- Mets 8, Cubs 3: The pitcher's win is among the most overrated stat in baseball. When you pick up 300 of them, however, you probably don't stink. Surefire Hall-of-Famer Tom Glavine fits that description, though he was a legend long before he reached an arbitrary cutoff point. He went 6 1/3 innings to pick up his 300th career win in Chicago as the Mets took two of three from the Cubs. The veteran lefty was economical and showed good control until he tired in the seventh. Then he watched the bullpen hold the lead. A three-game showdown with the Braves looms.
- Yankees 8, Royals 5: With all due respect to Hideki Matsui and his 100th career homer, the only milestone the Yankees care about is being a half-game out of a playoff spot. Not bad for a team that has been written off time and time again this season. They haven't accomplished anything yet, of course, but their chances seem good considering how wild-card foes Detroit and Cleveland have looked of late. Mike Mussina's improvement has been a major part of the Yankees'. He controlled the Royals' sometimes-dangerous lineup to pick up the win.
- Staten Island 13, Hudson Valley 8: What can make you feel better an 8-0 lead in the final three innings? Scoring five in the top of the 10th to avoid the embarrassing loss. They cost Jason Stephens the win, but in the end, they'll breathe a sigh of relief and move on.
- Brooklyn 12, Aberdeen 6: Columbia product Greg Mullens picked up the win in relief after starter Eric Niesen couldn't last the required five innings.
- Haile Gebrselassie, an all-time stumper in sports spelling bees, cruised away from his opponents and took the New York Half-Marathon, improving to a perfect 8-0 over the distance. This was his first race ever in New York.
Photo of Tom Glavine hugging his wife, Christine, after the Mets-Cubs game by AP/Nam Y. Huh
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Staten Island played Hudson Valley not Oneonta.
6 innings, hope he got some rest
>>>The pitcher's win is among the most overrated stat in baseball.
Um...what?
www.forgotten-ny.com
#3:
If Glavine had given up 9 runs in 5 innings, but left with the Mets winning 11-9, he'd get the win, but it wouldn't have been much of an accomplishment. Would you rather start a 2-11 pither with a 2.90 ERA or a 11-1 pitcher with a 4.95 ERA?
You can convolute almost *any* baseball stat that way. Many runs batted in come on outs. Do those RBI's count less than the ones that were driven in by hits?
If a pitcher is 10-4 with a 4.xx era, he has been able to keep his team ahead in the games he pitches. There *are* some guys who have low ERAs and don't win, since they seem to crumble when a tight game is on the line.
Wins are wins...
www.forgotten-ny.com
Wins are overrated because they are a product of the team around you. Plenty of good pitchers go unrecognized because their team doesn't back up their stellar performances. Look at Johan Santana's 2005 season. He had better numbers in every category except wins than Bartolo Colon, yet Colon won the Cy Young Award because the BBWA has a thing for victories. As for RBIs, they are also a product of the lineup around you. It's tough to knock in 150 runs if you stink, but if you hit in a productive lineup, you get more chances to knock in runs. That's why using rate states (on-base percentage, slugging average, ERA) is a better means of evaluating hitters than using counting stats like RBIs and wins.
Wins are wins...
Some pitchers get consistently low run support from their teams relative to the other starters. One would like to believe that over the course of the season things like run support and ERA average out so that wins is a meaningful statistic but pitcher talent alone is probably only worth between 60 and 70 percent of a pitcher's record. How many 1-0 or 2-1 games has Beckett lost in the last month?
Also, it's pretty unlikely a pitcher could keep a low ERA over a season if he consistently "crumbled" in tight games.
And if you really want to pad your stats move to the AL East and play the Devil Rays 20 times a year.
Glavine's accomplishment is made even greater since he has to face cheaters, some with heads which have doubled in size since their rookie year with Pittsburgh. It is a shame that baseball was murdered the night before by some sort of pharmacological-human hybrid and Bud "Don't Ask About How I Stole the Seattle Pilots and Moved Them to Wisconsin" Selig. The funeral is when the pharmacological-human hybrid cheats his way past the accomplishments of a real man who didn't cheat and wasn't a pompous big headed asshole.
The pitcher's win is among the most overrated stat in baseball.
Batting Average and anything with "RISP" would like a word with you.
If a pitcher is 10-4 with a 4.xx era, he has been able to keep his team ahead in the games he pitches. There *are* some guys who have low ERAs and don't win, since they seem to crumble when a tight game is on the line.
In 2005, Roger Clemens went 13-8 with a 1.97 ERA and a 1.008(!) WHIP. That same season Chris Capuano (in the same division) went 18-12 with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.384 WHIP and Jon Lieber went 17-13 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.209 WHIP. If you chose Chris Capuano or Jon Lieber to be your ace starter over Roger Clemens, you fail at baseball.
Batting Average and anything with "RISP" would like a word with you.
Actually, I recant that statement. The "Save" would desperately like a word with you.
Bud "Don't Ask About How I Stole the Seattle Pilots and Moved Them to Wisconsin" Selig
What is your damage on this topic?