The Tools of Ignorance: Saturday News

Last night was for the Boss.

So much effort was spent eviscerating the bullpen's ERA the last couple of days, and praising the starting rotation, that I feel compelled to share some splits with you.

Opponents: .241/.309/.386 vs .241/.317/.371

WHIP: 1.24 vs 1.29

K/9: 7.3 vs 7.5

K/BB: 2.32 vs 2.17

ERA: 3.68 vs 4.10

One of these things is not like the other one...

Remember, when the stats that underlie ERA (WHIP, K/9 etc) all tell a better story than ERA, odds are that the ERA has been skewed by the sample size (226IP) and luck.

Remember when CC was pitching poorly, and writers & talk show hosts were starting to say 'maybe he's due for a lousy year'? Last night was marked his 9th outing in a row of at least 7IP and 3ER or less.

Do you think Robinson Cano has the 13th highest trade value in baseball, that he would bring back a bigger haul of prospects than guys like Ubaldo Jimenez, Tim Lincecum and Felix Hernandez?

I know Fangraphs has a solid rational for their rankings, but for me, it all starts and ends with young, dominant starting pitchers.