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April's Good Month And Bad Month Pitchers

Ah. The smell is in the air. Hot dogs, peanuts, and ice-cold beer are once being offered up at ballparks across the country as the 2008 Major League Baseball season is suddenly underway.


It seems like only yesterday when Colorado stunned the baseball world, only to be swept away in the World Series by the Boston Red Sox. The question now looms - can the Rockies earn a spot back in the playoffs, and can the BoSox pull off a hat-trick in 2008? Only time will tell.


There's no doubt that the key to successful baseball handicapping is keeping a pulse on the starting pitchers. And because they are human, pitchers develop a tendency to perform at optimum best, or minimum worst, capacities at various stages of the season. Recognizing their 'good month' and 'bad month' tendencies goes a long way in becoming a winning handicapper.


I present a list of the BEST and WORST pitcher performance records during the month of April over the past three years. Note that the Win-Loss figures are team-start records, or the team's record in games started by the denoted pitcher. To qualify, pitchers must have started a minimum of 10 games within the month.


Keep this valuable list handy throughout the opening month of April, as well as future updates at the beginning of each month right here on this web site during the 2008 baseball season, as you'll soon beefing up on a diet of lip-smacking baseball delicacies and winning plays. Hey beer man, pour me a cold one, would ya?.....


APRIL GOOD PITCHERS

Josh Beckett 12-3, Eric Bedard 11-5, Mark Buehrle 11-4, Chris Capuano 12-4, Roy Halladay 13-3, Aaron Harang 12-5, Tim Hudson 11-5, Cliff Lee 7-3, Greg Maddux 11-4, Mike Maroth 11-3, Pedro Martinez 8-2, Mark Mulder 9-1, Curt Schilling 10-4, Brandon Webb 13-4, Dontrelle Willis 11-5.


APRIL BAD PITCHERS

David Bush 4-11, Matt Cain 2-8, Aaron Cook 3-8, Zack Greinke 1-9, Paul Maholm 3-7, Kevin Millwood 5-12, Oliver Perez 5-12, Andy Pettitte 4-12, Ben Sheets 3-9, Josh Towers 3-11, Kip Wells 3-8, Barry Zito 3-12.