This Isn't Funny Anymore

For a while, it was actually entertaining to watch Jason Schmidt attempt to get major league hitters out with a combination of smoke and mirrors, but the novelty is beginning to lose its edge for me. At first, it was like watching Prince Fielder run or Adam Dunn play defense, but i'm almost embarrassed for him at this point.

Note: I would watch a 30 minute game show that consisted of nothing but Adam Dunn trying to win money by playing center field effectively. He would do tasks like trying to hit the cutoff man, reading line drives off the bat without falling over, and tracking down flyballs over his head. I imagine it would be hilarious.

Anything he won would be added on to his contract as a bonus, but if he failed his tasks for the day, he would have to ride around in left field during the game on a donkey. Fox would put it on, right?

By now, it's extremely clear to anybody watching the games that the only way Schmidt's ERA is currently below 9.00 is due to luck. Groundballs are hit hard, flyballs are hit to the warning track, and there are lots of line drives. Objectively, I think it's even worse. If I did my calculations correctly, his xFIP is around 8.68 now, primarily because he gives up flyballs 54.2% of the time.

Like I said, this whole charade was funny to me for a while, but it's becoming less and less funny as I picture the Dodgers losing ground in the standings every fifth day.

Sometimes people ask me why I can't just enjoy the result when he wins a game. Well, it's because in the long run, guys like Schmidt will cost the team two games for every one game they win, simply because they are old and get preferential treatment.

Does he deserve another start? Absolutely not. Will he get one? I wouldn't be surprised.