2008 Stats: 9-10, 3.73 ERA, 116 Ks, 2 CG Shutouts (31 starts)
2008 Analysis: Though the stats seem somewhat pedestrian, Kuroda actually had a pretty good year in his rookie campaign. Well, rookie only in name, as Kuroda had many years experience in Japan, but still, his first year in the states served him pretty well. And not bad for a guy who was really a question mark coming into the season. Would he be more Daisuke Matsuzaka or Kei Igawa?Well, turned out he was a little more on the Matsuzaka side.
His two complete game shutouts led the team, and both were incredibly impressive. One of them came June 6th against the Chicago Cubs. Kuroda gave up only four hits over the nine innings, while striking out 11. His other start came July 7th against the Atlanta Braves, where Kuroda gave up only one hit while striking out six.
At the same time, he was prone to the horrible outings every now and then. Six times he gave up five or more runs out of 31 starts. That's almost 20%. That includes a couple starts where he gave up six runs in less than three innings.
Ultimately, Kuroda had a slightly Jekyll-and-Hyde-ish, more Jekyll than Hyde, but my-oh-my, was the Hyde ugly.2009 Outlook: Kuroda's pretty much a lock to make the rotation next year as long as he's healthy. He's still got a couple years on his contract and he seems pretty solid... there's no reason to suspect he won't be our #3 starter (or thereabout) next season.
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