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2007 In four years, Eyre`s platoon split has gone from strong against lefties (making him a nifty LOOGY) to strongly bass-ackwards. The conventional wisdom for hitters is that they`re done when they can`t recognize the curve ball anymore, which makes sense (their eyes are going), and tends to show up in their platoon splits. It`s tough to find an analogous mechanism for pitchers to decide what kind of significance to attach to Eyre`s disappearing split, but however valuable he`s been these last couple of years, PECOTA`s expecting Eyre to revert to the pedestrian form he displayed before earning his big contract. 2006 Eyre was second in the majors in Adjusted Runs Prevented and also second in inherited runners stranded, so his was truly one of the best relief seasons of 2005. This was largely because he seems to be figuring out how to get righties out. Right-handed OPS against Eyre by year: 2002: 831, 2003: 804, 2004: 759, 2005: 609. He`s not a LOOGY anymore. He`s a former starting pitcher, so we probably shouldn`t be too surprised. Still, the contract the Cubs gave him, worth as much as $11 million over three years, is quite a bit of scratch to bet on a player with just one outstanding season in his career. 2005 A LOOGY well suited for the role, Eyre has held lefties to a .219/.281/.327 line the last three years; righties have teed off at a .293/.380/.423 clip. Eyre and Brower were sixth and first in the NL in appearances, a function of Felipe Alou's always heavy reliever usage and both pitchers' lopsided, get-him-out-of-there-fast profiles than any innate ability. 2003 Another of Brian Sabean’s mini-coups in 2002. After suffering through Aaron Fultz’s ineffectiveness for the first half of the year, the Giants were desperate for another lefty out of the pen to go with Chad Zerbe. For the cost of a waiver wire claim, Sabean nabbed a good one in Eyre, who gave them solid work down the stretch and during the postseason. Signed by the Giants to a one-year deal, he has a key role in the pen at least until Christiansen returns, and possibly beyond that. 2002 Not even Buck Martinez needs four left-handers in the bullpen, so Eyre spent last summer sampling Finger Lakes wines and blowing away Triple-A hitters. This year, following Lance Painter’s release, Eyre will relocate to the north shore of Lake Ontario. However, his outlook remains the same—a slinger with good stuff and a wild streak that makes rent-to-own furniture a good idea. 2001 Scott Eyre was traded to the Blue Jays in November to give the Sox some roster space. What the Blue Jays plan to do with him is a mystery. He’s their fourth left-handed reliever behind Pedro Borbon, Dan Plesac, and Lance Painter. All three of those guys are situational types, while Eyre throws hard and could be handy in long relief. He’s looking at another fun summer mailing postcards from some very familiar cities around the International League. 2000 Eyre has good velocity for a left-hander, but his control has never been good enough for him to be a one-out specialist. If the Sox don't pick up a veteran, he has a shot to be the second left-hander behind Jesus Pena. He would be valuable if used in long relief. 1998 Acquired from Texas for Esteban Beltre, Eyre lost the ’95 season to a bad elbow. After coming back, it hadn’t robbed him of too much velocity. He was named Pitcher of the Year in the Southern League, and is almost certain to be in the Sox’ rotation in ’98. 1997 After missing most of ’95 to injury, Eyre is somebody the Sox are watching carefully. Despite pitching in Birmingham, a great pitcher’s park, he didn’t put up outstanding numbers. He had an AFL assignment and was lit up.
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