The Poor Man's Barry Zito

Call me a bandwagon jumper, but I’m starting to like this Jeff Suppan fellow more and more. He’s making a name for himself in the post season for the Cardinals, but he’s actually had a fairly impressive career up until now.

Over the past three years, Suppan has made at least 31 starts and has a 44-26 record over than span. In a way, he’s the poor man’s Barry Zito. He’s durable, has great stuff, but comes with a much lower price tag than Zito. While he is most likely due a raise, Suppan made (just) $4 million this past year with St. Louis.

2007 will be Suppan’s age 32 season and he seems to be getting better with age. While other teams are focusing on the big three (Schmidt, Zito and Matsuzaka), Jim Hendry would be well advised to focus his efforts on Suppan. He would be a credible #2 behind Carlos Zambrano and would come inexpensively enough to allow Hendry to sign another starting pitcher or perhaps spend more on an all-star caliber position player. Plus, Zambrano and Suppan may be the best hitting #1 - #2 pitching combo in all of baseball.

By the way, I haven’t given up on my idea to sign either Greg Maddux or Jamie Moyer to come in and be a # 5 starter. They’re old (by baseball standards), but they still are getting the job done. And I think Moyer in particular will come with a reasonable price tag.

Although I’m looking forward to the World Series, I’m also looking forward to it being over so the Cubs can get busy building their 2007 ball club.