Wandy Rodriguez
I don't think anyone other than Carpenter or Wainwright will win the NL Cy Young this year, but if it hadn't been for a rough late-May/early-June, where he had three disaster starts in four games, he might at least be right there in the discussion. Factor those out (work with me here), and he's 13-6 with a 2.05 ERA. Just sayin'.
Last three appearances:
| Date-Opp | IP | H/ER | K:BB | GB/FB | Pit/Str |
| 8/25 @StL | 7 | 3/1 | 6:1 | 8/10 | 93/64 |
| 8/30 @ARI | 6 | 7/4 | 7:3 | 8/9 | 109/65 |
| 9/5 vPHI | 7 | 7/0 | 7:0 | 9/12 | 111/82 |
Wandy pitched at Atlanta on May 3, getting - typically - a no decision in 5IP, 6H/3ER, leaving after just 86 pitches. And he wasn't happy about that.
2009 home: 8-2 (13 starts), 90IP, 69H/21BB, 1.60 ERA/1.00 WHIP, 79K:21BB
Let's do the splits:
vs Righties: .256/.323/.412, 125K:48BB
vs Lefties: .187/.238/.269, 37K:9BB
When swinging at the first pitch (66): .303/.303/.500, 7XBH (3HR)
After First-Pitch Strikes (381): .199/.236/.272, 117K:15BB
After First-Pitch Balls (276): .291/.404/.522, 45K:42BB
RISP: 32x135, .237/.316/.356, 31K:14BB
Runners on: 62x250, .248/.325/.352, 52K:25BB
2OwRISP: 16x68, .235/.342/.382, 17K:9BB
Tommy Hanson
Rookie Tommy Hanson is one of the reasons the Braves were willing to let Smoltz try his hand in a Boston uniform, and has been dominant, with a 9-3 record, and an ERA of 3.07
Last three appearances:
| Date-Opp | IP | H/ER | K:BB | GB/FB | Pit/Str |
| 8/22 vFLA | 7 | 4/3 | 7:3 | 7/9 | 99/64 |
| 8/28 @PHI | 2 | 2/1 | 4:0 | 1/3 | 29/19 |
| 9/3 @FLA | 5 | 2/1 | 5:4 | 7/5 | 104/60 |
2009 road: 3-2 (8 starts), 2.68 ERA/1.37 WHIP, 43.2IP, 29K:21BB
This will be Hanson's first appearance in Houston.
Let's do the splits:
vs Righties: .220/.259/.327, 100K:16BB
vs Lefties: .243/.286/.409, 99K:20BB
When swinging at the first pitch (43): .293/.286/.463, 4XBH (1HR)
After First-Pitch Strikes (201): .186/.231/.314, 59K:7BB
After First-Pitch Balls (148): .288/.432/.466, 19K:29BB
RISP: 14x71, .197/.333/.394, 17K:13BB
Runners on: 29x160, .218/.331/.414, 29K:21BB
2OwRISP: 8x39, .205/.354/.410, 11K:8BB
