Happy Halloween everyone. While I can’t promise to scare you out of your wits today, perhaps you’ll get the creeps when you see the stats of the first pitcher in Volume Three of our Pitcher Profiles column.

Ryan Glynn

It’s his 31st birthday tomorrow, so what the hell, righty Ryan Glynn is included in our pitcher profiles, perhaps making us the only baseball writer to mention his name this offseason.

Glynn started the season in the Jays organization (where in 2004 he was actually pretty serviceable in limited time at the big league level, going 1-0, 4.05 in six games and 20 IP). This year, however, he didn’t exactly bring his “A” game. In fact, he never made it out of Triple-A Syracuse, getting pounded for 41 hits, 26 ER, six HR and 11 walks n 37.1 IP and nine games (six starts) with a 2-4 record.

The A’s, seeking to add to their pitching depth, traded for him in May for cash considerations. When Rich Harden went down with his first injury of the year, Oakland purchased Glynn’s contract and brought him up on June 4. However, he didn’t exactly capitalize on his chances. In five games, he got rocked for 24 hits, 16 runs and five homers in 17 IP. He did manage an impressive 15 Ks, but a 0-4 record and .320 BAA didn’t exactly tempt Oakland into keeping him around. On July 15, the A’s removed him from the roster and sent him outright back to Triple-A Sacramento.

While his 2005 time in the majors, however limited, was not successful – after all, he was hit more easily and harder than ever before – Glynn also showed something with a career best 7.94 K/9 rate and his best K/BB ratio. This, combined with a stellar performance at Sacramento (3-1, 2.78, 11 GS, 55 IP, 46 H, 20 R, four homers, 54 Ks), tells me that at the very least Glynn deserves a shot at a long-relief role.

His Achilles’ Heel has been, and continues to be, lefties. They hit .385 against him this year, and almost .320 over the three previous seasons. Righties, on the other hand, only managed a 665 OPS against Glynn between 2002 and 2004. Glynn could be packaged up in a deal for a bat this offseason as the A’s hope to add to their attack by landing a big stick.

Doug Davis

Originally a Dodger 31st round pick way back in 1993, Doug Davis has thrust his way into fantasy prominence the past couple of seasons after floundering most of his career. The now 30-year-old finesse lefty never signed with LA, opting to attend the City College of San Francisco. The move paid off, as the Rangers made Davis a 10th round pick in 1996.

Davis spent over seven mostly forgettable years in the Rangers’ system, showing occasional flashes (in 2001, he won 11 with a not-horrible 4.45 ERA) but generally suffering from command issues that prohibited him from enjoying any sustained success.

In 2003, he began the year at Triple-A, but was waived early in the season, picked up by the Jays on April 30. Davis struggled with the Jays and was granted his free agency on July 11. Just three days later, however, the Brewers picked him up, and really, his career has taken off since then, as he’s won 26 games in two and a half seasons in Milwaukee.

This past season, Davis set career highs in games, games started, complete games, innings pitched, runs given up, earned runs, homers allowed, walks and strikeouts, while matching his best in shutouts. He also held opponents to a career best .235 mark this year. What’s most impressive has been the sharp increase in his strikeouts – his K/9 has risen three consecutive seasons, while Davis’ K/BB ratio has finally reached decent enough levels that he’s a worthy fantasy consideration.

Davis’ ERA rose this season almost a half a run, in all likelihood because he was not inducing ground balls at the same level as he did in 2004. He was particularly tough at home this season (8-5, 3.38 vs. 3-6, 4.47 on the road) and excelled tremendously in domes, going 5-4, 2.93, ironic given his struggles as a Blue Jay (in fact, his worst outing this year was in Toronto).

One interesting stat for Davis is his BA against righties vs. lefties. The southpaw was actually tougher against right-handed hitters (under .230) than he was against lefties (.259), something which reminds me very much of (dare we make this leap?) Tom Glavine, probably the pre-eminent finesse lefty of this generation.

Another curiosity in dissecting Davis’ season was his first and second half splits – he won nine games with a 4.11 ERA before the break, but managed just two wins in 16 starts afterwards – despite a 3.52 ERA! This definitely speaks well to a sharp increase in victories coming in 2006, especially pitching for what should be an improved Brewer squad. Another thing that impresses me about Davis is his ability – like all good pitchers – to ratchet it up a notch as situations get more difficult. As mentioned earlier, he held opponents to a .235 BA this year. But with runners on, that figure dropped to .225; with runners in scoring position it was .224 and Davis held opponents to a .211 mark with runners in scoring position and two out. That’s the sign of a quality pitcher.

Despite his less than eye-catching 51-52, 4.22 career mark, Davis has proved that he’s very much a fantasy worthy starter the past couple of seasons.

Mini Spikes

• Good thing the Dodgers got rid of GM Paul DePodesta before he completed his manager search. It would have been even more embarrassing to have fired him and then possibly have had to fire the new manager if the new GM didn’t want to be saddled with someone he didn’t hand pick.
• The Rangers plan to make an upgraded bullpen a priority for 2006. Surrounded with better and more dependable set up options, Francisco Cordero should be able to rebound after a slightly subpar 2005.

NEXT: Spikes Up returns next month, on November 14, when we’ll turn our attention to the minors with Volume Three of our Prospect Report. Basketball fans should check out Three in the Key, next appearing November 8.

Comments? Questions? Criticisms or witticisms? You can reach me at rob@creativesports.com if you’d like further information or have a question you’d like me to answer in an upcoming column. Have a suggestion for a column or want to hear analysis about a particular player? Feel free to write. I might even answer!

Rob Blackstien is a freelance writer and the principal of Pen-Ultimate (www.pen-ultimate.ca), a Toronto-based writing and editorial services firm.