The Nine Best Losing Pitchers in the MLB

Being the only man stuck on an island can get pretty lonely. At least, I imagine it would be.

While most of us have never been marooned on a small island in the middle of the ocean with no help in sight, most of these pitchers (listed in no particular order) have come pretty darn close to that.

These are the pitchers with win-loss records of .500 or below. They are the best of the bunch...unfortunately, their teams stink, which means they can't get run support of any kind.

To qualify, the pitcher must have a win-loss record of .500 or below, and the team that they play for must have a record of .500 below. In addition, the pitcher must be a starter and have an ERA below 4. This leaves us with nine pitchers who qualify.

These are great pitchers, but you'd never know it because they are stranded on teams with either a bunch of underperformers, or teams that just never had any talent to begin with.

So, without further ado, I give you the nine best losing pitchers in the MLB.

Roy Oswalt - Houston Astros

Vital Stats:

Record: 2-6
ERA: 2.66
WHIP: 1.07
Strikeouts: 60

In nine appearances so far this season, Oswalt has been pitching at a high level, but has received little to no run support (the offense is averaging 1.8 runs per game when Oswalt takes the mound) and it has frustrated the star pitcher to the point of requesting a trade.

Oswalt's ERA is well below the MLB average of 4.20, and his 60 K's are impressive. His WHIP of 1.07 is also very impressive when compared to the league average of 1.38.

In 2010, Oswalt has limited hitters to a .217 average against, and has walked only 16 batters, making base runners for his opponent a rare commodity. This shows in the scores of the games he pitches, as the Astros routinely are losing by scores of 4-3 and 3-2 when he takes the mound. The most runs Oswalt has surrendered in a start has been three.

I'd say that he needs a change of scenery.

Tom Gorzelanny - Chicago Cubs

Vital Stats:

Record: 2-4
ERA: 3.09
WHIP: 1.29
Strikeouts: 48

While the Chicago Cubs aren't terrible like the Astros, they certainly aren't all that great.

And while the blame can be spread around to many different sources, Tom Gorzelanny isn't one of them.

In eight starts, Gorzelanny has received a grand total of 29 runs in his support (about 3.6 per outing). However, a lot of that can be attributed to the ten run outburst the Cubs had against the Arizona Diamnondbacks on May 2. Take that out, and over the remaining seven outings, Gorzelanny has received 2.7 runs of support per outing.

Not pretty.

Not a huge strikeout guy (he has a respectable 48 on the season), Gorzelanny is holding batters to a .242 average this season.

In most cases, while Gorzelanny probably won't go seven to eight innings on a consistent basis, he'll be able to give five to six innings of quality work before turning the job over to the bullpen.

Up until a May 14 showdown with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gorzelanny had kept his ERA south of three. He had his worst performance of the season so far during that game, coughing up five runs in five innings, which ballooned his ERA to 3.60 at the time.

After another very solid start on May 19 against the Phillies where he tossed six and two-thirds innings of scoreless baseball, his ERA is back down to 3.09 and it appears as if his hiccup against the Pirates was more of an aberration.

Ryan Dempster - Chicago Cubs

Vital Stats:

Record: 2-4
ERA: 3.73
WHIP: 1.10
Strikeouts: 58

Gorzelanny and Ryan Dempster make up a formidable 1-2 punch in the rotation for the Cubs, but it appears as if the rest of their teammates aren't following suit.

While some of his numbers aren't quite as impressive as Gorzelanny's, Dempster has still managed to put together a solid season up to this point.

Through nine appearances so far, Dempster is holding opposing batters to a .211 average and has had his team in a position to win the game most every time he has stepped on the mound.

He has been eating up innings for the Cubs, as his shortest outing has been six innings (twice), and he is routinely going seven to eight innings before receiving the hook from his skipper.

He has surrendered 21 walks, which is a little higher than most of the other pitchers on this list, but it's not a terrible number, and he is still striking out 29 batters for every 10 or so batters he issues a free pass.

In his two wins, Dempster has received plenty of support, as the Cubs managed to push eight and nine runs across the plate against the Brewers twice. Unfortunately for Dempster, they can't seem to score for him unless they are playing Milwaukee, as, in his other six starts, the Cubs have provided him with only three runs per game.

Between Gorzelanny and Dempster, the pitching has been solid for the Cubs. If only the rest of the team could pick up the slack.

Felix Hernandez - Seattle Mariners

Vital Stats:

Record: 2-4
ERA: 3.80
WHIP: 1.42
Strikeouts: 58

Unlike many of his peers on this list, the reason Hernandez finds himself in a position with a losing record is that, while there have been occasions where his run support has been bad (the Mariners have scored three runs of fewer for the ace on four occasions), he has had some terrible starts.

In back-to-back starts against the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels on May 1 and 7, Hernandez coughed up five and seven earned runs, respectively. In both starts, he failed to get out of the fifth inning.

Hernandez has allowed 25 walks so far this season, and batters are hitting fairly well against him, batting at a clip of .267.

All that being said, what counts is this game is having more runs at the end of the game than the other team, and, with the exception of those two tough starts, Hernandez has pitched well in that regard.

The Mariners staff ace routinely hits the seventh inning in his starts, and will oftentimes toss seven complete innings, allowing their manager to (excuse the pun) manage the bullpen well.

While you can't blame all of Hernandez's early struggles on the offense, Hernandez has pitched well throughout this young season, with the exception of those two starts back at the beginning of the month.

Cliff Lee - Seattle Mariners

Vital Stats:

Record: 2-2
ERA: 3.44
WHIP: 1.04
Strikeouts: 32

Following an early injury to start the season, Cliff Lee has come back and pitched very well in four of his five starts.

His lone black mark on the 2010 campaign came on May 21 when the Mariners squared off against the San Diego Padres, surrendering eight runs, seven of them earned.

However, in his first four appearances, Lee has been exactly what the Mariners were looking for when they traded for him during the offseason.

He is averaging approximately six-and-a-half strikeouts per start, and he has only walked one batter so far on the season. Batters are hitting .252 against him, but it hasn't been enough for batters to routinely hurt Lee on the mound.

Lee is also chewing up innings for the Mariners, generally going seven and a third innings for Seattle.

Prior to his nightmare of a fifth start against the Padres, his ERA was at 2.08 and he had surrendered eight total runs, with only seven of them earned. Two of those starts came against the Tampa Bay Rays, a proficient offensive team that has positioned themselves at the top of the difficult AL East for a reason.

After looking at the stats, it appears as if Lee's outing against the Padres won't become a trend.

Zack Greinke - Kansas City Royals

Vital Stats:

Record: 1-5
ERA: 3.57
WHIP: 1.16
Strikeouts: 51

Zack Greinke, who took the MLB by storm last season on his way to an AL Cy Young Award, has dropped off a bit this season.

But, dropping off from the season he had last year is like dropping from a 100 on a science test to a 90 on the next one.

In other words, he's still pitching well.

Greinke has received just over three runs of support per outing. Prior to his last outing against the Colorado Rockies where he gave up eight runs (seven earned), he had kept his ERA below three since late April.

Baserunners for the opponent aren't coming easy wither, as Greinke has issued only 11 walks in his 10 starts, and opponents are hitting .252 when he's on the mound.

In addition to some poor run support, the Royals bullpen has not aided his cause, as on multiple occasions when Greinke leaves the game with the Royals in a position to come out victorious, his bullpen gags and lets the opponent tag four or more runs on to the scoreboard.

In short, it's not just the Royals offense that needs help. It's everyone—except Greinke.

John Danks - Chicago White Sox

Vital Stats:

Record: 3-3
ERA: 2.26
WHIP: 1.06
Strikeouts: 45

Even though John Danks pitches in a solid rotation that includes guys like Jake Peavy and Mark Buerhle, he has asserted himself as possibly the best pitcher on the staff so far this season.

Through eight starts, Danks has been nothing short of stellar. He has never allowed more than three earned runs in an outing, and he is limiting opposing batters to a .214 batting average.

While Danks isn't a strikeout king, his 45 K's are respectable, and his 16 walks are a good indication as well.

He has also been an innings eater for the White Sox, and has only had one appearance where he couldn't go six innings. More impressively, in six of his eight starts, Danks has been able to push through seven plus innings.

Interestingly, Danks opened the season with a 3-0 record, winning three of his first four decisions. He has lost his last three consecutive starts however, and that is mostly due to the Chicago offense seemingly disappearing, scoring a total of four runs in those three games.

If Danks can start to get some run support as the season progresses, he will undoubtedly be a winning pitcher come the end of the season.

Jeremy Guthrie - Baltimore Orioles

Vital Stats:

Record: 2-4
ERA: 3.86
WHIP: 1.08
Strikeouts: 33

Jeremy Guthrie is stuck on the worst team in baseball. He is a good pitcher playing in the AL East, and he has proven that he can deliver.

He'll never be a strikeout king, and he has only recorded 33 so far this season. But he doesn't walk many guys, only issuing 10 free passes through his first nine outings.

At 2-4, on most teams Guthrie would be at least at .500 at this point in the season. He has had only one truly bad outing (against the New York Yankees on April 28 when he gave up six earned run in four and two thirds innings), and he hasn't given up more than four runs in any of his other appearances.

The problem for Guthrie has been a total lack of anything resembling consistent run support in Baltimore. The Orioles have scored more than three runs just twice when Guthrie is on the mound, and they have managed just one run twice.

This will come as a shocker: The two games the Orioles pushed more than three runs across the plate for Guthrie are coincidentally the two games Guthrie has won.

Interesting.

Kevin Millwood - Baltimore Orioles

Vital Stats:

Record: 0-4
ERA: 3.71
WHIP: 1.28
Strikeouts: 56

Kevin Millwood, who the Orioles acquired in the offseason, and, at the time, it looked a little questionable.

However, as time has passed, it's looking better and better.

Millwood has eaten up innings so far, making his way through 68 of them, averaging almost seven innings per start. Given the fact that the Orioles bullpen is already incredibly taxed with Millwood in the rotation, it's hard to imagine what they would do if Millwood wasn't around.

To date, Millwood has yet to have a truly awful start, and he has been the most consistent and dependable pitcher for the Orioles this season.

While batters do hit almost .270 against Millwood, his walk numbers are solid and, seeing as his ERA is below four, it is clear that the opposing teams are hitting him, but they aren't able to push those runners across the plate for runs.

Like his fellow teammate Guthrie, MIllwood has been suffering from a lack of decent run support from his Baltimore offense. He averages three runs of support per start, and on four of his ten starts, the Oriole offense has scored fewer than three runs.

So far this season, Millwood has done just about everything asked of him, but, as long as that Oriole offense remains stagnant, it's likely he won't be seeing many wins.

Wrap Up

So there you have it, nine starting pitchers that any team would want, but, due to the general poor play of their teams as a whole, are suffering in the win column.

Some of them you know, some of them you probably didn't, but they all have one thing in common: They're great losers!