If you want to look around at Statistics around the league and see which is held in such high regard which is based the least on personal performance, the obvious answer is the Win.
Why do I bring this up now, you may ask, well last night when I was checking the results of my fantasy squad I noticed the end results of the two starters I had go last night. One starter, Jeremy Bonderman, went 8 strong innings, struck out 12 and gave up one single run, while the other, Zach Duke went a limited 5 innings giving up 5 runs and striking out only 2 but with the help of his teams offensive, including himself having 3 rbis, he left the game with a 6-5 lead. Guess, which guy picked up a victory while the other was in line for a loss but settled for a no decision, that's right Duke got the Victory. If you look at his short career gamelog Zach has only had one single outing in which his ERA was worse, one. And yet he picks up the W in what could be described as the second worst he's ever pitched is that not backwards.
The pitcher is the player on the field with the most influence on whether his team wins or loses however it still remains a team game and the difference between a Win and Loss is decided by the whole roster. Statistics on the other hand are based mostly on individual achievements, this is where picking up Wins and Losses becomes deceiving. In todays brand of baseball the starting pitcher relies on his roster even more than in the past with bullpen having much more of a role. Pedro Martinez went the whole month of May without picking up a win when he posted a 2.14 ERA, why because his team could not post any run support for him and in addition the bullpen gave away some games. Pedro Martinez might be the most victimized pitcher ever in regards to poor run support and blown saves by the bullpen. Unfortunately I am not the Elias Sports Bureau so I'm going to make that claim on suspicion rather than fact.
I believe that there are many more valuable statistics in showing how a pitcher pitched, mainly ERA. ERA shows what kind situations the pitcher typically puts his team in and how effectively he works through the opponents lineup. Even Quality Starts is a more accurate barometer than a pitchers Win - Loss record, showing how often a pitcher keeps his team within striking distance. And that at the end of the season the Cy Young award should in fact focus mostly on a Pitchers ability to keep the opponents from scoring, keeping their teams in games, and generally pitching well rather than the overall end Win Loss result. Finally if it is in fact the final result that make people think that a pitchers Win-Loss record is important, then maybe the more important statistic is the record of your team when you are on the hill.
Why do I bring this up now, you may ask, well last night when I was checking the results of my fantasy squad I noticed the end results of the two starters I had go last night. One starter, Jeremy Bonderman, went 8 strong innings, struck out 12 and gave up one single run, while the other, Zach Duke went a limited 5 innings giving up 5 runs and striking out only 2 but with the help of his teams offensive, including himself having 3 rbis, he left the game with a 6-5 lead. Guess, which guy picked up a victory while the other was in line for a loss but settled for a no decision, that's right Duke got the Victory. If you look at his short career gamelog Zach has only had one single outing in which his ERA was worse, one. And yet he picks up the W in what could be described as the second worst he's ever pitched is that not backwards.
The pitcher is the player on the field with the most influence on whether his team wins or loses however it still remains a team game and the difference between a Win and Loss is decided by the whole roster. Statistics on the other hand are based mostly on individual achievements, this is where picking up Wins and Losses becomes deceiving. In todays brand of baseball the starting pitcher relies on his roster even more than in the past with bullpen having much more of a role. Pedro Martinez went the whole month of May without picking up a win when he posted a 2.14 ERA, why because his team could not post any run support for him and in addition the bullpen gave away some games. Pedro Martinez might be the most victimized pitcher ever in regards to poor run support and blown saves by the bullpen. Unfortunately I am not the Elias Sports Bureau so I'm going to make that claim on suspicion rather than fact.I believe that there are many more valuable statistics in showing how a pitcher pitched, mainly ERA. ERA shows what kind situations the pitcher typically puts his team in and how effectively he works through the opponents lineup. Even Quality Starts is a more accurate barometer than a pitchers Win - Loss record, showing how often a pitcher keeps his team within striking distance. And that at the end of the season the Cy Young award should in fact focus mostly on a Pitchers ability to keep the opponents from scoring, keeping their teams in games, and generally pitching well rather than the overall end Win Loss result. Finally if it is in fact the final result that make people think that a pitchers Win-Loss record is important, then maybe the more important statistic is the record of your team when you are on the hill.
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Charlie B.
MyFantasyBall Blog
http://blog.myfantasyball.com