Penny vs. Beckett

From Mike Berardino's Sunday article:

BEYOND COMPARE

One major league scout who recently saw Brad Penny and Josh Beckett in a three-day span had an interesting comparison of the Marlins' still-developing pitchers.

"Beckett has better stuff, but Penny right now is hungrier," the scout said. "Every time there was a tough situation, Penny got better. Beckett would have to work the count to get out of it. Penny just went right after them."

While their secondary numbers are virtually the same, the nearly two-run gap in their respective ERAs makes all the difference.

"That's because when Beckett makes a mistake pitch, they capitalize on him," the scout said. "When he makes a bad pitch up, it straightens and he gets hurt by it. Penny comes at you, boy. He'll come inside with the fastball. His curveball hasn't been real good. He's not throwing it for strikes."

As for the recent survey in which nine of 11 Marlins teammates picked Penny to start a World Series Game 7 if it were upcoming, -- Beckett received no votes, and this was before he landed on the disabled list -- the scout respectfully disagreed.

"I'm still picking Beckett," he said. "He has a variety of pitches. Penny would be the guy to come in if Beckett got in trouble. That's how close they are right now."

Which one would the scout rather have for the long term?

"If both were available for trade, I'd take Beckett over Penny," he said. "He has the higher ceiling. Penny is pitching at his climax. Beckett has so many pitches, he can really dominate if he wants to. He should breeze to 20 wins."

A good assessment of the situation. Penny is really on top of his game, while Beckett is not as focused, like a slumbering giant waiting to wake up.

Doesn't look like Beckett is going to come anywhere close to 20 games this year. He'll be doing well to get 15.

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