start in September, by most indications a great pitcher's month, against the Royals, by all accounts a great pitcher's opponent. Nevertheless, it puts him in rarified air, as far as the South Side is concerned.
Broadway's inaugural start is the best by a Sox pitcher in nine years in terms of game score. The Texan racked up a 74 tonight, one shy of the immortal John Snyder, who earned a game score of 75 for his 7 2/3 scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox on July 4, 1998.
When looking back over the last 10 years (during which 26 different pitchers made their first major-league start in a White Sox uniform), Mark Buehrle is No. 3 on the list. So that's pretty good company for Broadway. On one side, he has the best Sox pitcher in recent history; on the other, he has a guy who played a role in one of the greatest trades in Sox history, when Snyder and Jaime Navarro were sent to Milwaukee for Jose Valentin and Cal Eldred.
Since there's no point in keeping it to myself, here's the complete list:
Name |
Date |
Outcome |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
K |
Score |
| Snyder |
7-4-98 |
W, 3-0 vs. BOS |
7.2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
75 |
Broadway |
9-27-07 |
W 10-0 vs. KC |
6 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
74 |
| Buehrle |
6-19-00 |
W, 3-2 vs. MIN |
7 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
61 |
McCarthy |
5-22-05 |
L, 3-4 vs. CHC |
5.1 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
6 |
57 |
Danks |
4-8-07 |
L, 1-3 vs. MIN |
6 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
6 |
56 |
| Glover |
6-26-01 |
ND, 5-4 vs. CLE |
3.1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
53 |
Stewart |
5-6-03 |
W, 10-2 vs. DET |
6.2 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
52 |
| K. Wells |
8-2-99 |
W, 6-2 vs. DET |
5.1 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
52 |
| Beirne |
9-26-00 |
L, 3-4 vs. BOS |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
52 |
| Daneker |
7-8-99 |
ND, 6-5 vs. KC |
7 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
51 |
| Porzio |
6-12-03 |
L, 2-4 vs. CLE |
5.2 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
48 |
| C. Castillo |
6-25-97 |
ND, 8-7 vs. KC |
5.1 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
47 |
| Rauch |
4-16-02 |
ND, 10-5 vs. CLE |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
43 |
| Fordham |
8-19-97 |
ND, 5-6 vs. TOR |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
41 |
| Parque |
6-26-98 |
ND, 5-7 vs. NYY |
4 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
40 |
Cotts |
8-12-03 |
ND, 10-4 vs. ANA |
2.1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
1 |
40 |
| Wright |
8-1-01 |
W, 7-6 vs. BOS |
5 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
37 |
| Myette |
9-7-99 |
L, 0-7 vs. DET |
4 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
33 |
Diaz |
5-13-04 |
ND, 6-5 vs. BAL |
4.1 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
31 |
| Barcelo |
8-8-00 |
L, 5-7 vs. SEA |
4 |
7 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
29 |
| Clemons |
8-2-97 |
L, 2-5 vs. ANA |
2.2 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
29 |
| Biddle |
8-10-00 |
L, 3-6 vs. SEA |
5.1 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
28 |
Haeger |
5-10-06 |
L, 5-12 vs. LAA |
4.1 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
27 |
| Eyre |
8-1-97 |
L, 1-9 vs. ANA |
4.1 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
26 |
| Garland |
7-4-00 |
L, 7-10 vs. KC |
3 |
8 |
7 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
15 |
Munoz |
6-19-04 |
L, 14-17 vs. MON |
3 |
10 |
11 |
11 |
3 |
1 |
-7 |
Guys I completely forgot about until researching this matter: Kevin Beirne, Chris Clemons, Tom Fordham, and Pat Daneker.
********************
Revisiting the idea of wasting millions on veterans instead of draft picks, remember when I wrote
this gem?
Like every other organization, the Sox find a way to burn that amount
of money each year. Even on the fiscally brilliant 2005 team, Timo
Perez sopped up $1 million for sub-replacement level production.
Eriq Jaffe e-mailed me with another guy I completely overlooked, bolstering this point even more:
Jim, I just got around to reading Tuesday's blog, and you mentioned how Timo Perez sopped up $1 million, but you neglected to mention that the Sox also paid Ben Davis $1 million to hit .242 in 33 at-bats in Charlotte before getting hurt in June.
So there you go -- on a team with a middle-of-the-pack payroll, the Sox managed to spend the equivalent of slot money on a guy who never left Charlotte, and a guy who should've been there all along.
********************
Combining the subjects of draft picks and tonight's game, I'm still interested in
why Kenny Williams didn't offer David Riske arbitration at the end of last season.
Riske, although clubbed by the Sox tonight, entered the game with a 2.38 ERA over 68 innings. That's not a tell-all stat for relievers, but it would be the best in the Sox bullpen, even better than Bobby Jenks'. His decent WHIP (1.23),
decreased line-drive percentage and increased ground-ball percentage indicate that he's not relying too much on luck.
It seemed like a win-win situation back then, but this season's developments make Williams' decision more wrong in hindsight.
We knew Riske was a Type A free agent, meaning the Sox would receive a first-round draft pick if he declined arbitration.
What we didn't know is that he didn't cost that much. I threw out $2.5 million as a high-end estimate of Riske's services for 2007; he ended up signing a one-year deal with the Royals for $2.25 million, with a $2.85 million club option for 2008.
He would've been worth that salary with an average Riske year, but he's been worth every penny for an improved Royals bullpen. He definitely would've earned his pay considering the state of the Sox bullpen.
Basically, whether Riske accepted or declined arbitration, the Sox would've received something for it. Instead, they let him go for nothing, and the Royals are the ones reaping the rewards.