The Tampa Bay Rays reached an agreement with Kyle Farnsworth. Color me unimpressed. Farnsworth is a great strikeout pitcher, but walks a lot of batters. On top of that, he allows a high BA for a high K pitcher, .251 for his career. Using the Day by Day Database (1957 on), Farnsworth allows the most hits per nine of any pitcher with a career K per 9 of 9.0 or better:
| Pitcher | Kper9 | Hper9 |
| Kyle Farnsworth | 9.0 | 8.6 |
| Oliver Perez | 9.1 | 8.2 |
| Randy Myers | 9.0 | 7.7 |
| Mark Clear | 9.0 | 7.5 |
| Rich Harden | 9.1 | 7.4 |
| Tim Lincecum | 10.1 | 7.4 |
| Randy Johnson | 10.6 | 7.3 |
| Octavio Dotel | 10.9 | 7.2 |
| Pedro Martinez | 10.0 | 7.1 |
| Kerry Wood | 10.4 | 7.0 |
| Trevor Hoffman | 9.4 | 7.0 |
| Sandy Koufax | 9.5 | 6.7 |
| Nolan Ryan | 9.5 | 6.6 |
| Billy Wagner | 11.9 | 6.0 |
Like Oliver Perez, the wildness forces him into the strike zone, where he can get hit.
Emma Span expresses what I imagine will be the reaction of all Yankee fans:
http://tinyurl.com/banterfarns
Hahahahhoohohoahahahaheee!
As a Yankee fan, I am happy. We get to feast off of Karl.
The concerns you raise are legitimate. On the other hand, like many relievers, Farnsworth’s career numbers obscure the peaks and valleys of his career. For example, the last 3 years his BB/9 has been manageable at 2.6, 3.4 & 3.3, especially since his K/BB ratio has been at 3 or better in 2009 & 2010 and a respectable 2.77 in 2008.
Similarly, his home run rates have fluctuated quite a bit, with his last 2 years registering at .6 & .7. His career rates are raised considerably by 3 of his first 4 years in the majors and one truly terrible season primarily in NY. Otherwise, his rates have been either decent or very good.
And his hits/9 also fluctuate quite a bit. Last year it was just 7.7. His years in NY (and partial in Detroit) and 2 early seasons in his career as well as his 2009 in KC raise the career mark considerably, but otherwise in many seasons over his 12 years he has not given up an inordinate number of hits.
I do not point any of this out to deny the validity of your concerns. I just think there are factors to consider to moderate your implied pessimism a bit as he has certainly had quite a few seasons, including some recent ones, when his rates are pretty good. And there is some evidence that last year he finally yielded to coaching to harness his power pitching and vary his repertoire to improve his performance.