Is 2010 the Year of the Comeback?

It has been so far, at least for these five guys.  But the real question is–can they keep it up?  Seeing that the 2010 baseball season is barely a month old, and considering their histories, the best I can give you is a big, firm…maybe.  Here’s hoping these fellas can keep up this resurgence, just so I can keep getting that warm, tingly feeling that it’s 2006 again everytime I check the box scores.

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BARRY ZITO

Zito’s monstrous seven-year, $126 million contract he signed three years ago was a head scratcher at the time, only to be made worse when Zito couldn’t live up to the contract.  The last couple of seasons for the lefty were so bad, both he and his hefty contract became comic fodder for fans and league execs not employed by the Giants.

But in 2010, Zito’s gone back to working his slider more often…and the results have been superb.  Not $126 million superb, but still, pretty damn good.

2009: 10-13, 4.03 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 154 SO, 88 BB

2010: 5-0, 1.49 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 28 SO, 12 BB

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VERNON WELLS

Like Zito, Vernon Wells signed a huge, expectation-filled contract following a successful 2006 season.  And just like Zito, a few bad years, partly owing to nagging injuries, combined with an albatross of a contract made Wells and the Blue Jays a laughingstock.  But Toronto was stuck with Wells, because nobody, not even the Yankees, would take on Vernon and the ugly wart that was his contract.

Which may not be so bad for the Blue Jays.  For the first time in a long time, Vernon Wells is healthy.  And he’s hitting the hell out of the ball, both for average and power.  There’s no way he’ll play well enough to justify the seven-year, $126 million contract extension he got, but it’ll help take the sting off the last few unproductive and piss-poor years Jays fans have had to endure.

2009: .260 BA, 15 HR, 66 RBI, .711 OPS

2010: .321 BA, 8 HR, 21 RBI, 1.047 OPS

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FRANCISCO LIRIANO

Liriano had such an amazing rookie season in 2006 that he seemed destined for a long and stellar career with the Twins.  That lasted until November, when he underwent Tommy John surgery.  Since having his elbow surgically repaired, Liriano has struggled mightily to return to his 2006 form.

Last year he was abysmal, but in all fairness, it was his first full season back with the Twins since 2006.  Liriano’s off to a scorching 2010, and is one of the chief reasons that Minnesota is leading the AL Central.

2009: 5-13, 5.80 ERA, 1.551 WHIP, 122 SO, 65 BB

2010: 4-0, 1.55 ERA, 1.083 WHIP, 36 SO, 13 BB

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ANDRUW JONES

Andruw Jones career arc resembled that of Vernon Wells’…only fatter and more out of shape.  After some absolutely monster seasons with the Braves, Jones hit a grand total of three home runs in 2008 with the LA Dodgers.  He looked fat and bloated, his knee bothered him, he missed a month after arthroscopic knee surgery.  Let’s just say that the Dodgers were more than happy to let Jones walk after the ’08 season.  He fared a little better with the Texas Rangers, but really, it’s easy to improve on total crap.

Enter Kenny Williams and the White Sox.  Williams took a flier on the 33-year-old, and the dividends are paying off so far.  Jones and his nine homers and 1.062 OPS are bright spots on an otherwise bad team.

2009: .214 BA, 17 HR, 43 RBI, .782 OPS

2010: .271 BA, 8 HR, 13 RBI, 1.043 OPS

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LIVAN HERNANDEZ

Doesn’t it seem like Livan Hernandez has been around for 20 years.  He claims to be 35, but I’d put him closer to 40.  Hernandez has been an average pitcher at best–a guy who’ll get double-digits in wins and log a bunch of innings, but that’s about it.

Last year he was with the Mets, and his sub-par season was a nice reflection on the Mets year in general.  Back for a second go-around with the Nationals, and Hernandez has dialed back the clock to start this year, and his numbers so far may be the most impressive of this bunch.  Consider his most recent start, his shortest outing of the year at 5 1/3 innings–Livan threw 123 pitches in those 5+ innings, but still got he win, despite raising his season ERA to 0.99.  That is not a misprint–Livan Hernandez’s ERA is less than one.

2009: 7-8, 5.47 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 75 SO, 51 BB

2010: 4-1, 0.99 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 11 SO, 13 BB