Ace in the Hole: Schmidt MVP caliber

In Texas Hold'em, an Ace is often enough to win on its own. In baseball, most of the time you'll also need a king, a queen and a host of deuces that are wild. Not in the case of Jason Schmidt. The anchor of the Giant's starting rotation Schmidt--despite shoulder surgery--has all the credentials an Ace should need. These include:

* Throwing long: At least six innings every start. Schmidt has averaged 7.8 this season, third most in the National League.
* Throwing well, and often: Quality Starts (six innings, three or fewer earned runs) in over 75% of games.
* Intimidating the opposition: see below.
* Winning: Regardless of No-Decisions, the team should win two out of three games in which the Ace takes to the mound. Since joining the Giants, San Francisco have won 74% (58-20) of the games Schmidt has started--the best ratio in the majors. This season in nine starts, Schmidt has six wins: In 26 starts Kirk Reuter, Brett Tomko and Dustin Hermanson have three between them.

Schmidt indeed does all the above, with aplomb. To boot, he strikes out more opposing hitters than he allows hits and walks combined (65 vs. 63). His fastball is a model of consistency, yet witness the Padres, whom he beat with only his curve and changeup in April. And anyone who saw Schmidt's ruthless demolition of the Rockies on Sunday needn't ask MLB Home Run leader Jeromy Burnitz if he's intimidating ... .

If there was any question as to who is the Giants most valuable player, let that claim be put to rest. Barry Bonds might well be the most accomplished hitter in the history of the game. The problem is, if he's not on the line up, he can't hit--no matter how good he is.

Jason Schmidt, of course, appears only every fifth game. Yet his impact is felt quite literally by the beleaguered bullpen, who usually are spared the standard four-inning outing that follows the rest of the rotation. By the same token, his every start takes pressure off the offense, which has up this point failed to score consistently. In spite of the recent upturn, only the Expos have scored fewer runs than the Giants in the National League. Furthermore, the outlook for offense is cloudy, even bleak. Thus it is essential that the hitters can reassure themselves that, on any given Schmidt-day, two or three runs will be sufficient.

Come October, there may not be any baseball in the Bay Area, even if the A's win 90 games. It will be, in that very likely case, a travesty--and a telling one at that. Before the Marlins, on their World Championship run, ran all over their big-name opponents Schmidt, with an ruptured elbow, threw a three-hit shutout to open the NLDS series. His opponent on that day? A hitherto unheralded stud, Josh Beckett. "The Ace of the future," someone said--and everyone agreed. Three weeks later, he was picking up his World Series ring, and MVP award. Schmidt, by contrast, will be remembered as the man who seldom lost: and never really won.