At SoxFest, Jake Peavy spoke about being "as sure as I'm going to get that I'm as good as I'm going to get," a somewhat-cryptic statement that still fit in with the optimism of the weekend. But, in speaking to the Chicago Tribune, Peavy shed some light on what "100 percent" really means.
"I know I'm as 100 percent as 100 percent is going to get after what I had done (surgically)," Peavy told Dave Van Dyck. "I guess that's the best way to say it."
So 100 percent for Peavy, who turns 31 in late May, may only be 75 percent of what he had in his final seasons with the Padres. And with that in mind, Peavy's goal -- along with that of Don Cooper and Kenny Williams -- to throw 200 innings and make 30 starts seems extremely ambitious.
Peavy hasn't reached those marks since winning the Cy Young with the Padres in 2007. His fastball, which sat above 92 miles per hour throughout his time in San Diego, averaged under 91 miles per hour in 2011.
There are some encouraging signs from Peavy's 2011 season, though, namely his near-career-best strikeout-to-walk ratio. If that carries over into this season, along with an average home run rate, Peavy's ERA won't sit in the high-four range.
Whether he can sustain a good ERA over 200 innings, though, is a much more pressing question.